Posts Tagged ‘indigenous cultures’
Spirits and mystics in Indonesia
There was a fascinating article a few days ago in the NY Times, just prior to the death of former Indonesian President Suharto, which discussed the power of local beliefs in spirits and black magic. The story focused on mystical explanations as to why Suharto was clinging to life, but in the process it also illuminated [...]
Many languages going extinct
Remarkably, about half of the languages currently spoken in the world are said to be in danger of going extinct during the coming century. A story in the International Herald Tribune reports: Of the estimated 7,000 languages spoken in the world today, linguists say, nearly half are in danger of extinction and likely to disappear [...]
Life among the cows in Sudan
There was an interesting profile recently in the NY Times about the Dinka people of southern Sudan, who are pastoralists and rely on cows for their livelihood. After musing about how life could change for the Dinka in the face of economic development, the article told the story of three boys from the same family to show how [...]
Climate change and nomads
Climate change threatens ice sheets and ecosystems, but it also threatens human cultures. So begins an interesting report on NPR about the Tuareg nomads of Mali and how their way of life is being affected by climate change. For centuries, the Tuareg people have lived as nomads, herding their animals from field to field just south of [...]
Inca ingenuity
The Inca Empire of South America was known for a few of its architectural achievements, as well as for a remarkable system of roads and bridges that enabled fairly quick communication among communities that were scattered throughout the rugged terrain of the Andes Mountains. The NY Times just ran an interesting article that combined a bit [...]
Aboriginal wisdom and weather forecasts
Even with all the achievements of modern science, there are still many times when we can benefit from the accumulated knowledge of the world’s indigenous cultures. One example of this can be found in a recent article in the Christian Science Monitor, which reported on the successes of Australian Aborigines in predicting the weather and understanding [...]
The coca leaf in South America
When I was in Peru a few years ago, a common drink served at every restaurant and small hotel at high altitude was coca tea. It has a mild stimulant affect, very much like the caffeine in coffee or black tea, and is said to be especially helpful for dealing with the physical effects of altitude. [...]
Mysticism and politics in Indonesia
When I was in Bali a few years ago, I had an opportunity to see firsthand the role that spirituality plays in the everyday life of Indonesians. For many people, this spirituality goes beyond mere organized religion and extends to a strong belief in the powers of the non-physical world. Now those beliefs have become a political issue, [...]
The future, what’s that?
Very interesting story in this morning’s news about a Stone Age-like tribe of hunter-gatherers that left the jungle behind and wandered into a Colombian city. The article is interesting for its descriptions of the indigenous Nukak tribe’s collision with the modern world, but my favorite quote was the one that pointed out a very different conception [...]
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Bob Riel is a writer and a traveler. Go here to read more about Bob, his work and the Travels in the Riel World blog.
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