Month: May 2019
Guelaguetza for Tourists
A news story in August 2016 indicated that the world-famous Guelaguetza festival of the Zapotec had become so commercialized and made for tourists that the Zapotec themselves were forming alternatives. Called “People’s Guelaguetza” festivals, the alternatives also celebrate in a party atmosphere the Zapotec tradition of sharing and giving but without so many outsiders. A […]
The Birthday of the Buddha and Peacefulness
The 2563rd birthday of the Buddha was celebrated in Leh, Ladakh, on May 18th with the usual fervor, according to articles in The Dispatch and the Daily Excelsior, two news sources in that part of India.. Organized by the Ladakh Buddhist Association, the day started with a procession called the “Bumskor” that began at the […]
Paliyans Gathering Honey
Two women fled the Indian mega-city of Bengaluru for the rural life in Kodaikanal four years ago because they had been impressed by the Paliyans and their ways of harvesting wild honey. The story of the two women and the forest-cherishing spirit of the Paliyans impressed a reporter from the South Indian paper the Deccan […]
A Film about the Teesta
Minket Lepcha, a woman from Darjeeling, has devoted several years to promoting and protecting the Teesta River through her skills as a filmmaker. A news story published on May 10 in EastMojo, an online news platform from northeastern India, provided details about the film she has produced and the effects it is having on audiences. […]
A Travel Writer Visits the Piaroa
Sometimes good travel writing provides insights into the ways of local people the writer visits. Such was the case of a writer named Karla Graterol who published a brief travel piece early last week in a major Venezuelan newspaper about her visit with some Piaroa. It was refreshing to read about something other than the […]
Nyae Nyae Conservancy Given Prestigious Award
An international game animal preservation organization has given its annual award for outstanding efforts to protect and promote wildlife to the Nyae Nyae Conservancy of the Ju/’hoansi San. According to an article in The Namibian last Thursday, the award was presented by the International Council for Game and Wildlife Conservation. The chief of the Ju/’hoansi, […]
Development Proposal Threatens the Amish
The lush green and brown farmlands of central Lancaster County and the lives of the Amish and Old Order Mennonite farming families who live there are seriously threatened by a proposed development. Opponents of the development claim that the horse and buggy culture of the Plain People will be disrupted if not destroyed by all […]
Conference Focuses on the Lepchas
Cherishing the Lepcha culture while searching for ways to strengthen their society were the basic themes of a day-long conference held in Gangtok, Sikkim, on April 27. The Balipara Foundation, based in Assam, India, sponsored the conference titled “Community, Conservation and Livelihoods: The Lepcha Community” held at Sikkim University. One news report about the event […]
Atomic Bombs over the Tahitians
Thirty-six Tahitians have filed claims that they are still suffering from the effects of the radiation released over French Polynesia from the nuclear bomb testing conducted in the territory for many years. The government of France has responded by sending a team of experts to the Pacific territory to determine whether or not it should […]
A Gun at a Hutterite Colony
A Hutterite child was accidentally shot in the chest late Monday morning last week but his condition appears to be stable. According to a report in the CBC news and several western Canadian sources, an 11-year-old boy was accidentally shot at the Pincher Creek Colony in southern Alberta by a 13-year-old boy who had obtained […]
