Peaceful Societies

Officials in Cambria County, Pennsylvania, are obsessing about the inadequacies of outhouses at two new farmhouses built for Schwartzentruber Amish families. According to news reports last Thursday, County Judge Norman Krumenacker hopes to work out a compromise with the Amish families that are violating the county sewer codes and the officials charged with enforcing the regulations.

Last month, Andy Schwartzentruber stood before the same judge for refusing to increase the size of the tanks he had installed below the privies at a schoolhouse on his land. He maintained that they would violate his religious beliefs. The Amish defendants last week, Joely and Mary Swartzentruver, owners of one of the homes, and John and Susan Miller, owners of the other, testified before the judge that they had installed 250 gallon tanks beneath their privies, instead of the larger, 1,000 gallon, prefabricated tanks required for home use by Pennsylvania state regulations.

Their method of disposing the waste that accumulates in the tanks—mixing it with lime and spreading it on their fields—is also not acceptable to the county. The judge says he wants to respect the religious sentiments of the families, which they argue is their reason for not following regulations, but he feels that properly abiding by state laws regarding sewage disposal is not a religious issue. “The last thing I want to do is hold a contempt hearing and put (the couples) into jail for Christmas. That would violate my religious principles. But I have a job to do, and I will do it,” he said.

Attorney William Barbin, who attended the hearing as solicitor for the county sewage enforcement agency and the county building codes agency, said that the issue could be precedent setting, for there are dozens of additional Amish homes in the county that also lack proper sewage disposal systems. It wasn’t clear from his comments if the county intended to prosecute more Amish families and attempt to force them to install sewage systems that it would approve.

Mr. Barbin did say, optimistically, that if a compromise could be reached with the two affected families, it might apply to the earlier case involving the outhouses on the school grounds, as well as potentially to others in the county. He indicated that Andy Schwartzentruber had not complied with the judge’s order of October 2 nor had he paid the fine the judge imposed, so it was up to the county district attorney to decide whether to file a petition which would find him in contempt of court.

Meanwhile, last Thursday, Judge Krumenacker indicated that he wanted to visit one of the Amish houses in question on Wednesday afternoon, November 19. Accompanied by church elders, attorneys, and representatives of the county agencies, he planned to inspect the outhouse of the new home.

The Tristan Times reported last week that a Constitutional Review Team would be arriving on St. Helena island on November 12th for a visit that may last about two and a half days. Tristan da Cunha, which has 268 residents, is administered as a dependency of St. Helena, a British Overseas Territory with a population of 4250.

The visit is part of an ongoing effort by the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office to update the constitution of St. Helena and its dependencies. Overviews of the proposed constitution were published by St. Helena Governor Andrew Gurr on April 28, 2008, and by the Tristan Times two months later. It appears from these descriptions as if a number of important provisions will be included in the new constitution. For instance, one of its major components will mandate protecting human rights. These constitutional provisions—a bill of rights—will take precedence over any laws that might be enacted subsequently.

The present constitution, dating from 1988, contains no bill of rights, but part three of the proposed document establishes such provisions as the right to life, personal liberty, conscience, expression, privacy, education, a fair trial, and free assembly. The right to private property will also be specified.

Many of the remaining provisions of the proposed document modify the governance system already in place. The new Constitution will include a governor, appointed by the Queen, who has legislative and executive powers, with requirements for substantial input and consent by elected representatives of the islands.

Part 13 of the document describes the ways the proposed constitution relates to Tristan da Cunha. First of all, it will no longer be described as a “dependency.” The same bill of rights accorded to St. Helena will also apply to Tristan. The Governor of St. Helena will continue to be the Governor of Tristan, as will the Attorney General serve for both islands. A Court of Appeals and a Supreme Court would be shared by the two islands.

For the first time the Governor would be required to consult the Island Council on Tristan before promulgating any local laws. Governor Gurr’s statement of April indicated that input from the Tristan Islanders would be sought and considered in the preparation of the new constitution, though the news story last week did not mention if or when the Constitutional Review Team would consult them.

The village of Likir is nestled in the foothills of the Ladakh Range about 30 miles northwest of Leh, north of the Indus River and the main Leh to Kargil highway. The Lonely Planet guide to India (7th edition) describes the 150 monks in the magnificent Likir monastery as “friendly”—they “offer free tea to visitors and are happy to show you around,” and it refers to one of the two guest houses in the community below as “hospitable.”

A far more detailed view of the village appears in the Winter 2007 issue of Cultural Survival Quarterly. The article describes how one Likir family, particularly the women and children, persist in their traditional social, economic, and cultural practices but adapt to changing social conditions and consumer goods.

Angmo Sutu is the center of the story, just as she is the focus of the family that the author visited during the summer of 2007. Julia Harte, the author, describes how Angmo works ceaselessly to produce food and goods for her family members—her husband Jorgas, who is away much of the summer working as a carpenter in Leh, his brother Sonam, a painter, and an elderly lady referred to as Abi-chomo, “grandmother-nun.” While the traditional polyandry of Ladakh was outlawed many decades ago, the author tactfully indicates that Angmo’s two children, her 12 year old son Tsering and her 9 year old daughter Stanzin, refer to both Jorgas and Sonam as “father.” The children treat them both affectionately and equally.

The 32-year old woman kneads bread or washes dishes while she socializes. She weeds her garden while visiting with her friends, who help with the weeding. She churns milk, makes tea, tends the family cows, irrigates the mustard and wheat fields, pounds and dries cow dung for fuel, and floods the garden with a concoction of almond paste to help rid it of grubs.

Harte, a student at the University of Pennsylvania, writes skillfully. She admires the irrigation system used by the village—the way people channel modest amounts of surface water into their many fields and gardens. She observes how harmoniously the villagers distribute water to each household. “Some mysterious, unspoken agreement determines when each family may direct the water flow to their property,” she writes.

It is not clear how carefully she investigated water sharing arrangements in the village. She does observe that the water sharing system, “like so much of Ladakhi culture … is an ingenious and creative response to the unfriendly environment.” Several paragraphs later, however, she relates how Angmo and a friend suddenly listened to an argument they could faintly hear through a window—two people arguing about water distribution.

The author describes how Angmo handles potentially stressful situations with humor. One day she directed her daughter to go blow her nose, and threatened to marry the child off to an American husband if she didn’t obey. The kid became distraught, hurled some things at her mother, and ran from the room in tears. Angmo rocked with laughter, and chuckled for days afterwards when she recalled the thought of her child marrying an American, and the author’s shocked reaction to the scene.

Descriptions of the Ladakhi education system are not as humorous. Angmo is ashamed at her own lack of education—she does not have the obvious sense of control that she does in other household affairs. She stands helplessly nearby when the children are doing their homework, unable to participate in any way. But Harte learns that, at least in the English lessons, the children are only memorizing materials, and have very little grasp of what they are learning.

The Ladakhi still appear to minimize gender roles, much as the earlier anthropological literature suggested. Tsering, the boy in the family, will accompany female singers on the radio with a high-pitched, female-imitation voice, without worrying that others might question his developing masculinity. At another house, the author noticed an 11 year old boy imitating his sister by applying polish to his toe nails. Women will casually sit together with their arms around one another, as will men.

Perhaps the most interesting portion of the article, the concluding pages, describes the changes that are occurring in Likir. Angmo had a splitting headache one day, so she headed to the village clinic to get some modern medicine, rather than to the amchi, the traditional village healer. Harte observes that people still visit the amchis for ailments such as indigestion and rheumatism, but they tend to go to the clinic for surgery or medical needs that require immediate attention. Besides, the clinic is free and the amchi costs money.

Many Ladakhis view changes through the perspective of money, and their own lack of it. Earning money is difficult in Ladakh. One woman the author visits would like to have enough so she could leave Ladakh, particularly during the winter. Stanzin, Angmo’s daughter, confides that she would like to become a teacher in the nearby town of Saspul, but she also does not want to leave Ladakh.

Before the author left the Sutu family, she observed the introduction of a television set into the home. Angmo, along with the rest of the family, sat glued to the set, even though the programming available to them was not in Ladakhi. They seemed fascinated by the Hindi movies. Angmo sat completely idle, for once, and the children began imitating some of the behavior patterns they were seeing on the screen.

But when night came, the Sutu family returned to their radio and began singing the traditional Ladakhi folksongs along with it. The author concludes that Westernization may suck in the Ladakhi to some extent, but outside technologies are not necessarily destructive.

Harte, Julia. 2007. “Likir, Ladakh.” Cultural Survival Quarterly 31(4), Winter: 24-33

A slight, unpretentious, 30-year old Yanadi woman gave a very effective speech at a political convention near Hyderabad last week and made an enormous impression. She will probably be nominated to be a candidate in upcoming state elections from the new political party that organized the meeting.

Tupakula Munemma, a wage laborer from the village of Pambali, in the Nellore District of Andhra Pradesh, impressed a convention focusing on the empowerment of women, which was organized by the superstar Telugu actor from the state, Chiranjeevi. He has recently become a politician, organized the Praja Rajyam Party in the state, and has plans to challenge the other established parties.

A mother of four and an ardent campaigner against alcohol, Munemma admits she forced her husband to stop drinking. Her words apparently electrified the crowd. “Some people here are talking about women’s empowerment but this can’t be achieved by men clad in safari suits and women wearing jewels. Chiranjeevi … wants to become the chief minister [of the state] but this is not enough. We have to go to every village, create awareness and tell people that we will solve their problems,” Munemma told the audience.

The actor was so impressed by her speech that he praised her boldness to the crowd and said he wanted her to be a delegate to the state assembly. “We need real life leaders in politics, too. Everyone should take inspiration from her courage and self confidence,” he said.

A question was raised as to where the new party had been born, but Munemma challenged the facile reply, “among the people.” She asserted, instead, that the party had been founded in Hyderabad. “The party is not born among people. We have to take it to people. … It is yet to reach the villages where the majority live,” she said.

She urged women to preserve their self respect by rejecting the free gifts that politicians give out to curry favor. “It is not the Chief Minister who should be held responsible for the failure of the State Government but the local leader who prompted people to vote.”

She praised the founder and the party, but focused her comments on self help. “Chiranjeevi will not ask everyone to vote for the party. We have to do the job,” she said. She has traveled widely in her district, even though her husband and children object to her efforts and ridicule her. But she refuses to look back, and urges other women to join her in her grassroots campaign. “Those coming in cars cannot get votes,” she said. Women activists should visit every village and convince people they should vote for Chiranjeevi.

The actor/politician told the convention that the Praja Rajyam Party will emphasize the importance of increasing the numbers of women representatives in the state legislature.

While Hutterites normally maintain harmony within their colonies, the powerful odors from their large, hog-raising operations can challenge relationships with their rural neighbors. One Hutterite colony in southwest Alberta appears to be trying to do something about the hog-barn stench that sometimes wafts over a nearby town.

The Pincher Creek Echo last week carried a story about the Pincher Creek Hutterite Colony’s struggles to reduce the odors from their hogs, which are carrying into the nearby town. Mike Gross, Colony Manager, told the paper, “if only you could produce bacon without the smell, that would be fantastic.”

But Gross has confronted the problem with deeds as well as words. The colony brought in orange peels from Nevada, spent $70,000 in ground up yucca from California, and put added layers of straw to cover manure in the barns in order to hide the smells. Nothing has worked. One potential solution under development, according to Mr. Gross, is a food additive for hog feed which may help reduce odors from the pig excrement.

Meanwhile, the town of Pincher Creek and the colony, which are only a few kilometers apart, are working together to seek solutions. The problem is particularly acute during the summer months, when the wind sometimes blows from the colony toward the town.

On Monday evening last week the town mayor and two of his councilors met with colony representatives to explore other options for minimizing the problem. “The Hutterites have followed all the regulations and requirements. We’re trying to solve something that goes beyond that,” one of the councilors said.

It appears from the article as if the good colony/town relations, emphasized during an interview at the colony in the summer of 2006, continue to thrive. Everyone is trying to find a solution that will solve the current concern.

Survival International reported last week that De Beers has capitulated to their pressure and has announced that it will not do any more diamond exploring in the Central Kalahari Game Reserve (CKGR). SI believes that this decision is a “huge victory for the Bushmen [the San].” The renewed commitment to exploring for diamonds, and the decision by SI to mount a new campaign against the company, had only been announced a few weeks ago.

On Thursday the company denied that its decision had anything to do with the SI pressure to stop operations. It claimed, instead, that it had consulted with San communities inside the reserve, near the areas where they intended to prospect for diamonds, and had simply listened to the objections of the indigenous residents.

According to Lynette Gould, a De Beers’ spokesperson, “while De Beers respects the right of organizations like Survival to make their views known, it is the views of local communities and the organizations that they invite assistance from that we take into account.” She emphasized that the De Beers decision was based on the comments of the San people themselves.

The G/wi and G//ana peoples, two San societies that have lived in the CKGR for millennia, were exiled from their homes due to explorations for diamonds. The government of Botswana claimed that forcing the San people to resettle into camps outside the reserve was done entirely for their benefit, but the nation’s highest court two years ago decided against the government, in favor of the G/wi and G//ana people. The court ordered the government to allow the San to return to their homes.

So far, however, the government has not permitted the people who have returned to the CKGR to hunt or to drink water from their wells. SI renewed its campaign against De Beers because the company cooperates with the government by prospecting for diamonds while the indigenous people are still prevented from living decently in their homes. Does the current announcement suggest that De Beers will help promote better treatment for the San?

The Cairo press has once again featured the Nubian desire to live near the Nile River in Upper Egypt. An article last week in the Daily News Egypt indicates that some Nubians, exiled nearly half a century ago from their homes before the construction of the Aswan High Dam, are still eager to resume farming along the dammed Nile River in southern Egypt. They hope the land they resettle on will be good enough for them to have adequate homes and farming possibilities.

Much of the article consists of an interview with Mousad (or Musaad) Herki, director of the Nubian Club in Cairo. Herki organized a successful conference in March this year that won commitments from officials to allow some Nubians to move into communities being developed on the rim of Lake Nasser, the reservoir formed by the Aswan Dam. There, many of the unemployed Nubians hope to farm once again. Herki told the paper that currently 5,000 homes are under construction in the planned villages on a 10,000 acre site. The cost of the project is 200 million Egyptian pounds (US$35.7 million).

The news report emphasized that the Nubians are quite familiar with government promises over the decades of adequate housing and farm lands near the Nile. Neither has happened yet, and the people have a skeptical attitude. “Many Nubians are now waiting in disbelief for their repatriation, thinking that none of these projects will ever see daylight,” Herki said. Their decades-old skepticism is due to the arbitrary ways government bodies have handled their complaints in the past.

Herki reviewed Nubian complaints with the paper. The land that was provided for them at Nasr El Nuba, north of Aswan, when they were forced to move in the late 1950s, was totally inadequate as a construction site. A few years after the villagers settled in and attempted to begin new lives, their homes began to develop serious cracks and started to sink into the soil.

Herki is more optimistic about the development under construction. He says that the agencies and the developers have a “sincere will … to make a fresh start in the new villages around Lake Nasser.” Other economic activities will complement the farming planned for the new communities, he indicated. The construction of a road south to Sudan plus the establishment of a customs post should provide employment to the area.

Throughout October, Canadians have been responding to the freedom of religious expression issues raised by the Wilson Colony of Hutterites in southern Alberta. The Wilson Colony believes that a 2003 change in provincial law, which requires all driver’s licenses to include valid photos, violates their understanding of the Second Commandment forbidding graven images.

Since their communal way of life requires them to have at least some licensed drivers in their midst, the law forces them to choose between accepting the Second Commandment and living as the first Christians did according to the book of Acts. The provincial law therefore violates the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, they argue.

The Hutterites took the province to court and in May 2006 the Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench in Lethbridge found in favor of the colony. The next year, May 2007, the colony won against the provincial government in the Alberta Court of Appeal. The Province decided to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada, which accepted the case because it raises important constitutional questions. On October 7, 2008, lawyers for the two sides, plus attorneys for supporting groups, finally had the opportunity to present their arguments to the Supreme Court. A variety of Canadian sources have commented about the case during the past month.

On October 1, Bruce J. Clemenger wrote a piece for a Canadian Christian news service, which presented the arguments of a couple religious freedom advocacy groups that support the Hutterites. The Evangelical Fellowship of Canada and the Christian Legal Fellowship, he asserted, would argue that the Hutterite refusal to allow their photos to be taken poses absolutely no harm to the broader community. Four other Canadian provinces permit religious exemptions from photo drivers licenses, as did Alberta until the province changed its law in 2003.

Mr. Clememger pointed out that having a valid license to drive was essential to the colony. As rural residents, public means of transportation are not available. They live in a communal fashion, as they believe Acts 2, verses 42 to 47, indicates they should, and the only practical way they can do that is by large-scale farming. A few of their members therefore must have driver’s licenses for medical emergencies and in order for them to take their produce to markets. Without the right to drive, the colony would no longer be able to exist, which would eliminate their ability to practice their religious beliefs. Furthermore, the Hutterites do not practice any criminal activity, such as polygamy, nor do they acknowledge any alternative legal systems.

On October 6, The Lawyer’s Weekly also featured the Wilson Colony case. As the magazine pointed out, Alberta does admit that its law violates the religious freedoms of the Hutterite colony. But it argues that the law is justified under section 1 of the Charter since “mandatory driver photographs on licenses help prevent fraud, identity theft and terrorism.”

The article presents the reasoning of the Attorney General of Quebec, an intervener on the side of the Attorney General of Alberta. “A driver’s license is now an important identity document,” according to that lawyer. That objective, of being able to correctly identify every citizen through a photo ID, is so important in the struggle against terrorism that it outweighs the religious scruples of a communal Christian group.

The Globe and Mail, reviewing the case on October 7, reported that the federal government has also intervened on behalf of the province. The government warned that “the consequences could be grave” if the court would decide in favor of the Wilson Colony—nothing would prevent many other fringe groups from seeking exemptions from the photo ID requirement. Making freedom of religion an absolute right could jeopardize the security of essential documents such as citizenship certificates and passports.

However, the Canadian Civil Liberties Association supports the Hutterite cause, according to the paper. “Tearing apart the fabric of a religious community and ending their communal way of life exacts too high a price for the benefit of including 252 Hutterites in Alberta’s data base,” that group argues.

The CCLA maintains that the real issue is facial recognition technology, which might allow the province to better prevent identity theft and terrorism. Without public discussion, the province is imposing an identity card regime—the law has nothing to do with public safety. The public should have a chance to further discuss these real, controversial privacy concerns, the group says.

The Hutterites themselves argue in their brief that the province is trying to foster “a move towards a controlled style of government reminiscent of planned economies where unelected officials pull the levers of political power.” Their brief says that “the appellant refers to the terrible events of Sept. 11, 2001, but fails to provide any explanation—let alone cogent evidence—of how having a photo driver’s licence would have prevented the hijacking and crashing of airplanes by terrorists.”

The Toronto Star quoted Samuel Wurz from the Wilson Colony itself in its coverage of the story on October 7. He argues that the province is forcing the Wilson Colony to choose between the Second Commandment and their communal way of life—both essential commands from the Bible, in their belief. When the Hutterites came to Canada in 1918, he said, “the government promised … we could live our religious life the way we feel is necessary.”

On October 18, Greg Senda, lawyer for the Wilson Colony, told the Lethbridge Herald that the issue represents a very significant constitutional case. He wouldn’t comment on the facts or merits of the case, but he did indicate that having the opportunity to present such important issues to the nation’s highest court was really exciting for him. The Supreme Court is expected to render its judgment within four to six months.

An ANI reporter visited a Birhor village last week and talked with some of the people to get their perspectives on the tragedy of a few weeks earlier when eight people died suddenly. The reporter was surprised that, in this day and age, people actually went out and foraged “by eating roots and leaves from the forest.”

She wrote, “they lead a primitive lifestyle here,” and added that sometimes they even eat poisonous leaves and roots. She mentioned that recently over two dozen people died from eating leaves and roots (eight deaths were reported in all the earlier news stories), and she concluded that their habit of foraging in the forests might lead to their extinction.

Her interviews with the Birhor, who mainly discussed their poverty, were more worthwhile. One man she talked with, named Tusu Jhagi, told her, “we have always undergone lot[s] of problems. Life has always been tough and unfair to us. Previously, we used to have problems with the banks of rivers when the flood waters used to enter our villages. Now that problem doesn’t persist any more, but our tough time [continues].”

Suva Uthalu, another Birhor, said “we even don’t have basic facilities of food, shelter and clothes, and because of lack of any mode to commute .. often we can’t take our dying people to [a] hospital. It is very tough to live here.”

One Birhor man told her that they got no help from government agencies, except occasionally food and clothing donations. They survive by managing things on their own, he said. The villagers emphasized their fear of the Naxalites, the Maoist guerrillas who terrorize rural people in the eastern states of India. The reporter quotes a local official who describes how the government plans to help protect the Birhor.

Over the next week or two, villages throughout rural Thailand will be holding kathina ceremonies—events that reinforce commitments to such Buddhist values as generosity, selflessness, and charity. The highlight of the kathina ceremony, which lasts from one to three days, is the presentation of gifts and new robes to the Buddhist monks in local temples and monasteries.

The kathina is a ceremony in the Theravada Buddhist countries of Southeast Asia that ends the three month period known as the vassa, “the rains retreat,” extending from mid July to mid October. The ceremony takes place at different times in different Buddhist communities since traditions and cultures vary, but always in the month following the full moon of October.

The kathina ceremony is an important opportunity for villagers to gain merit, according to Swearer (1); it typically includes nearly everyone in the village. While the villagers prepare foods and material gifts for the monks, a principal donor, a wealthy person from a larger community, may provide the bulk of the support. The reason wealthy donors sponsor kathinas in the villages is that they often believe that rural monasteries may follow monastic ideals more closely than urban ones do.

Ven. Chuen Phangcham (2), whose essay on the kathina ceremony was reprinted last week in Sri Lanka, writes that kathina ceremonies provide very popular occasions for merit-making today in Thailand. A typical kathina celebration might include a procession featuring musical groups with traditional instruments such as horns, drums, and cymbals. Alternatively, school bands might play Western music. In some cases, dancers are part of the procession and marchers may process in traditional costumes. Traditions vary.

The procession typically files through a village and enters the main hall of the monastery bearing such gifts as money and a “wishing tree,” as well as the new robes for the monks. The wishing tree, which often takes the shape of a palace, symbolizes the hope of the villagers that the merit they acquire from their gift-giving will enable them to live in a better station in a future life. Other gifts might include material goods for the monks such as cigarettes, canned foods, towels, and soap.

The ceremony begins with the lay people taking refuge in the Buddha, in the dhamma (the teaching), and in the sangha (the community of monks). The congregation may repeat, in the Pali language after the monks, the five principal precepts of Buddhist living: to not kill, steal, lie, engage in forbidden sexual acts, or drink alcoholic beverages.

During a kathina ceremony in rural Thailand, the lay leader of the people ritually presents the gifts to the monastic community, and they are received by the abbot on behalf of the monastery. The lay leader then offers the robes symbolically to a large image of the Buddha before presenting them to the monks. Everyone concludes the ceremony by chanting a blessing.

North American Theravada Buddhist monasteries and centers celebrate kathina much as the villages of Thailand do, as the schedules of activities at their websites suggest. The Tathgata Meditation Center in San Jose, which held its kathina ceremony on October 19, the Wat Pasantidhamma in Southeast Tidewater Virginia, with its kathina to be on October 26, and the Thai Society of Ontario’s Yanviriya Buddhist Temple, holding a kathina celebration on November 9, all have similar programs that differ only in details.

The point of the ceremony is for the monks and the laity to make reciprocal gifts. The lay people make their offerings, the monks, in return, give their blessings. Swearer (1) describes the gift giving in terms of a merit-making calculation, in which “the participants hope for a reward in a future life brought about by the power of this good act (p.24).”

He argues that the monasteries have a symbolic role as mediators of the power of the Buddha to confer supernatural attainments and supreme enlightenment. During the three-month period of the rains retreat the monks have followed a restrictive regime in their monasteries, so they are believed to have greater potency than normal. The kathina ceremony provides a way for the laity to gain access to that power so it can foster a special degree of merit for them as well.

Potential benefits from the kathina ceremony, in addition to gaining merit, according to Ven. Chuen Phangcham (2), would be: “Buddhist followers support and help the monks to maintain the Buddhist teachings and tradition for world peace;” “The donors cultivate generosity, perform charity, and exhibit selflessness;” “The donors follow the noble way of life and maintain a humane society on this planet. They are the source of peace and happiness for the world.”

Similarly, Aggacitta Bhikkhu (3) suggests that the kathina ceremony should not be viewed solely as an annual opportunity to gain personal merit. It is more than that. It should foster what he calls “wholesome practices (p.87).” The ceremony should provide an opportunity to remain truthful, to provide service, and to express wisdom in innovative ways.

How much, in fact, does the merit-making really inspire peacefulness among the Rural Thai? Sharp and Hanks (4) argue that the construction of a temple in the village of Bang Chan, which was the result of some merit seeking by a trader, had a positive effect on the villagers. The trader, a man named Sin, decided half a century ago to built a temple in Bang Chan so that the people would not have to travel a few hours by boat to visit a temple in another village.

Sharp and Hanks maintain that, in addition to the benefits of the merit the donor would accrue, “the presence of a temple would benefit the nearby residents, and more young men from Bang Chan could begin their adult lives instructed in the consequences of evil. Within each hamlet disputes and crime would consequently dwindle (p.94).”

(1) Swearer, Donald K. 1995. The Buddhist World of Southeast Asia. Albany: State University of New York Press

(2) Ven. Chuen Phangcham. 2006. Kathina Ceremony and its Meaning

(3) Aggacitta Bhikkhu. 2001. Kathina Then and Now. Taiping, Perak, Malaysia: Sasanarakkha Buddhist Sanctuary

(4) Sharp, Lauriston and Lucien M. Hanks. 1978. Bang Chan: A Social History of a Rural Community in Thailand. Ithaca: Cornell University Press

Peaceful Societies

Peaceful Societies

Inadequate Amish Privies

Proposed Constitution for Tristan da Cunha

Traditions and Changes in a Small Ladakhi Village [magazine article review]

Yanadi Woman Mesmerizes a Political Convention

Hutterite Hog Barn Smells

G/wi Convince De Beers to Shut Down Diamond Explorations

Nubian Villages under Construction

Hutterite Case Goes to Canada’s Supreme Court

Birhor Roots and Leaves

Kathina Ceremony of Rural Thailand

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