moving forward or cultural genocide?
I am not an anthropologist nor do I claim to be someone who understands these thi
Akha woman in her traditional hat. ngs, but my trip through one of my students' village Saturday made me sad. Sad in a way I cannot seem to understand...but throughout the two or three villages that we stopped by that day, I saw two or three Akha women dressed only in half of their traditional costume while everyone else was wearing clothings like the mainland Thais. Some of them have been converted to Christianity and so have abandoned some of their culture all together. The kids at the youth hostel do not seem to remember much of their traditions. An example that was shared with me was the dying of the egg during New Year. Some of the kids were told by their parents that it signifies Jesus Christ and Easter while others have no clue what it was about.
As I've gotten older, the need to connect with my roots and heritage becomes stronger. I want to understand my parents' language, their food, their culture, their costumes and dress. It makes me sad when I see that children from multicultural backgrounds not seeming to care and that their parents are not teaching them about their lives that they've experienced in their homeland. Homogenous is never good. What can we do to preserve the cultures of these minority groups and yet still be able to help them move forward economically and socially?
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Culture is like water. One may bottle it, freeze it, evapourate it, colour it, dirty it, mix it ... but never destroy it. It changes continuously blending the ancient with the modern, the opaque with the transparent. Just take the Aborigines of Australia and the indigeneous people of the Americas as extreme examples. They had been subjugated to the cruelest of genocides - both culturally, economically & physically to this very day - and yet the survive and even flourish anew when the opportunities changes to their benefit.
The young will come around once they tasted the dark and downside of conformity. Liken to the Irish monks of old in keeping the best of antiquity during the dark ages, it's up to the old & interested to preserve their wisdom and knowledge until that day.
BTW, I find your blog rather fascinating. I ought to thank Samantha for that.