The Khmer educating orally. Twice.

The Khmer educating orally. Twice. 

The Khmer is a group of people most associated with an empire spanning the centuries between 800ad and 1400 ad (for more general historical information on the Angkor civilization click here and here, especially ch 8), and with an awful genocide that took place 1975-1979 (a good TIME article on the Khmer Rouge, and a paper on Pol Pot). There is a connection between these two besides that they involved the same group of people: in each the majority of the people were kept illiterate by the governing institution and virtually all knowledge was transmitted orally.

Lacrosse.

As most of you know, I grew up in New York State. One of the more popular sports there originated from the Native American Iroquois tribe. This sport is Lacrosse.

There is no written documentation of when Lacrosse first originated, but oral accounts from Iroquois tribe members claim that it developed as early as the 5th century in the North East of the United States. It was originally called Baggataway.

Early games of lacrosse had as many as 500 to 1,000 men on a team. The field ranged from 500 yards to a couple of miles (depending on where they played). It typically began at sunrise and ended at sundown, but continued for two to three days. It involved men transporting a cloth ball (by using netted sticks) into one of two goal posts at the ends of the field.

Early game of lacrosse.

Lacrosse, at that time, was considered a religious tradition and even part of a military training. It was a ceremonial ritual in which Iroquois men gave thanks to the Creator. It required deep Spiritual involvement and strategical focus. As part of military training, it gave the men an objective and required them to work as a team. Many times it would also settle disputes among the tribe, or between other tribes, with the winning side's favor.

The first documented lacrosse game was recorded by a French missionary, Jean de Brébeuf, in 1636. (Historical Timeline) He coined the term "Lacrosse," which actually came from "la crosse" meaning "the stick" in French. Since that time, the sport has evolved to having twelve players per team, a 110 yard field and a shorter playing period. Written rules and regulations have been made and focus is more on competition and skill, rather than religious reasons. However, with the new rules and regulations, it is still taught and played throughout the Iroquois tribe today.

A Peaceful People

The Three Hopi Mesas in the Distance

 In this week's post, I've decided to leave the Aztecs for a bit and move a little bit north.  From Mexico to Arizona and New Mexico with the Hopi Indians.

I wanted to learn some more about ethics and moral beliefs in other cultures so I talked to my sister and her husband who have had a longstanding fascination with American Indians.  They are especially interested in the Hopi Indian tribe, who are one of the oldest peoples in America.  Because of time, my sister could only tell me briefly about a trip that she and her husband made not too long ago to visit the Hopi people and talk with some of their leaders.

The house always wins.

Jewish Talmud: To Write or Not to Write? What a Complicated Question!!

The majority of people even slightly rehearsed in Global religions know what the Torah is.  In a general sense it is the Bible of the Jews, containing the books of Moses and the majority of the same books as our King James Version of the Old Testament, just under different headings. 

However, have you ever heard of the Talmud?  This book is another form of Hebrew scripture that originates between 200-100 B.C.  and pertains to folk knowledge because before it was written down and codified, the Talmud was a collection of knowledge that was passed down orally.  The origins of the Talmud are seated in the Jewish belief that along with the written law that the Lord gave Moses on Mount Sinai, He also gave Moses a set of Oral Laws.  This Oral Law was handed down since that time, and added to by the great Jewish thinkers, priests, and rabbis as the centuries progressed and they gained more knowledge about the Written Law and interpreted it more and more. 

I just wanted to thank you all for a great discussion in our interview today. I liked hearing what you thought we had learned and was impressed with your insights. I'm excited to have a new unit and forge on with you into an interesting new phase of our own discussion.
May there be deep thoughts, much laughter, and few glitches

Week Without Wind

When we were given the assignment to teach a skill I was way excited.  I went and borrowed my sister's trainer kiteboarding kite in order to teach a friend how to fly it. 

Well after a week of waiting for the wind that never came, I ended up teaching a friend how to crochet on an intensely exciting sunday afternoon.

Magic! (and its place in Ancient Egyptian culture)

King Tut's burial mask

Harry Potter can do magic, why not you? If you were living in Ancient Egypt you were believed to be able to do magic, especially if you were a priest. Magic was a very real force to Ancient Egyptians. Today magic is by and large dismissed as a farce and sometimes even sacrilegious, but to the Ancient Egyptians it was a part of everyday life and was very important. Religion and magic were intertwined to the Egyptians. Magic permeated the very culture of Ancient Egypt and was used in many areas of life such as healing, preserving the dead, protection, dream interpretation, religious ceremonies and even controlling/influencing the gods.