This means that I have not written a blog post in quite a while now. HOWEVER, who would have thought that the past couple blogs I've missed happen to connect to each other beautifully in one magnificent mega-post?
Well, I definitely didn't, and frankly, I am extremely thankful that they do.
So, here it goes.
There was a passage in the Storyteller that really stood out to me:
"Going back in time from trousers and a tie to a loincloth and tattoos, from Spanish to the agglutinative crackling of Machiguenga, from reason to magic and from a monotheistic religion or Western agnosticism to pagan animism, is a feat hard to swallow, though still possible, with a certain effort of imagination." (244)I m a g i n a t i o n
Llosa artfully sums up the root problem of today's lack of culture. We need to engage our imaginations.
If we take a look at initiation rights, (I was assigned the Aboriginal "walkabout") we can see that it takes quite a bit of imagination to follow through with the outlandish and sometimes painful rituals. Although the cultures in which they take place are nestled in present-day society, they still have found a way to stay true to their heritage. Like Llosa says, it is a "feat hard to swallow". What these groups of people do to remain loyal to their ancient ties to history is no easy task, and it requires them to go against the grain. Sometimes, however, outsiders continue to push "progress" on their authenticity until it is no longer existent.
Diversity is losing its place in a world of assimilation.
While many might argue that it is a good thing that only a select few continue to participate in body-scarring, horrific circumcisions, and even extreme wilderness excursions, could there be something we are missing? I mean, the people who take part in these initiation rights are human too--they can feel pain. So, why do they keep doing it?
I would say that we have developed a lack of the imaginative spirit that powers ritual-practicing peoples. This imagination not only inspires them to keep tradition alive, but it also exposes them to a new level of dedication-- a concept that could really benefit our society of wishy-washy individuals. In the case of the Aboriginals, their walkabouts were spiritual journeys based on the very stories of their spiritual leaders and ancestors. How else is one compelled to take that journey without a little imagination?
If we can learn anything from these people of "loincloth and tattoos", it would be that to fully connect to ones rich history and culture, one must simply imagine the stories of his past into existence.
