..:recycled minds:..

Views from the ANThill: Living with the Spirits - Ghost Stories of Southern Belize

noreply@blogger.com (lana) — Wed, 23 May 2012 13:24:00 +0000

A lone fisherman in a dugout canoe paddles offshore in southern Belize. The waters are calm, so the spirits of the sea are as well. But if the winds kick up, beware! Photo courtesy of douglas reeser.

“Oh, there’s lat’a ghost down deh.”

“A lot of what?” I asked, wanting to be sure I understood the statement in Kriol.

“Ghosts – I ‘fraid fo go down deh.”

Thus went my conversation with Dhir, a young East Indian boy I had met earlier that evening. I had traveled over six hours that day, for a meeting in a town in the north-central part of Belize. My meeting ended in the late afternoon, and I hadn’t been to this town in about five years, so I decided to stay the night. I found a room in an old wooden converted house still run by the original family. After freshening up, I decided to take a walk around town, take some pictures and find something to eat. During my walk, a young boy approached with the ubiquitous bucket.

“Do you want to buy sir?” he asked, talking with me first in English.

I love Belizean bucket food – breads, cakes and snacks sold out of a bucket, usually by children – and it almost always directly supports a local family, so I asked what he was selling.

“Fudge sir. It’s the best fudge in Belize! You won’t get anything like it anywhere else. My mother made it sir. Do you like fudge?”

I bargained a little bit, and bought a few pieces that I ended up bringing home to give some children in my neighborhood. Town was pretty quiet, so I dropped some things off in my room and ventured back out to find some dinner. I ended up at the only restaurant that had some customers, and sat out by the sidewalk so that I could people-watch. After a little while, Dhir came walking by.

With a big smile on his face he asked, “You want to buy some fudge sir?”

“It’s slow out there tonight. Are there usually more people around?” I asked.

“Yeah. It’s slow. I don’t know why. Maybe it’s the heat. Just need to sell this fudge in the next 15 minutes so I can take the last bus to get home.”

It turns out that Dhir wasn’t too concerned with making that last bus, and maybe he was just hoping that I would buy up the rest of his fudge. Either way, I said he could sit down with me, and after I explained that I was living down in the southern part of the country, he brought up the ghosts. His family of mixed descent – his mother was Maya, his father East Indian – had told him of the spirits that are alive in the South. This is a common perception of the region held by Belizeans from other parts of the country. In fact, the spirits in the south are quite active.

My research on health and healing in southern Belize has revealed a world that remains hidden to the casual observer or visitor. There persist various beliefs across ethnic groups about the spiritual origin of illnesses. Q’eqchi’ Maya healers seek to appease certain spirits when they work with patients. Garifuna healers go into trance to communicate with ancestor spirits who give advice on how to properly treat patients. More importantly, people from across ethnic groups maintain that spiritual forces are active around us and can be influential in our health and well-being.

These beliefs are part of what shapes how people view the south of the country. For instance, officials from within the State health system believe that it is the belief in spirits that keep many rural and indigenous people from using the State-provided health services. They hold that certain beliefs about the spiritual aspect of health and illness are barriers to the uptake of what is in turn believed to be more effective biomedical care. However, this spiritual side of health and illness is not always a factor in health care seeking behavior, as sometimes an illness simply has a physical cause, which can be dealt with through the pharmacy or doctor. But in some cases for particular ailments, the spirits must be consulted so that they may aid in the healing process.

But the belief in spirits is not limited to the realm of health and illness. Spirits are said to populate the sea, and when it is very windy, I have been warned to be careful, as I could be taken by the spirits on the wind. I have also gone hiking to caves with some Maya friends, where our conversation has turned to the spirit that resides within jade. While resting at the mouth of the caves, my friends began talking about jade artifacts. Jade has a spirit of its own they explained, and sometimes it will reveal itself to someone. However, when someone finds a jade artifact who is not the proper person, the jade can cause trouble for that person. It can also vanish on its own volition, and stories abound about jade artifacts found and brought home, only to disappear and return to their original resting place. The artifact can then be found in that same place at a later time. People may know of these places, but when a piece of jade “acts” like that, they advise that piece be left alone.

There are many Belizean folktales that involve ghosts and the spirit world, many that date to the early 18th century. Ritamae Hyde (“Stoan Baas People’: an Ethnohistorical Study of the Gales Point Manatee Community of Belize,” Belizean Studies 2011) documents a few stories with ghosts or spirits that were told to her during her research in Gales Point Manatee, a village south of Belize City. In particular, she notes a story common throughout Belize and elsewhere in the Caribbean about a character called Ole Heg: “an old woman who possesses the power to transform herself into an Ole Heg, who, like a vampire sucks the blood of her victims.” This creature reportedly searches out children, especially young boys, adding a touch of heightened fear among the story’s youth listeners.

The ghosts and spirits have been friendly to me during my time here in the south of Belize. My research has steadily progressed, I have made some good friends, and I have not been sick for the entire year that I’ve been here. Perhaps this is because I have been friendly and open to people, while eating a healthy diet and continuing to exercise. Or perhaps the copal that I occasionally burn is enough to appease the spirits and leave me be. I told Dhir the same, and encouraged him to come to the south to visit his brother who is there as a part of his duty in the Belize Defense Force. However, I’m pretty sure his fear of Ole Heg will keep him away until he’s a little older.

This article also appeared in the May 2012 Anthropology News.

Consumption Junction: Nothing but money is sweeter than honey

noreply@blogger.com (lana) — Sat, 19 May 2012 00:11:00 +0000


A bee pollinating a flower

One of the four basic types of narrative conflicts is man versus himself (the others being man versus society, nature, or man). This type of conflict usually involves some type of internal struggle, where readers follow the character's journey of self-realization, sometimes arriving at a realization of their own. As the tragedy of the honey bee continues to unfold on the international stage, we have a story that takes this conflict to a new level.

It seems the industrial-agricultural complex has led us into an epic man versus himself battle. The colony collapse disorder that has caused mass die-offs of honey bees has been pinned most recently on neonicotinoid insecticides, which are often used to coat corn seeds. (Somewhat surprisingly, this finding jumped from the usual confines of natural news sites to the mainstream press last month.) Monsanto, one of the leading culprits in the bee die off, has recently acquired a leading bee research firm, Beeologics, dedicated to "restoring bee health and protecting the future of insect pollination." While some optimists could take this as a gesture of goodwill, many others see it as a way for Monsanto to control the output of information about bee health. To put a sliver of a silver lining on this toxic cloud, Poland, finding a correlation between Monsanto's genetically modified corn and bee die-offs, has taken steps to ban the seed baron.

Now, let's take our story back about 2.5 million years ago, when humanoids' brains got bigger. Attributing this growth to diet -- mainly meat and tubers -- has been a mainstay of evolutionary theories, but recently, a new possible factor was introduced: the consumption of honey. Through her field work with the Hazda people of east Africa, anthropologist Alyssa Crittenden has proposed that nutrient-dense honey may have contributed to feeding our brains all those years ago. In a fascinating example of people working in harmony with nature, Crittenden details how the Hazda people follow the trail of honeyguide birds to bee hives, communicating back and forth to each other along the way. Learning about the importance of honey to the Hazda people led to her thinking about honey in evolution. With no fossil evidence, she points out, honey's place in the humanoid's diet may have been overlooked.

If Crittenden's theory is correct, one could argue that our current relationship to the honey bee has reached an all-time low, and our metaphorical internal struggle has reached new heights. To put it simply, while ignoring the implications of the bee die-offs to our food supply, we are helping to destroy agents of our own evolution.

Li Hulak sa' Tzolleb'aal

noreply@blogger.com (dooglas carl) — Sat, 12 May 2012 15:11:00 +0000

Li Hulak sa' Tzolleb'aal

Q'eqchi' language instructor, Thomas C'aal, assisting students during
class at the Punta Gorda, Belize Library.
Photo courtesy of douglas reeser.

Naq nink'ulun sa' tzolleb'aal
Nink'e xsahil xch'ool intzolonel,
Chi sa'li loq'laj waatinob'aal
Nintikib' xb'aanunkil ink'anjel

Jwal sa li tzolok sa' komonil,
Chi jo'kan jwal nakana chi qu.
Naqatzol li wank sa' tuulanil,
Xb'aan naq ha'an nake'xk'ut chi qu.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Arriving at school
When I arrive at school
I greet my teacher,
In my blessed language
I begin to do my work.

It feels so good to learn together,
In that way we learn.
We learn to live together peacefully and in harmony,
because that is what they teach us.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Above is a Q'eqchi' poem for school students given in class during the Punta Gorda Library Q'eqchi' Language Session in southern Belize. This poem was taught in our second class which was attended by more than 15 people from a variety of local and foreign backgrounds. After two classes we have learned the Q'eqchi' alphabet, the numbers 1-20, and some basic vocabulary and phrases. Simple poems have proven to be a fun addition to class, and I thought this one was particularly apt given that we are in a language class. You may not get the pronunciation quite right, but take the time to try and recite the poem, and you will get an idea of the difficulty we all face in learning this ancient Maya language.

Leadership and the Tribe

noreply@blogger.com (dooglas carl) — Wed, 09 May 2012 15:11:00 +0000

A tribal tattoo by Nissaco from Chopstick Tattoo.
Photo courtesy of Tao of Tattoos.

Does anyone remember the social network called "tribe"? It was something like the anti-social network, where people who practiced alternative lifestyles gathered online instead of creating profiles on myspace. Facebook wasn't in the picture yet, and at the time, the idea of the tribe appealed to something more primal than mainstream society had to offer, and it had the feel of going against the grain (I decided to check to see if it's still up, and to my surprise, it's still going - tribe.net). The idea of the tribe has fallen a little out of vogue these days, and I wonder if it has something to do with the proliferation of "tribal" style tattoos among more mainstream youth.

Whatever the case, while chatting with a visiting friend from Miami, she brought up a talk about tribes and leadership from TedX (see below) that had made an impression on her. It turns out the talk is by David Logan, and his TedX lecture is about his theory on a human typology - and he claims that all humans fall into one of five different tribes. Having only watched the TedX talk, I feel like I have a limited understanding of his typology (he has also authored a book titled "Tribal Leadership), but I'll attempt to give a short recap:

There are five levels of tribes. Level one is comprised of about 2% of the population and includes violent and criminal people - he mentions "jail culture" as an example. Level two claims about 20% of the population and is comprised of people that hate life and feel sorry for themselves - a step up from level one, but still highly negative. Level three, about 35% of the population is where most people reside - they are "one-up" types, or people who will listen to you and then jump in and explain why they're that much better than you. Level four, another 20% or so, are a bit more positive, and have a type of self awareness that allows them to encourage others to move "up" to the next level. Finally there is level five, again only about 2% of the population, who are people that are leaders in that they can bring people from disparate groups together and let them work together for the benefit of all.

I don't love this typology, but I found the talk fairly interesting. As an anthropologist, I realize that most attempts to put humans into a strict typology have been largely left in the past by scholars - mainly because such generalizations gloss over too many individualities and peculiarities. However, Logan's ideas allow for an understanding of how negativity and positivity can affect our outlook on life and our relationships with others. It allows for self-improvement, and even the improvement of humanity as a whole. And perhaps most important, Logan explains how bringing people together who may not otherwise meet is a unique, effective and highly valuable type of leadership that we can all strive to practice.

Check it out here, and share your thoughts and impressions below >>>

First Friday Picture Show: Be-ing(s) by Michelle

noreply@blogger.com (dooglas carl) — Fri, 04 May 2012 11:00:00 +0000

This month's Picture show is by our old friend Michelle. Michelle is a people photographer living in beautiful Central PA. When she's not documenting life for people, you can find her working in the garden, chasing her small herd of children, or reclaiming trash. You can see more of Michelle's work and contact her at Redheaded Ninja Photography.

~ True Bounty ~

We ran a CSA program for a couple years. What made it unique was that we had no house,running

water, or electricity - we lived in tents. This is my middle child with one of our delivery boxes.

~ Two Eyes Rescued Dog ~

This is a rescue from the organization Dogs Deserve Better. This was taken for American Dog Magazine.

~ Best Friends ~

These gorillas live at the Pittsburgh Zoo.

View the rest of the Picture Show Here:

Implications of the Decline in Seed Varieties

noreply@blogger.com (dooglas carl) — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 15:11:00 +0000

You may have caught this graphic making the rounds on social networks - or maybe it's just the friends we keep that brought it to our attention. What you're looking at is the change over time in the diversity of a selection of food crops available to growers. The upper part of the graphic portrays the surprising number of varieties available for a number of foods: 408 types of tomato seeds, 285 different cucumber varieties, 288 different types of beets, 307 types of sweet corn, and 341 varieties of squash are just some examples. Compare that to what was available 80 years later in 1983: 79 types of tomatoes, 16 types of cucumbers, 17 varieties of beets, 12 kinds of sweet corn and 40 types of squash.

These differences are quite astounding, and it's important to remember that the decline in seed varieties doesn't just mean less of a selection at your local supermarket. Most of the food plants we have today are a direct result of that huge diversity that we created in the past. That diversity allowed humans to expand our settled territory, feed growing populations, and become who we are today. By reducing the diversity of food plants that we grow, we are putting our very own livelihood at great risk. A less diverse food system, such as we have created today, is much more vulnerable to drought, floods, pests, fungi, and anything else that might affect growing crops. As extreme weather events appear to be on the rise around the globe, this could become a serious problem.

Some farmers around the world continue to cultivate a wide variety of food crops. These farmers are often indigenous peoples who carry on traditional forms of agriculture passed down through the generations. If you're a regular reader here, you know that traditional lifeways are threatened all over the globe. Here is yet another reason to support efforts that seek to revitalize and maintain traditions wherever they may be practiced. Maintaining diversity in all of its forms is necessary in a time when the challenges we are facing are just as diverse. The more options we have to turn to in times of stress and distress, the more likely we are to succeed in overcoming those challenges.

For more on this issue, visit the Rural Advancement Foundation International >>>

Open Letter from Colombia's FARC to the Summit of the Americas

noreply@blogger.com (dooglas carl) — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 15:11:00 +0000

The mountains of Colombia are a notorious strong-hold of FARC forces.

Following is a translation (from Spanish) of an open letter from FARC to the Heads of States that are attending the Summit of the Americas in Caracas, Venezueala this month. If you're unfamiliar with the organization, FARC is a revolutionary force in open conflict with the Colombian government. The US National Counterterrorism classifies them as a terrorist organization, and notes their founding in 1964, their Marxist ideals, and their use of violence as a tactic for resistance. Despite the political slant on the situation, this is a voice that is rarely heard on the international stage. After Israel, Colombia is the largest recipient of military aid from the US, which is funding a war on drugs and "terrorism" to the tune of billions of dollars. The war has gone on for decades, and is decidedly messy, with civilians, indigenous groups, and a host of other bystanders caught in the cross-fire. Amnesty International, which has been calling for an end to the US-Colombia collaboration for over a decade because of wide-spread human rights abuses, has more details on the conflict.

Thanks to the St. Louis Interfaith Committee on Latin America which had an intern translate the open letter from the FARC to the Summit on the Americas.

Open Letter from FARC Distinguished Presidents and Heads of States of America:

As those present will undoubtedly recall, in the first CELAC summit held in Caracas, a group of respectable voices expressed to the president their willingness to assist Colombia in finding a political solution to the confrontation our country suffers. The direct response of President Santos was that it was better to do nothing; the resolution of the conflict should be exclusively in the hands of Colombia.

Nevertheless, the government of Colombia acknowledges receiving from the United States more than ten billion dollars for war in the last 12 years, calling for direct intervention, turning over the entire territory for air operations, increasing the number of advisers, North American military and paramilitary personnel, receiving the latest technology and subjecting their counterinsurgency plans to the commands of the Pentagon. Pressure is on its neighbors to jointly combat the guerrillas in Colombia, which is described in the most offensive adjectives.

For the war, yes, it is willing to receive all participation possible. As often reiterated by President Santos, his purpose is to achieve peace, by good or bad (one way or another). Understanding the course of good means only capitulation and surrender. After the last decade of large operations of military extermination, the truth about the impossibility of a military solution to the conflict is seen. In a similar way, the United States concluded that it was best to leave Afghanistan and Iraq. After half a century of bloody fratricidal conflict, the Colombian regime still insists on an uncertain military victory.

The FARC-EP are far from being the monster described by the Colombian oligarchy. We are thousands of women and men who want to realize the dream that was cut short by the death of our liberator Simon Bolivar. We join with the people of our country in the most legitimate political and social aspirations. We will never be separated from these dreams by the vast but regular army patrols, the fleets of bombers and helicopter gunships, the police forces and security forces, paramilitary groups and all kinds of gunmen that lower the hopes of a better life in Colombia.

Our armed uprising answers the domestic situation of state violence. There are more political assassinations of leaders of the unions, indigenous (Afro-Colombians) and peasants, than were committed by any of the disastrous Latin American dictatorships in the past. Despite regular elections and the institutional façade, state crimes and inequality guides the social set up in our country to an explosive situation. Each of the powerful economic groups control a vast media monopoly, and almost 200,000 of the victims of paramilitaries in the last twenty years, certified by the Attorney General’s own nation, are just an anecdote for the old press that continues to slander us. One tenth of the population is in a forced position of displacement. The prisons are full of social activists. Only unconditional support for the U.S. interests in the continent and the world explains the generosity of Washington to the Colombian leadership. In our country, they apply the heavy handed enforcement of multilateral lending agencies, privatize as much as possible, fill themselves with transnational investment privileges, worsen labor conditions and cut social guarantees, destroy the peasant economy, surrender to plunder their rich vast territories, and persecute with a vengeance artisan and craft production. GDP growth favors a small group of investors who are not Colombian.

And they (cook) the conditions for future aggression against people who are unwilling to admit a similar model for things. Peace in Colombia, always involving popular participation in the democratic decisions of the state, is a basic prerequisite for the peaceful future of the other nations on the continent. We have always opposed a peace that amounts to a mere return to the corrupt institutions generated by this uprising. We stress the need for dialogue to be responsible, facing the Colombian people and their active interference, to recreate the conditions to enable democratic coexistence. Half a century of Colombian blood demands it.

In the midst of a global capital crisis, a successful summit of the Americas should deal with much more than economic growth related to market rules. Addressing the respect for sovereignty and independence of their nations, a model of alternative development, and outlawing war as a way of dealing with conflicts. The end of the irrational embargo, as well as the valiant demand of President Correa to integrate free and fully Cuba, we legitimate Argentinian claims over the Falklands and the political solution to the long Colombian conflict are priorities on a continental agenda.

Perhaps it is time to address the infeasibility of the war on drugs. As we stated in open letter to Congress and to the people of the United States in April 2000: “…if what you are looking for is a solution following the scourge of drugs, the world must prepare for the larger discussion about the desirability of the legalization of its use, as happened in the past with other scourges such as alcohol and snuff.” It is in any case a serious social problem that cannot be fixed by military means, that agreements require a national and international commitment and participation to the great powers as main sources of global demand for drugs.

Fraternally,

Central Secretariat StaffRevolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia- People’s Army FARC-EP

Mountains of Colombia, April 2012.

Traditional Maya Beekeeping

noreply@blogger.com (dooglas carl) — Sat, 21 Apr 2012 15:11:00 +0000

Around the globe, bee populations have been mysteriously declining for the last few years. Theories on the cause of the decline include cell phone signals that interfere with bee communications and a variety of chemical pesticides that have had a deleterious effect. Along with the decline in bee populations, it turns out there has been a decline in traditional beekeepers among Maya populations in the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico. In this short film, Dr. Stephen Buchmann of the Drylands Institute in Tucson, AZ and the Pollinator Partnership offers a glimpse of the ancient practice.

From the producer: "Deep in the rainforest of Mexico's Yucatan peninsula, in the shadow of his ancestors' great stone pyramids, one of the last Mayan beekeepers guards an ancient secret. It was passed on to him directly from his fathers in the Mayan language from long before the time of Cortez. He is one of very few modern Maya upholding the beecraft skills of keeping stingless bees. All is unveiled as Emmy award-winning cinematographer Keith Brust (Planet Earth, etc.) takes us deep inside the bees' hidden world and this ages old Mayan tradition for the first time."

Uncontacted Tribes Found in the Colombian Amazon

noreply@blogger.com (dooglas carl) — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 15:11:00 +0000

An indigenous round-house deep in the Colombian Amazon.
Photo by Cristóbal von Rothkirch, courtesy of Colombian National
Parks Unit and Amazon Conservation Team.

Recycled Minds has covered a number of "uncontacted tribe" stories over the years, so thought we would share the latest coming out of Colombia. So far, this story about what may be three different indigenous groups is a bit unique from the past stories we've covered. The previous stories came with some controversy, something to this point lacking in the Colombian story. In 2008, a group was filmed in the Brazilian Amazon and declared a "Lost Tribe", however the story stayed in the headlines as people declared it a hoax, and then later accepted that the group was just re-discovered after almost 100 years. (You can read about that story and check out some pictures on our posts from 2008 here and here).

Next came a story in early 2011 from the Peruvian Amazon that claimed to be the first-ever video footage of an uncontacted tribe deep in the forest (Check out our coverage here). This story was significant for the fact that the indigenous group was under threat from illegal loggers operating in the vicinity. Both stories highlighted the difficulty such groups have in maintaining their autonomy and way of life free of outside influence. Brazil and Peru each have organizations charged with protecting the rights of such groups, but when faced with the relative power and influence of international logging and oil companies, their limitations are exposed.

This latest story from Colombia offers a slightly different situation. In conjunction with numerous government ministries, NGOs, and anthropologists, legislation was passed in 2011 to specifically protect remote, uncontacted and autonomous indigenous groups:

The State shall guarantee the rights of uncontacted indigenous peoples or indigenous peoples in voluntary isolation to remain in that condition and live freely according to their cultures on their ancestral lands. Therefore, as subjects of special protection, under no circumstances may they be stripped of their territories, or be subject to policies, programs or activities, private or public, that promote contact or realize interventions in their territories for any purpose.

The groups were found in the 2.47 million acre Rio Puré National Park during a project that was attempting to determine if tribes were in fact living in the park. Now that groups have been located, the government will begin to define their territories, and develop plans to deal with accidental contact, specifically readying health resources. Rapid health response to first contact is vital to the survival of a group, as introduced diseases have decimated previously uncontacted populations. Groups in Colombia have unprecedented legislation in place to protect them from outsiders, and it will be interesting to see if that's enough to maintain their autonomy and survival.

You can read the entire story on Mongabay>>>

Views from the ANThill: Learning Language, Using Anthropology

noreply@blogger.com (dooglas carl) — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 15:11:00 +0000

The Punta Gorda Branch Library - a budding community center and host to a new series of
Indigenous language classes. Photo courtesy of doug reeser.

I think of myself as an anthropologist. My primary efforts in the field are designed to provide insight into human behavior, particularly in the realm of health and illness. There is also another side to what I do here, work that is distinctly applied anthropology. I come out of a program that has an applied focus, where we are urged to work for positive change in our host communities. My applied work is not directly tied to my research; however, it is a direct result of my being an anthropologist. I do not think of myself as being the source of action here, rather I see my work as more facilitation. Let me explain.

Language is one of the core foundations of culture. As anthropologists and scholars, we know this; and yet around the globe, languages are being lost at an alarming rate. In Belize, there are still a number of indigenous languages in use, but little data is available on their health and vitality. My research is not specifically about language, and most of my research is done in English, so I am not faced with language issues on a regular basis. Still, the applied aspect of my work in the field is directly related to the local indigenous languages.

I am working in Punta Gorda (PG), the largest town in the southern-most district of Belize. This is home to the regional market, the primary hub of health care and other services, and where Kriol and English are the primary languages heard on the streets. Schools are taught in English, and living in an ethnically diverse town such as PG, people tend to turn to English or Belizean Kriol as a common language. Still there are also speakers of the indigenous languages of the region – Q'eqchi' and Mopan Maya, and Garifuna – however, these languages are heard less often. From my time spent here, coupled with my anthropological observations, it appears that the longer a family has been settled in PG, the more likely they are to speak Kriol and/or English, and the less likely they are to speak the indigenous languages known and spoken by the elders. This is especially true of the youth.

My research involves working with multiple ethnic groups, and so the varied language usage throughout the community quickly caught my attention. I noticed bits and pieces of indigenous language here and there, and a definite interest in those languages was expressed by locals and foreigners alike, but there was no means of learning or preserving their use. So after nearly eight months in the field, the congruence of three unique events enabled me to put together one of my applied projects.

The first event took place a few months ago at a dinner party for a local expatriate’s birthday. I was invited by one of my research contacts who thought I would enjoy mingling with others from the U.S. After talking with a few people, I was introduced to the head librarian at the small but active PG library. A young Garifuna woman, born and raised in PG, Elzena was bright-eyed and passionate about her work. She expressed her disappointment in the younger people in town for their apathy and at the difficulty she faced in getting people interested in their town and history. She talked of her desire to make the library a center of community activity with programs and outreach for the youth and adults of PG, and invited me to some of the upcoming talks to be held there.

Nothing much happened for a while after I first met Elzena. I attended a couple of talks at the library, one that included a traditional Garifuna ceremony, and another by crystal skull expert, Daryl Capps. Then Jill, an old friend with whom I have worked on a few projects here in PG, brought up the idea of language classes. She had put on a couple of classes a few years ago, and they were well attended; however, she had to pay out of pocket for the space to hold the classes and to compensate the teachers. Consequently, she was only able to offer three classes, one each of Q'eqchi', Garifuna and Mopan. People were still asking about the classes though, and there seemed to be a renewed interest – especially in the expat/NGO community – to learn a bit of the local indigenous languages.

Just a couple of weeks later, the third piece of the project appeared. One of my primary research informants, with whom I had worked for the last 6 months, noted in passing that he was teaching Q'eqchi' Maya to students at the rural Tumul K’in Center of Learning. It was a part-time job, only taught once per week, but he went on to reveal his interest in the preservation of indigenous languages. Thomas has been trained in the formal use of Q'eqchi', and is one of the few people in PG who know standardized spellings of Q'eqchi' words, and how to teach the language according to recognized standards. He has worked for a number of researchers as an interpreter and translating interview transcripts, and he told me of his desire to start a language institute.

By now all of the pieces were in place. I put together meetings with Thomas, Jill and Elzena, and we brainstormed on how to get a language program started. We agreed to use the library as the host for a new series of language classes, and Thomas would put together the lesson plans for the first 5-week series of beginner’s Q'eqchi'. However, the one issue we faced was the ever-challenging problem of funding. We could not depend on volunteer teachers and we would need a small amount of supplies, but we were without a funding source.

A bit of anthropological ingenuity came in handy here. At my urging, we decided to charge a small fee for the sessions, and advertise the first series to the large expatriate and NGO community in town. Even a small turn-out for the classes would raise enough to give a stipend to the teachers. We designed the fees in such a way that they would also go towards a summer program for youth at the library – free indigenous language classes!

Our first session is scheduled to start at the beginning of May. We have already received a good deal of interest and support, and are discussing if we need to bring a second teacher into the mix in case the class grows too large. The classes are affordable, both for locals and foreigners, and will allow people to learn a new language – or one they’ve been hearing for much of their lives. The program will also expose the local youth to the languages of their elders with the free program during the summer months when there is not much else for youth to do in town. Through spending time getting to know my host community, I was able to make connections of ideas, people and resources. This is applied anthropology.

This article also appeared in the April 2012 Anthropology News.

Maya Day 2012: a Photo Essay from Belize

noreply@blogger.com (dooglas carl) — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 15:11:00 +0000

~ Signs of the Times in Toledo ~
Maya Day is an annual event that celebrates traditional Maya culture held at Tumul K'in Center for Learning
in Blue Creek Village in the Toledo District of southern Belize. I traveled to the festivities on the
morning of the event, passing through the village of Dump along the way. There I noticed a banner for
Maya Day hanging among election campaign banners from the regional and national elections held
just a few weeks before. The challenging PUP (blue sign) won in Toledo, but the UDP (red signs)
took the majority nation-wide, causing some concern that Toledo would be neglected
by the ruling party.

~ Welcome to Tumul K'in ~
Tumul K'in Center for Learning in Blue Creek Village is host to the Maya Day festivities. The school is
a unique blend of traditional and modern teaching that offers classes that include traditional
agriculture and traditional medicine, but also instructs youth in computer programing, radio
engineering, and modern animal husbandry. A small school that attracts youth from throughout
Belize and from multiple ethnic backgrounds, Tumil K'in boards students throughout the school year.

~ Maya Health and Spirituality ~
The Maya Day festivities included small demonstration stands for such topics as traditional agriculture,
Maya history, Tumul K'in products, health, along with a number of local food vendors. Pictured
here is the "Traditional Health and Spirituality" booth, where Q'eqchi' Maya healers presented a number
of medicinal plants and discussed their uses with local community members and others there for the events.

~ Tuba Caldo ~
One of the main attractions at Maya Day is the food. My main meal of the day was Tuba Caldo,
a traditional soup made with a local river fish and corn tortillas. I also enjoyed craboo shaved ice
(a local cherry-sized fruit) and fresh local watermelon. There were a number of other foods available,
but I think the most popular may have been the chicken barbecue. I particularly enjoyed the
corn tortilla making demonstration, where they made some of the thickest, plumpest tortillas
I have ever had.

~ The Deer Dance ~
The Maya Deer Dance is a traditional dance that mixes elements of pre-contact historical fables
with colonial era characters. The dance is a story that promotes respect for the environment and all
of earth's creatures through a depiction of the careless over-hunting of deer by the Spanish
conquistadors. The Deer Dance is held at significant Maya events throughout the present-day Maya
world, including Guatemala, Mexico, Honduras, and Belize.

~ Maya Stilt Walking ~
One of the many performances at Maya Day was the stilt walking dance. Dancers recreated a scene
from the Popul Vuh, often considered the Quiche Mayan book of creation, and originally written
in Maya glyphs. In the scene depicted by the dancers, the Hero Twins walk through a fiery
level of the underworld.

~ The Greasy Pole Climb ~
Another event at Maya Day was the greasy pole climb. Much ritual and community effort
was involved in bringing the correct pole to the festivities. Before raising, the pole was
blessed with incense and prayer, and then pulled up and into place by the support ropes.
A prize awaits the first person to reach the top, and traditionally, contestants are aided by
the use of a large support stick. Nobody reached the top using this method in 2012.

~ Traditional Maya Dancing ~
Another fun event was the traditional dance competition. Maya women performed the traditional
waltz-like dance to live marimba music. Only three women took part in 2012, and there did not
appear to be a winner. Instead, the rather austere dance was simply observed by a small part of the crowd.

~ Reaching the Top of the Greasy Pole ~
As mentioned above, nobody was able to reach the top of the pole following the traditional method.
Instead, two contestants scaled the support ropes to the top. The guy closest to the top reached first,
but was unable to release the prize. The second guy, reached, climbed onto the very top of the pole
and grabbed the award - $250 Belize ($125 US), some handkerchiefs, and a bottle of rum.

First Friday Picture Show: Southern Reclamation by Meg Kassabaum

noreply@blogger.com (dooglas carl) — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 12:21:00 +0000

This month's Picture Show features the photography of Meg Kassabaum. Meg is a PhD student in Anthropology at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Originally from a family of artists in St. Louis, Missouri, her passion for photography developed while traveling and working on archaeological digs throughout the American South. The small southern towns that have served as home for various summers and semesters provided locations for exploring the intersection of nature and culture, revealing places so long established that the human constructions blend seamlessly into the landscape. In her photography, she strives to shift away from concentrating on the structures human impose upon natural places, and rather focus on the moment when nature starts to take these places back.

Riding Dirty: The Demise of Urban Highways?

noreply@blogger.com (lana) — Sat, 31 Mar 2012 18:49:00 +0000

Traffic Jam by www.phlmetropolis.com

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, sprawls from the Delaware River on the east to the Schuylkill (skoo'-kull) River to the west and beyond. The city has done fairly well by the Schuylkill -- mainly because Fairmount Park, the nation's largest urban park, follows its banks, which are always bustling with joggers, rowers, and sightseers. The coast of the Delaware, on the other hand, has the unfortunate luck of being cut off from downtown Philadelphia by the north-south arterial behemoth Interstate 95. Connecting the river to the city has long been a dream of city planners, and, recently, a plan was put into place that involves extending the city grid east to the waterfront.

The highway system in the city is sometimes referred to as Philly's folly, for the other main highway through the city, Interstate 76, may not bisect a waterfront downtown but instead divides neighborhoods, and makes a snarling traffic nightmare on almost a daily basis ("The Schuylkill* is jammed river to river" is a familiar refrain on traffic reports. It's reported to be the state's busiest highway). Rumor has it that the highway's construction in the 1950s, prior to the Interstate Highway System, led to building standards below code. Add fifty years of wear, tear, and weather, coupled with the inability to widen it and the left-side exits and on-ramps, and it appears that change in some form looms largely.

After reading Greg Hanscom's article on Grist, "Goodbye-ways: The downfall of urban freeways," it's impossible not to try to envision a Philly without inappropriately-placed highways. Philly evidently fell into step with many cities in the 1950s, and constructed bypasses to connect its newly-suburban residents to the city's downtown. In a mini-urban-highway history lesson, Hanscom tells us:

When all was said and done, these freeways did salvage some downtown commerce, but they only accelerated the flight from the inner city. At the same time, they carved up historic urban neighborhoods, turned whole sections of cities into slums, and cut off many downtowns from their waterfronts. Legendary urban activist Jane Jacobs was among the first to fight the scourge of the urban highway, and by the late 1970s and early 1980s, it had become all but impossible to gain approval for new highways through urban areas. It’s one thing to stop building urban freeways, however, and another thing entirely to tear down existing ones.

But that's exactly what is happening in cities around the world: New York City, San Francisco, Portland (Oregon), Milwaukee, Seoul, and Bogotá have all either torn down existing highways that have failed to serve their purpose (making congestion worse, increasing urban flight and blight) or are turning down proposals for new highways and instead investing in the communities. Perhaps it's time for the rest of us to ask what our cities would look like with a different transportation infrastructure.

*For out-of-town drivers through Philadelphia, the tradition of calling highways by their familiar names (The Schuylkill Expressway, The Blue Route, and the Vine Street Expressway take the place of 76, 476, and 676, respectively, for example) must be maddening.

The Raising of the Greased Pole: Maya Day 2012

noreply@blogger.com (dooglas carl) — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 15:11:00 +0000

I was lucky enough to make my way out to the rural village of Blue Creek in southern Belize for the annual Maya Day event at Tumul K'in School. Maya Day is a celebration of traditional Maya culture, and along with traditional foods, crafts, products, and plants, they hold traditional events and competitions throughout the day. This year they had stilt walking, a corn husk competition, deer dance performances, marimba music and traditional dancing. They also had a greased pole climb! Check out the video to see how they raised the pole and to learn a bit more about the traditional event.

The Collapse of the Maya, the Collapse of Today?

noreply@blogger.com (dooglas carl) — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 15:11:00 +0000

Collapsing Architecture at the Mayan site of Lubaantun - "the Place of Fallen Stones" - in southern Belize. What can
we glean from the ancient Maya experience?
Photo courtesy of douglas reeser.

The more we learn about the ancient Maya, the more it seems that we should be heeding these lessons learned. Environmental changes and (maybe) catastrophes have long been blamed for the contraction of the Maya civilization. More recently, a series of rather modest droughts have been identified as occurring at the same time as people left the great Maya cities. National Geographic has a new (from early March 2012) article by Charles Fishman summarizing the latest data and draws some interesting connections to our own time. After explaining that the advanced water systems of the Maya were ill-prepared for a sustained reduction in rainfall, Fishman concludes about our present day water-knowldege:

"Our water assumptions are just that: assumptions. We should be building municipal water cultures that have flexibility, multiple sources, the ability to re-use water, the ability to conserve. Real strategic thinking about water isn’t about a new water treatment plant, or a plan to replace aging water mains. It’s about knowing what you’ll do if you’re suddenly faced with a 10 or 20 percent loss of available water, permanently."

Changes in environmental activity are not the only factor being equated with the contraction of the Maya empire. A report in LiveScience by Charles Choi discusses new thoughts that equate the structure of the Maya culture itself with it's own downfall.

"Archaeologists have pointed out that ancient Mayan societies may have been vulnerable to collapse by their very nature. They apparently funneled wealth to a small ruling elite topped by hereditary divine kings, who had virtually unlimited power but whose subjects expected generosity — a string of military defeats or seasonal droughts could greatly damage their credibility."

Things in the US and elsewhere are pointing in a surprisingly similar direction. A look at the highly religious and very rich Republican Party candidates for president has that country in the precarious position of becoming a Christian State - if it's not already. Further, as has been shown in previous columns here, the wealth of the planet is currently being funneled into fewer and fewer hands. This has not led to a wealthy ruling religious elite in the West, but such a system exists throughout the Middle East, and the wealthy certainly hold power the world over. And don't forget about the ground-up protests in Europe, the Middle East, and the US, a result of growing discontent with the powers that be.

So does this sound familiar? A great society has arisen with advanced science and engineering that has allowed for large, wealthy and concentrated populations. The wealth created by this successful system, however, continues to be concentrated into fewer and fewer hands. That wealthy minority holds power. The majority of the population becomes discontented with the power elite. Drastic culture change results.... Is this our future? Is this our now?

Politics, Forests and Indigenous Peoples in Belize

noreply@blogger.com (dooglas carl) — Sat, 17 Mar 2012 15:11:00 +0000

Campaign signs in the southern Belizean town of Punta Gorda - UDP held power in the elections on
March 7th, 2012. Photo courtesy of doug reeser.

As some of our regular readers know, I have been in southern Belize working on my dissertation research for most of the last year, and I was quite interested to be here for the national elections that just took place last week. The lead-up to elections brought out people's colors: red for the UDP (the United Democratic Party who were in power), blue for PUP (the People's United Party, who ruled for decades before the last round of elections), and green for the PNP (the upstart greens, the People's National Party). Every day in the weeks prior to elections, groups of people dressed in their colors would canvas the town, vehicles would drive around, party flags waving and horns blaring. I thought election day would be mayhem.

The morning of elections, I woke up, and things were especially quiet. No music. No loudspeakers. No car horns. No chanting. I decided to ride my bike into town to look for the action only to find empty streets and stray dogs. I remembered that elections were held at the local school, so rode in that direction across town. Sure enough, that's where all the people were, but instead of the expected energy and excitement, I found people quietly waiting in a long line wrapping around the school. They were waiting to cast their vote. At the close of polls in the evening, most people went home to listen to the radio or watch TV, waiting for the votes to be counted. Election day turned out to be rather quiet.

In the end, PUP made a valiant run in an effort to return to power, but the UDP retained their majority, and effectively remain in power. So despite a few changes around the country, it appears that things will go on much the same way as they have been: slow and deliberate. The most surprising development occurred a few days later when the Prime Minister announced his new cabinet. In what he said was an effort to bring the best minds into the government fold, a number of surprising choices brought new faces into decision making positions.

Most surprising, however, was the Prime Minister's creation of a new Ministry: the Ministry of Forestry, Fisheries, Sustainable Development and Indigenous People. This has caused a bit of consternation among indigenous groups, especially here in the south, but I found it especially odd that indigenous people would be included in a Ministry that has historically dealt with environmental issues. This feels to me like the Prime Minister and his advisors see indigenous people as a part of nature or a part of the forest, equating them with something less than the rest of the country's population.

Indigenous groups found other reasons to be upset. A statement from the Maya Leaders Alliance included the following:

To the best of our knowledge, this new Ministry was created without any consultation with any Indigenous Peoples. Neither the National Garifuna Council nor the Maya people of southern Belize through the Toledo Alcaldes Association or the Maya Leaders Alliance, was advised nor consulted. This is particularly disrespectful and disappointing since the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples – which Belize voted to adopt at the United Nations - requires governments to “consult and cooperate in good faith with the Indigenous Peoples concerned through their own representative institutions before adopting and implementing administrative measures that may affect them.

The MLA continued by noting the fact that the new minister is not an indigenous person, and therefor may not fully understand the issues from perspective of the indigenous groups in the country. Further, by lumping responsibility for forestry, development and indigenous people into the same Ministry, there is a definite likelihood that none of them will be adequately served, especially in resource-poor Belize. It seems that a move intended to be a positive, may have peeved a number of people and organizations, and in the end, it has come off as rather insulting.

Views from the ANThill: Roadblocks: On Working Through Research Slumps

noreply@blogger.com (dooglas carl) — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 15:11:00 +0000

Roadblock! Highway construction can be a hold up, but when I hit a
research slump, I had nowhere to turn. Photo courtesy of douglas reeser.

My research had hit a slump. I had been in the field for about seven months, and had reached a point at which I felt ready to begin doing more in depth and directed interviews. However, the Christmas holiday was fast approaching, a time when people are especially busy and moving about. During the winter holidays, people are either preparing to host a large contingent of family members visiting from out of town, or are themselves preparing to journey to other parts of the country for what is for many a once-per-year family gathering. As elsewhere in the world, the holiday season in Belize serves as a time for family reunion, which often means the annual return of much of the sizeable Belizean population living abroad. I was invited to a few family gatherings, which were perfect to further deepen my connections here; however, I decided to hold off on bothering people with interviews during such intimate and family-oriented times.

The holidays came and went, and most of daily life had returned to normal by the beginning of the New Year. However, I was finding it difficult to re-immerse myself into the daily rigors of conducting interviews. Further, an important community contact had unsuspectingly dropped out of contact, and this sudden change served to take some of the wind out of my sails. A few weeks went by, then a couple more, and I was feeling stuck. I began feeling restless and unproductive as I searched for some way to get out of this research rut. I tried everything. I took a couple of day trips to try to get my mind off of my work. That just seemed to deepen my anxiety. I began volunteering more regular time working on a friend’s local farm. That would help for the day, but at night, the restlessness would return. As time continued to pass, things got worse. Writing field notes became laborious, and writer’s block began to creep in. I couldn’t figure out what was happening to me.

I began looking through the handful of methods books that I have with me, but none mentioned such a slump, let alone offer advice on how to move past one. I was on my own here. Finally, in an effort to assuage the mounting tension within me, I turned to an alternate direction in my research. I tried to reconceptualize what I was going through – to look at my struggles from a different point of view. This exercise allowed me to see my research slump in terms of an imbalance. The “health” of my work was suffering due to some imbalance in my life or work. With this potential insight, I decided to take a step back and return to a part of my research that could possibly help restore my balance.

I pulled out my interview questions designed for traditional healers, cleaned them up a bit, and called on my friend and informant, Thomas. Thomas is the son of a Q’eqchi’ Maya healer, speaks fluent Q’eqchi’ and English, and has already helped me with research with a local group of healers. I have also helped him (and the healers) with work in their medicinal plant garden in a nearby village, so I was hoping that through returning to a more positive point of my work, I could recapture that energy to begin moving forward once again.

It turned out that Thomas needed some work, and he was more than willing to conduct some interviews with me. He quickly contacted Domingo, a Q’eqchi’ Maya healer who lives on the outskirts of town, and set up our meeting for the next evening. Domingo and I had worked together before, having filmed an interview together for a Belizean film project that was working in town the previous summer, and so we had an immediate rapport. The two of them sat down in my living room and we began talking about perceptions of health and illness in a mixture of Q’eqchi’, Spanish and English.

Domingo was born in Guatemala, where he was trained by three traditional healers in his teenage years. He came to Belize about 20 years ago to seek employment, found it a pleasant place to live and decided to stay. Still, after 20 years, he only speaks a small amount of broken English (the official language of Belize), much better Spanish, but primarily Q’eqchi’, his native tongue. Traditional healing is no longer a profession that can fully support a family in Belize, and so Domingo works as a mason and carpenter in addition to seeing about half a dozen patients each month. His thoughts on health were interesting and insightful.

The southern district of Belize has among the worst health statistics in the entire region. It has long been neglected by the State health care system, and has been noted for its poor health conditions by such international organizations as PAHO and the WHO. Still, Domingo explained that most people here are healthy. He described health simply as strength, and a healthy person as someone with a good body, not fat or skinny; someone who is always happy, eats well and primarily vegetarian; someone who works well; and someone who keeps themselves and their space clean and tidy.

Domingo went on with his description of health by specifically talking about stress. He explained that more and more people stress themselves by thinking too much about their work. Even otherwise healthy people can get sick from this type of stress. That’s when things clicked in my head. Perhaps my worry and obsession over my lagging work brought on and deepened this slump. I wasn’t physically ill, but my work had become sick – it had stopped working. Domingo had inadvertently pointed out my problem.

The interview with Domingo continued for a while, outlasting the neighboring church and their musical service. We got together a couple of days later for a second interview, and I have continued working with Thomas and other local healers. New projects have arisen, and new research leads appear promising. Just as important, I have stopped worrying too much, and am trying not to over-think what brought on the slump in the first place. Finally, my research is once again moving forward.

This piece also appeared in the March, 2012 edition of Anthropology News.

Consumption Junction: "A Word to the Wives"

noreply@blogger.com (lana) — Sun, 11 Mar 2012 00:56:00 +0000

Check out this promotional video from a 1955 home construction company, a perfect portrait of advertisers' sale of the American Dream in which two friends cook up a scheme to convince the one woman's husband to buy her a new house with a modern kitchen. The plot involves the husband spending an enlightening two and half days trying to keep house with outdated appliances and a long trip to the trash can, and, in this case, the best laid plans of Mrs. Consumer fall right into place. One of the most interesting parts arises in the assertion of a fifth freedom, following from Franklin D. Roosevelt's famous four freedoms: freedom of speech and expression, freedom to worship God, freedom from want, and freedom from fear. The savvy friend with the enviable kitchen calls for "freedom from unnecessary drudgery, freedom to go shopping when the urge hits you...or when there's a sale going on."

To Spell or Not to Spell: The Standardized Spelling Debate

noreply@blogger.com (lana) — Sun, 04 Mar 2012 23:40:00 +0000

1609 edition of Shakespeare's Sonnets

You've probably seen the word game that tests your ability to read words with transposed letters: the senetnce wolud raed somehting lkie tihs. And you probably have no problem deciphering abbreviated text-speak, which often makes it into students' papers, adults' emails, and social networking updates of any age: imo ur gr8! lol! rofl! thnx! etc, etc.

Some people would say that the digital age hath condemned correct spelling (not to mention punctuation) to the tumbrils, that in the age of auto-correct mobile phones and auto-finish internet searches, such antiquated rules must be let go. Take, for instance, the spelling showdown in Wired Magazine a few weeks ago. Anne Trubek, a professor at Oberlin College, wrote a piece calling for the abolition of standardized spelling, to which Lee Simmons of Wired's copydesk responded with an equally thought-provoking piece picking apart Trubek's argument.

As a self-professed word junky, I most often come down squarely against arguments like Trubek's. Her premise is this: "English spelling is a terrible mess anyway, full of arbitrary contrivances and exceptions that outnumber rules. Why receipt but deceit? Water but daughter? Daughter but laughter? What is the logic behind the ough in through, dough, and cough? Instead of trying to get the letters right with imperfect tools, it would be far better to loosen our idea of correct spelling." She points out that others throughout history have advocated for more sensible spelling rules than the ones that govern English, and that the evolution of language should be embraced, such as losing the apostrophe and the "e" in you're because the recipient will understand you anyway. Any last-gasp effort to keep language static is just snobbery.

Trubek's carefree approach is somewhat exhilarating -- I can see the appeal of throwing caution to the wind for free-form spelling. And that's coming from a native-English speaker. I can't imagine how students of English as a second language would be overjoyed -- until they tried to read a text written by a Texan versus something written by a Pennsylvanian. Did they use a "pen" or a "pin" to write?

In Simmons' rebuttal to Trubek, he allows for some wiggle-room among friends: "if you want to chat in leetspeak or use cutesy abbreviations in your texts, go crazy. You’re talking to your own tribe; they know the code, and they’re willing to indulge your affectations. And let’s be honest: A lot of that intentional misspelling, like the argot of any subculture, is meant to exclude outsiders—such as nosy parents. It’s a badge of membership in your little clique." But Simmons convincingly argues that professional news sites, governmental policies and the like, as well as all communications outside your clique need to be written with standardized spelling to avoid the potential pitfalls of playing with language. "How would contracts be enforced," asks Simmons, "if anyone could say that what appeared to be a promise of 'delivery' was actually a variant spelling of 'devilry'"?

Yes, the English major in me holds me back from willy-nilly spelling -- it was the discipline that taught me the wonder of word origins, the nuances of word meanings, the linguistics of dialects, and forced me to spend hours reading old books written when English spelling wasn't standardized. Is that an effort we really want to resurrect on a daily basis?

First Friday Picture Show: Lake Atitlán by Jedi Wright.

noreply@blogger.com (dooglas carl) — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 13:00:00 +0000

Happy March everybody! This month's First Friday Picture Show comes to us from Jedi Wright. Jed is an Internet entrepreneur and Information Architect and has been studying and working professionally in the information technology, multimedia, event production, and environmental fields since 1993. He currently lives in Los Angeles, CA where he works as an information architect and is fully immersed in the Information Architecture (IA), User Interface (U/I), User Experience (U/X) disciplines and how they intersect with social values and sustainable practices. In his spare time, if not working on one of his other entrepreneurial pursuits, he is very actively involved with raising his son. Visit jediwright.com for more about his work and interests.

About the photos, Jed explains: "In June of 2007, I was fortunate enough to tag along with a group of friends (quite accomplished backpackers, travelers, etc.) to Guatemala for my first, truly international travel experience. Latin America was certainly at the top of my list and I was excited to get out of the States for a few weeks and soak up some local culture.

"My travels were mostly dictated by the group I was with, which was fine by me, as I speak barely a lick of any language but my native American-English. Without having to concern myself with most travel arrangements and negotiations, I was able to sit back and study the local culture's cuisine, architecture, landscapes, and whatever else caught my eye. Here then is my first of many sets, sampling my time at Lake Atitlán, where I primarily hung out around San Marcos and San Juan."

Permaculture & Food Security in Malawi

noreply@blogger.com (dooglas carl) — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 16:11:00 +0000

A short film by University of Colorado anthropologist Marty Otañez, who describes the film:

In spring 2006, Ethel discussed with me permaculture and food security in Malawi. I wanted to educate myself on sustainable agricultural activities and how a Malawian practices permaculture. These issues interest me as part of a larger project to explore healthy (agricultural chemical-free) crops and alternative livelihoods for tobacco farmers and farm workers in Malawi.

Ethel agreed to videotape interviews over two days in different areas in her garden near Chitedze Trading Center, 14 kilometers north of Lilongwe, Malawi's capital city.

In the 2000s, Ethel worked as a 'house woman' (domestic worker) for Stacia and Kristof Nordin. The Nordins are Malawi-based permaculture educators and advocates who operate NeverEndingFood.org
During her position with Stacia and Kristof, Ethel became a permaculturalist.

The video is edited to showcase Ethel's knowledge about farming indigenous plants and creating synergy among food, water, shelter and community.

"What Branches Grow out of this Stony Rubbish": Urban Exploration from Antiquity to the Present

noreply@blogger.com (lana) — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 14:58:00 +0000

Last night, I attended a lecture by Thaddeus Squire, one of the founders of the non-profit arts organization Hidden City Philadelphia, at the University of the Arts Design Lecture Series, "Visibly Invisible." Squire gave a brief overview of the romantic explorer with an eye toward modern-day urban exploration, and showed how that trajectory has informed the mission of Hidden City, which is, in its condensed form, to "(re)connect people to place, and place to city" by marrying 19th century Philly "ruins" with art installations.

From the Hidden City website, a photograph of the artist
installation at Founders Hall at Girard College

One of the overall themes of the lecture was the idea of exploring the past for the possibilities of the future, and Squire took us on a tour through history to trace this idea, starting in antiquity with Plato's Atlantis as a place where knowledge resided, up through the centuries to 18th century Italian artist Piranesi and his "prison fantasies," to the more well-known 19th and 20th century romantic explorers like Lewis and Clark, Joseph Rock, and Hiram Bingham. Today, Squire pointed out, we see the contemporary expressions of this long line of exploration in such pop culture icons as Indiana Jones and Lara Croft, and in the fine arts with "ruin porn" photography.

From my own suburban exploration of the abandoned
Pennhurst State School & Hospital (photo by K. Margitich)

Squire's discussion about ruin porn vis-a-vis Hidden City's mission felt a little like I was stepping into the story in medias res, but a few quick searches post-lecture gave me a clearer picture of how the two fit together. From a recent article in The Guardian, we can see how the attraction to abandoned and decaying buildings has a long artistic and literary tradition (take The Waste Land for example), but the appeal always seems to have a fatalistic aspect to it -- that no matter how grand the promises of the future, the present past reminds us of their inevitable failure. In contrast, Squire insisted on casting ruin porn in a more positive light to fertilize the future: "Not loss, not nostalgia, not past, but the possible future."

Although the past is not their primary focus, I can't help feeling that history has a place at the table of present and future. These ruins of modernity are themselves forcing a conversation about what events transpired there, whose lives crossed paths there, and how these stories are connected to the present.

To learn about next year's festival and to check out their daily newspaper, click here.

Street Art of Cuzco, Peru

noreply@blogger.com (dooglas carl) — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 16:11:00 +0000

Cuzco is a visually stunning city nestled in the Andes Mountains. Meandering cobblestone streets, ancient architecture topped with colonial buildings and surrounded by mountains, and a rich cultural heritage combine to keep the eyes absorbed in activity. If one looks closely, street art is beginning to pop up around the city as well, adding an interesting and thought-provoking aspect to the City of the Inca.

~ Mother Earth ~
Pachamama, spirit of the Earth represented by the sacred corn,
still revered by indigenous peoples throughout Peru and the Americas.
Photo by douglas reeser.

~ Corn of Death ~
We happened across a sort of protest in the main square in Cuzco that was advocating for safe
foods and good nutrition along with a decidedly anti-Monsanto element. This corn cob
of skulls represents Monsanto corn that is genetically modified and has unknown environmental
and health effects.
Photo by douglas reeser.

~ the Virgin and the Child ~
I'm not exactly sure what this piece represents, but we encountered it a number of times throughout
the city. One can surmise that in a city so rich in religious architecture and iconography,
this picture may be a comment on some aspect of the Virgin, her child, and their ever-lasting
effects on the city and its people.
Photo by douglas reeser.

~ Death by Consumption ~
This is another sign we saw with the food advocates in the main square. The television and
the products that it promotes, namely Pepsi Cola, McDonalds, and other sugary and fried foods
implore - no force - the youth to consume, consume, consume.
Photo by douglas reeser.

~ Reverse Tourism ~
This was one of my favorite paintings in Cuzco - an indigenous woman taking a photograph
of a tourist. This somehow reveals the objectification taking place in this tourist Mecca.
Interestingly, we experienced something like this during the trip, when more than once,
Peruvian youth asked to have their picture taken with us on their phones and cameras.
We never did figure out what exactly was going on there.
Photo by douglas reeser.

~ Yourbucks, Ourbucks, Starbucks ~
This is the larger context of the Reverse Tourism picture, but I had to include it for its great
play on Starbucks. Here we can see a definite anti-corporate, anti-exploitation theme going on,
along with elements of respect for the earth and environment (note the tree and
Pachamama paintings to the left).
Photo by douglas reeser.

~ the Porter ~
Again, we encountered a painting with unknown meaning. It appears to be a man
wearing a traditional woven cap, common among villagers in the Andes. Many of
these men work as porters on the Inca Trail and other mountain treks. Painting such a
dignified picture on the streets of Cuzco reminds people of these men's importance
to social and economic life in the region.
Photo by douglas reeser.

Views from the ANThill: Yu no taim hyaa weh Ai di chrai tel yu: On Not Understanding in Belize

noreply@blogger.com (dooglas carl) — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 16:11:00 +0000

A sign written in Kriol protesting a proposed cruise ship port in the town
of Placencia in southern Belize. Photo courtesy of doug reeser.

When a good friend of mine who is conducting ethnobotanical research here in Belize heard that I would be writing this column about fieldwork for Anthropology News, she asked if I had read Paul Rabinow’s classic, Reflections on Fieldwork in Morocco. Somehow, through all of my years studying anthropology – ten years from my bachelor’s through my doctoral studies – I hadn’t been asked to read the book, and it never found its way across my path. A little embarrassed, I had to reply that no, I hadn’t read it before. She insightfully thought that Rabinow’s reflections might provide me with some inspiration, and at least offer some food for thought. On her last trip to the field, she brought me a copy.

After reading the book, I think it holds up to its reputation as a classic on fieldwork, and besides his occasionally surprising revelations, Rabinow also offers a number of topics that would be good for everyone working in the field to reflect upon. From the importance of the experience of otherness to the politics of communities, the book is full of issues of which to be aware. For Rabinow, being able to communicate effectively in Arabic featured centrally in his fieldwork experience, and this challenge got me thinking about how language may be affecting my fieldwork and data collection here in Belize.

I’ve been working in Belize (on and off) since 2007, when I came here for the first time to conduct research for my MA and MPH degrees. There was then (and continues to be) a small part of me that wished I was working elsewhere in the region, mostly so that I could continue to learn Spanish. I guess I would say it was sort of an intellectual disappointment to be conducting my research in English. Over time, I have come to discover that that disappointment is somewhat misplaced.

English is the official national language of Belize. It is the language used in the schools, it is the language heard on the television, and it is true that most Belizeans today speak English. However, English is not always a Belizean’s first language, it is not always the language spoken in the homes of Belize, and it is not the language that is necessarily heard on the street. Just like the diversity of people here, there is an equally diverse set of languages.

On any given day here in the south of Belize, I can hear up to seven different languages. I walk through the market and I may hear Q’eqchi’ or Mopan spoken by the Maya women selling vegetables, local fisherman chatting in Garifuna while hawking their fish, vendors selling plastics and household goods speaking Spanish, and I even occasionally hear Plautdietch among the few Mennonite farmers that come to town on market days. The small grocery store nearest my house is run by a family from China, and Chinese can be heard there as well as in the many Chinese food restaurants around town. And I can’t forget English, most audible from American tourists or volunteers walking around town.

Most of these different languages are only spoken among friends and family, so typically they are only overheard, and people easily switch to English when talking with me. However, there is one language that is heard above all others, and one that makes this language experience very strange at times: Kriol. Kriol is a Belizean creole based on English and a number of African languages. According to some, it is the most widely spoken language here in Belize, and after spending eight months here, I would tend to concur.

Kriol is everywhere, especially here in the main market town in the south of the country. It is a language that is complex and foreign, yet familiar at the same time. The familiarity stems from its English base, such that every sentence might have a word or two in English. However, unless you know Kriol, you can’t understand most of what is being said. Take the title as an example: “Yu no taim hyaa weh Ai di chrai tel yu.” If you say this out loud, you may get parts of it, and it could be translated literally as “you never hear what I’m trying to tell you.” However, it means something more like “you don’t understand me” – a slight difference perhaps, but an important one. As a native English speaker, hearing Kriol was one of the stranger sensations I have had abroad: hearing someone speak to me and getting some of it, but quickly realizing that despite the sprinkling of English, I have no idea what is being said to me.

It has taken a while for me to “get” Kriol. Since most people speak English, they almost always speak in English with me. However, as an anthropologist, I get to spend time hanging out with people. I spend time with them in their everyday moments, and during these times, people easily slip into their “normal” language, in this case, Kriol. I still don’t speak in Kriol – that would feel somehow phony when everyone speaks English just as easily – but I am finally picking up most of the conversations (and jokes!) being held around me.

Along with that understanding of Kriol has come another realization, one that I probably should have had before I even started my research. As with any language, the way Kriol is used reflects on how its users view the world around them. And while English is the official language in the country, Kriol is probably used more frequently in peoples’ everyday lives. Coming here for long-term fieldwork, I assumed that knowing English would suffice in understanding the things I had come here to study. Having been here for a while now, I know that working in English will provide me with adequate and even insightful data, but I do believe something will be missing. While I don’t quite have my finger on it yet, I’m pretty sure that something will be revealed as I continue to explore this place through its other first language – Kriol.

This column also appeared in the American Anthropological Association's Anthropology News.

Newspaper Wars: Killing off Print

noreply@blogger.com (lana) — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 17:27:00 +0000

The previous post on media consolidation transitions nicely into the topic of the "struggling" newspaper industry, which comes into the spotlight with news that the Philadelphia Media Network -- publisher of the the Philadelphia Inquirer and its sister publications, The Daily News and www.philly.com, may be on its way to changing hands again.

I'm not going to pretend to have all the numbers crunched on newspaper revenue -- whether digital or print is more sustainable -- but I'll say up front that I don't believe that print is dead, contrary to what the newspaper industry would have you believe. Just a few numbers to throw out there: two-thirds of people in the U.S. do not use smartphones, one third of people in the U.S. don't use internet, and an average of one Redbox movie rental kiosk opens every hour. Are communities really ready to say goodbye to their local print newspapers and embrace a short-sighted digital-only version?

Image from wikipedia

As the case may be, some of the major investors and CEOs in the industry have already written their eulogies for print. Journal Register, the media company who owns over 100 papers in the U.S., and who is owned by Alden Global, the investor who is selling their share of the Philadelphia Media Network, is operating under the "digital first, print last" mantra. Arguing that the print model is broken and what's broken can't be fixed, the company has courted investors with a media model that leaves behind the brick and mortar for the promise of the "crowd" and the cloud. The crowd has access to more news than any newspaper could ever print, says the company, and so they have begun to look at the crowd more as colleagues rather than just consumers. The cloud, of course, gives them the technological ability to publish without the expense of printing presses.

Couched in such affable terms, it's easy to see the appeal of such a model, in theory. But that's just it. It's a theory that doesn't quite mesh with reality. While welcoming the crowd into their virtual newsroom (remember, there are no offices, desks, chairs or employees anymore) they are at the same time outsourcing jobs and whittling away at what once was and could still be a cornerstone of communities. If these are the consequences of going digital, isn't it worth exploring some other options?

If the people leading the industry had it their way, that would be a naive and nostalgic perspective on a vestige from a bygone era. But, like Douglas Page points out in a great article that digs deeper into the issue and offers great insights into other ways of looking at the future of newspapers, "Planes and automobiles are also here to stay. But they haven't killed off bicycles, trains and ships."