Survival Of The Huaorani Warriors Theology Religion Essay

Survival Of The Huaorani Warriors Theology Religion Essay The Huaorani Warriors of Ecuador have a rich culture including Gender relations, Beliefs and Values, and Sickness and Healing. They are cultivators as well as hunters who live in the Amazonian Rainforest in South America. Most Huaorani make their homes in northeastern Ecuador, but interestingly are not familiar with normal Ecuadorian culture. According to BBC News World (2011) The Huaorani have only had contact with outsiders in the last century. They are known to have killed oil workers in the 1940s, when Shell Oil had a station on their territory. Many Huaorani were relocated in the 1970s to make way for oil exploration http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-12937408. The Huaorani are famous for being an aggressive, warlike community who disliked and killed Westerners. Huaorani and their advocates are involved in legal battles with oil companies that have built pipelines through their traditional lands. To this day, Huaorani continue to battle these pipelines. Even though living in the fo rest offered protection, they are hunters as well as cultivators and will kill to protect their way of life. Their populations of approximately 4,000 speak a Huaorani language, and studies have shown that this language is not associated with any other languages spoken in Ecuador. The Huaorani people have different features those of other tribes in Ecuador. The Huaorani people are sandwiched between the Curaray and Napo rivers which is notorious for the oil trap and logging which in Ecuador can get people in trouble with the law. This community is well known for the gruesome way they attack foreigners and other tribes around them to protect their culture. (Kaplan, Larrick, Yost, 1980). The Huaorani, Waorani or Waodani also known as the Waos are foragers. In their society women and men have equal gender relations. For the Huaorani people, the women and men are considered equal, comparing to their neighboring tribe, the Kichwas, where the women are not equal but less than men. Women are responsible for cultivating and harvesting the crops while the men hunt. As such, they are both foragers and horticulturalists hunting using their spears to kill animals and cultivate manioc and bananas. Although they make family decisions together the women are very strong and can take care of themselves. Traditionally, a Huaorani settlement pattern consist of self-sufficient and isolated residential units with an average of twenty to thirty members inhabiting each longhouse. Kinship and marriage were structured by bilateral descent and cross cousin marriages. Cross cousin marriage divides people into two types, parallel cousins which are considered as siblings and cross cousins who could be potential spouses. The women may leave their spouse if they choose to, unlike the other tribe. The Huaorani have low birth rate unlike their neighbors. The Huaorani people usually only have two or three children. The Huaorani people limit and control their birth rates because of the availability of food. The women made a special blend of tea from items in the forest to use as birth control to prevent children. Men and women cannot survive without each others presence because each has their own duties to fulfill within the tribe. Their main hunting weapon is the blow gun and the arrows used are dipped in curare poison to paralyze the muscles of the animals being targeted. The huaorani were against eating deer, because they thought that deer eyes look very similar to human eyes. Spears were used for person to person conflict and settling of scores especially with the Western civilization. The Huaorani people made unusual outfits. There is a fruit, called achiote, which gives a red extract. They utilize this to paint items and their bodies as well as on special days. They use teeth of boars and the feathers of birds. The Huaorani men would consider a kome a form of cloth. This is a string like that ties to the foreskin and around the men waist. The Huaorani people have long hair in the back and their banes are cut all the way to the back of the ears. The Huaorani elders ears are pierced in a loop like ring. The various rings over time create a large drooping circle which hangs below the ear. Since this is an excruciating process present generations have stopped doing this. The pain is so unbearable that the bravest men have complained about the pain. This painful process normally begins in childhood. The term Huaorani means human beings or the people, and they refer to everyone else as cowode or non-humans. According to the various studies conducted the Huaoranis have come to be known for their way of isolating themselves from everyone by remaining in the forest. This way of life is due to their belief of the forest being a source of protection from anything and anyone that may cause harm to them. As a result, they believe everything outside of the forest is unsafe. This way of life forces them to hunt and gather food from their natural surroundings. Their beliefs and values play a major part on how they hunt and must gathering food for their daily diet. According to the Huaorani people, there are specific animals that may not be hunted. This also includes monkeys, wild peccaries, and birds for this there are some animals that cannot be eaten by anyone. As to the belief and values, anything that has features similar to a human can fall in that category as well. A deer would be one example. Hunting to gain profit within the society is deemed as an unethical matter. In many cases the Huaorani people believe that the spirit of the animals killed continue to live in the forest. This affects the way of how hunting and eating is done within the Huaorani society. This belief and value limits the type of species they are allowed to hunt for food. On the other hand, the forest is generally important in society since it provide them with medicines and other sources of food. The Huaorani community possesses a lot of knowledge concerning the botanical and medicinal values of plants in the forest. Plants are considered a part of the life of this community, since they are a part of the forest. (Kaplan, Larrick, Yost, 1980). The Huaorani people hold animist religious views, they believe spirits inhabit their forest, and that the Huaorani originally descended from the union of a jaguar and an eagle. The Huaorani people believe that a large serpent, when they pass on to the afterlife, is guarding the way to the spirit world and they must escape in order to enter the heaven. If unable to escape the serpent the dead would return as an animal. For this reason there is a limit on what animals that may be hunted for food. Unfortunately, this taboo has resulted in an even more limited amount of resources to hunt. Huaorani people are not allowed to hunt and eat certain animals such as the jaguar. This is because the jaguar is a significant and outstanding creature in the spirit world. They believe that the jaguar and the eagle have come together to create mankind. Some elders have the capacity to communicate with the spirit world generally adopt Jaguar sons. Jaguar sons were able to communicate both medical and s piritual knowledge. As a result, from this belief the Huaorani people highly respect the jaguar and hence they should not be hunted. (Man, 1982) When the Huaorani people die and pass over into the afterlife, they believe that a person should embark on a journey to get to heaven. During this journey, there would be a serpent in the middle of the persons journey. Only the strongest could jump over the serpent to get to heaven. The souls that do not make it over would descend back to earth as an animal. The Huaoranis are feared by everyone around them because of how violent they were known to be. The Huaorani people are fierce and unpredictable. They seem unemotional and which made it very difficult for anyone to interpret their mood or behavior. The Huaorani were feared greatly because they would violently kill with vengeance anyone who stood against them. Generally any conflict with the Huaorani resulted in the other person being speared. In the Waorani world there would be no difference between the present life and the life after death. The Huaorani once saw the world as a big forest. The basic entity for their culture dependency and existence remains in the enormous rain forest. The forest is their home. Since the outside world is considered to be a risk factor they remain in the forest for protection of all things that may cause harm to them. They consider the river and the trees a part of their life. This is what they are taught to understand as they raised up in the Huaorani community. The Huaorani people believe that animals exist spiritually and physically. They say that when you die a great serpent is waiting for you to prevent you from crossing over into heaven. All spirits that fail returns to suffer on earth. On earth these animals are recognized, respected, and cannot be harmed. They believed in the presence of animal spirits. The animal spirits are released when an animal is killed and harm its killer if it is not properly placated. The animals spirit may cause physical harm to the killer and potentially others. As the Huaorani people hunt for survival, they prepare the curare for the dead animals. Mengatoi are special people that live within the Huaorani community. The Mengatoi are believed to be able to transform into jaguars and also have the ability cure diseases and illnesses. If the Mengatoi has an ill patient, they will make dark colored psychoactive potion from a Banisteriopsis vine called Mii. This potion is made to cure the sick. The Mengatoi will then take the potion while sitting with the patient who is ill. Then as the Mengatoi is mediating and communicating with the animal spirits on behalf of the ill patient to make the person go back to feeling as their normal self again. The healing process must take place in the hours of darkness to take. Therefore, the process always takes place at night in the hours of darkness. The Mengatoi will follow the jaguar spirit which will lead them to a plant which in return will be the cure for ill stricken patient. They may take and blow peppers on the patients chest, or the Mengatois may suck on the persons head and then simply spit the sickness onto the ground. At the end of the process, the Mengatoi will give the patient a prescription of the herbs for them to take in the days to come. The Huaorani people are no longer travelers and presently have a permanent community. The settlements are made of five groups which are the Tagareri, Onamenane, Huinature and Taromenane. They isolate themselves at their own free will from our civilization to prevent unwanted influence. Technological advances have transformed the world and the Huaorani prefer to remain isolated with the forest. According to the Huaorani people, the forest is a safe haven from danger and the unknown supernatural. They only treasure what they do best which is hunting, gathering, and protecting their environment. They believe that plants and animals are connected by a spiritual as well as physical life force. Therefore they value the presence of animals and respect them when they are hunting because they believe that when someone dies they come back in animal form. This tribe has an ordinary way of healing their wound and sicknesses with herbs found in the Amazon. (Man, 1982) For the Huaorani, the forest is home, while the outside world is considered unsafe: living in the forest offered protection from the witchcraft and attacks of neighboring peoples (Southernexplorations.com). In the U.S. hunting is more of a hobby or leisure activity rather than a source of survival. But to the Huaorani hunting is a major part of their survival. They are known to have killed oil workers in the 1940s, when Shell Oil had a station on their territory. And in 1970s many Huaorani were relocated to settlements to make way for oil exploration http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-12937408. Culture includes knowledge, beliefs, values, laws, morals, customs, and any other capabilities and habits acquired by people as a member of ones society. Due to the global demand for oil the Huaorani society and culture has changed forever. I believe the Huaorani had a right to kill the corporate giants who invaded their territory interrupting their primary mode of subsistence as well as their cu lture and way of life. Huaorani and their advocates are involved in legal battles with oil companies that have built pipelines through the rainforest of South America. To this day, Huaorani continue to battle these pipelines.

My Life as a College Student

GORDON KUSSI TABIRI English Writing: From Start to Finish My life as a college student Seven years ago I gained admission to pursue a B. A program in one of the prestigious universities in Ghana. The name of the university is Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST). I was offered a four year bachelor degree program leading to a degree in Sociology and Social Work. Thus, I read BA Sociology and Social Work. I was so happy at the time because of two reasons.One was that, I had tried twice to be admitted into the countries universities but refused until finally the third time of which I succeeded. The second reason why I was happy was related to the fact that I had the opportunity to continue my education to a level that I had always dream about. My first year as a fresher on campus was very interesting for me. I was to read sociology and social work as a major and Geography as my minor.I therefore registered for my courses for the first year which included subjects s uch as introduction to sociology, traditional social structure of Ghana, introduction to human geography, development of geographic thought, introduction to physical environmental systems, communication skills, introduction to computers, and ethics and etiquette in traditional systems. I read these subjects for the first and second semesters as my first year program. I attended all lectures, wrote my assignments and the years exams. The results of the exams came and I had a Cumulative Weighted Average (CWA) of 59. 17.I was so disappointed about my results and decided to make better grades no matter what it takes to do so. I wrote the second semester exams and improved upon my performance by obtaining a CWA of 60. 32. I realized the fact that increasing the hours of my studies yielded good results. My second year on campus was very exciting. This was because I made very good friends and also had acquainted myself with campus life in general. I had a good friend by name Christian Boat eng who happens to be an old classmate at Akrokerri College of Education where we both obtained our diploma in basic education in the year 2001.Christian was very instrumental in my life on campus because he taught me how to study for long hours. We actually took similar courses together in the first two years of our education in KNUST College. We were also roommates for three years and shared a lot of things together. My second year courses also included literature in English, introduction to geomorphology, theory and practice of geography, principles of cartography, concepts and theories in sociology, social structure of modern Ghana as well as the nature of social work. The courses were very challenging especially those related to geography.I had a successful year and also improved on my performance. This second year was very significant to my life because it was during this period that I decided to read a master’s program after graduation. That year helped me realized a l ot of my potentials and also changed my perception of life in general. My third year in KNUST also saw me reading courses such as perspectives in sociological theory, research methods, theoretical framework for social work methodology, industrial sociology, medical sociology, and also bamboo and rattan processing.I enjoyed reading these courses especially industrial sociology, medical sociology as well as sociological theory. During my third year, we were made to drop our minor course, so I concentrated only on the major which was sociology and social work and also other borrowed courses. I also managed to secure the same room on campus with my friend, Christian. We both studied hard and had very good grades in our third year exams. We also had lots of fun on campus until school vacated. Christian was actually based in Kumasi which is the city in Ghana were KNUST was located whereas I was also based at Accra, the capital city of Ghana.In view of this, I spent most of my school holid ays in Accra with my family. During the long vacation after the end of the third year, I had an attachment with Tetteh Quashie Memorial Hospital situated at Akuapem Mampong. I was attached to the social welfare department of the hospital where I performed generic social work. It was a great experience since I had practical training in dealing with social welfare cases of clients at the hospital, district court and the district family social welfare cases. My mentors taught me so well that by the time I finished my attachment, I had developed a passion of working as a social worker someday.After my attachment, I prepared for my final year academic work. On arriving on campus for my final year, I registered for courses such as social psychology, social development, human resource management, approaches to counselling in social work, environmental sociology and a long essay dissertation. I had actually started writing my BA thesis in the third year of my studies. My topic was, â€Å"t he role of non-formal education to the contribution of the social and economic development of Ghana: a case study of the Ejisu- Juaben Municipality†.It was a great and challenging topic to write, in that there wasn't much literature on the subject of non-formal education. Owing to that, I researched the web widely in writing this project. My supervisor by name Mr. Barnie gave me all the directions and support so well that I obtained an excellent grade in this long essay. I was very excited because I was constrained by time in combining my academic work with writing of this thesis. In spite of all the challenges, my hard work paid off with me obtaining very good grades in all my final courses I took.Thus, I completed all my forth year course exams and was ready for graduation. We were to graduate exactly one month after completion of all the necessary course requirements. I was among one of the students who were to graduate with second class upper (honors) degree in sociology a nd social work. During graduation, my uncle and a cousin of mine accompanied me, and it is a day that I will never forget in my life. I dressed neatly in my graduation gown and went through the ceremony very happy of my accomplishments. After the ceremony I took several pictures with friends and my family and we had a great party after the occasion.I would never forget my experience on campus because it transformed my life. My general outlook of life has changed tremendously. I now understand that I have great capabilities as well as weaknesses. My college experience has contributed in shaping my personality today. I have learnt to work hard to overcome my weaknesses as well as develop my potentials and capabilities. This is the reason that I had saved money to pursue a master’s program in Switzerland to be able to actualize my dreams and aspirations in life.

A reflection of Odysseus and Modern Day Heroes Essay

Written about two thousand and seven hundred years earlier, the Odyssey is still influencing modern storytelling today. Odysseus, the legendary Greek king of Ithaca and protagonist of Homer’s epic poem the Odyssey was recognized as a great hero of his time. He was known for his defining qualities of superior strength and athleticism, sharp intellect, sensual ness, and a thirst for glory. These character traits are still being used to attribute modern day fictional heroes such as Neo, Captain Jack Sparrow, James Bond, and Spiderman. Accordingly, the heroic qualities of Odysseus can be still be seen in today’s modern day fictional heroes. Odysseus’s superior strength and athleticism resembles to modern day character of Neo in The Matrix. In the Odyssey, Penelope told the suitors that she would marry who ever was able to string Odysseus’s old bow and shoot it through twelve axe heads. Many suitors attempted this task but not a single one was even strong enough to string the bow. However, â€Å"Without any strain, Odysseus strung the great bow†¦ Taking the string and the head grooves he drew to the middle grip, and from the very chair where he sat, bending the bow before him, let the arrow fly, nor missed any axes from the first handle on, but the bronze-weighted arrow passed through all, and out the other end† (Homer, 319 – 320). Odysseus’s ability to string the incredibly stiff bow and to shoot it through twelve axe heads when not a single other suitor could do it depicts his sheer strength and athleticism. This ability is also apparent with Neo from the movie The Matrix. In the movie, Neo has the ability to freely manipulate the simulated reality of the Matrix. This skill, allows him to have superhuman strength and agility, and the ability to brush off attacks that would kill or disable a normal human being with relative ease. There is a particular scene that exemplifies this where Neo fights off about thirty agents with his bare hands. As depicted in the script written by the Wachowski Brothers, â€Å"Their attack is a devastating onslaught of speed and power closing in around Neo like a vise. But Neo is a mirage, slipping and flipping around them in a deadly counter attack, heaving agents in the air† (Wachowski Brother, 18). Neo’s superhuman strength and athleticism is comparable to Odysseus. Both characters are way stronger and quicker than the average warrior, which enables them to fight off exceptional opponents. Besides Brute strength, Odysseus shares many  other deeper qualities with modern day heroes. Captain Jack Sparrow from Pirates of the Caribbean shares Odysseus’s knack for quick thinking and cleverness. Odysseus demonstrates this trait when trying to escape from the Polyphemus’s cave by tricking Polyphemus into thinking that his name is Nobody. When Odysseus finally attacks the Cyclops and blinds him, Polyphemus cries for help saying, â€Å"‘Good Friends, Nobody is killing me by force or treachery.’ So then the others speaking in winged words gave him an answer: ‘If alone as you are none uses violence on you,'† (Homer, 147). Odysseus’s cleverness to say that his name is Nobody prevents the other Cyclopes from entering the cave and allows him escape with his men. Captain Jack Sparrow also possesses this same trait of cleverness. Sparrow is often out skilled in sword fighting by other characters so he resorts to using negotiation in order to distract his enemies or turn them against each other. Sparrow stated, â€Å"Why fight when you can negotiate? All one needs is the proper leverage† (Walt Disney Pictures). There is a scene that exemplifies this when a group of soldiers catch Sparrow trying to steal one of their ships. The Soldiers ask Sparrow, â€Å"What’s your business in Port Royal,? And no lies!† Sparrow answers, â€Å"I confess: I intend to commandeer one of these ships, pick up a crew in Tortuga, and go on the account, do a little honest pirating† (Walt Disney Pictures). Sparrow is so openly honest about his mischief that the soldiers don’t even believe him. This clever use of words and psychology help Sparrow escape from the Soldiers and eventually steal their ship. Both Sparrow and Odysseus use this type of sharp cunning intellect to get what they need. Odysseus also shares his trait of sensual ness to women with the modern day hero of James Bond. There were numerous occasions where Odysseus came across a beautiful woman and lived a luxurious life with her before continuing his journey home. Three such examples were Calypso, Nausicaa, and Circe. With Circe in particular, Circe turned all of Odysseus crew into swine, but he was able to resist her powers, which caused her to fall in love with him. Odysseus then decided to spend a year of luxury on her island as her lover. Odysseus said, â€Å"We sat there feasting on unlimited meat and sweet wine. But when the sun went down and the sacred darkness came over†¦ but I, mounting  the surpassingly beautiful bed of Circe, clasped her by the knees and entreated her† (Homer, 164). Odysseus enjoyed his luxurious life with Circe in an exotic land, but only to a point. Eventually, he decided to focus on the greater task at hand and return home to Ithaca. James Bond possesses this same trait of sensual ness towards women throughout all of the bond films. In just about every film, Bond comes across a beautiful female that he ends up spending an intimate time with before going off to save the world. In Casino Royal, Bond enters a relationship with Solange. Solange says to Bond, â€Å"What is it about bad men? You†¦ my husband. I had so many chances to be happy, so many nice guys. Why can’t nice guys be more like you?† Bond replies, â€Å"Because then they’d be bad.† Solange kissing him some more, â€Å"Mmmmm, yeah†¦!† (MGM). Bonds smoothness and intellect help him win over the hearts of numerous women just like Odysseus. However, both Bond and Odysseus never get too wrapped up in a relationship to forget what their greater goals are. Bond always moves on and saves the world and Odysseus always leaves his lover in order to return home to Ithaca. Both characters have a strong sense of sensual n ess towards females, but it never seems to distract them from their main goals. Lastly, a trait that may not be seen as positive is Odysseus’ lust for pride and glory, which is shared with the modern day hero, Spiderman. Like other Greek heroes, Odysseus longed to win kleos, which is glory won through great deeds. This kleos sometimes led Odysseus into taking pride in his own glorious acts when it wasn’t really necessary. After cleverly tricking the Polyphemus and escaping from his lair, Odysseus said, â€Å"Cyclops, if any mortal man ever asks you who it was that inflicted upon your eye this shameful blinding, tell him that you were blinded by Odysseus, sacker of cities† (150, Homer). Odysseus could not resist his thirst for glory after defeating the Cyclops and needed to reveal his name for the sake of his own pride. Peter Parker as Spiderman possesses this same quality. When Peter first learned of his new spider powers, he tried to use them to impress other people. He took pictures of himself fighting criminals and sent them to the newspa per for people to see. He wanted other people to see how amazing his powers were and to glorify him for them. According to the story synopsis, â€Å"At first, Peter decides to use these powers to make money to  impress Mary Jane. He appears in a wrestling match and, armed with his new spider strength, wins the match in record time† (Marvel, and Columbia Pictures). Peter used his powers to glorify his own image just like Odysseus. However, this trait between the two characters does not benefit them in any way, so why is it relevant between two heroes?The fact that both Odysseus and Spiderman had a strong sense of pride provided room in the stories for it to be overcome. This trait of pride had drastic consequences for both characters. Spiderman’s pride caused him to spend too much time on impressing other people when he could have been a hero. This prevented him from saving his uncle Ben from being murdered because he was preoccupied. Odysseus pride caused him to reveal his true identity to Poseidon, who in turn seeked vengeance on him. This lead to a great amount suffering that Odysseus had to endure on his journey home. However, both characters were able to overcome their pride to a certain degree by the end of the stories. Spiderman eventually learned that â€Å"with great power, comes great responsibility† and to use his powers to protect the city from evil and not for his own glory (Marvel, and Columbia Pictures). By the end of the epic, Odysseus seemed much more willing to temper pride with patience. When disguised as a beggar, he did not immediately react to the abuse he received from the suitors. Instead, he endured it until the trap was set for him to strike down on them. In a sense, the quality that was passed down from the Odyssey to modern day heroes is the ability to overcome pride and the glorified self. Many of today’s fictional heroes resemble the character traits of Odysseus. Odysseus’ brute strength and athleticism can be seen in Neo. His cleverness and quick thinking resemble Captain Jack Sparrow. His sensual ness towards women, but without losing sight of the greater goal is comparable to James Bond. And his pride and thirst for glory is shared with Spiderman and how both of them were able to suppress it. Overall, it’s remarkable that today’s characters still resemble such an ancient hero. Will our idea of what makes a hero ever change? Works Cited Elliot, Ted, Terry Roscio, and Walt Disney Pictures. â€Å"Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl Screenplay.† hundland.com. 3 Nov. 2008 . Homer. The Odyssey. 1967. Trans. Richard Lattimore. New York: Harper & Row Publishers, 2007. Marvel, and Columbia Pictures. â€Å"Spider-Man The Story.† Spider-Man Official site. 3 Nov. 2008 . Purvis, Neal, Robert Wade, and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM). â€Å"Casino Royale Script.† Script-O-Rama. 3 Nov. 2008 . Wachowski Brothers. â€Å"The Matrix Reloaded Screenplay.† horrorlair.com. 3 Nov. 2008 .

The Man I Killed by OBrien Free Essay Example, 1500 words

What makes an individual believe that these happening truths are accurate is due to the repetition is done in the chapter that indicates the accuracy of the incidence. They are the emphasis of the shocking reactions by O Brien. For instance, the manner in which he describes the eyes of the dead soldier just indicates the accuracy of the happening truth in the story. He says that the victim s one eye was shut and the other had a star-shaped hole, where the continuous repetition of the incidence indicates the hard moments that O Brien was going through in his attempts to visualize the man he had just killed. Another element of happening truth being accurate in this story is where Kiowa is trying to make the emphasis to O Brien that the man he had killed was still meant to die, but he does not give any response (O Brien). Kiowa in the chapter goes on to make continuous comments on the incidence and that O Brien should not feel bad that he had killed but he does not give back any commen t. This whole incidence displays an accurate true happening and thus, brings the feeling of sympathy to a reader, as one could feel the shock and the unbelief O Brien had towards what he had done on taking another person's life. We will write a custom essay sample on The Man I Killed by OBrien or any topic specifically for you Only $17.96 $11.86/page The aspects of justice and beauty tend to lose their meaning and horror thrills. Disgust enthralls and the levels of consciousness, the walls that have been raised to contain realism are obliterated. O Brien says that a true story of war is not possible to tell. He says that telling a true war story is the assessment of a compound link between a storytelling and an experience of war (O Brien). Among the characteristics of a true story as said by O Brien is that a war story sounds to be too true when the story is so crazy for an individual to believe it.