News and Reviews
2010
News and reviews of publications relating to peaceful societies—and sometimes to related topics—are normally posted here on Thursday mornings (U.S. time) and are kept on this page for one week. Older news and reviews for 2010 are listed below, and ones from previous years are listed on the News and Reviews 2004-2005 page, the 2006 page, the 2007 page, the 2008 page and the 2009 page. All stories are also included in the News and Reviews Subject Listing. Recent ones are listed at the bottom of each society entry in the Encyclopedia of Selected Peaceful Societies, after the heading: Updates: News and Reviews. News and reviews about peacefulness in general are referred to from the bottom of the Facts page, while news stories about this website are linked from the About This Website page. News and Reviews can also be found with the Google search bar.
Current News and Reviews
September 2, 2010. New Housing for the Nubians
Most of the peaceful Nubian people were forced to abandon their homes in southern Egypt in the 1960s because the Aswan High Dam was nearly completed, and, until now, they have never been fairly compensated by the Egyptian government. Many were resettled into shoddy new communities north of the city of Aswan. With their villages and farms flooded in Old Nubia, they have struggled to retain their unique, nonviolent, culture. They have agitated ever since for new farming villages next to the Nile, so they could regain the inspiration from the river, the source of life and culture to them.
The government recently made a commitment to building new communities for them and, according to a news report last week, the reconstructed villages are 70 percent finished. The first Nubian-style dwellings, described as “congested domes,” have been erected at Wadi Qurqur, 25 km south of Aswan. Unfortunately, the news report is confusing—it indicates that the new dwellings will house 1000 families, but it then says they are being erected in eight villages with 250 homes each. Either the newspaper journalist has problems with simple math, or there is an error in translation from the Arabic.
Whatever the case, Mahmoud Meghawry, head of the urbanization authority in the Ministry of Housing, Utilities, and Urban Development, said the first objective of the project is to provide housing for the Nubians who left Egypt after the enforced evacuation of their homeland nearly 50 years ago. He indicated that the Governor of Aswan will be responsible for handling the logistics of allocating the new houses.
Ahmed al-Maghraby, the head of the ministry, said that his agency is constructing, in each village, telephone systems, schools, police stations, post offices, utilities, bakeries, markets, mosques, family centers, youth centers, and agricultural service centers. Roads, drainage systems, and drinking water systems are also under construction.
Mr. al-Maghraby expressed his admiration for the leaders of the Nubian community, people who have waited so long for this development. He said that a monument would be erected in the center of the communities that will read, “We are the people who waited till the state handled its priorities in times of war and peace.”
The long-delayed aspirations of the Nubians to return to the Nile finally achieved some recognition just a little over two years ago at a conference in Aswan, when government officials agreed to start constructing new villages near the Nile which it hoped would begin meeting the needs of the people. Whether the new communities will help the Nubians save their traditional peacefulness will be up to the people themselves.
September 2, 2010. Lepcha Festival Celebrates Peaceful Coexistence
The Pang Lhabsol, one of Sikkim’s foremost festivals, celebrates the eternal peace declared 800 years ago between the original Lepcha inhabitants and the Bhutias, Tibetan Buddhist peoples who were then invading the region.
According to legend, Thekong Tek, the chief priest of the Lepcha, and Khye Bhumsa, the ancestor of the Bhutia monarchs, assembled with their followers near present-day Gangtok, the capital of the Indian state of Sikkim, to declare a peace treaty and swear their blood brotherhood. They invoked, as witnesses, the powerful spirits of the valley and the god Kanchenjunga, the holy mountain located on Sikkim’s western border with Nepal. Kanchenjunga is the third highest peak in the world and the location where humanity had begun, according to their mythology. The festival was celebrated last week at Kabi Lung-chok, about 17 km from the city, the same spot where the signing originally took place.
Mingma Tshering Bhutia, a local elder, told one news service last week during the festival, “Kabi Lung-chok holds significance for the treaty of blood and brotherhood signed by Khye Bhumsa and Thekong Tek in the presence of the guardian deity. Today is special to offer prayers for unity, prosperity and lasting peace for the Sikkimese people.”
In addition to the festivities at Kabi Lung-chok, the people pray for unity and peace to Mt. Kanchenjunga in the Tsuklakhang chapel, on the royal palace grounds in Gangtok. Monks and holy men face the sacred mountain and chant their prayers to reaffirm the bonds of brotherhood and prosperity. A statue of unity marks the historic treaty.
The festival celebrates the mountain itself, the witness to the historic treaty, as well as peace and brotherhood. In fact, the festival name, Phang, means “witness.” The festival includes both serious and light-hearted motifs. Jesters perform their antics and monks do special dances.
The third Chogyal, or king, of the Bhutias, Chador Namgyal, introduced into Sikkim the concept of Kanchenjunga as a war deity, a belief which also entered the celebrations of the peace treaty. To this day, the contradictory themes—a warrior versus a peaceful deity watching over the people—are celebrated at the festivals. Performances of masked dances and warrior dances provide more drama than at many other Buddhist festivals held in Asia.
The supreme commander of Kanchenjunga, Yabdu, wears a black mask. He is accompanied by warriors who wear the battle costumes of traditional Sikkim. Mahakala, the protector of the faith—the dharma—enters to provide a dramatic contrast in the warrior dance. He orders Yabdu and Kanchenjunga to not only defend the faith but to bring prosperity and peace to Sikkim.
The treaty witnessed by the mountain deity 800 years ago initiated an era of peace between an aboriginal society and an invading, more warrior, people. The new era of mixed populations, multiple cultures, differing traditions, contrasting religious beliefs, and, sometimes, conflicting habits has lasted for eight centuries. The interest of Pang Lhabsol is that it continues to celebrate the unity, tolerance, and peaceful prosperity of the Lepcha and Bhutia people. Kanchenjunga, still looks down from the wisps of clouds and presumably approves of the peacefulness in his valleys below—and the festivals that reaffirm the need for peace to triumph over war.
August 2010
August 26, 2010. Hutterite Colony Moves Successfully
August 26, 2010. Botswana’s Abuses of the G/wi [journal article review]
August 19, 2010. Tragic Mudslide in Ladakh
August 19, 2010. Amish Newspapers
August 12, 2010. Inuit Fight Seismic Testing in Rich Arctic Waters
August 12, 2010. Piaroa Social Interactions, Past and Present [anthology chapter review]
August 5, 2010. Open Minded L.A. Priests Encourage Zapotec Festivals
August 5, 2010. Viroqua, Wisconsin, Seeks Compromises with the Amish
July 29, 2010. Botswana San Lose their Appeal for Water
July 29, 2010. Ju/’hoansi Strive to Expel Invaders—Peacefully
July 22, 2010. Difficulties of Life in a Semai Village
July 22, 2010. Warm Welcome for Amish Migrants into South Dakota
July 15, 2010. Debate Continues in Kerala over Athirappilly Dam
July 15, 2010. Ladakh Confluence Music Festival Cancelled
July 8, 2010. Yanadi Poverty in Andhra Pradesh Blamed on Official Negligence
July 8, 2010. Bushmeat Trade Threatens Mbuti Society
July 1, 2010. Peaceful Societies Joins Facebook
July 1, 2010. Discipline for Hutterite Children [journal article review]
June 24, 2010. Tristan Islander Awarded MBE
June 24, 2010. Dissident Catholic Cult Simmers in Fipa Territory
June 17, 2010. Tourist Festival in Ladakh Symbolizes Harmony and Peacefulness
June 17, 2010. Politicians Visit Ju/’hoansi, but Nothing Happens
June 10, 2010. Project in Sikkim Will Honor Lepcha Culture
June 10, 2010. San Peoples Sue for Water
June 3, 2010. Blogger of the Batek is Back
June 3, 2010. Naxalite Violence Advances to New Levels
May 27, 2010. Amish Horse Manure Threatens Wisconsin City
May 27, 2010. Mbuti Suffer in Refugee Camps
May 20, 2010. Impact of Chalakudy Dam on Kadar Villages
May 20, 2010. Ju/’hoansi Reserve Overrun by More Invaders
May 13, 2010. Bamboo Music from India
May 13, 2010. Implications of Gulf Oil Blowout for the Arctic
May 6, 2010. Tristan Fishery Applies for Certification
May 6, 2010. Increasing Government Services for the Birhor
April 29, 2010. Fipa Witchcraft
April 29, 2010. Amish Farmer Selling Raw Milk is Threatened
April 22, 2010. Tristan da Cunha: Most Remote Spot on Earth
April 22, 2010. Army History in Ladakh
April 15, 2010. Water for Tourists, But None for the San
April 15, 2010. Continued Debate About Proposed Dam in Kerala
April 8, 2010. Tourist Facility for the Chewong
April 8, 2010. Nubian Zar Ceremony Is Changing
April 1, 2010. Traditional Inuit Festival Has Modernized, Somewhat
April 1, 2010. Televised Movie About Nickel Mines Distorts Amish Values
March 25, 2010. Corruption in Constructing Yanadi Housing
March 25, 2010. Traditional Tanzanian Healer and his Victims
March 18, 2010. Birhor Disappear in Gujarat
March 18, 2010. Social Uses of Ayahuasca by the Piaroa [journal article review]
March 11, 2010. UN Expert Condemns Treatment of G/wi
March 11, 2010. New TV Movie About Amish Forgiveness
March 4, 2010. Ladakhi Film Industry Portrayed in New Documentary
March 4, 2010. Alberta Hutterites Solve Photo ID Problem
February 25, 2010. Kadar Village To Be Spared
February 25, 2010. Protecting Zapotec Corn
February 18, 2010. Death of Last Bo Speaker Worries Birhor
February 18, 2010. Semai Celebrate the Year of the Tiger
February 11, 2010. Missionary to the Buid Honored Again
February 11, 2009. Nubian Elders Still Miss the Old Life
February 4, 2010. Nubian Connections to the Nile Remembered
February 4, 2010. Inuit Throat Singer Performs in Vancouver
January 28, 2010. Mbuti Seek Designation as Indigenous People
January 28, 2010. G/wi Take Case to International Court
January 21, 2010. Tristan Policeman Has Quiet Job
January 21, 2010. Amish Exempt from Health Care Insurance
January 14, 2010. Athirappilly Hydroelectric Proposal May Be Halted
January 14, 2010. Hutterites Cheer the Olympics
January 14, 2010. Major Threat to Semai Ecotourism
January 7, 2010. Semai Tourism Develops Sophisticated Outreach
January 7, 2010. Building Glaciers in Ladakh