Part 4: Possessed (SPOILER ALERT)

[Debra]

Put your comments for Part 4 here.

[Debra]

Loves the description of the ritual of Dyal - the rice planting. Interesting how men from other villages come to pair with the women in the village; and of course, wonder how they manage the sex part without the husbands of those women getting jealous.

So many beautiful descriptions of the jungle. I was reminded of a visit to California where we hiked up to a natural swimming hole near waterfalls. I couldn't tear myself away. Course, it didn't hurt that I met a nice boy there, too! He kissed me before I left. Sigh....

Gilles flowers and bamboo... another sigh... I miss my garden. I used to know the names of every one of the flowers and plants in it.

Our heroine sure gets in a world of hurt by continuing to see the headman from Pig Village; her village shunning her for angering the spirits. She does seem like a "possessed" woman!

[Almeta, co-moderator]

Karen's visit makes Martiya appear more likeble. Prior to that it seemed as though there were nothing but complaints and misery. Now, she is swapping stories and joints and wine with her best friend while sitting outside Martiya's hut. Cooking and joking with the natives.

Only now, do we get the descriprive and overwhleming beauty of the Dyalo village surroundings, before that I only remember mud.

Dyal and tsi. Finally a ritual and philosophy to ponder. I suspect that the Walkers didn't so effectively convert the Dyalo to God, as they did convert God into tsi.

Tsi better explains why the Dyalo tribsemen frustrating answer to everything is "Because it will anger the spirits". Sorta like your parents saying; "Because we said so"!

[Almeta, co-moderator]

I am not surprised that Martiya participated in the dyal Rice ceremony. She was just too curious. Oddly, I was disappointed that Gilles could not forgive her. Appeasing Rice is a tribal tradition that the rest of the village managed to take in stride. She must have known that he couldn’t. When she regained her occidental self, she was unable to forgive herself for the sexual betrayal.

Do you think that they could have gotten past it?

[Almeta, co-moderator]

I have another thought that has been rolling around in my head.

Martiya seemed to complain constantly about the Dyalo village inhabitants, her living accommodations, her inability to grasp and understand their customs. Yet she willingly abandoned all ties to her “western” connections, and not just in the name of research, for she eventually didn’t even want to submit papers or “that book”. She just felt that Dan Loi was where she should be; just as Malinowski stayed in New Guinea, all the while feeling distain for the natives even though they fully accepted their resident “outsider”.

In our own communities, we complain about the district politicians and their handling of village issues. We criticize the inhabitants for their incomprehensible ways, at the same time interacting with them in a neighborly fashion. We participate in the local traditions of festivals and holidays and spiritual fellowship; and then critique the presentation or custom. What is anthropologically different?

It’s Tribal!

[Debra]

I do think it is a shame that Gilles couldn't forgive Martiya. But, I wonder if she could have stopped participating in the Rice ceremony for him AND stopped seeing the headman of Pig Village. She became pretty obsessed with him. Maybe if she'd continued a more "normal" relationship outside the village, she could have kept some of her toes in that reality and not become so fully immersed in the Dyal way of living. I don't know. It's interesting to think about.

[Debra]

Almeta wrote: "I have another thought that has been rolling around in my head.

In our own communities, we complain about the district politicians and their handling of village issues. We criticize the inhabitants for their incomprehensible ways, at the same time interacting with them in a neighborly fashion. We participate in the local traditions of festivals and holidays and spiritual fellowship; and then critique the presentation or custom. What is anthropologically different?

It’s Tribal! "

You are right! We have our own tribal rituals and behaviors, and often have disdain for those that seem completely different than us. We tend to keep to our own communities where we are most comfortable with other folks pretty much like us and who celebrate life the same way we do. We Americans are a tribe and today the majority of us are celebrating a holiday, Thanksgiving, the roots of which always lead me to thinking about how we wiped out most of the Native American Indians and their way of life after having once given thanks with them! This yearly ritual of giving thanks always seems a bit hypocritical, but, hey, we love the food, right? lol