#not to mention the countless of indigenous religions too

[mekatrio]

im glad other southeast asians are feeling wack about raya LMAO like it looks weird as fuck 😭😭 apparently the team behind it went to cambodia laos and 'bali'(lmfao) like ok if its a SEA buddhist inspired setting thats fine(if done sensitively and well researched) but like dont fucking say its based off SEA then?? SEA is made up of ELEVEN countries that are wildly different from each other. literally marketing this as a "SEA inspired film" if its based off specifically buddhist SEA countries is racist as fuck

[olderthannetfic]

Seeing a few replies here that cause me to raise a few eyebrows. That anon is absolutely right, by the way. They know exactly what they're talking about. For context, hi, I'm iraqi-assyrian, we're one of the indigenous (political term, arab iraqis are also native) people of iraq and by large christian. Both genocides the anon mentioned were against my community.

My family and I? We're direct survivors of genocide, considering we'd just had one what with ISIS. It wasn't just killing us, though a lot of us died, it was erasing our culture, destroying our history, bombing our churches... amongst other things. ISIS did attempt to erase both traces of christianity and assyrian existence from the area — that's a genocide. They wanted to eradicate christianity from the area and by large, they've mostly succeeded. Iraq is relatively stable now, but its still not safe for us (christians) to return. Where Assyrians used to be majorly in our homeland, now a majority of us are in diaspora instead.

Again, not getting into the many people who died, of which I knew personally and of whom were my family (my grandpa and several of my cousins, to say the least).

To give further context: To us, Assyrians, christianity is interwined with our identity in a way that pushes the boundaries of ethnoreligion. We have our unique traditions, saints and scriptures. We're also a marginalised people and religion, we did not and still do not hold institutional power. So you'll see me tie the results of the genocide on both a religious and ethnic front, however do not be mistaken, the genocide was religion-motivated. They wrote ن (the letter N) on our walls for Nazerene, asked us to convert pay or die, and quite literally crucified us. I'll spare you the gorey details, I don't feel quite like talking about it myself.

But, I can see us in diaspora, desperately holding on and struggling to maintain our culture and our way of christianity (which wasn't recognised by white christianity anyway, considering they kept sending missionaries to convert us? even though we were... the first christians?) and I can see my younger brothers and younger cousins lose touch with who we are, our culture and history getting lost in spite of our efforts. My cousins speak our language with an Australian accent, sometimes brokenly, and I still haven't figured out how to feel about that. To feel grateful at all that they retained it at all, or to feel grief?

I can see our interpretations for certain biblical events being swapped away for a more western one in our younger generations, and I don't know how to feel about that either. I can see our specfic christian culture fading away to make way for Australian christian culture.

It doesn't help that we've faced countless genocides and massacres before this anyway, both for religious and ethnic purposes, so that what we've managed to preserve of our culture prior to this is in a way just an agglomeration of what was left over in a patchwork sort of way.

And if you think that's bad, then oh wow, you don't want to know about the yazidis. They had it worse.

So yeah, abolishing/destroying religion? Not the woke take you think it is. Abolishing/destroying christianity? Yeah, that neither. As that anon said, people have already tried! And very recently too! We did actually die and get massively displaced as a result, too.

Nothing wrong with combating religious extremism, heck, I'm with you on that too. But being against religion in and of itself? No. That's a call for genocide, plain and simple. And we've been through far too much to tolerate any more of those.

--

[puttingherinhistory]

When I was in college I took a world religions class, and I remember the professor offhandedly mentioning that the mother earth concept has been criticized as misogynistic and problematic. And I was really confused and surprised at the time. This comment and this post of course are targeted at the new age woo woo western concept of mother earth and not older and indigenous religions that may happen to have a mother earth concept. Although due to misogyny and racism a lot of western new age woo woo types believe every indigenous religion universally has a "mother earth" or some sort of mother goddess concept which isn't true.

But anyway even though I was confused at first about why the mother earth concept could be criticized as misogynistic and problematic the older I've gotten and the more I've actually read feminist theory the more it makes sense.

First, there's the issue that it's so often a default that when artists want to make an anthropomorphic depiction of an inanimate object or a concept they always default to it being a woman. Usually a slender and beautiful and attractive woman. This is quite literally objectifying though when you want to take an abstract concept or inanimate object, like the planet earth, or like the concepts of truth or justice, and their human version is always going to be an attractive and feminine women it contributes to the concept of women as objects.

But we should especially look at the actual reasoning as to why so many people conceptualize the earth as a woman. A lot of it is based on gender stereotypes. Like "oh the earth is giving and nurturing and mothers us and is always constantly birthing new life" like, do you not see why it might be kind of misogynistic and stereotypical to pin giving and nurturing and parenting and always popping out and birthing new lives as something that has to be womanly? The idea that woman = always loving and always nurturing and always motherly and always popping out new babies is a really Victorian view. I'd like to think that women aren't innately nurturing and motherly and don't have to make new life if they don't want to and also men can be nurturing too.

I mean, I'm not saying you're a terrible person or a terrible misogynist if the mother earth concept is something that really resonates with you. But this might be something to consider. I think things can get really complicated when you take into consideration an eco feminist view, a lot of eco feminists point out that climate change and misogyny are linked because the reason men (I mean, let's face it, not all of the wealthy capitalist tycoons creating and driving climate change are men, but almost all of them are) feel so comfortable wrecking the earth for their own gains is because those wealthy capitalists do perceive the earth as like a woman, and they perceive women as exploitable resources for their own pleasure and power so they treat the earth the same.

It's been pointed out countless times that women are more likely than men to care about climate change and are way more likely than men to adjust their lifestyle to be more eco friendly. Could this be linked to how the earth is perceived as feminine, as a woman? That this drives women to have more empathy for "mother earth" while cis men are socialized to not give a shit about the wellbeing of women extend this to not giving a shit about the wellbeing of the planet? Honestly probably not, although maybe it contributes a little bit, as the article I linked to points out the biggest drive of this is that women are generally socialized to think about and care about something other than themselves while men are generally socialized to mostly only think and care about themselves. My female co-workers always recycle at work, but my perfectly able bodied male co-workers will throw away their empty soda cans in the trash because they're too fucking lazy to walk an extra few feet to put it in recycling, and when I've politely asked them to put their cans in the recycling that's just a few feet away they just laugh at me and say "who gives a shit?" well, all your female co-workers for one.

[ashandboneca]

heavenly-curse reblogged your post and added:

Im gonna have to be real here,  banishing words like this is not a helpful step,   especially considering that everyone’s path is different and their personal practices do not exist to please everyone. Context matters more than anything.  Blind removal of words we personally don’t like is not a way to build a conscientious community.  

Baby witch: I’ve never liked the term personally and have never used it to reference myself or others.  But if people want to use it for themselves,  it doesn’t hurt anyone. Let it be.  It doesn’t need to be gotten rid of,   just be mindful of how it’s used and call out anyone who is using it to be intentionally derogatory.  If people want to use this as a self descriptor,  leave them alone.  

Fluffy Bunny:  Yes, this one is mostly used as an insult.  I agree that it truly has no place being used.  But if people wish to attempt to reclaim it that’s their prerogative and im not going to berate them for it.

Elder: This is an important term in some traditions and if you don’t want to use it personally? That’s fine. However,  many traditions defer to elders as teachers and places to seek guidance.  It’s not our job to police someones language,  especially considering this term is used by many indigenous religions.  You can warn people of the signs of a dangerous religious authority without telling long established practices that they can’t have their own name for a long term practitioner.

Maiden/ Mother/ Crone: This is a practice specific term.  Most forms of witchcraft or pagan religions don’t use this.  It’s common in wiccan groups,  but not always used.  Regardless,  there is a Male version too (though the roles tend to vary between traditions.  

It can seem exclusionary in group settings unless all have agreed upon it,  but if someone wants to use this in their personal practice as a reference to their journey,  we have no business telling them not to.  As long as they are not forcing the idea onto others,  their practice is theirs and weve no right to tell them how to practice.  

And no,  posting about it on their personal blog doesn’t count as pushing it onto others just because others can read it.

THAT’S something that needs to be phased out in this community.   Constant scrutiny of language used in another’s personal practice when they’re making no push for you to use it needs to STOP.  Just because they post about it doesn’t mean you have to do anything with that post.

If it doesn’t connect with you and your practice,  don’t reblog it.  Or make your own post. It’s that simple.

Thank you for your thoughts. I disagree with you, and while thats fine, I’m just going to respond quickly.

I think that modernizing our language is important, because may terms used in paganism can be appropriative, exclusionary, and inaccurate. It’s not ‘policing’ language to ask people to use better and more inclusive terms.

I should also clarify that I am talking about using these terms in general, and not telling someone how to live.

As I have said in many clarifications, if people want to use baby witch as a self descriptor, cool. That’s their choice. I have no say in how someone chooses to identify. I managed a pagan bookstore for 7 years, and it is a term I saw used as an insult more often than not. YMMV.

Fluffy bunny, you know what, if people want to reclaim it, great. I have only EVER seen it used as an insult, and being dismissive of other’s paths. I don’t think this is a term that is in any way helpful, reclaimed or not. There are other terms that deserve to be reclaimed far more than this one.

My issue with elder is that it, by default, denotes a certain level of respect and authority, regardless of tradition. Practising for 20 years does not mean someone is an elder. If someone is an elder in one tradition, they are considered to hold that respect and deference in other traditions as well. Unlike the organizations that the term was appropriated from (christians, indigenous groups, etc), there is no central organization to hold these people to account should they become abusive, which has happened many many times. And while you do mention we shouldn’t police the language of indigenous groups, I did note that this list is specifically regarding pagan terms.

Regardless of whether m/m/c has a male equivalent, it’s still unnecessarily gendered. I wrote a whole post on degendering witchcraft practices for those who find the inherent sexual and gendered terms outdated, or folks who are trans or non-binary or asexual.

I think that pagans in general do not like to be questioned, not do we like to do the self examination of our traditions or practices. Whether that is because we don’t want to adhere to dogma, or whether we came from oppressive religious backgrounds, I don’t know. I do know that practice should be ever growing and changing, and no tradition is older than 70 years, and was created by people far less woke than us. Language is also ever evolving, and there are countless examples of language that used to be acceptable that is no long acceptable to use. Maybe there are not people forcefully pushing that language on everyone, but it appears in countless books and traditions, and younger or new practitioners should have a choice.

And, at the end of it, no one has to listen to anyone. People can do what they want, identify how they want. However, there are a heck of a lot of other people younger than me who are writing and talking about modernizing witchcraft, and those voices are so vital and important now. I have no more authority than anyone else.

[twatd]

6,000 Years of Murder – Part Four: There Goes the Neighbourhood

Tim: The Wicked + The Divine #36 finally gave us a definitive list of every damn Recurrence that has occurred since Ananke first started exploding heads, so we thought we’d take a walk through the annals of history and provide some context for what was happening at the time. Welcome to 6,000 Years of Murder.

In this entry, we hit the halfway mark in our voyage through history, as we found a modern religion, celebrate the most baller of all the Pharaohs and watch thousands of years of progress get flushed into the Mediterranean Sea... 

1657BC – North America It’s time for another one of our rare pre-Columbian trips to North America, and around this point, that means we’re probably in the area of modern-day Louisiana, checking out some mounds. The Poverty Point culture (an unfortunate name, but historians are a cruel and unusual lot) were a group of indigenous peoples who occupied the lower Mississippi Valley from around 2200BC to 700BC, building settlements in over a hundred sites and creating a large trading network throughout what is now the eastern United States. Mainly hunter-gatherers, they are descended from the tribes that passed through Wrangel Island and down into the continental US.

This time would have been the peak of Poverty Point culture, with work on their eponymous largest settlement just beginning. It would go on to take up 910 acres, and has been described as the “largest and most complex Late Archaic earthwork occupation and ceremonial site found in North America”. Exactly what Poverty Point was used for is heavily debated – some think it was a settlement or trading centre, while others point to its concentric rings of semi-circular mounds as suggesting a ceremonial function.

1565BC – Northern China Our last trip to Northern China saw the Xia dynasty emerging around Erlitou and the Yellow River. As we check back in, the Xia are on their way out, about to be replaced by the Shang dynasty, who will rule for around 600 years. The Shang provide us with some of our first examples of Chinese writing, and oversaw several important developments, including large-scale production of bronze; a foundation of a powerful standing military; artistic works in jade, bone and ceramic; and the construction of large walled palace complexes.

The Shang are the earliest dynasty we have concrete archaeological evidence for, with earlier dynasties existing in the weird space between oral history and folklore. Not only do we have evidence, but we have accounts of the Shang in classic Chinese literature like the Book of Documents, the Bamboo Annals and the Records of the Great Historians (although these were all written at least 1,000 years later). Sidenote: the Chinese remain great at naming things.

1473BC – Northern Indus Valley Our old friend the Indus Valley Civilisation is no more, I’m afraid. It dissipated around 200 years back, when consistent drought and aridification made agriculture more difficult, and urban settlements became harder to support. As it broke up, the people of the Indus Valley Civilisation scattered. Many headed east, while others remained, mingling with incoming Indo-European and Indo-Iranian tribes. For the next 1,000 years or so, the Indus Valley will return to a more tribal, pastoral model without a strong urban centre.

However, who needs an urban centre when you’ve got RELIGION?! Not just any religion, either – this time is known as the Vedic period, because it’s when the four central texts of Hinduism will be written, starting around this time with the Rigveda, a collection of 1,028 Sanskit hymns and 10,600 verses. Discussing cosmology, the nature of god and the virtues of charity, the Rigveda is one of the oldest extant texts in any Indo-European language, and a cornerstone of a religion that boasts 1.15bn followers today. If we’re trying to correlate Persephone fighting back with particularly momentous periods in history, the Vedic period – despite being largely pastoral – certainly qualifies.

1381BC – Central America It’s Central America. There’s a big head in the background. It must be OLMEC TIME. One of the earliest known major civilisations in Mesoamerica, the Olmecs were found in the tropical lowlands of south-central Mexico, in the modern-day states of Veracruz and Tabasco, between 1500BC and around 400BC. As the first major culture to emerge in the area, the Olmecs sort of set the template for civilisations that would follow in the area, and while that template included a complex writing system, the concept of zero, advanced calendars and a great ballgame, it also involved ritual bloodletting and, quite possibly, human sacrifice.

Let’s talk about the big heads. No known pre-Columbian texts explain their origin or purpose, and while only 17 have been unearthed to date, they have become a well-recognised symbol of the Olmecs. Once theorised to be popular ballplayers, they are now generally accepted to be portraits of rulers, although possibly dressed as ballplayers, like when Putin rides around shirtless on a horse. No two heads are alike, and they were carved from huge single blocks or boulders of volcanic basalt, with the finished products ranging in size from 4'10″ to 11' tall. Those are some big-ass heads.

1289BC – Egypt Oh Egypt, we couldn’t stay away too long, especially when you’ve been so busy. The Middle Kingdom is long over and it’s time for the New Kingdom. See if you can recognise some of the names that have come and gone while we were away. Amenhotep. Nefertiti. Tutankhamen. But if they weren’t important enough to bring us back, what could possible be around the corner? It’s only ya boi Ramesses II, aka Ramesses the Great, aka Ozymandias, Great Ancestor, king of kings, the greatest, most celebrated and most powerful pharoah of the Egyptian civilisation.

The 19th Dynasty has just begun in Egypt, and at age 14, Ramesses has been appointed Prince Regent by his father, Seti I. Within 10 years, he’ll have taken the throne, and he’ll reign for around 70 years. During that time, he’ll engage in countless military campaigns, retaking territory from the Nubians and Hittites. He’ll also sign the first recorded peace treaty, oversee a period of unprecedented construction throughout Egypt, and move the capital from Thebes to a new city named after himself that includes huge temples and a zoo. Microscopic inspection of his mummified body, which was originally buried in the Valley of the Kings, suggests he was a redhead, adding to his similarities to Cheryl Blossom.

1197BC – Hattusa We’ve mentioned that Ramesses II was going to war with the Hittites – what’s their deal? Well, at this point, their kingdom is in decline, following a lengthy war with Egypt and the rise of the Assyrian Empire. But at their height in the mid-14th century BC, they encompassed Anatolia (aka modern day Turkey), Upper Mesopotamia, the Levant and chunks of modern day Egypt. The capital city Hattusa is located in central Anatolia, surrounded by rich agricultural lands and small woods that provided wheat, barley, lentils and timber, as well as grazing lands for sheep.

During the reign of the most successful Hittite monarch, Suppiluliuma I (circa 1344-1322 BC), large walls were erected around the city that are still visible today. The city had an inner and outer section, with the inner area occupied by a citadel with large administrative buildings, temples and a royal residence, all decorated with elaborate reliefs depicting warriors, sphinxes and lions. Unfortunately, just as Ananke perfects her force field, here comes the Bronze Age Collapse, which will result in much of the city being abandoned and falling into ruin.

1106BC – Greece That long mix of a fart noise and a scream you can hear is the Late Bronze Age collapse. In between 1200-1150BC, the area surrounding the Mediterranean  undergoes huge upheaval, shifting from the city-state and palace economy that has characterised the region back to small isolated villages. Wave goodbye to the Mycenaean Greeks (who just won the Trojan War finally), the Kassites in Babylon, the Hittites and the Egyptian Empire. In a 50-year span, almost every major city between Pylos in Greece and Gaza in the Levant will be violently destroyed.

What the hell caused all this chaos? There are a variety of theories, including climate change, drought, a volcanic eruption, changes in warfare, the rise of the Iron Age and a general systems collapse that encompasses all these things plus untenable population growth and soil degradation. Whatever the cause, the result is a complete shift in terms of power in the area. While Assyria and Elam will survive past the main period of collapse, they too soon shrink and fade. The Iranian people from Central Asia and the Eurasian Steppe will travel southeast, displacing the Kassites and Hurrians to become the Persian Empire, while following the Greek Dark Ages, this area will eventually re-emerge into the Classical Greek period with its many steps and columns.

1014BC – Central China While the Middle East is wondering what the hell happened, China is continuing to kick ass and take names. The Shang dynasty has come to an end, and been replaced by the Zhou dynasty, which will last longer than any other period of Chinese history, from 1046 to around 250BC. The period will see Chinese bronzeware-making at its peak, and the written Chinese script evolve from a very basic form to something close to its modern version. The Zhou dynasty is often compared to feudal Europe, with a complex system of peerage ranks and intensive agriculture carried out by serfs on land owned by nobles.

The first half of the Zhou dynasty is called Western Zhou, and begins with King Wu of Zhou overthrowing the Shangs at the Battle of Muye. Wu died shortly after and, with his son too young to rule, his brother the Duke of Zhou took command, stamping out civil wars and rebellions, conquering more territory and establishing the Mandate of Heaven, a sort of two-for-one sale that combines the divine right of kings with manifest destiny. All this upheaval and authoritarian rule is clearly approved by Ananke, who has perfected her Double Click Technique when it comes to taking out Persephones.

Like what we do, and want to help us make more of it? Visit patreon.com/timplusalex

[jewelsmarsig-blog]

THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE YOU GO

BACKGROUND/LOCATION:

Peru is located in South America and borders Ecuador (north), Brazil (east), Bolivia (southeast), and Chile (south). The countries close to Peru, culturally speaking, are none. Maybe Mexico, but that is honestly a stretch. Peru is incredibly diverse, yes one may compare any Spanish speaking country to another, however, Peru is different because the country is such a diverse combination of cultures. The universal language is Spanish, however the official languages include Quechua, an old language mostly known to people who inhabit the Andes region of Peru, and Aymara, another language of the aforementioned indigenous peoples. To be honest, you may even hear some pockets of Lima where people speak English (hotels and such), and Japanese (there was a Japanese president a few years back and there is has been a Japanese mixed population prior to his presidency). Home to the Andes mountains, part of the Amazon rain forest (it's not ALL in Brazil), the country as has ancient ruins like Machu Picchu, an remnant of the Incan Empire. Lima, the capital is known as the "food capital of South America". Other cities that remain popular with tourists and are just good to be aware of in general is Trujillo, a seaside city located to the north of Lima, Arequipa (cities filled with buildings made from volcanic rock), Cuzco (Incan trail and Machu Picchu), and Inquitos (borders the Amazon).

Okay, enough geography for now. Onto history. Here are the top historical events you should be familiar with (or at least hear of) prior to going to Peru.

Incan Empire. This ancient civilization that includes Machu Picchu. It was mostly hunters and gatherers, intertwined with religion, architecture, and agriculture.  The empire rules for hundreds of years and its last emperor, Atahuapla, raged a civil war with his brother, until they both were later conquered by Francisco Pizarro, a Spanish conquistador. Spanish- Spain ruled Peru for 200 years and brought peace to the region. Spain also influenced the Peruvians way of life, mostly with religion, by converting its people to Catholicism. However, Spain also used Peruvian indigenous people as slaves,as well as importing slaves form Africa, and eventually there was an uprising led by Inca Tupac Amaru II, a descendant of the royal family of the Inca (we'll reference him later). The rebellion collapsed until being liberated by Venezuela and Argentina (Simon Bolivar and Jose de San Martin respectively), a hundred years later. Spain- 40 years later Peru waged a war with Spain, which they won. Chile- Peru went to war with Chile, dubbed the "war of the Pacific" in 1879 and as a result lost part of the Atacama desert. Ecuador- Peru went to war with Ecuador over border dispute in 1941. A year later a treaty was created and signed between the two countries. Unfortunately, every January since then, disputes happen. Japan- After world war II, Japanese began traveling and staying in Peru. As a result, a Peruvian Japanese population emerged, which brought changes to the food, culture, etc. Cuba/China- In the 1960, guerrilla uprisings that were also influenced by Maoists and revolutionaries, (Shinning Path and Tupac Amaru) created political chaos that continues into the early 1990's Japan- President Alberto Fujimori, captured Sendero Luminoso, a leader in the revolts (Shining Path). During his presidency, Tupac Amaru kidnapped government officials who had Japanese descent because they believe that there is no place in Peru for the Japanese and those that are mixed with Peruvian descent. Fujimori ruled Peru for ten years and fled after his presidency on corruption and human rights violations and charges. Drugs- Peru is the world's top producer of coca, which is used to make cocaine. People normally associated drugs with other country's but based on this information one can conclude that it does, in fact, stem from Peru. Today- Peru, predominately Lima, has landed in the spotlight because of its rich cuisine, and more recently, its country wide beauty contest, where the contestants this year gave out rape and sexual harassment statistics instead of their measurements. there is still gang violence perpetuated by two gangs: Shining Path, which still has ties to neo-Maoism, and Tupac Amaru, still tries to overthrow the government. It is not as prevalent as it was ten years ago, but there is still some violence and flare-ups. 

RELIGION:The major religion of Peru is Roman Catholic. Most of the country 80 percent are Catholic, while the remainder 20 percent is Christian. There are countless churches, shrines, religious symbols throughout the country. Even the indigenous people int he Andes region's religion have similarities and ties to Catholicism. IT is tied closely with politics, because there are religious symbols on governments buildings and the government mandated that public schools only teach Catholicism as religion.

POLITICS:There are two parties: the left and right parties. The president controls the government. Before presidents were democratically elected, people came to power in military coups, uprisings, and revolts. I should also mention currency with is sol and based on the US conversion charts, about 4 sols is a little over a dollar.

SOCIAL/ETHNIC CLASSES:There are three social classes: upper class, middle (business owners/teachers), and lower class (farmers). There are also different ethnicity present in Peru: the native people of Peru known as Indians, that live throughout the country, mostly the Andes (45%), the mestizo populations which are mixed people of European descent (37%), white people, ie; Americans (15%), African-Peruvians people (were brought as slave workers hundreds of years ago), and lastly Asian-Peruvian, Chinese (Tusan) and Japanese (Nisei) about 3%.

GENDER ROLES:In urban areas, there is more emphasis on the patriarchy model, where the man is the head of the household and the woman does the cooking, cleaning, and taking care of children. Both genders have equal rights, however, there is more street harassment towards women and men can be ridiculed for doing "women's work". In rural areas, like the Andes mountains, both  men and women are expected to do both tasks and there is more equality.

NEWSPAPERS:Remember these names: El Comercio, La Republica, El Peruane, and Peru 21.

MOVIES TO KNOW: Millk of Sorrow about a woman suffering form a rare disease, Undertow, a ghost story that takes place in a seaside town and is about homosexuality, and Juliana, a story of girl who dressed like a boy so she can join her brother's gang.

NATIONAL DISH: Ceviche, a seafood dish that features "raw" fish that has been cooked in lime and lemon juice. Served at every restaurant. Another popular dish is Lomo Soltado, a stir fried beef dish with onions and peppers and is served with french fries.

People eat with their friends and family, mostly at home. However, people do eat at restaurants also, but there is greater importance on family. It is an low context culture among friends and strangers, but are high context culture among family and friends too. Friends and family will greet each other with phrases and hugs and kisses. With strangers they may shake your hand but more often than not they will just talk to you to get to know you. It honestly depends on whom you are speaking with and where since Peru is so ethnically diverse. Overall, Peruvians are very nice and hospitable; whether that is in the urban or rural areas of the country. Oh and people in urban areas are LOUD. The rural areas not as much. Peruvians tend to start and end events late and there is a small degree of personal space (people will hug and touch you). Peruvians have good posture and lean in to conversations. The dress is different depending where you go: Andes is more traditional clothing, like decorative cloths and shawls, in the urban areas such as Lima, people wear jeans, t-shirts, typical American garb, so to speak.

​#tags

[studentsinresistance]

“They look just like us”

by YVONNE TAN YIT FONG

We are very eager people when it comes to identity. Figuring out a person’s race, religion, and nationality are but essential to us in understanding who we are as a person. As the late Rehman Rashid put it: “Are you Malay or Indian? Are you Eurasian? Are you Muslim? What ARE you?” Everything that emerges subsequently—every opinion and answer—would depend on my response to that question. 

Unable to expand the narrative of living in harmony and tolerance of the three main races and their conventionalised ways, people just across the sea seem so foreign to us. It legitimises our place in this country, one that supposedly takes pride in diversity and racial harmony. Thus, let us first question our identities and the epic journeys we have taken to authorise “home”.

Deutero Malays vs. Proto Malays/Aborigines

Going two centuries back to 19th-century Malaya, where the idea of a nation has yet to take hold, the Malays despised and feared extremely the Jakuns, the aborigines.The Jakuns of Johor in the jungles barely differed in physical appearance from the Malays; it was “the air, manner, and expression [which] constituted the great distinction between them”.[1] Despite being people of the same ethnicity, “inherent” differences were used as reasons for subordination. Up to this day, terms like “Jakun” and “Sakai” are still being used derogatively to insult someone as “uncivilised” or “backward”. The Bataks of Sumatra and Dayaks of Borneo were once considered inferior in the eyes of Malays too.[2]

There are many theories as to how the aborigines arrived. Some theories suggest migration from Yunnan or other parts of Southern China, others propose modern day New Zealand and Madagascar of Austronesian origin. The Deutero Malays, believed to be ancestors of present-day Malays, followed suit later.[3] Fast forward to the present, we witness a deep split even among those qualified for the Bumiputera “sons of soil” status. Long and arduous land disputes over what is supposed to be the customary land of the Temiar people in Pos Belatim, Gua Musang,[4] and the Semai tribe in Kampung Kuala Senta, Perak, persist.[5] Not to mention, the case of Temiar people being unable to file a report against an assemblyperson who fired a pistol at their Kampung Sungai Papan at Gerik.[6] There remains no unanimous view about what constitutes the “Bumiputera privilege”, not even among Bumiputeras.

Migrant communities

Taking a walk through present-day Chinatown, the new wave of migrants from Bangladesh, Nepal, Indonesia, the Philippines, Myanmar, whom you now haggle with, is apparent. Their journey from faraway countries takes them to all aspects of our everyday lives. Be it cooking our “authentic” local dishes, risking their lives around the clock to construct our MRT lines, or even providing embalming services at Muslim/Buddhist/Hindu/Christian funerals.

Some say that it doesn’t feel like KL anymore, ignorant to the historical fact that Malaysian Chinese and Indians were once immigrants in the country. Serving too as unskilled labourers known as coolies, domestic helpers, and street hawking, what these communities share is being adjudged as the Other to the indigenous culture and heritage of the nation. Even as migrant societies we feel the need to repeat history and reassert our “well-earned” place in this nation. With over 2.07 million legal foreign workers holding temporary employment in 2015,[7] one can imagine the figures to be much higher accounting undocumented immigrants. They experience long unregulated hours of work and receive pay way below the minimum wage. In addition, indebtedness to exploitative recruiters and workplace accidents resulting in deaths are increasingly common.

We can hardly imagine the life-or-death harassment they experience. There are countless stories of “foreigners, especially Indians, beaten up and even had their limbs cut off in broad daylight by [local Indian Malaysians] gang members,”[8] as well as the whipping of workers caught on camera[9] to recurring cases of murder and abuse of maids by housewives.[10] We, the Malaysians, today pose a larger and a more direct threat than their precarious status in the country. Lest we forget, the police and Ikatan Relawan Rakyat Malaysia (RELA, People’s Volunteer Corps) who recently forced refugees to drink toilet water in immigration detention camps, where well over a 100 have died in the last two years.[11]

Thus, there is an urgent need to see humans for humans, equal beyond the baggage of race, nationality, and other set of differences that we construe to call one another “outsiders”. All identities have had their own set of epic and dangerous migrations from seemingly faraway lands and cultures. Humans move. Mobility should not be penalised nor criminalised. As we play the game of who gets to call Malaysia home, let us remember that, Malaysians or not, we are not all that different.

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Notes:

[1] James Richardson Logan, “The Orang Binua of Johore”, The Journal of the Indian Archipelago and Eastern Asia (1847), p. 249.

[2] Anthony Milner, Kerajaan: Malay Political Culture on The Eve of Colonial Rule, 2nd edition (Petaling Jaya: Strategic Information and Research Development Centre, 2016), p. 20.

[3] The theories stated are called the Yunnan theory, the Taiwan theory, and the Sundaland theory, respectively. See: A. Murad Merican, “Debate on origins of Malays” [online], New Straits Times, 21 August 2016, https://www.nst.com.my/news/2016/08/167152/debate-origins-malays [accessed August  20, 2017]. 

[4] Sharifah Mahsinah Abdullah & Ramli Ibrahim, “Orang Asli land dispute: Kelantan govt to appeal high court ruling” [online], New Straits Times, 25 April 2015, https://www.nst.com.my/news/nation/2017/04/233726/orang-asli-land-dispute-kelantan-govt-appeal-high-court-ruling [accessed August 20, 2017].

[5] Loghun Kumaran, “Landmark victory for Orang Asli after customary land dispute win” [online], Malay Mail Online, 5 October 2016, http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/landmark-victory-for-orang-asli-after-winning-customary-land-dispute [accessed August 25, 2017].

[6] Zulaikha Zulkifli, “ ‘Upset state Rep Fires Gun In Air In Dispute With Orang Asli’ ” [online], Malaysiakini, 26 January 2016, http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/328333 [accessed August 25, 2017].

[7] New Straits Times, “More than two million legal foreign workers in Malaysia, Dewan Rakyat told” [online], New Straits Times, 17 March 2015, https://www.nst.com.my/news/2015/09/more-two-million-legal-foreign-workers-malaysia-dewan-rakyat-told [accessed August 25, 2017].

[8] Parthiban Muniandy, Politics of the Temporary: An Ethnography of Migrant Life in Urban Malaysia (Petaling Jaya: Strategic Information and Research Development Centre, 2015), p. 28.

[9] Asia News Network, “Foreign worker whipped, beaten by Malaysian boss” [online], Asiaone, 22 February 2016, http://www.asiaone.com/malaysia/foreign-worker-whipped-beaten-malaysian-boss [accessed August 30, 2017].

[10] Balvin Kaur, “Penang woman charged with murdering Indonesian maid, beating Cambodian maid [video]” [online], New Straits Times, 10 March 2017, https://www.nst.com.my/news/2017/03/219326/penang-woman-charged-murdering-indonesian-maid-beating-cambodian-maid-video [accessed August 30, 2017]; Thasha Jayamanogaran, “Abused maid recounts eight months in torture ‘chamber’ ” [online], Malay Mail Online, 24 December 2014, http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/abused-maid-recounts-eight-months-in-torture-chamber [accessed August 30, 2017].

[11] A. Ananthalakshmi, “Exclusive: More than 100 die in Malaysian immigration detention camps in two years” [online], Reuters, 30 March 2017, http://www.reuters.com/article/us-malaysia-detention-deaths-idUSKBN1710GR [accessed August 30, 2017].