Respecting does not always infer agreement. Respect is defined in many ways. I took the liberty to search the internet for the best definition I could find and decided to use the one I found on dictionary.com which states, “esteem for or a sense of the worth or excellence of a person, a personal quality or ability, or something considered as a manifestation of a personal quality or ability,”in showing that I do not agree with everything our elder brothers the Kogi believed, presented in the film “From the Heart of the World: The Elder Brothers’ Warning”, but I respect several of their ideas and would like to discuss a few.
One of the qualities that I found most admirable of the Kogi people was their respect for women of their society. Several times in the film the mumu or mama stated that women are to be respected and appreciated. The mumu goes on to say that a man should never abuse physically or mentally a woman, and should treat them with the same respect as they do Luna. As I pondered on this message it is the same message our beloved prophet president Hinckley gave to members of the church on several occasions in general priesthood meetings. I believe that one of the reasons that the Kogi have been so successful through time is their respect for the wife’s, daughters, sisters, etc.
Another quality that I admired was there connectedness with their environment. Everything they did had a purpose, nothing was done to pass time or waste the day. One thing that was mentioned in class during our discussion of the film was the idea that they adopted some things from the outside world but would not use shoes because it would separate them from their environment or nature. I believe that it is the little things people do that make them true to who they are and what they believe.
In conclusion the last thing that I would like to mention is my 100% agreement with the idea of balance in the world. I do not think it is a coincidence that there is more disease and natural disaster today then might have been before in the history of the world. We as human have lost the balance between using and replacing. I get this idea from the stability of the Kogi people. They have a very balanced life with nature and have been around doing the same thing for over four hundred years. In the book the Spell of the Sensuous, the idea of the balance between man and nature is also discussed. It is interesting to me that in older civilizations that are present today each civilization has someone or an idea of creating balance or maintaining balance with nature. It is something that in our 21 century mentality we have lost sight of and need to regain.
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I think that is a very profound idea, that wearing shoes would in some way separate them from the earth. I rarely go barefoot outside, but I can think of a few other "shoes" that I wear. When I drive somewhere in a car, I hardly ever appreciate my surroundings. Yet when I take the time to walk, I am more involved with the natural world and I take the time to notice what is happening around me. A car could be "shoes" for me. Other "shoes" that we might have could be busy schedules, cell phones, or whatever else may disconnect us from nature.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the Kogi have a lot of things that the world could learn from as far as order and use of time and resources. I also think that the world the Kogi live in is a different one from the one that we live in. We need to learn to accept our society, once we have accepted it, we can begin to change it. To reject one's society is to deny yourself the opportunity to change it
ReplyDeleteI think the Kogi are on the right track. When you spoke of balance, it reminded me of the documentary on the Kogi and their farming techniques. They each had farms, but they planted a variety of crops so the soil was not stripped of its natural nutrients in a large area. They rotated the crops around to maintain the pH and nutrient balance of the soil. This is something that they have been doing for decades, but it took modern agriculturist a lot longer to figure that out. I believe that the Kogi's intimate connection with the earth has truly made them wise in the care of it.
ReplyDeleteI think that it is often true that we draw away from the natural world around us as we rush about in a hurry to do something that we place more value on. The Kogi have things to teach us sure, the number one thing being that we need to get our priorities straight. To assume that the Kogi knew what they were doing with the crops is perhaps true, but more likely not. They spent hundreds of years trying out combinations before they got it right I bet. I think that the key lies in that they took the time to notice... to care. Maybe it is the act of taking off your shoes that gets you to notice, to care. Whatever it is for us, we need to take the time.
ReplyDeleteI'm not going to lie, I think the Kogi are not balanced. All they did was eat, sleep, farm, get thrown in a dark cave, sit around in huts, and rub sticks on a gourd. Never were they playing or making merry. Their lives were too serious. I don't recall seeing any of them smile. Visiting the Kogi would be like going to Baskin Robbins and only seeing tubs of burnt almond fudge. It would be nice for a little while, but soon you'd crave a mixture of other flavors. The Kogi secluded themselves and therefore are retarded in their progression with humankind.
ReplyDeletei had an intersting thought today about respect for elders. i was thinking the only difference between my college professor an i is that he has had more time to make himself what he is than i have had. i will some day be at his level of learning and experince. for that that reason the elders should respect the you as people of equal potential and the youth should respect the elders not as superiors but as equals who have already acheived and experienced, a source for knowlege. that was just a thought, i havnt made it official sigfreed doctrine yet.
ReplyDeleteI tend to agree with RON BURGUNDY in the sense that although I really like burnt almond fudge ice cream (especially my mom's homemade recipe) I like to switch things up every once and a while and have bubblegum ice cream or blueberry cheesecake ice cream. It just makes things a little more exciting and fun. The weird thing about it though is that I probably enjoy vanilla more than any other flavor. Go figure.
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ReplyDeleteI too noticed similarities about the way that Kogi view and respect women, and the way that LDS people are counseled to treat women. Just another example of how truth is found nearly everywhere, regardless of origin.
ReplyDeleteThese comments made me hungry for ice cream. Good thing I have a tub of Dreyer's Samoas girl scout cookie ice cream in the freezer right now. I thought the idea of shoes was interesting too. There is something about being barefoot outside that makes me feel closer to nature. But at the same time, I think that we've always needed to set boundaries between ourselves and nature. Shelter and clothing are two boundaries that almost all cultures have created. The Kogi do not have many of these boundaries and are therefore more interconnected. These barriers are constantly erected by our society, and it's not necessarily a bad thing. The Kogi have a way of life that emphasizes balance, but our way of life has found ways to stop women from dying in childbirth and to help children born with deformities. For almost all, life is not a constant struggle to survive. These advances would not have been possible if we only tried to balance our lives with nature.
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