Archive for the ‘Cultural Tibits’ Category

Is the Rainbow evil?

Posted by Don and Julie Flower on Friday, April 20th, 2012

Beautiful rainbow

The Pai people are afraid of the rainbow.  They believe the rainbow is very dangerous & must never be pointed at with your finger or looked at.  The rainbow may cause a person to be paralyzed or it may take a person or cause death.  When a rainbow is seen the person will begin to chop at it with a machete or draw a rainbow on the ground & then chop it to protect them-self from the rainbow.  The rainbow is evil & to be feared. 

Cenidia said to her husband Chito, ..It must be all lies that the missionaries are teaching us.  What they are teaching us isn’t what we have been taught.  When the big flood came Grandfather saved himself by climbing up into a palm tree & chanted. As long as he chanted the tree grew & he was saved from the flood. Grandmother drew a circle on the ground & stepped into the circle chanting, it floated like a tub & she was saved from the flood.  We have always been taught the rainbow is evil not a promise from God.

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Armadillo for lunch.

Posted by Don and Julie Flower on Wednesday, July 1st, 2009

Rosada

Our Pai friend was at his home when his daughter said, Look a little pig.  Looking up from his work he saw an armadillo coming down the path to their home. He caught the armadillo & was preparing to cook it when his father-in-law arrived at his home and said, –What have you got there?

Our friend said, –This armadillo came to our house. I caught it so we can eat it.

His father-in-law said, –That is “mba’e mbora’u” You cant eat it! You have to burn it! It brings death! Someone will die if you don’t burn it & throw it away.

Our friend said, –I have heard the Word of God & in the beginning God created all of the animals & said they are good. Also when the Israelites were in the desert & hungry, God sent them doves right to their tents for them to eat. So God does sometimes send food right to us at our home. It is OK for us to eat the armadillo as God is in control and sent it to us to eat.

Epifanio correctly applied truth to his daily life from the Word of God.

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