Saturday, August 24, 1996
Saturday, August 24, 1996
The dog is man's best friend since pre-Columbian daysBy WENDY GRIFFIN Special to Honduras This Week Fourteenth in a bimonthly series Since pre-Columbian times, dogs have been important in Honduras. Some Comayagua Valley pre-Columbian ceramics have a dog painted on them. Archaeologists believe that pre-Hispanic Honduran Indians had already domesticated at least one species of dog, one that did not bark. These dogs may have served as a source of food as well as being pets. The Spanish introduced more varieties of dogs -- guard dogs that barked, and hunting dogs. In Honduras, few rural or urban homes are without a dog. The Miskito Indians explain why dogs are man's best friend in the animal world. This story was collected by Oswaldo Mungia, director of the development agency MOPAWI, and published together with the collection of MISKIWAT. THE DOG AND THE ALLIGATOR Long ago men and women lived apart. The men lived together and were separated from the women by a great river. In the river, there was a fierce alligator who ate anyone who tried to cross it. However, one man was determined to cross the river. He looked at the situation from all angles and decided that the only way he could cross the river was to get the alligator to take him. So he went down to wait for the reptile. Soon enough the alligator came. "It is forbidden to cross the river," it said. "I know," said the man. "I was thinking that, in fact, the only one who can cross the river is you. You are so strong. You could probably cross the river with me on your back and be back so quickly that no one would notice it." "Well perhaps," said the alligator who was a little vain about his strength. "But then again, maybe you can't do it. Maybe it is too much for you." All this time the alligator was thinking. He could take the man part way across, toss him in the water and eat him. "No, no, I can take you. Just get on my back and I will show you." The man rode on the alligator's back almost to the other side. Then he jumped in the water and swam to the beach. When he got to the beach on the women's island, he said, "While I am here I might as well stay until tomorrow. Come back and get me tomorrow." The man spent the night with the women, but all the time he was worried about the alligator. He knew the alligator would be upset. When he got to the shore, it was worse than he expected. Many other animals were there to see the alligator's vengeance on the man who had tricked him. But when the alligator was about half-way across, a dog started barking. "Come closer. I can't see you clearly. I want to see you when you take vengeance on this man." So the alligator came closer to shore. But the dog barked again. "I still can't see you clearly. Come closer." The alligator came in so close, the man was able to jump off his back and run to freedom. Ever since that day, men and dogs have been best friends. |
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Cayos Cochinos rock to beat of Sixth Annual Music FestivalBy DEBORAH SANCHEZ The beautiful Cochino Grande, the largest of Honduras' Cayos Cochinos keys, basks in the sun just 12 miles off the mainland. Life is mostly peaceful on the Cayo, but once a year this forested little island rocks (and bumps and grinds) to the beat of a different drum. The Plantation Beach Resort, nestled in the protective arms of Hidden Valley, slips out of her laissez-faire gear and puts on her party frock for the annual Cayos Cochinos Music Festival, held this year from August 9-11. The repetitive incantations of Garifuna children swaying to a teasing drum beat under the tall palms clamor for attention early Friday evening. The kids are immaculate in their white shirts and navy pleated skirts or trousers, hair braided neatly and finished off in neat aluminum foil knots, rows of brilliant white teeth in shining handsome faces and big round eyes pools of excitement. The euphony of El Santo Negro is mesmerizing to listen to while the punta is being danced by each pair in the center of the circle. The circle deepens as visitors approach, smiles broaden, hands clap and the energy is building. The star attraction, Guillermo Anderson and the Ceibana band, take over the baton, never missing a beat. The music is like a magnet. Out come the siesta takers, the divers, the sailors, the residents, the locals. Small hands tug at you to come to dance. No inhibitions, the Garifuna kids are ready to salsa. Guillermo Anderson and La Ceibana play with joy, gusto and gobs of talent. They have not missed a festival since the tradition began six years ago and they enjoy relaxing and jamming as much as the audience. Which is one reason their performance is so special. Anderson makes everyone feel as if they are a welcome and honored friend. Known to many as an ecological singer because of his well known composition Música para Salvar la Naturaleza (Music to Save Nature), Anderson is a multifaceted talent. When he worked on a children's project, La Fiesta del Bosque (The Forest Festival), he became known as a children's songster. Anderson composed four songs under the title La Fuerza que Teneís (The Strength You Have) to stimulate rural women's groups into discussions about their identity. Look for his soon-to-be-released CD titled Desde el Fondo del Corazón (From the Depths of the Heart). Bobby Reiman take the stage, or rather the beach, on Saturday. His harmonica and guitar contrive to marry the Spanish island culture he loves so much with some good American country music and jazz. There are no frontiers for this music man from Chicago. Bobby was a Golden Glove when he visited the Bay Islands and fell in love more then twenty years ago. He plays regularly in Roatán, where he resides. Several spontaneous performers jump on stage as the festival progresses. A South African yachtsman joins Anderson and Reiman playing his two wooden kitchen spoons like castanets. A beautiful Australian damsel commands total silence with a drop-dead, fabulous belting out rendition of "Summer Time". Renowned watercolorist Virginia Castillo tells Anderson, "better sign her up right away," a sentiment echoed in the applause and cat calls rising from the crowd. Next year the Festival is scheduled to take place in July. The island, the veranda, and the fruit await. |
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To the Pech, snakes are more than just dangerous animals. They also provide skin for their "tempukah" drums, made of hollowed out mahogany logs and the skin of a live snake. |
Honduran snakes are not endangered, but snake folklore isBy WENDY GRIFFIN Special to Honduras This Week Thirteenth in a bimonthly series One of the down points of visiting the beautiful forests of Honduras is that there are some very poisonous snakes lurking there. The most poisonous is the lance de fer, called the "barba amarilla" by locals and the "tamagas" by several indigenous groups. Although the Pech Indians have a natural fear of the barba amarilla, they also believe it was created for a reason. This reason is illustrated in the Pech tale "The Origin of the Snake and the Wako," as told by Pech Indian Hernan Martínez to Honduran anthropologist Lazaro Flores. According to the legend, there were once nine brothers. The eldest was causing disturbances and making it difficult for the animals and people of the forest to prosper. The youngest brother decided to defend them. To do this, it was necessary to kill the oldest brother. He began by making a deadly snake using wax and the hair of one of his nieces. He used magic to make the snake grow, then blew four breaths into the snake until it began to move. Finally, he gave the animal one eye, made of a grain of corn. The youngest brother then asked two of his nieces to go fishing, explaining that he wanted to have a party for the eldest brother. They brought him back a lot of crabs and fresh water shrimp and he asked them to cook the food and put it in another pot to cool. After they did this, the brother put the snake under the pot. He invited the eldest brother to join him for a meal and when the two began to divide up the seafood, the snake bit the eldest brother. Before he died, he asked his younger brother to bury him standing up instead of lying down. Although the youngest brother suspected he was up to something, he followed his dead brother's wishes. The youngest brother wanted to send the snake far away so that it would not bite other people. He asked the wako, a type of hawk, to carry the snake across the sea. Although there are different versions of why this did not happen, one of the most common is that the waco ate the snake. After eating the snake, the bird went to the forest to attend to his physical necessities, then returned to the youngest brother. "You did not do as I asked," said the brother. The wako lied and said he had, but the youngest brother took him back to the place where he had taken care of his physical necessities and he saw that is was swarming with little snakes. To counterbalance the damage done, whenever the Pech have ceremonies to cure snakebites the wako appears. Some Pech women have been known to survive being bitten by a snake five different times thanks to the help of local healers. The entire community participates in the snake bite ceremony and a lot of food is prepared. The people believe the snake bite has weakened the spirit of the victim and that he or she needs food and neighborly support to get well again. When the Pech designed the seal for their official federation, they chose an Indian with a snake. One half of the figure is light in color, representing the open side of the Pech culture. The other half is dark, representing the secret side. To the Pech, snakes are more than just dangerous animals. They also provide skin for their "tempukah" drums, made of hollowed out mahogany logs and the skin of a live snake. Only men play this drum; it is a sign of manhood when a boy is first asked to play it. Few people know how to make this drum today. Not all the snakes in Pech stories are regular snakes. A very important snake is the "Pirikat," or the Feathered Sky Snake. The word "pirikat" also means rainbow. According to Pech folklore, the Pech hero Patakako was taken to the end of the world by this multicolored snake. There, he met the one-eyed giants who were responsible for changing the four wooden beams that hold up the world whenever they began to rot like the fenceposts in Pech villages. Although no Honduran snake has been placed on the list of endangered species, Pech ceremonies involving snakes are growing increasingly rare. A lack of mahogany makes it difficult to make snakeskin drums and the fresh water shrimp of the snake legend, as well as other traditional foods, are no longer available in Pech territory, due mostly to the pollution of local rivers and the effects of deforestation. The snakes have not declined, but the ability of the Pech to deal with them in a traditional manner has. |
"Kevin could count to 10 and say and write vowels at age two." By the time he was three, "he knew the alphabet and could read simple words."-Sonia Jimenez de Butto,
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Boy genius struggles to find place in the Honduran school system
When you first meet Kevin, he seems like a typical,
normal child. He's quiet and shy. But he's frequently
frustrated teachers and the administration at the Devonia
Bilingual School in San Pedro Sula. He has already
finished the class assignments for the second grade and
is reading, writing long hand, learning to use a computer
and adding three digits. Educational psychologist Fausto Martinez evaluated
Kevin and verified his IQ of 130, as well as his
potential and willingness to learn. But teachers can't
change their class plans for one student and educators
are having a hard time finding a place for him where he
won't be bored. Kevin has always done things faster than the growth
and development charts say he should. He was sitting
without help at 3 months, standing alone at 6 months and
walking alone at 10 months. He started to show he was
different intellectually at age two and began to show an
interest in reading and writing. His mother, Sonia Jimenez de Butto, says, "Kevin
could count to 10 and say and write vowels at age
two." By the time he was three, "he knew the
alphabet and could read simple words." Kevin has
always been curious and learned at a very young age to
differentiate between colors, numbers and letters. At
two, he could not only tell you which car was a taxi, but
which one was marked "collectivo". Mrs. Butto and her husband Salvador have always
encouraged Kevin. They tried to enroll him in
pre-kindergarten when he was three, but were told they
had to wait a year. They buy books and educational toys
for him and try to answer his questions. He's constantly
asking how, what and why. How many hairs are on your
head? How does your voice come from your mouth? Kevin's mother says, "when a child asks questions
it's necessary to answer and help stimulate the thought
process." She adds that "parents are the first
to discover a child's abilities, but too many don't help
the child reach his potential." Mrs. Butto is a
housewife and has been at home to answer Kevin's
questions. It is difficult economically, but the Buttos
feel it is in Kevin's best interest. She plans to take an
intensive adult English class to be prepared for Kevin's
questions in English. Mr. Butto works in his own small aluminum shop. He
comes from a family of 11 and has only a basic education.
The Buttos are typical of parents everywhere and want the
best for their son. It is frustrating for then to have to
accept the regular school system in Honduras. "Kevin needs to practice his handwriting, but
even the best bilingual schools don't teach penmanship
until third grade and Kevin is only going to be 6,"
says Mrs. Butto. Kevin has few options. He can return to Devonia in
September and once again frustrate teachers by doing all
of his homework and the next lesson early. He might
eventually find school to boring and lose interest. He
could also look for another bilingual school and
frustrate teachers there. Or, he could just bide his time
at whatever day school and seek outside education. In November 1995, Kevin received a diploma for the
advanced children's computer course at the Edu-Systems
computer center. At only 5 years of age, he was two to
five years younger than the other students in the course. Unlike most kids, Kevin's biggest challenge in life won't be working for an education; it will be finding a place to get one. |
Honduran Indian legends give snakes an important roleBy WENDY GRIFFIN According to the legend, there were once nine
brothers. The eldest was causing disturbances and making
it difficult for the animals and people of the forest to
prosper. The youngest brother decided to defend them. To
do this, it was necessary to kill the oldest brother. He began by making a deadly snake using wax and the
hair of one of his nieces. He used magic to make the
snake grow, then blew four breaths into the snake until
it began to move. Finally, he gave the animal one eye,
made of a grain of corn. The youngest brother then asked two of his nieces to
go fishing, explaining that he wanted to have a party for
the eldest brother. They brought him back a lot of crabs
and fresh water shrimp and he asked them to cook the food
and put it in another pot to cool. After they did this,
the brother put the snake under the pot. He invited the
eldest brother to join him for a meal and when the two
began to divide up the seafood, the snake bit the eldest
brother. Before he died, he asked his younger brother to bury
him standing up instead of lying down. Although the
youngest brother suspected he was up to something, he
followed his dead brother's wishes. The youngest brother wanted to send the snake far away
so that it would not bite other people. He asked the
wako, a type of hawk, to carry the snake across the sea.
Although there are different versions of why this did not
happen, one of the most common is that the waco ate the
snake. After eating the snake, the bird went to the forest to
attend to his physical necessities, then returned to the
youngest brother. "You did not do as I asked," said the
brother. To counterbalance the damage done, whenever the Pech have ceremonies to cure snakebites the wako appears. Some Pech women have been known to survive being bitten by a snake five different times thanks to the help of local healers. The entire community participates in the snake bite ceremony and a lot of food is prepared. The people believe the snake bite has weakened the spirit of the victim and that he or she needs food and neighborly support to get well again. |
