Genocide and Heritage
In 1943, Raphael Lemkin coined the term 'genocide', from the root words genos (Greek for family, tribe or race) and -cide (Latin for killing). His definition:
…any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, such as:
(a) Killing members of the group;
(b) Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group;
(c) Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part;
(d) Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group;
(e) Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.
He wanted especially to make it clear that killing didn't necessarily need to be involved when he wrote:
"Generally speaking, genocide does not necessarily mean the immediate destruction of a nation, except when accomplished by mass killings of all members of a nation. It is intended rather to signify a coordinated plan of different actions aiming at the destruction of essential foundations of the life of national groups, with the aim of annihilating the groups themselves. The objectives of such a plan would be disintegration of the political and social institutions, of culture, language, national feelings, religion, and the economic existence of national groups, and the destruction of the personal security, liberty, health, dignity, and even the lives of the individuals belonging to such groups. Genocide is directed against the national group as an entity, and the actions involved are directed against individuals, not in their individual capacity, but as members of the national group."
And
"Genocide has two phases: one, destruction of the national pattern of the oppressed group; the other, the imposition of the national pattern of the oppressor. This imposition, in turn, may be made upon the oppressed population which is allowed to remain or upon the territory alone, after removal of the population and the colonization by the oppressor's own nationals."
We're all the victims of genocide. We're colonized. Some of us have been colonized for so long that they think they are the colonizers. Hel, they are the colonizers of themselves. John Trudell said something to the effect that white people are doing to the American Indian now what was done to them thousands of years ago. But we can also all reach back into our ancestral pasts and find healthy, indigenous ways to live, even if some of us have to reach a little farther.
This is a big part about what the process of rewilding is about. When we're building neo-indigenous cultures, we're building off of the cultures we come from, and what we can remember about how our ancestors lived before being colonized (and whatever works from how we've lived since then).
I occupy an interesting position in this. My family has been "multi-racial" for a few generations now. As some of you on my friends list know, my grandfather came to the U.S. from the Phillipines (and ended up moving back, so I only met him once). This is a part of my ancestors' indigenous history that I'm particularly disconnected from. This is partly to do with the cultural genocide inflicted on Filipinos by the Spanish, starting in the mid-1500's, and lasting until the end of the "Spanish-American War" when American forces gave support to the Filipino resistance fighters (and then massacred 1.4 million Filipinos when they dared resist annexation). The country is still almost entirely Catholic, and as such very little of the indigenous beliefs and traditions have survived. It's also hard to find documentation of traditional beliefs.
I decided recently to look into finally taking part in an endangered spiritual tradition and art form, the tattoo. Tattoos have a long and important history in every one of the cultures whose descendants make up the modern Filipinos, often as ornamentations commemorating achievements, telling stories of families and individuals, and especially having to do with the warrior traditions. I plan to get one soon, if it doesn't cost too much, inspired by some of my reading from websites such as the Tatak Ng Apat Na Alon Tribe, a group of traditional tattoo artists who work to educate people on the cultural significance of the tattoos, and do much needed research. The question to decide now, if it isn't cost prohibitive, is what design will be fitting for me?
…any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, such as:
(a) Killing members of the group;
(b) Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group;
(c) Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part;
(d) Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group;
(e) Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.
He wanted especially to make it clear that killing didn't necessarily need to be involved when he wrote:
"Generally speaking, genocide does not necessarily mean the immediate destruction of a nation, except when accomplished by mass killings of all members of a nation. It is intended rather to signify a coordinated plan of different actions aiming at the destruction of essential foundations of the life of national groups, with the aim of annihilating the groups themselves. The objectives of such a plan would be disintegration of the political and social institutions, of culture, language, national feelings, religion, and the economic existence of national groups, and the destruction of the personal security, liberty, health, dignity, and even the lives of the individuals belonging to such groups. Genocide is directed against the national group as an entity, and the actions involved are directed against individuals, not in their individual capacity, but as members of the national group."
And
"Genocide has two phases: one, destruction of the national pattern of the oppressed group; the other, the imposition of the national pattern of the oppressor. This imposition, in turn, may be made upon the oppressed population which is allowed to remain or upon the territory alone, after removal of the population and the colonization by the oppressor's own nationals."
We're all the victims of genocide. We're colonized. Some of us have been colonized for so long that they think they are the colonizers. Hel, they are the colonizers of themselves. John Trudell said something to the effect that white people are doing to the American Indian now what was done to them thousands of years ago. But we can also all reach back into our ancestral pasts and find healthy, indigenous ways to live, even if some of us have to reach a little farther.
This is a big part about what the process of rewilding is about. When we're building neo-indigenous cultures, we're building off of the cultures we come from, and what we can remember about how our ancestors lived before being colonized (and whatever works from how we've lived since then).
I occupy an interesting position in this. My family has been "multi-racial" for a few generations now. As some of you on my friends list know, my grandfather came to the U.S. from the Phillipines (and ended up moving back, so I only met him once). This is a part of my ancestors' indigenous history that I'm particularly disconnected from. This is partly to do with the cultural genocide inflicted on Filipinos by the Spanish, starting in the mid-1500's, and lasting until the end of the "Spanish-American War" when American forces gave support to the Filipino resistance fighters (and then massacred 1.4 million Filipinos when they dared resist annexation). The country is still almost entirely Catholic, and as such very little of the indigenous beliefs and traditions have survived. It's also hard to find documentation of traditional beliefs.
I decided recently to look into finally taking part in an endangered spiritual tradition and art form, the tattoo. Tattoos have a long and important history in every one of the cultures whose descendants make up the modern Filipinos, often as ornamentations commemorating achievements, telling stories of families and individuals, and especially having to do with the warrior traditions. I plan to get one soon, if it doesn't cost too much, inspired by some of my reading from websites such as the Tatak Ng Apat Na Alon Tribe, a group of traditional tattoo artists who work to educate people on the cultural significance of the tattoos, and do much needed research. The question to decide now, if it isn't cost prohibitive, is what design will be fitting for me?