Loyiso took us to his neighbors’ home because they were also having a traditional ceremony. The purpose of the ceremony was to say farewell to one of the sisters of the family because she was going away (I don’t know where or why). When we arrived, they were in the house singing and dancing. At any time, if someone wants to say something, they can stop the singing and speak. When we arrived, they wanted to welcome us properly which meant drinking Mqombothi (traditional Xhosa beer). We told Loyiso that we don’t take alcohol and he said that it was ok, but then he asked us again because the family really wanted to welcome us into their home and this is the way they do it. For him to ask us again was huge because it showed me how important this was to the family. Loyiso suggested that we just drink a little bit or to just put the bucket (Mqombothi is always drank from a small bucket or bowl) up to our mouths. So we were faced with a moral and cultural dilemma . . . what do we do? Would pretending to drink it compromise what I stand for? Some would inevitable get on my lips, tongue, or mouth, so I would taste at least a little bit, so would this be breaking the word of wisdom? How offended would the family be if I did not drink it? And would my not drinking it reflect badly on Loyiso who has been kind enough to invite us to his home village and would it damage our friendship? So, we decided to put it up to our lips. A little bit did get down my throat and lips, but I minimized it as much as I could. I did what I thought was right and hope that Heavenly Father understands. So that was an interesting situation: the conflict between culture and religion.
We ate some more meat after that. This meat had been boiled in pots and was really tasty as well. We also got to eat ulusu (stomach and intestines) once again, and it was probably the best ulusu I have even had. Oh and we drank the gravy that came out of the pots because it is supposed to help with . . . are you ready for it . . . now just go with it because I did . . . this gravy is supposed to help with erections. For this reason, the older men always get to drink it first. The guys kept telling us we should drink it, but they also said that we should have “plans” that night because the gravy really works J. Oh traditional superstitions.
That was pretty much the general picture, but one more thing: this country is beautiful: both its people and landscape. I tried to capture its natural beauty in some pictures, but the pics did not do it justice. It was an absolutely beautiful area and I ate it all up.
How much respect do we really have and should have for culture? and God’s green earth is awe inspiring . . .
2 comments:
The beer to the lips dilemma is very interesting to me. It has made me contemplate many other possible interesting dilemmas. I started writing them but then I realized they were probably inappropriate, I'll just talk to you when you get back. When do you get back?
Yeah it really does, you should email those other dilemmas to me because that would be so interesting. I fly out of SA on 18 August and will probably be in Provo by the 23rd ish.
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