On April 15, Shelley DePaul gave an interesting talk at West Grove Friends Meeting about the traditional culture of the Lenape Indians. She opened the lecture by playing a melody on her recorder, which immediately grabbed the attention of the still-chatting audience, and then gave a blessing in the native Lenape tongue.
Most of the other speakers in this lecture series have focused on the specific facets of their religion, but Shelley said that beliefs and religious rituals were so much a part of the Indians' way of life that it was difficult to separate the two. The opening prayer reflected that unity, as it referred not only to us "two-leggeds" but also "four-leggeds," "the fish people," "the winged ones" and "the plant people," all as equals.
She said that traditionally the tribal chiefs ate last, only after everyone else did, and suggested that we'd be better off if today's political leaders did the same. She also stressed how important respect for elders was in the Native American tradition.
The next talk in the series is April 22 at 7 p.m., when Jim Hammerman and Richard Beck will discuss "The Fourth Way" (G.I. Gurdjieff).
No comments:
Post a Comment