Yesterday I saw the Native Americans sing a song and beat their drums at the National Museum of American Indians - at its first Anniversary.
Then there was this four feet tall female priest from Ecuador - who pryaed to the spirits of the four directions and above and below - and to Mother Earth, Father Fire, Moon etc. The Large TV screen showed images of the lands and the greens etc of the Americas.
These people seemed very different from most of the onlookers - retired non-Native American folks -- many of whom were laughing or sniggering - the way foreign tourists sometime do during a perfomance by the dancers and singers (Kalbelia or Manglayars ) of Rajasthan.
The humility and the earthiness of these perfomers - could rival that of Rajasthani dancers performing in the Rajasthani desert sands. They behaved like the natives of this earth - in this hemisphere.
I have been at performances by Latin American, African American or Asian Ameirican or European American song and dance groups - over the past year -- but none of them have the feeling of connection remotely equal to this Native AMerican group. They ALL had cultural and emotional affiliations elsehere. They are NOT the natives.
Native AMericans (red Indians) have NO other cultural or emotional moorings but that with their geographical region. So they are the real natives. I would say that religion and culture are separate things. Even though they are mostly Christian - but they feel no need to look up to any other land for spiritual sustenance. Unlike African, LAtino, Asian or European Americans.
Similarly, in India everyone (barring a few Anglo-Indians, Goans or Syrian Christians or muslim Pathans or Turks - who claim foreign ancestory) has emotional and cultural moorings only in this region. No Indian (barring the above) claims to have any ancestors in Europe or Africa or elsewhere. I am not going into the details but despite having various faiths - almost ALL the people of India having ONLY this Indian subcontinent as their emotional and cultural anchor.
So in Americas - the Native American (Red Indians ) are the natives -- in Indian subcontinent - nearly ALL are the natives. Same can be said about the Natives of Europe , Africa too perhaps (except recent immigrants in the past few decades or centuries).
Any comments?
Umesh
PS: I was told that the Gypsies in Europe (of Romania and elsewhere) consider themsleves to be from India - and wear similar clothes to that of some Indian nomadic goups from Rajasthan etc - so may not be called natives of Europe.
umesh sharma <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
Hi,Though I am neither an expert in hsitory nor very clear about what the correct Indian history should be but a thought unconsciously has been gnawing me for some days. Many different comments by different individuals - on the net - or in DC - have made me realize that what I think of myself as an Indian - is NOT what most of those around here believe in. Red Indians (Native Americans) also are in this dilemma - being only 1.5% of US population with a 10,000 year old history told to grade 7 children in a mere 7 pages on that Native American history - in a 500 page history book - with 100 pages on WW2 -as Dr Gerald said in a seminar today evening at National Museum of American Indians.Today I had decided to pay a brief visit to the Museum of Natural History - to see if they have some more stuff on Natural Science -- but somehow I saw the location of the American Indian Museum nearby - right close to the Capitol Hill (US Parilament) . That was noon time. I left the area at about 8pm after listening to and commenting on - a seminar by the person who had set up the museum -exactly one year earlier (sep 21, 2004). He is an American (Red) Indian - or "Native American" as he - dr Gerald McMaster (and my classmate from Guatemala - Juna De Simon also) like to call themselves.He is unique in being a Canadian born and brought up in a "Red Indian" reserve and being called in to set up the entire 4 story museum . I was fortunate to be there to hear him show through slides and reminances how he set up the museum - while he was speaking up the book "Native Universe" which he co-edited - published by National Geographic Society and the Museum.He spoke very frankly how earlier in 70s and 80s - the "native Americans" were mere puppets in such museums and talks - who did move their mouths but some white folk did the talking. He then also pointed out that trend has chenged and that for this book - the first by the Museum - the Native AMericans had been given the "authority" to speak from their point of view. He stressed that rather than being a clash of views - between the white and Native American (Red Indian) view of history - it would be a like watching another viewpoint - another facet of the diamond. His choice of words has been perhaps instrumental in his being able to work along with both the Whites (invaders?) and the Native Americans - and building a positive yet distinctively Native Amreican view of history.He then asked various Native American tribes in entire North and South America to present to the Museum artifacts which best represented their tribes - and ingeniously displayed them to show an entire story.The main point is that even the map of National Geographic Society on Native Americans in different regions - was revised - in light of "new knowledge being avaliable which gave a new and better meaning " (or something like that - very good way of putting words to rewrite history - without denouncing previous historians .I wonder why Indian history too should not be revised - "in light of new knowledge" - such as the discovery of an ancient 7,000 year old city under sea near Dwarka in Gujarat - by Prof. SR Rao (Director of Archeological Survey of India ?) . In light of the fact that in early 2005 - scientists have discovered that Man came from Africa to India about 40,000 years ago - and later migrated to Europe , South East Asia etc --from India.In light of the fact that no Indian historian (Romila Thapar or Bipin Chandra) seemed it fit to mention in their celebrated books taught in Indian univs. that Hindu temples were destroyed by Mughals and their women assaulted- I was surprised to get feedback that I was saying something secret - while mentioning the other day that Jaipur King transported Krishna statues from holy Vrindavan temples - to save them from AurenZeb's jihad.Some Indian needs to rewrite -no -revise Indian history --which has so far been written from a Western (colonial European- mostly British) perspective. Indians need to feel that they have the authority to do so . Otherwise they need to set up (fund) some "Chairs" in top Western Univs (in those countries who had no colonies - like US) where the Indian researchers can do unfettered original research on Indian history and culture.Anyone game?Umesh
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