By Max Ediger Kasepuhan Ciptagelar is a traditional Sundanese community in West Java, Indonesia. The people here maintain their ancient traditions under the rule of a young king by the name of Abah Ugih. He inherited the position from his father. The king, called Father by the villagers, is a humble man who spends much…
Tag: indigenous
How do you see God?
By Rachel Bergen From an early age, Lioni Tobing was curious about who exactly God is. She would wonder funny things about her Creator like, “Does God drink coffee or tea? Does God like cookies?” But never got the answers she needed, nor did she feel comfortable asking people in her church these types of…
Reconciliation is a Journey
By Miriam Sainnawap “Residential schools for Aboriginal people in Canada date back to the 1870s. Over 130 residential schools were located across the country, and the last school closed in 1996. These government-funded, church-run schools were set up to eliminate parental involvement in the intellectual, cultural, and spiritual development of Aboriginal children. “During this era,…
“Call Me Manobo”
By Rachel Bergen Rene Bundozan’s identification paperwork shows he is a Filipino Christian. That’s because there is no option to declare himself by his Indigenous spirituality. The 25-year-old hails from North Cotabato in Mindanao and comes from the Ilianen Manobo Indigenous community in southern Philippines. At an early age Rene became a Christian and lost…
Creative Storytelling as a Tool for Transformation
For the first time at School of Peace, participants used puppets and dioramas to explain issues from their communities. In the third module, Hem Sopharak “Small” led a session on creative storytelling as a tool for transformation. The participants broke into groups and made their own puppets and dioramas to explain problems like colonization, trauma, reconciliation, and…