Yesterday I read, a
little, about
Hmong culture. I knew nothing about this Asian group of people
and I´m glad I had the chance to compared it to my own local
experiences in Venezuela and I also pondered with another social
group I´ve briefly experienced for nearly 3 months, in the jungle:
Pemon
people.
I´m not an
anthropologist, but I like to compare cultures to those I have read
on the Bible and I´m sure you would enjoy traveling its pages when
you see Hmong people have clans like Jews and some of their
traditions look like Jewish liked to live.
Regarding emotional
detachments, I also liked this part I read: “At
some point during the wedding, an elder would come ask the bride if
she has any old
gift(s) from past boyfriend(s).
If she does, she
must give them those gifts
and they will return the gifts to her past boyfriend(s).
”
I smiled at this! :)
Have you left certain things really passed and left? Have any of you
kept things you don´t want to leave totally out, in the past?
I´m glad older cultures
knew it!
You cannot walk a new
life looking at things back, same way Lot´s wife tried to do.
I´m OK if you
keep those lessons life gave you to get more wisdom and to
avoid more hurting experiences in your life but, are any of these
holding you back to
those emotional bonds you would let somebody feel down?
It´s obvious your past
belongs to you! But, if you and I keep on living in the past, you
wouldn´t be enjoying your present and, perhaps, you could let
another feelings down.
Recently I learned there
were several things I needed to get rid off. Some pictures can be
gotten off with some feelings and I also prayed to be set free from
unnecessary emotional bondage, because some of these were
hindering my way to be united to someone God would send for me (to be
mingled and utterly melted in marriage).
Hmong culture knew it!:
“There
is a saying that if a bride does not give her past boyfriends' gifts
back, if he still really loves her and dies early, he'll come haunt
her babies, which will make her babies cry a lot.”
Do you want your children
to cry?
Do you want your loved
ones to suffer, within a new promissory relationship?
Do you want to be left
behind by present and its possible reality?
It might sound like a
myth, but emotionally the ghosts of your past can hurt you, your
future groom or bride, and your children. Hmong people knew it
somehow: “The
bride's maid's job is to make sure the bride does not run off with a
man as, historically, many girls were forced to marry and would flee
with their boyfriends.”
If you have enjoyed
reading the Bible, you may cheer at those things I have cheered: How
come these distant cultures have too many things in common? Humans
are the “same” everywhere, I may say.
Benjaminites were not
allowed to marry girls from their tribes... They were in trouble to
be married (Jdg
21:7) and the same “love” story is
widely spread on earth (Jdg
21:16, 18-23).
If you read about
marriage and their culture, you might laugh at this: “Deu_25:5
When
brothers live together and one
of them dies without
having a son, his
widow must not marry outside the family.
Her husband's brother must marry her and sleep with her. He must do
his duty as her brother-in-law.”
Hmong people seemed to be
doing the same! (Traditionally,
when a boy wants to marry a girl, he will make his intentions clear,
and will "zij" ("snatch") her during day light or
night at any opportunity that is appropriate. This is traditionally
only a symbolic kidnapping.
). Just compared it to that in Jdg
21:16, 18-23.
These people are allowed
to be exogamous their own clan but, when some of them died, they
played that caring role Jewish did. (When
a husband dies, it
is his clan's responsibility to look after the widow and children.
The widow is permitted to remarry, in which case she would have two
choices: she may marry one of her husband's younger brothers/ younger
cousins (never
to the older brothers)
or she can marry anyone from an outside clan (besides her own)).
Hmm!
Hope this tiny-culture
journey serve to know we all need the same.
A. T.
No hay comentarios:
Publicar un comentario