guest speaker part 2

one of the stories the guest speaker told was about a group of hunters in the northern region of ghana. they went out to explore the local forests and stumbled upon 4 monkeys guarding a sacred totem. they returned to their village and informed the king of their findings. they thought the monkeys to be sacred and that they should not be harmed. the king did not believe them, and went hunting for the monkeys. it is said that sometimes, when the king would slay a monkey, its body would turn into a man. the people did not like the king's rampage so they rose up against him and beheaded him. after that, the people formed a community around the monkeys, and even to this day, people in this region live together with the monkeys. they are allowed to roam freely throughout the villages and enter peoples' homes. the people often feed the monkeys and the two species are connected in a culturally important way. their identity is infused with that of the monkeys.

the professor, aside from telling very interesting stories, reminded us that in many parts of africa, the protection and preservation of sacred groves is woven into the very cultural being of the people protecting them. nature and humanity don't stand apart, with humans either protecting or destroying nature. the trees (or in that story's case, monkeys) are more than trees; they have cultural importance to who these people are. it would be amazing to be able to visit some of these places! our professor was very lucky, he'd seen many sacred groves in ghana.


and i can't BELIEVE the celtics rolled over in the fourth quarter. ugh. congrats lakers. i hope the game was at least interesting to watch for those who could watch it. remember, ghana plays australia today! go black starsssss!