Quote Blog

“Doesn’t make sense to you either? The skill takes years of experience to master, and only a small percentage of the entire tribe (mostly related persons) is even capable of learning this technique”

This quote serves as a follow up statement to a long description of a technique used by ancient Philippine tribes (carried down to present day) on how to navigate from island to island. The method seems completely ridiculous to me. I do not understand how it could possibly work. This navigation method includes using imagination to set checkpoints in relations to stars. Sometimes a real island can be used, but it works with imaginary islands as well. The method is kept somewhat secret from other tribes in the local area and is used as an empowerment toward them aswell. A complicated but effective method such as this one can be what moves rice from this island to this island faster, or go on longer fishing trips to better fishing grounds. These are the kinds of things that set a tribe in a much higher realm of superiority vs another. In primitive or third world countries, this is crucial to holding an original lifestyle.

Once aid from a more civilized area is needed, the aided area ends up becoming more modern in terms of production, loss of original tradition, hunting and gathering techniques and many others. This can result in either bad or good. Say explosives were introduced to a fishing community, (this happened in the Maldives, French Polynesia) the people then use them underwater to stun or kill fish so they float to the surface so that they can get 100 fish in the time they used to catch 10. The local area begins to make more money, some buildings are built and people begin to live more civilized. Now, since the whole reef system surrounding the islands is almost destroyed, the Maldivians are migrating to different archipelagoes in search of new grounds to fish. What do they leave behind? Their home land which is now covered in ruins and a bunch of destroyed reefs where a similar livelihood may not exist up to 30 years from now. The advancement of a culture can be good however, but when it happens in a place that can sustain a primitive lifestyle to a flourishing extent, it can have a damaging affect.