Aboriginal Trackers And Their Magical Senses

Newspaper article recognizing the

 skill of aboriginal trackers (1952)

Australian aborigines are the local people of the austraulian outback. They are experts in everything related to the habitat they live in. They have develped unique techniques in order to hunt, look for water, create medicine and make shelter.  

British settlers realized this poeple had an incredible sense of orientation and perception, and, in 1834, ocurred the first recorded use of aboriginal trackers, when settlers turned to two of these trackers and had them search for a missing 5-year-old in rough terrain and only took them 10 hours to find him. It may not seem like much, but, to the White man, the hability to narrow down options by merely looking at the ground and surroundings, be sure of the way you are going when you have an inmense plain before you and succed at the end with preccision, could be easily mistaken for magical powers. After this, trackers helped in  many explorations and searches through the continent by leading White australians into unexplored lands and providing them with food when all left was terrain.

Moodoo, tracker from
'Rabbit-Proof Fence'

This “inhuman” capabilities are the result of skills used for hunting and survival pased down generation to generation. They teach children to read the markings on the enviroment as soon as they are capable of recognizing them and this abilities are used and honed trough all their lives. It does look like magic when someone can tell you the species, gender, size, speed and direction of an animal just by looking at a footprint.

Aboriginal trackers have been an important part of the police forces for a long time since they are of great help when dealing with car accidents, missing persons and crimes, all thanks to their excelent sense of  observation and conclusion making.

Having these abilities could be considered a sixth sense. Wouldn’t it be useful and great if everyone could be as perceptive as them? Or at least have people like them in our own police forces. That way we could sleep comfortably at night knowing that Super Trackers are watching over us <3...

...or at least will come to our rescue in case of being abducted.

Taboo Names of Deads

One of the most rigidly observed and demanded customs between Australian aborigines is never say the name of a dead person, be a men or a women; naming aloud that he has finished of living it would be a brutal violation of their most sacred prejudices and they carefully abstain doing so

.

The main reason of this abstention seems to be the fear of conjure up the spirit, although the natural aversion to rekindle the last pain also influences.

They rarely speak about the dead aborigines and when they do never say their names, they refer to them in a low voice as “the lost” or “the poor friend who is not”. Between of the tribes of Central Australia nobody can say the name of the dead person during mourning and only when is absolutely necessary to do its whispers for fear to alter and disturb the spirit that is prowling in ghostly form.

What do you think about that? Would you do it?

I can't find the part I wanna show you when say about the dead aborigines.

By: Carla Nicole Hidalgo

Shakespeare and the barriers of time

In England during the government of Queen Elizabeth I. Emerge one of the most known writer in the word called William Shakespeare. He was an English man that apart to write, also was a poet, playwright, and an actor. Shakespeare is one of the few authors that have the most part of his work translated into the major living languages and also transcended the barriers of time. Why we still reading his work? And why is so important to know about him?

The English language that we know never would be the same if Shakespeare were not born because he create more than 1700 words that we use daily and also we use it in other languages, one of the words are:

• Gossip. Appear on “The comedy of error”

• Advertising. Appear on “Measure for Measure”

• Accused. Appear on “Richard II”

• Dawn. Appear on “Henry V”

• Invulnerable. Appear on “King Jhon”

• Generous. Appear on “Love's Labours Lost”

• Unreal  appear on “Macbeth”

Also he creates some names that nowadays are really common like Jessica, Miranda, Olivia and Rosaline. He invented those names for some of his dramatically stories and the people still use it. Shakespeare invent a lot of stories that we continue reading and talking  about them nowadays and that’s very significate because it is like he were still alive, but we are the ones who keep it alive. Even that, we are the ones who make adaptation of his work like movies for example Romeo and Juliet.

Year of release in order: 1968,1996, 2013   

Definitely we are immersed in the writing of Shakespeare and it is fascinating that we still reading and making that this man influence in our lives. How would be our history without this man?                       

Why did you think that we still talking about his work? and why we still love it? 

website: 

• http://www.infoidiomas.com/blog/6732/ser-o-no-ser-he-aqui-las-palabras-inventadas-por-shakespeare/#.VV6WWPl_Oko

• http://shakespeare.mit.edu/   

• https://www.google.cl/search?q=romeo+y+julieta+pelicula&rlz=1C1PRFC_enCL624CL625&espv=2&biw=1366&bih=623&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=n2pfVar4O8qyggTJ04HIAQ&ved=0CAYQ_AUoAQ 

By: Tamara Fuentes Paredes

Ella Baker

Ella Baker
was a prominent African-American activist African-American Civil Rights Movement in the early 1930s he worked with some of the most famous leaders pro-human rights of the twentieth century, including William Edward Burghardt Du Bois, Thurgood Marshall, A . Philip Randolph and Martin Luther King.
Born in Norfolk, Virginia, on December 13, 1903, Ella Baker was one of the leading figures in the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s. She grew up in rural North Carolina. Baker was close to her grandmother, a former slave. Her grandmother Baker Told About Her life many stories, Including a whipping She Had received at the hands of her owner.

Baker attended Shaw University in Raleigh, North Carolina, She was the class valedictorian When she graduated in 1927. As a student, challenge school policies that considered unfair. After graduating, he moved to the city of New York.1 Between 1929 and 1930 he was a member of the editorial board of the American West Indian News, where he spent the post of editorial assistant in Black National News. In 1930, George Schuyler, then an African American journalist and anarchist, founded the Young Negroes' Cooperative League (YNCL), which sought to develop economic power of black people through collective planning. Having befriended Schuysler, Baker joined the YNCL in 1931 and soon became the national director of the group
In 1957, Baker joined the Southern Christian Leadership Conference as executive director of ITS at the request of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The SCLC was a civil rights group created by Ministers and African American community leaders. During her time with the SCLC, Baker set-up the event That led to the creation of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee in 1960. She Offered her support and counsel to this organization of student activists.
While she left the SCLC in 1960, Baker Remained active in the SNCC for many years. She Helped them form the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party in 1964 as an alternative to the state's Democratic Party, which held segregationist views. The MFDP even tried to get Their Delegates to serve as replacements for the Mississippi Delegates at the Democratic National Convention in Atlantic City, New Jersey That same year. While They Were In This effort unsuccessful, the MFDP's actions Brought a lot of attention to Their cause.

A Maori tale to bring environmental awareness

As I was doing some research on New Zealand and Australian aborigines I came across some very interesting myth stories of the Maori culture. Most of them told tales about the creation of New Zealand, the four elements (water, fire, earth, and wind) and the relation between human beings and nature. What stood out the most for me was the latest, especially as I read a myth called “Whaitere- the enchanted stingray”. It tells the story of Whaitere, a stingray that is chosen by Papatūānuku (the creator) as a guardian of the overworld and its mission is to teach the “people fish” (humans) to respect the earth and more importantly, the sea which is the home of many species.

"Koro Pat watched from his driftwood seat as the three children danced around the small fire, clusters of sparks billowing into the evening light.

"Do you see that?" Koro Pat pointed out to sea. Two black triangular wings broke the surface, slapping down on the orange coloured water.

"It's a stingray!" yelled the kids in unison, running to the water's edge. Kimi picked up a stone ready to throw but Koro Pat stopped her short.

"Hoi, you wouldn't throw a stone at your Mum would you?" Kimi looked confused, she dropped her stone.

"Haere mai, noho mai," Koro patted the driftwood log. Kimi, Jason and Marama came and sat next to him.

"I'll tell you about a stingray, a kaitiaki of this place."

"Our own one that looks after us?" Marama asked.

"Āe, yours, mine, our marae, all of us. We look after the water, this land, and our kaitiaki looks after us."

Whaitere- the enchanted stingray.  Click here to read the whole story.

It amazes me how the Maori people take such good care of nature and the environment, how with every story they pass on future generations the message is still heard loud and clear. This also makes me wonder why the rest of us that were not raised with such stories don´t learn from these cultures. Most people, in my opinion, don´t have much consciousness in regards to a responsible use of resources such as water or even animals. I will never understand for example, people that hunt animals for “fun” because it just doesn´t make sense to me to kill an innocent creature just for the sake of killing it. This is why I ask, what do YOU think about these types of stories? Would you consider them just old tales or would you learn something from them?

With this entry I expect to bring some environmental awareness to all my classmates and I hope that you take 5 minutes of your time to read this beautiful story and so many others that can teach us so much.

Rocío Loredo H.

The Legacy of Malcolm X

First at all, ask yourself, is the violence a solution for getting something? Do all people have the same rights? Are white people better than black people? Despite years, “his speech is more alive than ever, especially after the racial tensions experienced in recent months for the deaths of several African-Americans at the hands of police officers” (El universo, 2015). That’s true. Nowadays we think that racism doesn’t exist, because all have got rights to live and nobody shall to kill others. But isn’t. 

When the authorities want to show their power, they do it through the violence, beatings and deaths. But this isn’t a solution for all the problems, it is only a way for more wars and violence. The people are free to demand their rights and they can decide what the best for their life is. 

Malcolm said “you can’t speak to him in the language of peace. He’ll break you in two. If a man speaks French, you can’t speak to him in German.” So, he recommended that black people used the violence if white people used violence against them. I think that is not the way to get respect and peace, but is a good way for you? For Martin Luther King it wasn’t the best way, which refused Malcolm’s invitations to join him. Only the Black Panther Party follows what Malcolm said and all those people sick with the injustices . 

Today, all efforts of the great leaders of the black people are worthless and black people still fighting for their rights, to be respected and to be seen as normal people in society. I think white people must change their mind and thinking about black people. So, do you agree with the violence nowadays? Do you think that this kind of violence against black people is racism?  

Sources:  *(In Spanish) http://www.eluniverso.com/noticias/2015/02/21/nota/4574126/malcolm-x-su-legado-son-recordados-conmemorarse-50-anos-su 

Maybe you want read more about this: * https://www.jacobinmag.com/2015/02/malcolm-x-assassination-legacy/ 

* http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/02/21/us-usa-malcolmx-idUSKBN0LP0HX20150221 

* Chapters 10 & 11 Martin Luther King’s biography  

By: Bastian Campos