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ORIGINAL: tweedydaddy

Africa for the Africans, it's their land, and their traditions, who would we be to impose our ideas on the resident native peoples of that paragon among continents?

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ORIGINAL: LadyEllen

But hang on - isn't it cultural arrogance comparable with the Victorian ideas of us as the great civilizing influence of the noble savage, to contend that the cultural practices of others are backward and they shall progress to be more like us?

E

quote:

ORIGINAL: LadyEllen

quote:

ORIGINAL: tweedydaddy

Africa for the Africans, it's their land, and their traditions, who would we be to impose our ideas on the resident native peoples of that paragon among continents?

In which case, how is it right to have their traditions imposed on us?

E

(nice one; very contentious lead on!)

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ORIGINAL: LadyEllen

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ORIGINAL: tweedydaddy

Africa for the Africans, it's their land, and their traditions, who would we be to impose our ideas on the resident native peoples of that paragon among continents?

Apart from nandos piri piri sauce I am at a loss to think of any ideas to emanate from the Land formerly known as the White man's grave that have penetrated the green nowhere that it warrington. I must relisten to Vivian Stanshall's Sir Henry at Nidi's kraal to acclimatise myself. After all, we have perfectly efficient murderers at work in our own society who perform their tasks with no religious or magic connotations at all.
In which case, how is it right to have their traditions imposed on us?

E

(nice one; very contentious lead on!)

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ORIGINAL: LadyEllen

seems a very dangerous experiment then, this multi-cultural thingy?

one which can never be completed such that results might be forthcoming by which it can be judged success or failure, since its an ongoing process?

E

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ORIGINAL: LadyEllen

Fascinating and disturbing programme on Channel4 here this evening about the ritual murders that are afflicting South Africa.

Muti killings (muti being ritual magic) are widespread, conducted by gangs who roam the countryside looking for suitable victims, who are then butchered to death by the removal of their intestines, lips, breasts, genitals and other parts considered magically efficacious. For the magical potency to be obtained, the victim must be alive when the parts are taken, and the more pain and torment involved the more potent the body part.

The body parts are then delivered for use to the practitioners of muti for money, and sold on to the wealthy and educated as well as the poor and ignorant, who believe in the power of these items to produce strong magical effects for their benefit.

Most disturbing were interviews with two survivors of such attacks - a woman who played dead after her lips had been cut off (a dead body's parts have no power, so they left her), and a nine year old boy who had been grabbed and castrated whilst out playing football, and the interview with the muti practioner who told the interviewer that he had personally killed three people for his art and would have no problem in doing the same to a member of his own family should the need arise.

Community leaders complain that the government doesnt do enough. The penalties for possession of human body parts are negligible and the only serious penalties are life imprisonment on the off chance that a murder conviction becomes possible - because such cases are very difficult to prosecute when police officers themselves are reluctant to investigate for fear of the muti practioners' curses.

Now this is the thing - this is part of ancient African tradition (indeed, part of human tradition in general it would seem; those Christian relics that were so popular in former times come to mind). Is it right in a world where we wish to celebrate and promote diversity of culture, to try to suppress this sort of thing?

And when it turns up in the UK (as it has), is this not exactly what the promotion of multi-cultural heritage must bring with it?

E