OUTDOORS COMMON SENSE TIPS: Respect our Local Communities.
First seen in Facebook
August 7, 2018
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I AM REPOSTING VERBATIM an article by
ADRENALINE ROMANCE about cultural sensitivity, which the blog attribute
to expedition and wilderness emergency services physician, Dr. Ted Esguerra,
and adventure guru, Ramon “Jay Z” Jorge. Read and overcome your short attention
span and learn from these experienced travelers.
THE DO’S
1. Study the place, its
culture, and political and economic setup where you will pass by or immerse.
2. Be courteous to anyone
you meet along the trail.
3. Upon arrival, signify
the intention of your visit to the chieftain, elder, tribal council, or
barangay captain of the community.
4. Stay in one place
where you can be seen by the majority of the community members or elders.
5. If you intend to hire
porters/beasts of burden, deal only with the community coordinator.
6. Accept food offerings
of the community with expressions of gratitude.
7. Ask permission to any
community member when doing/asking something (e.g. ask to fetch water in a
well).
8. Treat mountains,
caves, rivers, etc. as sacred places. Most of the resident tribal communities
consider these places as gods, havens of the gods, or holy grounds.
9. Join community
gatherings, activities, and celebrations only if invited to do so.
10. If you are invited to
teach, teach only what can be appreciated by the community.
11. Respond appropriately
to friendly gestures.
12. Respect their beliefs
and superstitions.
13. Observe silence.
These folks enjoy the tranquility and peace of their environment.
THE DONT’S
1. Don’t drink alcohol,
take drugs, or make revelries in tribal areas. This is common sense, but you’ll
be surprised as to how many visitors would do this.
2. Don’t expect luxuries.
Accept and appreciate what they have.
3. Don’t ask for
anything. The problem with social climbers/trekkers is that they ask for
conveniences—their conveniences.
4. Don’t be boisterous,
arrogant, vulgar, or rude. Be polite.
5. Don’t wear indecent or
offensive clothes.
6. Don’t show off
gadgets, cell phones, jewelry, or other items that are alien to the community.
7. Don’t do these things without asking permission first:
~ taking photos
~ approach women, children, and old people
~ visiting ritual sites and burial grounds
~ enter homes and properties
~ touch ornaments. They may be sacred items for the community.
8. Don’t correct or make
fun of their beliefs. Each community has its own distinct and unique beliefs.
9. Don’t comment or show
disapproval to some “grotesque” rituals such as breaking of chicken’s neck in a
tribal dance.
10. Don’t kiss, hug, or
do indecent acts in front of a community member.
11. Don’t laugh or giggle
in front of the community. That’s because even if you didn’t mean anything,
they might assume that you’re making fun of them.
12. Don’t leave trash
behind, whether biodegradable or non-biodegradable.
13. Don’t pollute rivers,
creeks, wells, and other water sources.
14. Don’t vandalize such
as etching your name on artifacts or rock walls.
15. Don’t destroy traps
set by community hunters. Don’t hunt!
PREVENTING CULTURAL CONTAMINATION
1. Pay the local only the
amount that was agreed upon. Do not bribe or give tips. When you introduce the
concept of bribing or tipping to a normally honest community, you change their
idea about money. This later manifests to exorbitant rates and questionable
fees, which we all complain about.
2. Don’t visit a remote
community as a large group. Remember that these people are wary of single
strangers, so you can imagine what they are thinking if they see a group of
strangers.
3. When taking photos, be
unobtrusive. Don’t ask people to pose for you. Keep a distance between you and
the subject that you’re shooting.
4. Avoid teaching things
or giving stuff that the community doesn’t need.
5. Avoid showing interest
in buying items from the community. Never establish trade without the knowledge
of the elders.
6. Don’t introduce
another paradigm that is alien to the community such as playing loud disco
music in a community that values their own music.
7. Never assure the
community that your knowledge, medicine, food, equipment, tools, etc. are
better than theirs.
8. Tribal communities are
fond of communal eating. Don’t eat separately from a family or a group.
The most meaningful
travel happens when you go down deep, listen to the stories, and immerse in the
ways of life of these wonderful people. It’s incredibly inspiring to see how
they value their environment and culture.
However, you should remember that you are just a visitor. No matter how you think highly of yourself, you are the odd person out. As thus, you should leave as little trace as possible, whether it be on the environment or with the cultural practice of the people.
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WARRIOR PILGRIMAGE BLOG, personified by this writer, is synonymous with the Outdoors, since Bushcraft and Survival is its niche. Safety and Security are its bedrock when it ventured into organizing outdoor events that involved people as in adventure/pilgrimage guideships and seminars; and explorations and expeditions.
Through tutorship, experience, folk
knowledge and good old common sense, this writer was able to collect useful
information which he is currently documenting in a book titled, ETHICAL
BUSHCRAFT. He shares some of this information and knowledge in his training
sessions; in his social-media account; and in this blog.
Screened shot
photo and quotes, in italics, attributed to Adrenaline Romance, with permission.
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