** OTHER PEOPLES **
This is the 18 June 2005 edition of
this page and gives some of my tales of encounters of 'Indigenous Peoples' who have
been victimised, disadvantaged and/or prejudiced against - in their own Countries.
I will indicate when & where I met them, their descendents, or learned
about their cultures.
AUSTRALIAN ABORIGINES
These pleasurable encounters were made at various locations during my trip
to Australia during the big-mileage year of 1998. More details about specific
meetings as the site grows!
THE INUIT PEOPLES
I met some of these guys and gals during my visit to Greenland in 1996. My major
musher for the dog-sledding was Mike, a pleasant, overweight Inuit guy whose command
of the English language was fortunately more than my inadequate knowledge of his language.
Again, more details about specific
meetings as the site grows! This could include my narrow-escape from 'entrapment' by a middleaged
native woman!!
THE SAMI PEOPLES
The Sami people, (or the 'Laplanders' as some readers may think of them as,)
come from the North of each of Norway, Finland and Sweden. It covers, pretty
well, the region North of the Arctic circle in each of these countries. [The Land of
the Midnight Sun - or the Midday Night, according to the time of year in which
you make your visit!]
More will eventually appear in the 'Lapp Travelogue'
I heard much about their culture and struggles during my trip in 2000. Again, more
details about specific meetings as the site grows!
THE PUEBLO INDIANS
I learned more about these people during my 1998 tour of the USA National Parks.
Their buildings and artefacts were 'quite something' and mindboggling in their
concepts.
They were constructed by the ANASAZI (the "Ancient Ones") in earlier centuries from about AD700 until
their departure in approx AD1300 - having their classic period between AD 1050 and 1300. They eventually
left, it is thought, after some long periods of EXTREME DROUGHT. The Cliff Palace, for example, was built
in about AD1270 in the MESA VERDE. In 1998, I visited the valleys and complexes in the MESA VERDE.
Just across the Valley!
Interested lady near an entrance.
Although not visiting the 'Palace', I did however study a fair number of their dwellings (which I photographed)
and went into one of their underground 'kivas' - which were used for communal meetings with their 'spirit world'.
Their world was divided into the 'living' and 'spirit' sections.
Their extensive cave-dwellings in the Mesa Verde were from these later Anasazis (known as PUEBLO I-V),
the early Anasazis living in pit houses and indulged in basket-making, agriculture and pottery. We also visited a
small number of these sites.
More details will follow later, but meanwhile, some of their constructions can
be seen in my 'USA Parks' report using the above 'link'.
THE INCA CIVILISATION
I visited their lost-civilisations in the Peruvian journey in 2001. The
village of Machu Picchu and the NAZCA lines were the highlights of that trip. Their ability to
construct earth-quake-proof buildings was amazing - especially in view of the disaster that happened in
Arequipa 2days after I moved from there!!
During my stay there, I got involved with the atmosphere of the ANNUAL parade in CUZCO - which
marks the anniversary of the city's 'founding' by the INCAS. It involved the largest, by far, of ANY
Indian Parades of any groups that I've seen anywhere in the world.(More about that when I cover it
in my CUZCO writeup!)
THE BERBER PEOPLES
Morocco is still populated by the descendents of an ancient race that has inhabited it since NEOLITHIC
times. They were famous throughout history as warriors and did not want to be controlled by any system
outside the tribe.
Although there are three dialects of these ethnic groups, we only were able to communicate with ONE
of them - and he was a VERY special guy who has lived in a well decorated cave high in the mountains
which I saw when we visited a Berber village in October 2000. He communicated in English in a very
amusing way - about his family etc. The details appear in the travelogue for the Berber village
Return to list of Countries page for continuation
or return to Roy's home page for full
list
of books/writings etc either finished or under preparation.