Columbus Had It Coming is a humorous title for this essay. And the first sentence is light hearted as well "Let us begin with the discover of America, an amusing concept". It seems they leave the fact that Columbus sent Natives away from their homes over seas was left out of the history books. The story about the boy who wrote so small so that he might control his teachers with his language is amusing as well. It shows the power language and literature can hold. What struck me more however was with the suggestion that a native learning European culture is in fact a foreign language yet the school system does not make that consideration. The thesis of this essay is that it is important to read across cultures, and to read into them, not just about them.
Marrow Memory throws a perspective about ancestory at me which I have never considered. To think of bones as a container both physical and spiritual of history and memory constructs a vision of a very real spiritual world. Imagery is used such as the whirlwind of ancestor ghosts. This view of history understands the importance of storys as a tool for wisdom and understanding in a world that seems to neglect the spiritual world. The story about Martha and the nun doesn't surprise me. That kind of neglegant teaching and religious practice sets me off. The ending remarks of this essay are also very interesting. "Their genetic material contained more than DNA and genetic markers, they contained tribal memories that live still in the bones of their descendants. In this way, the vitality of the people still lives, connecting contemporary people with distant relatives, so that we may know."
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i like your thought about genetic memory. out of all the readings we've had for class, this was the one i had trouble completely grasping. i'm not sure why. but i feel like maybe it's too simple or too complex to understand. the part about creating an even bigger and deeper spiritual world is what made me understand a little bit more. i guess spirituality literally resting within the bones of people is hard to believe. no harder to believe than jesus dying on the cross and raising from the dead to save us all of course. ha ha. sorry i like to joke about jesus sometimes. anyway, it's like when someone, a friend or family member dies, their experiences and beliefs and emotions, everything dies too. their stories may fade unless others shared with them the same ones, so that they too can carry them on. just like Indian languages are dying off, which i bet indian language will be extinct pretty darn soon, since the English monster has take over the world. ok thats it for the ramble
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