Ethiopian Wolves

/ Juliana Lightle / Leave a comment

When I went to Ethiopia a year and a half ago, I missed seeing these incredibly endangered animals.  Less than 500 remain in and around Bale Mountains National Park.  Unlike other wolves, they do not hunt in packs, perhaps because they do not bring down big game, but rather eat the large, big-headed mole rat.  The wolves use their extremely long noses to get the rats out of their burrows.  Another hunting tactic includes hiding among the herds of gelada baboons, the only remaining grass eating primate in the world.  These baboons, like the wolves, live only in Ethiopia.  The wolves and the baboons live peacefully together while the wolves hide among the grazing baboons, sneaking upon the unsuspecting rats darting from burrow to burrow.  Although the baby gelada are not much bigger than the rats, the wolves refrain from eating them.  Like the situation with many other wild animals, human activity ruins their habitat through subsistence farming and cattle grazing.  Rabies, caught from domestic dogs, further decimates the population.  For more information on these rare wolves and conservation efforts, go to:

http://www.ethiopianwolf.org

 

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gelada baboons–I took this photo summer of 2014

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Image from ethiopianwolf.org.

Painting Marys, Welcoming Refugees by Angela Yarber

/ Juliana Lightle / Leave a comment

Last week I read the article in “National Geographic” about Mary, this shows up today in my email, saw “Amahl and the Night Visitors” a week ago, and Christmas comes soon. The Mary article was inspiring because it shows several places in the world where Christians and Muslims pray together to honor Mary. We need so much peace and goodwill now!!!

Angela Yarber's avatarFeminism and Religion

angelaThis holiday season, in the midst of our ever-repeating mass shootings and debates about the welcoming of Syrian refugees, I have seen a meme, a pithy quote, a bumper sticker time and time again amidst my fellow liberals:

“If only we had a seasonally appropriate story about Middle Eastern people seeking refuge being turned away by the heartless.”

Similarly, many have posted pictures of nativity scenes with a tongue-in-cheek quip, “I’m so glad people are placing these lawn ornaments in their yards to indicate that they welcome refugees into their homes.”

Myriad articles have been published encouraging Christians to remember our calling to welcome the refugee, and as an ordained clergywoman, I affirm these thoughts. I believe it is our responsibility, as Christians and particularly as feminist Christians, to welcome the marginalized, the oppressed, the refugee. I am also a strong believer in the separation of church and state, a…

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My 27-Book Haul from @AkeFestival #AkeFest15

/ Juliana Lightle / Leave a comment

This perfectly fits my goal to expand awareness of literature from non-western cultures. Reading remains one of the best ways to expand intercultural awareness especially if you cannot travel there.

Kinna's avatarKinna Reads

I didn’t do badly this first time at Aké; I come home with 27 books!

Books I Bought:

Ake Books I bought

  • The Birth of Illus by Jumoke Verissimo. This is Jumoke’s second collection of poetry. I’m a fan of her work.
  • Bound to Secrecy by Vamba Sherif. A detective novel set in Liberia. A new-to-me writer.
  • Lagoon by Nnedi Okorafor. The first of Okorafor’s books that I own. It’s been a long time coming.
  • Minaret by Leila Aboulela. She has a new book, The Kindness of Enemies, out. I’m trying to catch up.
  • Blackass by A. Igoni Barrett. I”m behind on my reviews but I loved Igoni’s Love is Power or Something Like That.  This is his newest book.
  • A Killing in the Sun by Dilman Dila.  Speculative fiction.  I first came across his work in Jalada’s Afrofutures issue.

(In a special category) The Etisalat Prize Longlisted Books

Etisalat Prize-longlisted books

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Relaxing Into an All-Encompassing World by Oxana Poberejnaia

/ Juliana Lightle / Leave a comment

I found the part about the history and current culture of the women of Ukraine and big surprise. Who knew.

Oxana Poberejnaia's avatarFeminism and Religion

oxanaI believe that as feminists what we are striving towards is not just equality between women and men, although this aspect is crucial. Feminism has contributed to developing of such disciplines and practices as deconstruction, environmentalism, LGBT rights, and animal rights.

Feminism walks in step with all the movements for more justice and freedom in the same way as patriarchy goes along with capitalism, exploitation and environmental degradation.

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The Mother of Socrates: Priestess, Pharmacist, Obstetrician by Stuart Dean

/ Juliana Lightle / Leave a comment

I never knew anything about Socrates’ mother before, never even heard of her. Fascinating.

Stuart Dean's avatarFeminism and Religion

ParthenonBecause the dates for the life of Socrates are certain, it is safe to conclude his mother, Phaenarete, was born about 500 BCE.  She seems to have lived well past menopause and thus was certainly alive to see the start of construction of the Parthenon (447 BCE) and probably its completion (432 BCE).  As was traditional for many Greek mothers, after menopause she became a priestess, pharmacist and obstetrician.

The relevance of the chronology for Phaenarete requires some context to appreciate.  Writing had yet to be widely adopted during her life (the alphabet was not standardized until about 400 BCE).  Literary evidence in particular for the practice of medicine before and during her life is scarce. Although Hippocrates was a contemporary of her son, nothing survives of medical writings from antiquity that can confidently be attributed to him.  Parmenides and Empedocles (contemporaries of Phaenarete) appear to have been medical practitioners…

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Inanna’s Autumn Gift: Fearless Spirituality by Carolyn Lee Boyd

/ Juliana Lightle / Leave a comment

Take the time to read all the way, especially the last few paragraphs.

Carolyn Lee Boyd's avatarFeminism and Religion

Carolyn Lee BoydFall, the time of the Day of the Dead and All Souls Day, is a perfect season for us to contemplate “fearless spirituality” as we face our most essential fear, that of death. Though humans have celebrated these days for millennia, fear with a religious veneer pervades our culture, whether in hate towards women and the LGBTQ community, lies that demonize followers of other religions, terror of eternal punishment and spiritual unworthiness, and more.

When I seek guidance for cultivating spiritual fearlessness, I look to ancient Sumer’s Inanna and her willing descent into death. Her story cycle begins in fear of the Sky and Air gods and her desire to destroy her huluppu-tree, Earth’s first life. Gilgamesh hacks it apart to rid it of a serpent, a bird, and Lilith. The tree’s remains are made into Inanna’s throne and bed. In the next story she takes all the divine powers…

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