Just a picture blog

I feel like I've neglected my responsibility to show you our world while you are stuck back here and we are in this wonderful place. Brian will be blogging soon before we go to the mountains, but I thought I would add some visual aids for now. Due to the fact that we are on a power crisis in our country, and that I didn't have my camera battery charger for the first month, and that our internet connection is slow, pictures haven't been easy to post. These are small replicas of some that I have taken recently around the city. Today, Brian and I went to watch funerals at the major river. So most of these are pictures from today. Not all, but most. This river is a holy site for the city, and much life revolves around the river. They wash dishes, wash laundry, wash themselves, and gather water all from this river. They also dump the offerings into the river and the ashes from cremations. The monkies also play in this river. I added some captions, so that you might understand the stories to the pictures a little better.

These girls are washing their hair in the river. And this family is washing their dishes in the same river.

This is one of the "holy men." They want to take a photo with you and then charge you for it.
He is washing his garment in the river.

This woman is sweeping. What is she sweeping? Dirt, outside... we think she was actually trying to sweep away the trash. But as you see, dirt is flying. She is sweeping dirt...

The bell
Here, they ring the bells, in order to wake the gods. This reminds me of the story of Elijah calling down fire. I used this story in my English class (w/ moderations that would not compromise the story). It made the students very uncomfortable though because of the exclusivity of the proclomation.

This "holy man" is just sitting on top of the building... watching people go by. Laziness is completely frowned upon by our people group, but when I look at their lives, sometimes I just have to wonder what some of them do all day. Their lives are simple, but they do value a hard worker.

Monkies

This monkey is jumping across the river in parts to eat some of the offerings that have been tossed into the river. Sometimes he tried eating non-edible things like plastic too. He is young and learning... Looks cute, doesn't he?

This unfortunate little boy doesn't seem to think so. He's being chased by the monkey. He was washing up in the river when the monkey decided there might be food nearby. Children are frequently the victims of monkies.

But don't just assume he didn't go unpunished. Shortly after, he's hopping through the area again being chased by a bigger monkey. Cute? Sure. Just don't be deceived. They are mean. I thought I would get attacked today while taking a picture.

Temples

Temples are everywhere in the city. There are beautiful old buildings everywhere. Our city has such a unique architectual character to it.

This temple is built on an beautiful pond and was originally built about 300 years ago supposedly to help a queen overcome her grief over the death of her son.

I think it is the prettiest building in our city, but the gates ar never open, so we can't get very close.

This is the main temple in our city. Where most cremations are done for Hndus. Since this is a smaller version of the picture, I doubt you'll be able to see, but there is a bull tied up to a post around all the people, probably to be sacrificed.

Up the hill is a place far less busy. These are also smaller temples, but they look older. And there are so many of them. This is on top of a hill from the river. Few people take the hike up this far. The Hndu holy men enjoy sitting around and talking here though.

Offerings

As Hndus, they make offerings at the river. Sometimes as family and sometimes as an individual.

The white string around his chest shows that he is of the highest caste. He is a Brahmin, a priest, and people come to him to make their offerings.

This is a whole family performing offerings.

This is called puja in this culture.

They have also added some of the Tbtn culture as well. They all have prayer beads, similar to roseries that they are using while one man reads.

This woman is also making a form of a offering. This is near the hospices. This all also goes into the river, but there are many flowers they place here, and then they bow and touch their head to this board.

This is an area where only Hndus can get into. Foreigners are not allowed here.

Funerals

From what I could gather from a young man trying to be our guide, (I kept speaking to him in his language instead of English, so some converation was difficult) the building to the left with the doors is a hospice. Here, that means when they have the look of death to them, they bring them here to die. Then they wait. Once they die, they are cremated into this river.

This is a family standing around a body lying on the ground.

Once they die, they are first wrapped in linens because a dead person cannot be touched, and they covered in a garland of marigolds. They are laid on a stretcher. Then the stretcher is taken to the cremation poles.

Here the family carries the body to where the wood is laid. They take straw and soak it in the river. When they are ready for the cremation, they pick the body up on the stretcher and spin the stretcher around the wood 360 deegrees. Then they lay the stretcher down on the ground, pick up the dead body by the linens and place it over the wood. The light the fire under the wood and then place more straw on top of the body and wood over it. I haven't seen anyone cry at a funeral. Tbtns also cremate, but not in exactly the same way, and not at the river. At theirs, you cannot take pictures either.

Here are lines of cremations. On every post, there is a spot where bodies can be cremated. They do about 60-70 each day at this river at this temple.