posted by Catherine on Jul 26
.
Did you know that climbing Ayers Rock is offensive to the locals?
So is calling it Ayers Rock if you think of it. And so is calling the people that live there ‘the locals’.
But, how often do you read up about indigenous cultures and beliefs before you set of on your green holidays? How many countries have you already been to that you didn’t really know anything about?
We need to be more considerate of other cultures and religions before we traipse around their villages and ‘sites’.
Ayers Rock In Australia:
Recently, this large red sandstone formation in Northern Territory is becoming known by it’s ‘original’ name of Uluru – as according to the 2 Aboriginal tribes in the area: the Pitjantjatjara and Yankunytjatjara.
For years tourist have driven to the middle of the ‘Outback’ to see and climb this giant ‘rock’, not having a clue that it is extremely disrespectful to the local people to do so.
Yes, there is a path to the top, with a loose handrail hammered into the stone itself to help you on your way – but it doesn’t mean that we ever had any right to just clamber all over it.
To tourists it’s just an public Australian natural landmark – just like a mountain or something – and therefore it is assumed that we have a right to do what we want to it. However, to people from the Pitjantjatjara or Yankunytjatjara it is like a church or other sacred or personal building.
Turning this on it’s head then is like tourists coming to London and climbing up the side of Westminster Abbey and sitting on the roof eating lunch. Or hacking a path across the faces of Mount Rushmore in South Dakota.
What would you think of that?
Another World Heritage Site At Risk?
Tongariro in New Zealand is also a place where traditional Maori culture has been ‘taken over’ by tourists.
In 1887 a local Maori chief gave the volcanic peak and the surrounding region to Queen Victoria so that it would be protected for the future – but other tribes in the area are now hoping to claim it back and stop tourists walking all over it!
Apparently the local chief who gave it away was only one of the many chiefs that worshipped and revered the volcanic peaks of this area – and now the others are trying to have their say as they want to keep their cultural rights alive and give the region the respect it deserves.
What can you do?
Before traveling to areas where indigenous people still live and work – find out a bit about them.
Find out how to act in their prescence, how to react to their questions and what not to do! The latter is probably the most important.
Find out a few words in their language as well so that you can let them know that you planned to visit them and wanted to make the effort to be welcomed – rather than get dragged there by a tour guide and offend them left right and center with your behaviour.
Mistakes could be a simple as keeping your shoes on in buildings, showing your bare soles to elders, pointing, baring your shoulders and all sorts of other everyday things in our culture!
It only takes a second to offend someone – so take care not to!
Leave a Reply