Wheatlands News

I know today is almost a third of the way into January, so you may think its a bit late to start talking about new year resolutions. Most people have probably broken their resolutions by now anyway. I wonder what the problem is? Is it that we make resolutions that we don't really want to keep (so we can justify ourselves by saying "At least I tried") or is it that the new year is the worst possible time to make resolutions about anything? Why do we bother with resolutions at all? My theory is (do I sound like Ann Elk ?) that it's just another attempt to control our futures. And so few of us succeed because we don't clear out the spiritual, emotional and physical clutter in our lives that gets in the way of us tapping into new opportunities. In the Dogon country of Mali, the villagers consult diviners like the one above to get answers to the questions that are concerning them. They ask about their health and their families, their crops and their futures. The positi...

When we were in Mali's Dogon country, one of the structures that really stood out for me was the Toguna. Every village, no matter how small, has one. Its a place of meeting. It a place where the village elders pass down their pronouncements and decide on disputes. Its the place where the men congregate in the evenings. It's not a place where you'll see a woman... Dogon people live according to very strict sexual norms. Maybe the women are humble enough already and don't need it? Our amazing guide Guiré explained that the Toguna is always built with a very low roof so that in order to enter, one must stoop to a position of humility. An added advantage is that if an argument gets too heated, anyone jumping up to fight will bash himself on the head. If I was world dictator, I'd build Togunas in every place where people (men and women) meet. And I can think of a long list of South African politicians who could do with a little more humility.