Intertwined.

A pomia or armband takes shape on the fingers of those  heading to the mopal (friendly, traditional, all-night sing).

Intertwined, Entrapped

Even if you have never had the chance to observe first-hand the real impact of animism on daily life, you surely can imagine the hold it might have on those whom have known nothing else. In the Pal worldview, a few cross words uttered in the heat of frustration may be the cause of sickness. Sickness that has no other cure than washing in the water that has washed the hands of those who had uttered those words in the first place. We live among people who claim to have power over sickness, success, health, relationships, the wind, rain, and the spirits of the jungle. Entrapped by the promises that cannot be fulfilled, they strive to bind themselves all the more to the hope that they can in some way gain control and achieve their desires. As we become more and more familiar with the everyday impact of this thinking on their lives, we are motivated to meet the challenges that must be met in order for them to hear the truth. We are in need of your prayers on our behalf as we must intertwine our own lives with theirs in order to reach them.

The Show Must Go On

So, what happens when the heavens open and the rain pours down over the big, all-night, outdoor, 6 village sing? If you live in Pal, you crowd into the nearest 16 x 20 structure and keep it going. Nobody likes to get all dressed up for the party that is cut short – especially when they spent a week practicing and the last three or four days gathering bilas or adornment from the bush. Should you be wondering what it takes to be the nattily dressed one at the party, here is the list of necessities:

Item	Makes the ladies faint	Cool Daddio	Gets you in the door
Feathers	Bird of paradise, whole, mounted to bounce in time with your moves	Some nice white Cockatoo or blue/grey Guria or Cassowary feathers stuck in the hair, beard and moustache.	A chicken feather or two, picked up on the way out of the house.
Paint	Reds, oranges, whites, and even some blue covering large areas of the body and face in designs	Reds and oranges seem to be the trend – especially as highlights for the hairstyle.	A dab or dot of this or that is enough to let everybody know that you hadn’t forgot about the sing and just stumbled into town
Perfumes	Several kinds of bush wam na are crushed and added to arm bands and head bands  to provide a suitable complement to the visual effect	At least one kind of fragrant plant is added to the mix, tasteful and appropriate.	‘Oh the tomoto siba I had packed must have dropped on the road…’
Other	Hundreds of possible combinations of fringes and belts, bands and leaves can be truly spectacular.	Good old fashioned oru fringes. They are tough, easy to make, and they just work.	Any bright band of colored fabric works great to spice up the face and add flavor to the evening.

Well, we certainly hope that you meme golga buh nunungup* this week and thank the One who is Worthy, we certainly will.

Nate for the Cs.

*lit: assess the size and/or number of your blessings.

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