One of the most meaningful classes of this semester took place following the death of a freshman member of the Tribe. During the second half of this class period, we engaged in a discussion about views of death (and of how to cope with it) in regards to our society and in comparison to the Eastern way. Members of our banjar related their personal experiences with death and how their communities usually deal with it.
Guru initiated the discussion by pointing out that in his cultural upbringing it was considered okay to cry. This is a stark contrast to the American view of death, as often times emotions are more or less suppressed. It was interesting to hear about the different ways that the communities of members of our banjar had come together (or dealt with death on a more individual basis) during times of loss.
In particular, what I took away from the way that our class handled the discussion was the importance of communication in times of such tragedy. It meant a lot to me, personally, to be able to have an open forum in which to discuss my feelings regarding recent events and the manner through which our college was dealing with them. Although ultimately I concluded that almost all of us had different ways of coping with death, I think we also all shared a common need for contact with others during these tough times.
I believe this goes back to the theme of orality in our course; our community is of utmost importance. In fact, I believe that living in communities is the essence of what it means to be human. And this idea is strikingly not more Eastern or Western. (Although both cultures do take different routes to form these kinds of communities.) Our discussion on death solidified this idea for me, as merely having the ability to vent my emotions regarding the situation presented me with a feeling of peace.
And I owe that to the Banjar of 334.
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