Ancient Indian Site Discovered Next to Highway

by Jamie Rhein on

Another sign of prehistoric Indians has been found in Indiana. This discovery is due to a highway that is supposed to be widened. According to an article I read, the owner of the property where the mound is thought to be is currently not letting folks examine the area to see what’s what. Regardless, I’d say the highway project is definitely stalled until this issue is resolved.

If you want success in seeing where the ancestors of the Woodland Indians lived in Indiana and to see what the mounds they made look like, head to Mounds State Park. The park has 10 “earthworks” structures that are thought to have been built by the Hopewell-Adena people who lived in this part of the world 2,000 years ago. The mounds are called mounds because they look like mounds. You might think look like hills unless you knew that they once served as ritual gathering places. Certain mounds have been excavated by Ball State University folks to uncover things like tombs, pottery and garbage pits. Indiana used to have loads of them but farming and artifact hunting changed that.

The ancient world impacting the modern world is an interesting concept to contemplate. Time might march on, but sometimes we do stop and notice.

Japanese Penis Festival

by Jamie Rhein on

Okay, there is a more subtle name for this festival. How about, Hounen Matsuri? Celebrated every March 15 in Komaki, a town about 45 minutes north of Nagoya, Japan, this is the time of year where folks haul out a large wooden penis to give three cheers to fertility and renewal. The custom is an old one that is connected to bringing about a good harvest and having babies.

Each year in Komaki, a new two and a half meter penis is carved out of a cyprus tree, put on a float and carried from the Tajata Jinja Shrine (the male version) to the Tamahime-no-mikyo Shrine (female version) by 42 year-old men. Since forty-two is not a lucky number in Japan, the 42 year-old males have an interest in being up close to the big guy in order to turn their luck. Besides this very large phallus, other people carry phalluses in the parade too. Men, women, children, everybody gets in on the fun. This photo is from the festival two years ago, thanks to gwenddydd’s on Flickr.

This Shinto shrine has been around for years and the festival that honors it is steeped in folklore. Although, the big phallus may make it seem like this is all fun and frolic, there is a serious intention to the activities. Renewal and rebirth is the aim here. However, serious as this may be, since drinking sake and catching the rice balls that are thrown into the crowd are part of the entertainment, fun seems to be a big factor. Catching a rice ball is supposed to bring good luck.

Besides the sake, there are plenty of food stalls and souvenir chocolates to buy shaped like, well, you know.

May Day in North Korea

by Iva Skoch on

Czech travel agencies seem to have a new hit on their hands: celebration of May Day in Pyongyang, North Korea. Perhaps the last country on the planet where pompous celebrations of the communist regime are still going strong, North Korea is the hip place to go.

Apparently there are enough people either A) nostalgic enough for the spectacle of communist kitsch which seized in the Czech Republic only 17 years ago, B) bored with the usual vacation in the Greek isles.

For only about $1800, you get 7 nights, flights from Prague to Peking, ground transportation, a guide, and all the saluting you can handle. This agency provides special tours for US citizens who are more likely to have problems traveling to North Korea.

And, please, leave that Che shirt at home. North Korea ain’t Disneyworld.

George W. Bush’s Visit to Guatemala Causes a Mayan Stir

by Jamie Rhein on

George W. Bush and Laura are in Guatemala checking out various sites there—some government, some agriculture and some tourist related.

Next week, Bush is heading to Guatemala’s archeological site, Iximche, the once capital of the Mayan kingdom Kaqchiqueles before the Spanish showed up and did a number on it in 1524. The Mayan descendents are not too pleased that Bush is coming and plan to have a Mayan priest hold a purification ceremony of the site after he leaves. I bet, though, there will be a spike in visitors now that the site is in the news.

If you want to visit the site yourself one of these days, check out Ecotourism and Adventure Specialists’ website. The company operates a variety of tours. Some of them include Mayan ruins. This is a good place to find out what interests you and what’s available. When I did a search on Iximche, a lot of what I found was articles about Bush ‘s visit. Here is an interesting blog post by Kambiz Kamrani that I found on Archeology.net. Kamrani writes a bit about this convergence of ritual and politics. The photo is from the post and is of a Mayan purification ceremony.

The L

by Erik Olsen on

If you live in New York, or even if you’re just visiting, knowing about all the great stuff that happens in the city can be a full-time chore. Which is why there are several magazines and Web site dedicated to make the task easier. One of these little magazines come in small orange boxes that can be found on the street. You see, those boxes hold issues of The L Magazine, an excellent (and free) guide to the city that I have discovered is very useful when planning my weekends.

A lot of New Yorkers already know about The L, but I doubt if visitors do. And even if you do live in the city, you might be interested to know that the The L Web site is a wonderful and useful blog that fills you in on things happening as well as whats going on with New York in the media, etc. It’s a superb little NYC blog that may not be in your blog list for the city, but deserves to be.