Oral Literature. Thieving Frog
Why does the frog croak? Why are its eyes always bulging out of their sockets? And why does it live only in ponds? This story from the ethnic group of the Birrwa-Limba (Sierra Leone) will explain it all to us. The sun was setting and all the animals had gathered around the pond to drink. […]
The Philippines. Why the Rosary in Jeepneys?
Jeepney drivers often hang rosaries and display religious images on their dashboards. Why is this devotion to religious items in the jeepneys? We went to find out. Riding a jeepney in the Philippines, you will be accustomed to seeing a hanging rosary in the rear-view mirror of the jeepney. Sometimes, the image of the Santo […]
Mission Diary. Hoping for a better future
Sister Ana Julio Ramujane shares her experience in Nampula, Mozambique, of helping young women make life choices that make them feel part of God’s great plan. I am Mozambican, and I come from the province of Zambezia, in the centre of the country. I grew up there, I met the Comboni Missionaries and I decided […]
Peace in the Holy Land
God of Comfort, send your Spirit to encompass all those whose lives are torn apart by violence and death in Israel and Palestine. You are the Advocate of the oppressed and the One whose eye is on the sparrow. Let arms reach out in healing, rather than aggression. Let hearts mourn rather than militarize. God […]
Importance of Sacrifice in African Culture
Every religion has some form of sacrifice. In fact, sacrifice is the most universal of all rituals. Most rituals imply an offering and quite often a blood sacrifice. A blood sacrifice is a displacement of mystical forces made possible by God himself, thanks to the intercession of a spirit, divinity or ancestor and the mediation […]
Oral Literature. The King Elephant
At the beginning of time, before people lived on the earth, all the animals of the bush lived together under one king. That king was Elephant. King Elephant was fair to his subjects. He was able to maintain his authority without too much grumbling from them. There were, of course, several characters on whom Elephant […]
Bolivia. Elegance in the Costumes of the Chacobos
The Chacobos are an indigenous people living on the banks of the Benicito River in Northeastern Bolivia. Let’s get to know them through their clothing. The clothing of the Chacobos is made with material that Mother Nature gives them, mainly strips of bark from leafy trees. They like to adorn themselves with seed bracelets. Chacobo […]
Chad. Koupor. Mission of Hope
In a remote corner of Chad, three missionaries of the Immaculate Conception give a simple Christian testimony. Walking alongside people. Hilda, Shephali, and Irene are three Missionary Sisters of the Immaculate Conception present in Koupor, in the south-west of Chad, on the border with Cameroon, where they arrived in February 2019. In the past, there […]
Mali. The Art of Painting with Clay
The Groupe Bogolan Kasobané, from Mali, revolutionized the art scene in their country when they abandoned Western painting techniques and, for the first time, applied to contemporary art a traditional Malian technique, Bogolan, which uses clay to paint on fabrics. The word ‘Bogolan’ in the Bambara language means ‘made from the earth’. It refers to […]
Oral Literature. The Spider, the Elephant and The Hippo
Because there was a famine in the land, the spider and his family grew thinner and thinner and hungrier and hungrier. In his desperation, the spider said to his wife: “Here we are, starving, while the elephant and hippo have stored away much grain for these lean times. The big ones have, the little ones […]
