Peru. The Rite of the Ashaninka Ancestral Medicine
To a large extent, the ancestral medicine of the Ashaninka, an indigenous Amazonian ethnic group that lives in western Peru, revolves around the Ayahuasca ceremony, the name that is currently used to name an ancestral practice of the original peoples of the Amazon. It is a ritual practice performed by the shiripiare healers or shamans […]
Mission diary. Father Jose Juan. Animator of animators
The formation of catechists in the diocese of Lira in northern Uganda involves Father José Juan Valero full time who explains the path to becoming animators of Christian communities. I have been in Uganda for 18 years and have always worked in the diocese of Lira, in the north of the country. During my […]
World Youth Days. Changes the Lives of Young People
World Youth Days have changed the lives of many young people. Some experiences. “My name is Barbara, but here in Poland, they call me Basha. I am 21 years old, and I live in Krakow. The WYD pilgrimage to Panama in 2019 changed my life forever. My life before I went to Panama was […]
Bible & Mission. The sources of Mission
The vocation of the children of God, which is proper for all the baptized, is fulfilled in our mission towards the brethren. We all are apostles: it is the very love of the Son that pushes us towards all the brethren (2 Cor 5: 14). He, who is boundless in His solidarity with us, in […]
Oral Literature. The Boy and the Violin
Once upon a time, there was a man who had an only son. When the man died the son was left all alone in the world. There was not very much property—just a cat and a dog, a small piece of land, and a few orange trees. The boy gave the dog away to a […]
Benin. The Artists of Abomey. ‘The Oral Historians’
Between 1600 and 1900 the city of Abomey was the pride of the kingdom of Dahomey (today’s Benin). Court art developed there, in which genius, talent, and inspiration served above all to exalt the figure of the king. Dahomey, also known as the kingdom of Abomey, after the capital, occupied the south-central part of what […]
Ghana: Sacred Golden Stool
The most important and sacred Asante stool is the ‘Golden Stool’. It represents the authority of the Asantehene (king), enshrines the soul of the nation, and symbolizes the kingdom’s unity. Among the Asante and other Akan peoples, stools play an important role in each person’s life. When children learn to crawl, they receive stools as […]
Kenya. A Social Enterprise, a Comboni Missionary Proposal
The project has taken its first steps and has a triple objective: to enhance local potential, finance missionary activities, and open new pastoral spaces. In the African context, a new experience of social enterprises is also emerging, thanks to the initiative and research of the Institute for Social Transformation (Tangaza University College, Nairobi), founded and […]
Bible & Mission. The problem of the means
You are the Son of God. Read Luke 4:1-13 Human Beings are made to become like God. Their evil doesn’t come from the fact of wanting to be like God, but from the false image they have of Him. God is not the supreme egoist, master of everything and everybody, but the supreme Love, servant […]
Oral Literature. Koba, the Hunter who stopped Hunting
There was once a man called Koba, a hunter. One day he left his house and went off to hunt in a place that was far away. When Koba reached a certain locust-bean tree, he made his camp under it. Every day he went out hunting, and every night also, resting only for necessity, to […]
