India. Kantha, An Artistic Stitch craft
Kanthas are essentially made from layers of old materials, sarees etc and embroidered in running stitches. It has a number of traditional patterns based on religious symbols, tales from epics, scenes from villages, flowers, birds, animals and plants in enchanting colour schemes. Since ages hand embroidery has been used to decorate textiles and garments. Excavations […]
Eritrea. Kunama. The Celebration of Marriage
The Kunama, an Eritrean ethnic group living in the remote and isolated area between the Gash and Setit rivers near the border with Ethiopia. We look at the celebration of marriage. After the initiation ceremony (Anfura-la) or the passage from adolescence to youth, the young Kunama sets out to find a girl to marry. This […]
Saudi Arabia. A Church of Migrants
This coming month of July, Monsignor Paolo Martinelli celebrates one year since the beginning of his ministry as a bishop in the Vicariate of Southern Arabia. “The Arabian Peninsula challenges the Church to live her mission authentically, supporting the faith of migrants, so that in this complex society they may be witnesses of the joy […]
Bible & Mission. If only you knew the gift of God. (Jn 4: 1–42)
The encounter between Jesus and the Samaritan woman takes place in solitude. Jesus speaking to her arouses wonderment in her, as well as in the disciples (cf. Jn 4: 9, 27). In Jesus’ culture, a teacher would not talk to a woman in the street; even a husband would only address his wife in the […]
Oral Literature: The Lion, the Hare and the Hyena
A lion once lived alone in a cave. In his younger days the solitude had not worried him, but not long before this tale begins, he had hurt his leg so badly that he had been unable to provide food for himself, and he had begun to realise that companionship had its advantages. Things would […]
Herbs & Plants. Dichrocephala Integrifolia. An Antiviral Plant
The plant is widely used in traditional medicine to treat and prevent a wide range of diseases like dementia, Alzheimer, gastrointestinal disorders, as well as epilepsy, headache, asthma, inflammation, and malaria. Dichrocephala integrifolia (Family Asteraceae) is an upright or spreading, aromatic annual plant growing to an average of 40cm in height. It often branches freely […]
Eritrea- Religious Beliefs among the Kunama
A glance at the religious beliefs of the Kunama, an Eritrean ethnic group living in the remote and isolated area between the Gash and Setit rivers near the border with Ethiopia. When the Kunama are asked: ‘Ayshila mekobino?’, they reply: ‘Ánnala’la makobinke’ (we believe in God). The word ‘Anna’ (God) comes from the word ‘Annena,’ […]
The Philippines. Taking Different Paths
The many challenges of Monsignor Pablo Virgilio David, Bishop of the Diocese of Kalookan, on the outskirts of Manila, and also president of the Philippine Bishops’ Conference. His pastoral and charitable commitment led him to take sides against all forms of injustice and violence to the extent that, during the presidency of Rodrigo Duterte, he […]
Bible & Mission. Place of Relationships
“Whatever house you enter, stay there” (Read: Mark 6: 10-13) When you meet a person on a journey, you know that he/she comes from home or is going home; otherwise, you immediately see that he/she is a fugitive who has severed his/her relationships, or a vagrant who has nowhere to stay. Human beings can live […]
Oral Literature. The Desert is not Empty
The sun had already set on the horizon and the temperature, very high in the daytime, was starting to become pleasant, when three young women, returning from grazing with their goats, were talking about their daily lives and recent events in their valleys, nestled in the mountains of the Air massif in Niger. All of […]
