

A child's age starts counting when it's a song in his mother's mind - urlwolf
http://thegodmolecule.tumblr.com/post/48146343226/here-is-a-tribe-in-africa-where-the-birth-date-of

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IsaacL
A very interesting article.

Though I felt that this part:

"If at any time during his or her life, the person commits a crime or aberrant
social act, the individual is called to the center of the village and the
people in the community form a circle around them. Then they sing their song
to them.

The tribe recognizes that the correction for antisocial behavior is not
punishment; it is love and the remembrance of identity. When you recognize
your own song, you have no desire or need to do anything that would hurt
another."

was the writer interpreting the practice through their own values. "The tribe
recognizes that the correction for antisocial behavior is not punishment" - do
we know that this is what the tribe thinks? To me, the practice sounds more
like a mix of punishment and rehabilitation (in a lot of shame-based cultures,
having family and friends remind you of your wrongdoing would certainly be
seen as a punishment). I'm not saying I'm right, either, just that you have to
be wary of the "noble savage" delusion, the idea that more traditional
societies show us how our society should be structured.

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gus_massa
Too few details. Is this a real story or only an inspiring tale? What's the
name of the tribe? Is there an article in Wikipedia about this? An article in
the International Journal of Anthropology?

