Day 8 – Last Day at RIWATCH

Learning about one’s culture doesn’t just include their social challenges like discussed with the women’s empowerment group but also of their celebrations like with the Adi/Lhoba tribe. The importance of this celebration was evident in the ongoing festivities despite the down-pouring of rain that day. As stated, the overlying meaning of the celebration was a ‘welcome,’ but more specifically they were welcoming their gods to bless their upcoming harvests. However, this welcoming was even more significant as we were the first Americans from the USA that were able to take part in observing this particular festival. This was especially important to me as I have always been a firm believer that to know someone’s challenges you must also know their strengths and celebrations are always a good indication of where their strengths lie. In this instance, the community bonds were very evident.

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