A review by stanro
Sand Talk: How Indigenous Thinking Can Save the World by
medium-paced
4.0
This is a mind-bending book that challenges our framework of thinking, taking an indigenous lens to look at our society and its issues by reversing what is done to indigenous peoples generally. “I’m not offering expert answers, only different questions and ways of looking at things.”
He tells us at one early point, “Everything in creation has dreaming, even windscreen wipers and mobile phones. So why must our knowledge of creation be frozen in time as an artefact?”
When discussing the emu and its place in the dreaming, Yunkaporta says the emu is a locus of that most dangerous of things, the view that it is superior to and more worthy than all others. Narcissism. That is why the dark emu in the sky is being controlled by kangaroo, echidna and serpent. It takes a group to manage the excesses of the emu. But in this modern interconnected world, we encounter such narcissists alone, individually, without the group. “Never wrestle a pig,” he says, because you both get covered with shit and the pig likes it.”
Later, my mind is blown by the description of the symbiotic relationship between a species of butterfly, a particular type of bush and a species of ant that nests below the bush. He uses it as an analogy for his exhortation to protect land and balance our ways of life sustainably.
Chapter by chapter, Yunkaporta yarns about ideas and issues and an Aboriginal approach to them.
“What we can know is determined by our obligations and relationships to people, Ancestors, land, Law and creation,” he states.
One of his yarns that is easiest to spotlight here is his version of the development of schooling and education with which we are familiar. He argues that it was introduced by early 19th century Prussia after its defeat in battle by Napoleon, to obtain greater compliance by people to their rulers. It’s an interesting and entertaining exposition.
If you look at our world and wonder what we should do to deal with its problems and if you think we might need an alternative paradigm, this could be stimulating for you.
I had it read to me on audio by the writer himself. To my surprise, late in the book there is a guided meditation based upon imagining a fire. I sat on a bench on the Gold Coast and meditated, as Yunkaporta’s words flowed around and through me. Definitely a plus for the audio.
On the other hand, and I’m pretty sure this was in the education chapter, he departs from his usual reading voice and briefly uses a Germanic accent and a US accent. I felt a bit uncomfortable about its occurrence. Too sensitive?
Worth a reread I think, but after it’s percolated a while. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
He tells us at one early point, “Everything in creation has dreaming, even windscreen wipers and mobile phones. So why must our knowledge of creation be frozen in time as an artefact?”
When discussing the emu and its place in the dreaming, Yunkaporta says the emu is a locus of that most dangerous of things, the view that it is superior to and more worthy than all others. Narcissism. That is why the dark emu in the sky is being controlled by kangaroo, echidna and serpent. It takes a group to manage the excesses of the emu. But in this modern interconnected world, we encounter such narcissists alone, individually, without the group. “Never wrestle a pig,” he says, because you both get covered with shit and the pig likes it.”
Later, my mind is blown by the description of the symbiotic relationship between a species of butterfly, a particular type of bush and a species of ant that nests below the bush. He uses it as an analogy for his exhortation to protect land and balance our ways of life sustainably.
Chapter by chapter, Yunkaporta yarns about ideas and issues and an Aboriginal approach to them.
“What we can know is determined by our obligations and relationships to people, Ancestors, land, Law and creation,” he states.
One of his yarns that is easiest to spotlight here is his version of the development of schooling and education with which we are familiar. He argues that it was introduced by early 19th century Prussia after its defeat in battle by Napoleon, to obtain greater compliance by people to their rulers. It’s an interesting and entertaining exposition.
If you look at our world and wonder what we should do to deal with its problems and if you think we might need an alternative paradigm, this could be stimulating for you.
I had it read to me on audio by the writer himself. To my surprise, late in the book there is a guided meditation based upon imagining a fire. I sat on a bench on the Gold Coast and meditated, as Yunkaporta’s words flowed around and through me. Definitely a plus for the audio.
On the other hand, and I’m pretty sure this was in the education chapter, he departs from his usual reading voice and briefly uses a Germanic accent and a US accent. I felt a bit uncomfortable about its occurrence. Too sensitive?
Worth a reread I think, but after it’s percolated a while. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️