Temple of Athena the Savior

In the same vein as my post on the Kalasha, another tribal people is seeking to preserve their culture.  Prominent Yoruba teachers in Nigeria are bemoaning the erosion of their cultural traditions . At his recent book launch  Chief Mathew Ogedengbe warned that “we have allowed foreign languages, cultures and traditions to rule us.”

Why did the police confiscate colored powder from the participants of the Hindu festival of Holi, the Festival of Colors? It is traditional for Hindus to throw harmless colored talcum powder at each other on this day, but parade organizer Vishnu Mahadeo said that police “walked around and started grabbing from anyone they saw […] they said the law said you can’t have powder.” “To deprive us of this privilege is to cut the beauty of the celebration, and the essence of the celebration,” said Edward Motiram of the Federation of Hindu Mandirs (or temples). “It’s like [a Thanksgiving] turkey with no trimmings, a Christmas with no Christmas tree.” The festival has been celebrated in Queens without incident for 25 years.  What changed all of a sudden?

Lastly, congratulations to P. Sufenas Virius Lupus on Queer I Stand, his new column on patheos.com .