August/September 2007
Building Social Capital
Craig Comstock
The Benefits of Relocalizing
Jan Spencer
The World's First Truly Global Empire Interview with John Perkins
Amy Goodman
An Idea That Can Bring Us Together Interview with Howard Zinn
Jason Francis
Larry Morningstar
Red Earth Descendents to Host Upcoming Native EcoSymposium
Jane Ayers
Sunscreen Scrutiny
Jody Woodruff
The Best Health Care is Reserved for Congress
Don Sloan, MD
Traveling to Kabul with Nonviolent Communication
Selene Aitken
Exploring the Gifts and Opportunities of Mid-Life: A Jungian Perspective
Marla Estes
Living in Sad Times: The Depression Epicemic, and Some Green Notes
Gaea Yudron
Lift Yourself Into A Brand New World
Guy Finley
Cosmic
Calendar
Salina Rain
Peace Village Festival
By Larry Morningstar
Imagine … a village birthed from our shared visions, deepest longings, and ancestral memories of what could be, holding a resonance of peace that informs, inspires, and activates all who enter. This village is being conceived and built with peace, sustainability, and respect as its guiding principles. For one weekend at the end of August, Jackson Wellsprings (just north of Ashland, Oregon) will be transformed into a Peace Village.
In times past, peace was something we lived with and took for granted, for it was part of the very fabric of life. We can even hearken back to a time before there was a word for peace … because peace just was. But for most of us those times are distant genetic memories lost in the dust of ages by our ancestors’ ancestors. Depending on where in the world we came from, the time frame on just how long ago that was varies greatly.
In our hunter-gatherer days we lived in bands of migrating tribes, naturally sharing our skills to meet the dangers and challenges of daily life and basic subsistence. Foraging our way through the seasons, we learned how to survive. For thousands of years we were a walking, foraging people, with occasional fights and skirmishes over hunting grounds. Over time we planted seeds and set down roots, began farming the land and creating territorial boundaries and villages. As we settled down and our numbers grew, villages became towns, towns became cities, and we began to diminish the resources around us. Skirmishes and disputes devolved into warfare.
In Russian, the word for peace is mir. Interestingly, this is also an old Russian word for community or village and for world. So one might say that peace came out of the village, or perhaps that peace was inside the village, intrinsic to the village. One might even deduce that for this culture, one’s village was one’s world, and it was the source of peace.
In modern times, warfare has grown in intensity and scope. For those of us alive today, there is no time we can remember, or that our parents can remember, when the world was free of war. It is time for us to make our peace in a world of unrest. It is time to ask the question, what does it mean to be at peace in a time of war?
Among Native American peoples, the Cherokee and other tribes believed that violence stemmed from a spiritual disease, a disconnect from spirit. In traditional Cherokee Peace Villages, someone who had broken the law could come and heal and correct their ways, and after a full year, be totally forgiven. They would then be accepted back into their tribe. This was a form of justice that was restorative and even transformative—not the punishment and imprisonment meted out by today’s justice systems.
Among Kanaka Maoli (Native Hawaiians) there was a similar practice. Each of the islands had their Place of Refuge, perhaps several, and these played an integral part in the rather severe Hawaiian system of justice known as kapu. For example, in the ancient Hawaiian kapu system, if a commoner so much as stepped on the shadow of an ali`i (chief or royalty) or caught a fish during the wrong season, they could be put to death instantly. It was believed that breaking such a kapu (taboo) could evoke the anger and wrath of the gods. Their only hope of salvation was to make their way to a pu’uhonua, a Place of Refuge. Once safely there a priest could conduct a ceremony of purification. They would need to stay at the place of refuge for a set amount of time, after which all would be forgiven, and the individual could return to their community. Even defeated warriors could be absolved of their sins and restored to their place in society. The pu`uhonua was recognized as sacred and was designated a place of peace by the ali`i. During times of war, woman and children were brought here for their safety.
In the tradition of the Great Confederacy of the Iroquois people, there is the story of the Peacemaker, Tekanawite. The Peacemaker was born at a time of great strife and warfare amongst the people. He was born to a virgin mother, who had not yet even gone though nature’s rites of womanhood. When she got pregnant, her mother and grandmother hid her away out of great shame. When the baby was born, they tried to kill it, but were unsuccessful. After several tries, they realized that this was no ordinary child. As a young man, Tekanawite traveled from village to village, from tribe to tribe, establishing peace among the warring nations, winning over the most aggressive of the warriors. At each village the weapons were tossed into a hole in the ground, and a Peace Tree was planted in that spot, a living symbol of their Peace Village, of their commitment to peace.
In 1699 the French explorer Sieur d’Iberville was on a quest to rediscover the mouth of the Mississippi River, when he came upon a strange sight: a 30’ tall cypress pole stuck in the ground, painted red with the blood of animals. On his map he marked this spot with a red stick, or in French, a “baton rouge.” This was the site of the modern day capital of Louisiana, still called Baton Rouge. The bloody stick was a marker, it is said, marking the boundary between the hunting grounds of the Bayagoulas and the Oumas peoples. It is said that red poles were also erected inside the villages of tribes in this area when they were at war, and that white poles were erected in villages at peace … Peace Villages.
Fast forward to today. Midway between the ancient city of Jerusalem and the modern city of Tel Aviv is a cooperative village known as the Oasis of Peace—Neve Shalom in Hebrew and Wāĥat as-Salām in Arabic. This village was founded jointly by Arabs and Jews with the aim of demonstrating that they can live peacefully together with mutual respect. The name of the village comes from a passage in the Bible: (Isaiah 32:18): “My people shall dwell in an oasis of peace.” Neve Shalom was founded in 1970, and as of last year there were about 50 families living there, with 300 more (both Arabs and Jews) waiting to join. Since 1979, 45,000 students (adults and youth) have come to Neve Shalom to take classes and seminar programs at their School for Peace.
Why a Peace Village in Southern Oregon?
Returning to the question posed earlier, what does it mean to be at peace in a time of war? For us in America, there is a disconnect. We have it relatively good. No one is shooting at us. There are no roadside bombs, depleted uranium, mortars, or missiles here. Yet we know there is a war going on, and another war, and talk of yet another. And people are being killed and maimed in our name. How do we reconcile this? How do we deal with our feelings about American boys and girls being sent off to slaughter by the thousand, or with the obscene numbers of deaths and amount of violence in Iraq, Afghanistan, and elsewhere?
Our Peace Village will be a place where these types of questions can be discussed—and not just these questions, but others which relate to peace in our community, peace in our schools, peace in our family, and peace within ourselves. There will be informal discussion circles and moderated forums, as well as speakers and workshops on topics of peace and social justice, such as Non-Violent Communication and mediation. We also recognize the interconnectedness of sustainability and peace, for without sustainability, there is always the desire, and projected need, for products and food and oil from other places, and the potential for going to war—losing our peace—to secure those things. With this realization in mind there is a planned sustainability component to Peace Village, with talks and workshops on such topics as permaculture, composting, green building, green energy, relocalization and voluntary simplicity. Peace Village will offer an opportunity for people to bring questions about peace and sustainability to share in discussion circles. Our Peace Wall will offer a place to express thoughts and feelings about peace which will be shared with the whole community.
Peace Village will have neighborhoods where groups and individuals with affinity for each other will congregate. Peace House is stewarding the Peace Circle neighborhood, inviting all their sister Peace and Social Justice groups in the area to come, have a booth, network, discuss, outreach, and sew some metaphorical stitches in our regional quilt of peace. Other neighborhoods include our Elders’ Circle, Kid Village, the Healing Sanctuary, Sustainable Way, the Village Oracle, Artisan’s Market, and Come-Unity Circle. They will each have stewards and an identity. Sustainability organizations will congregate at Sustainable Way. And with the motto of Peace through Health, the Healing Sanctuary will be a place to come and experience various modalities of the healing arts.
We invite all people of good will, all organizations here for the common good, to come together to co-create Peace Village, to bring your piece, to bring your passion. Share in the vision; help us create a model for peaceful, sustainable living in these times.
If you are unable to make the trek to our Peace Village, why not create your own? Join with your neighbors, your community in the spirit of peace. Maybe even synchronize your gathering with ours. And let us know about it at PeaceVillageFestival@gmail.com. Send us photos and info and we will put them up on our website. We will also have a simulcast from Peace Village, an audio feed that you can tune into on the internet from anywhere on the planet. Visit www.PeaceVillageFestival.org for details, as well as for a schedule of speakers, performers, and lots more.
Do you know the story of stone soup? Well, we like to think of Peace Village Festival as Stone Soup for the Soul—we have a big pot, we have some water, and we have some stones. We’ve got a fire going under the pot. The water’s starting to boil, and we are putting in the stones. Some are pebbles, some are gems. This is going to be some good soup! And it will be better still with more ingredients. We invite you to come and bring your carrots or potatoes, your scallions or salt, maybe some parsley, and definitely some sage, so we will have a very delicious and nourishing soup. A whole is made up of its parts. A village is made of its people, groups, and organizations, seasoned with a diversity of ages, backgrounds, genders, races, ethnicities, spirituality, lifestyles, and ideas. Each of us carries some unique part of this. Each of us has something to share. Please join in this endeavor, for through us, Peace Prevails, and ripples forth in all directions.
The Peace Village Festival will take place at Jackson Wellsprings, north of Ashland, Oregon on Hwy 99, Fri, Aug 24, 8am-11pm; Sat, Aug 25, 11am-11pm; and Sun, Aug 26, 11am-10pm. Admission is free! For information and a complete schedule visit www.PeaceVillageFestival.org or contact PeaceVillageFestival@gmail.com, (541) 201-8787.
Peace Village Festival will be presented in partnership with: Jackson Wellsprings, Peace House, Sentient Times, WebSpirit, KSKQ, Rogue Valley Metaphysical Library, Thrivability Institute, The Jai Consciousness Foundation, The Gathering Place, Bellview Community Grange, Walk in Peace, Health Research Institute, and OregonPeaceWorks.org
Larry Morningstar, a resident of Ashland, Oregon, has resided in this bio-region for over thirty years. A product of the ‘60s, he’s a father and a grandfather, and has worked for peace and eco and sustainability issues since the days of the war in Vietnam. Contact him at Larry@PeaceVillageFestival.org. This article was written with a little help from his friends Shazna Jai, Leela Harlan, Bob Morse, Rivers Brown, and Bobcat.
