Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Growth of the Tikongs

I find the first half of Tales of the Tikongs to be very much religious based, as if the author is commenting on how certain religious practices, such as strictly and blindly following the Bible, prevent overall social growth and cultural recognition. Instead of adhering to scientific principles and praising education, the Tikongs denounce all who attend a college separate from the church or study abroad, perhaps showing that the Tikongs reject education and therefore reject the most profound form of growth. And worst of all, none of the characters who reject education actually adhere to religious principles, separating themselves, unknowingly, from both religion and education: Neoli, Ti, and Siore all think they are acting out of spirituality when really they are acting out of pure desire and sin. Just as Manu says that Tiko will not develop unless the new religious practices are erased, the author seems to be suggesting that the Tikongs cannot develop or journey unless they re-accept and build off of their ancient traditions and beliefs and stop taking word for word the religion that they know absolutely nothing about. Just as education is important to growth, so is tradition and cultural identity, something that the Tikongs need to work off of to develop.

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