Close observations of the culture of the Akha people show that it has  many characteristics which would classify it as a orthodox religious and environmentally based culture that has successfully moved their generations forward for at least two thousand years or more.

In hopes of strengthening the hold of the Akha people on their culture and rebuffing those who would convert them into abandoning it for a cheap replacement, we start this dialogue with other orthodox cultures.

A Dialogue Between Akha Elders and the Jewish Orthodox Community
Message to an Akha Elder
Message One
Wed, 14 Jul 1999 18:55:42 +0300
 

Shalom Matthew,

Here is my first message entitled "Message to an Akha Elder". I sincerely hope this will develop into a continued correspondence despite the linguistic difficulties involved. I realize the translator has a major role to play in the transmission of ideas in this conversation, and so, I would be happy to discuss terminology with this translator, to clear up any unclear points. I will try to be as clear as possible in my phrasing, but please send me questions that you and/or the translator, and the Akha Elder may have about what Iím writing.
(By the way, if he is able to write in Chinese, this may be a method of more direct written communication. If he were to send me a reply written in Chinese, I should be able to read it, and although it would take me some time to reply, I should be able to reply in Chinese, if this is helpful)
Please convey the following to the Akha Elder whom you mentioned earlier (who lectures in Akha and Thai), or another Elder for whom you think this letter is appropriate:

Dear Elders of the Akha People: 

Greetings and good afternoon from the Land of Israel!
My name is Avi Gold. I have been corresponding with Matthew for several years, and have heard from him (by e-mail) about the Akha People and the difficulties that you face in attempting to preserve your traditions and customs from outside influences. I would like to send you this message in the Akha language, but unfortunately, I do not know how to speak in your language. I would like to learn Akha, so that in the future I can speak to Akha people directly, but for now, I must rely on other languages. I will write this letter in English, and I hope that someone there can help by translating my words into Akha. I know a little bit of the Thai language, but my knowledge of this is limited, so for now, the best way for me to write is in English. I apologize for this fact, and I hope that in the future it will be possible to converse in Akha.

Many thanks to the translator for translating my words into Akha and translating the Elderís reply into English!
I have thought about your peopleís situation for a long time and wondered how I might be able to help. Now I think I can help in this way: I would like to have a conversation with you through the computer. In this conversation, I would like to ask specific questions so that I can understand Akha tradition better, and so that I might be able to give some advice from my own people. I am a Jewish man, and my people have been following an ancient tradition for thousands of years. Over the centuries, we have faced many difficulties, and many times outsiders tried to destroy our tradition and customs. However, we have survived these many centuries, and we continue to remember our traditions and follow them. So, we have much experience in methods of preserving tradition. We too face the problem of Christian missionaries, even today, so I understand your problem very well. Often I have arguments with Christian missionaries who try to convince me that my tradition is wrong. But actually, I know that they are wrong, and I can show them from their own books that they are wrong.  Unlike the Christian and Muslim religions, my tradition teaches that each nation has its own customs and traditions, and that these customs and traditions are not to be disturbed. In fact, if someone comes to me and says "I want to be Jewish", I reply "Why do you want to do this? It is better for you to follow the traditions of your ancestors, and to follow the good path that they taught you."

As I said, I am Jewish, and my tradition is very important to me. For this reason, I understand why your tradition is important to you. I would like to help you preserve your tradition, and although I am far from where you live, and we must communicate through a translator, I hope that our conversation will be helpful for preservation of the Akha traditions.

I would like to begin by saying that two things are VERY, VERY important in preserving tradition: One is children, and the other is writing. If Akha children understand the importance of their traditions, then they will continue these traditions when they are adults. If the children lose the traditions, then the tradition is lost!  We recognized this fact many centuries ago, and for this reason, education is central to Jewish tradition. From an early age, a father teaches his children about the traditions. Indeed, in Jewish tradition, this is one of the fatherís important responsibilities towards his children. The mother also is very focused on teaching the children about traditions and customs from an early age, so that even children of a few years of age know something about the holidays and about different traditions and customs.

In a similar way, the key to continuity for Akha tradition is with the Akha children. They are the key to the future of Akha tradition, and so they should be taught well about the traditions of their ancestors. This leads me to the second point: writing.
One of the most important ways that tradition is taught to the older children and the more advanced adult students is through writing. Over the centuries, our teachers (called "rabbis") wrote down what they taught in books, so that today, I can read the words and teachings of rabbis from 2000 years ago! This is very helpful for preserving tradition. Actually, originally, much of our traditions were not written, and were only taught by spoken words, but then the Romans invaded our land. When the rabbis saw the danger of the Roman invasion, they said "If we donít write down our traditions, then they might disappear as a result of Roman oppression, and Roman attempts to impose their own culture on us". So, Rabbi Yehuda Hanassi began a big project and collected the words of many rabbis, and organized their teachings in a set of 60 books, called the Mishna. Each book is arranged according to topic, so that the reader can locate sources on a particular topic and see what was taught on this topic. The Mishna has remained in full form for 1800 years, and today it is still possible for us to read from the Mishna and learn about these ancient rabbis and what they taught. The study of Mishna is standard in Jewish schools, because it is important that Jewish children know about this.  I think that a similar project would be very helpful for the Akha people, to arrange the teachings of Akha traditions in the form of books. Then to develop a method of teaching Akha tradition to Akha children, so that the Akha can preserve tradition even under the pressure of foreign cultures. If the Akha people know their traditions and feel that they are a part of them, outsiders will not be successful in erasing tradition.

I hope that now my intention of this letter is clear, and I would like to ask some questions about Akha beliefs and teachings, both for my own understanding, and in order to suggest how books of Akha tradition might be arranged.

So, I begin my question with the beginning:
1) How did the world begin, according to Akha tradition?
2) How was the world created?
3) What does Akha tradition teach about the first human beings in the world?
4) When is the beginning of the year in Akha tradition?
5) What festival  or special day is celebrated then? How is it celebrated?

 This letter is already somewhat long, so I will continue with another letter soon. If you have any questions about what I wrote, or any comments, opinions, ideas on it, please tell me.
And if you would like to ask me anything about the history or traditions of my people, I would be happy to reply. I wish you success in the preservation of your traditions and culture.

Good health to you and your family and to the Akha People!

Be well, and as we say in my language: Shalom uvraxa! (That is: Peace and blessing!)

I look forward to your reply,

Sincerely, 

Avi Gold