Quotes About Tradition

Our homeland is where our dead are buried.

Si un indio del Amazonas puede detener un chorro de sangre con saliva, cuánto más podrá hacer la ciencia por ti, hija.

When I was a girl in my grandfather's house, the men in the family had money, cars, and freedom to come and go anytime they wanted, as well as the authority to make all decisions, even the smallest ones, such as what would appear on the dinner menu. My mother had none of that; she lived off her father's and older brother's charity. She also had to protect her reputation. How much of that did I perceive? Enough to suffer for it.

Pedro Tercero tuvo que renunciar a sus paseos al pueblo, porque su padre lo requería a su lado. Lo secundaba de mal humor, haciéndole notar que se partían el lomo por volver a poner en pie la riqueza del patrón, pero que ellos seguían siendo tan pobres como antes. —Siempre ha sido así, hijo. Usted no puede cambiar la ley de Dios —le replicaba su padre.

Las fechas son importantes y también los rituales, porque les dan significado y belleza a los actos humanos y ayudan a fijar los eventos en la memoria.

Cada tribu tenía un shabono, una gran choza común en forma circular, techada con paja y abierta hacia un patio interior. Vivían todos juntos, compartiendo desde la comida hasta la crianza de los niños. Sin embargo, el contacto con los extranjeros estaba acabando con las tribus: no sólo les contagiaban enfermedades del cuerpo, también otras del alma.

The first thing we offer a visitor is a tecito, an agüita, or a vinito, a "nice little drink" of tea, water, or wine. We always add the diminutive -ito to our words, almost as an apology for offering, in accord with our desire not to be noticed and our horror of putting on airs, even with words.

Then we offer our guest "pot luck," which means that the mistress of the house will take bread out of her children's mouths to give to the visitor, who is obliged to accept it. If you receive a formal invitation, you can expect a gargantuan feast: the goal is to leave the guests moaning with indigestion for several days. Of course, women always do the hard work.

Comenzaban por hacer una fogata en el patio con leña y carbón. Encima se colgaba de un trípode una olla de hierro negra por el uso, donde se echaban los ingredientes, en proporción de cuatro tazas de leche por una de azúcar, se aromatizaba con dos palitos de vainilla y la cáscara de un limón, se hervía pacientemente durante horas, revolviendo de vez en cuando con una larguísima cuchara de madera.

Mapu-ché, «gente de la tierra», así se llaman ellos mismos

Vertieron un poco de sangre en el suelo, arrancaron los corazones, los ahumaron con tabaco, luego los partieron en trocitos y los repartieron entre los toquis y loncos; así comulgaron entre ellos y con la Tierra. —Señor Ngenechén, ésta es la pura sangre de los animales, sangre tuya, sangre que nos das para que tengamos vida y podamos movernos, Padre Dios, por eso con esta sangre estamos rogándote que nos bendigas

That huge old house, which had an entrance on two streets, was one-story tall with a mansard roof, and it harbored a tribe of great-grandparents, maiden aunts, cousins, servants, poor relatives, and guests who became permanent residents; no one tried to throw them out because in Chile "visitors" are protected by the sacred code of hospitality. There was also an occasional ghost of dubious authenticity, always in plentiful supply in my family.

You get three Venezuelans together and one will play the drums or the guitar and the other two will dance; there is no ill that can resist that treatment. Our parties, in contrast, seem like funerals: the men gather in a corner to talk business and the women die of boredom. Only the young dance, seduced by North American music, but as soon as they marry they turn solemn like their parents.

He had calling cards with his family crest on them and respected all the known rules of urbanity as well as some of his own invention, such as eating artichokes with tongs, which provoked general stupefaction.

Para un chino ilustre el evento más importante en la vida era su propio funeral.

costumbre chilena de convivir en clan para siempre.

My grandfather was an exception among Chileans because no man from the middle class up knows how to decipher a manual, nor does he dirty his hands with motor oil—that's what maestros are for; they can improvise ingenious solutions with the most modest resources and a minimum of fuss.

His grandfather, he said, was from a traveling family—part of a group called the "Gringos"—signifying, here, not unwanted Americans but Greek-speaking Gypsies in Spain.

There's a saying in the oral tradition of storytelling that when you tell a story, when you give out a story, it is no longer yours; it belongs to everyone who encounters it and everyone who takes it in.

I would have thought there's no greater country to watch rugby than New Zealand.

Everybody recommends New Zealand. I really want to learn this haka, the traditional dance - I love it; it's so cool.

I'm quite proud of growing up in New Zealand where, from quite early on in primary school, you're learning to count in Maori, Maori mythology and dances and colours and history, and I think that gives a child a really good grounding.

'Commonwealth' is not a word I ever used growing up in Colombo. There, in the late 1950s, it would have meant little more than New Zealand lamb and Anchor butter at the cold stores.

Australia and New Zealand have traditionally shared very close links, yet there are things that set us apart and make us unique - Australia's wildlife experience being one of them.