Of course machetes are also the number one cause of "accidental" drunken decapitation and dismemberment in the county. There is nothing chivalrous about that. So I guess its not a slam dunk.
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Honduran Machete Culture
Andy's comment yesterday got me thinking about the machete's place in Honduran culture. I am sure a real a cultural anthropologist would have a field day with the topic. Basically, Honduras is a place where it is still pretty much normal to walk around with a sword. Anyone who thinks that chivalry no longer exists in the world may be surprised to find some of its last vestiges here in Honduras. Check out this picture I snapped on the way up the river a couple of weeks ago. A gentleman walks his lady down the street. His sword hangs ready at his side. The sight is not at all uncommon here.
Of course machetes are also the number one cause of "accidental" drunken decapitation and dismemberment in the county. There is nothing chivalrous about that. So I guess its not a slam dunk.
Of course machetes are also the number one cause of "accidental" drunken decapitation and dismemberment in the county. There is nothing chivalrous about that. So I guess its not a slam dunk.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
When I lived in Mexico many many many years ago, (Yeah, I am old!) machetes were even worn in church services in the country. Slowly that is changing. Apparently the sermons improved or the offerings got better, but as time passed I saw less machetes. Fortunately for me, most country churches were segregrated at the time, with men seated on one side and women on the other. I sat with the breast feeding mamas and not the machete-wielding macho men.
My sister got me a machete for Christmas that she schlepped through Central America. It has no sheath and I asked her what she thought I would do with it since I live in Minneapolis. I am to slice fruit with it in the alley behind my building and then mount it on the wall.
Post a Comment