Take your pants off for God
MEN living on a tiny Fijian island have been ordered to wear a skirt instead of trousers on Sundays to avoid offending God.
The Methodist Church on Bua island has ruled that men must wear the traditional island sarong, called a sulu, on Sundays to learn to respect the significance of the holy day.
Families cannot travel on any motorised transport or do any form of work, including hanging out clothes to dry, until they get the message, Galoa Village headman Josefa Baleinasiga has told the Fiji Times newspaper.
“The ban is meant to bring good luck to the island as we respect the day of the Lord,” he said.
“You can see that often misfortune befalls us because we don’t respect His commandments that there be no work performed on Sunday except worship.”
He said that since the ruling was made, clothes lines on the island had become full on Saturdays and people had stopped travelling offshore in boats fixed with outboards.
“But we make exceptions during emergencies for the sick so it’s not a ban that hasn’t been well thought out,” Mr Baleinasiga told the newspaper.
But it hasn’t been a hit with everyone.
A villager who wished not to be named said the ban was “too restrictive”.
“We can’t understand how wearing a sulu vakataga on Sunday will help us forge closer relations with the divine,” he said.
“At times too for the school children who come home for the weekend, the best time to return to their hostel in Labasa or Savusavu is on Sunday – so that is getting in the way.”
http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,,25950967-5012766,00.html
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The sub head of this RAW piece is a bit mischievous and borders on blasphemy.
Unfortunate, indeed!.
Thanks to the freedom of the press, we dearly miss and earnestly crave for, to yet again affect and probably control our respective worldviews.
It is only when we start to allow ourselves to be sidetracked and major of the minors in Christendom that we miss the major issues; pertinent for intentional focus along life’s journey.
Next, lose top buttons of our men and women may be under scrutiny by some moral police with warped theology.
May be my Tauvus from the Royal Island better clean the twin “tobu ni sili” again and revive it’s ritual of mutual unisex bathing in naked dignity.
Come on!, let’s major on the MAJORS of life, only then would the minors fly in and fit…not the noisy Bauan minars..dur!!
Let’s keep our dignity on..!
Semi Meo
August 20, 2009 at 1:41 am
It never fails to amaze me how people who have had Christianity for such a short time, think they walk on the right hand side of God.
We all come into this world naked…yes naked…in our birthday suits…without trousers (or skirts). Perhaps a better ban, would be for everyone in that village to fast on Sunday. I imagine the women are still expected to cook a meal on Sunday…shameful!
macaduru1
August 22, 2009 at 7:29 am