Word: indianness
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Zoroastrianism, the world's oldest monotheistic religion, was once followed by millions in ancient Persia, but today claims as few as 124,000 adherents worldwide. Despite fears of impending extinction, Indian Zoroastrians neither allow conversion into the faith nor recognize children of interfaith marriages, according to Ramiyar P. Karanjia, principal of a Zoroastrian religious school in Mumbai. These are some of the reasons why the community of 70,000, the world's largest, is declining by about 10% every decennial census, according to UNESCO...
...Word of ayahuasca's healing properties has brought a growing number of New Age tourists from the U.S. and Europe, some of whom pay thousands of dollars to stay at jungle lodges where Indian medicine men guide them through all-night ayahuasca rituals. Sting and Tori Amos have admitted sampling it in Latin America, where it is legal, as has Paul Simon, who chronicled the experience in his song "Spirit Voices." "It heals the body and the spirit," says Eustacio Payaguaje, 51, a Cofán Indian shaman who regularly treks to Bogotá to lead weekend ayahuasca ceremonies...
...most popular lodges, Blue Morpho, is run by Hamilton Souther, a California native who moved to Peru in 2001 to learn about medicinal plants from local Indians. After receiving the title of master shaman, Souther set up Blue Morpho, a collection of charming thatch-roofed huts and nature trails with a ceremonial roundhouse where Souther offers ayahuasca sessions for a mostly U.S. crowd. As the only full-fledged gringo shaman in the Peruvian Amazon, Souther is a natural interpreter for tourists navigating the mysteries of traditional Indian culture and its sacred plants. "These are people who are interested in their...
...Although traditional-medicine practices had been waning in some Indian communities in Latin America, ayahuasca tourism has helped spark a revival, as guiding foreigners through the ceremonies can provide a decent income for shamans. The business has become so popular that at the airports in Iquitos and the Colombian Amazon city of Leticia, locals trying to drum up clients for freelance medicine men stand outside the terminals shouting "Ayahuasca! Ayahuasca...
...Clint Eastwood films and Hollywood action flicks, Prabhakaran is considered to have practically invented suicide bombers. His "Black Tiger" bombers - almost half of them women - have killed thousands, including former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and Sri Lankan President Ranasunghe Premadasa. The elite Black Sea Tigers perform underwater suicide bombings to sink enemy ships. (Read "A Brief History of the Tamil Tigers...