A Hunter's Story-- Film about the San People

The Great Dance - A Hunter's Story | Film about the San People

The film shares the San perspective of tracking thus:

"Tracking is like dancing because your body is happy. It's telling you the hunting will be good. You feel it in the dance. It tells you. When you are tracking and dancing, you are talking with God." (You can view the full film at bottom of this post. )

This film simply blew my mind. Here you have all the secrets you need to know about he nuance of understanding our ancestors had with their bodies and their environment: the animals, the plants, the winds and rain, fire, and the sun. They were highly skilled and tuned beings who could see the world so deeply, see the connections between things, read the signs all around them, and retell the story through words, hand gestures and movement, sand drawing and painting. They read their world well.

As a seemingly highly evolved 21st century Great Ape, I am fascinated by our genetic, cultural and spiritual heritage. I am also amazed at where we are now. Shaman-like, I believe it is our job to connect the past to the future, thereby creating the present. That's what I like to do, and I get a lot of inspiration from a deeper acquaintance with our hunter-gathering ancestors and their ways of being.

This film starts out with this quote: 
"/XAÁ is the word for DANCE in the !Ko language of the Kalahari and also means to REVERE, or to show ONENESS."

It is so powerful, especially when you reconnect it to the idea that tracking is like dancing "because your body is happy".  Our ancestors knew how to be happy in their bodies by being in the moment and connected to themselves and their world.  We can do the same.  I recommend it.

Now enjoy the film below and let me know what you think.  I plan on sharing more of the insights I have gained from this film and these people in future blog posts.

"This is a film dedicated to the ancient !Xo San people, whose harmony with this vast Kalahari desert landscape inspired the movie. Use this to learn more about the !Xo San - the Kalahari Desert Bushmen - or to travel into their minds, hearts and landscapes through the unique images."

BFT

PS. I recommend supporting www.kuru.co.bw. An organization whose vision is that:
The San peoples of Southern Africa will achieve permanent control over their lives, resources and destiny.  I want to see that happen too!

Peanuts Are Not Paleo

Thanks, Wikipedia.

It’s clear that people are very attached to their peanut butter. And since peanut butter has the word “nut” in it, even Paleo people assume it’s ok to eat it, despite the warnings all over every Paleo site in the internet kingdom.

Peanuts are as much nut as sweetbreads are bread. (sweetbreads are organs, by the way) Legumes aren’t on the Paleo diet and therefore, peanuts aren’t either. Let’s talk details.

Legumes
While legumes, or beans (lentils, black beans, soy, peanuts, etc.), aren’t as bad as grains, which contain gluten and other harmful substances, they should be avoided. They absolutely must be cooked for long periods of time, sprouted, and preferably fermented to remove, at best, most of the harmful lectins and phytic acid contained in them.

Legumes are a mediocre source of protein, a huge source of unnecessary carbohydrates, and therefore produce a big glycemic response. Moreover, legumes give most people gas. I think they’re sort of a waste of calories.

Aflatoxin
In my opinion, peanuts are one of the more alarming legumes. With the number of peanut allergies doubling over the last decade, there’s clearly something going on here. There are hypotheses, but no concrete reason for the increase in allergic response to peanuts. One theory has to do with the aflatoxin present in most of the peanuts (and wheat, rice and other major crops) in the U.S.

Aflatoxin is a toxin that is created by mold that forms when crops like peanuts are stored in large masses. It’s one of the most carcinogenic substances known. Besides the fact that it could cause cancer if enough of it is ingested, there’s also growing suspicion that aflatoxin could be causing an immune system reaction – an allergy.

There’s really not enough evidence to prove this yet, but the fact that there’s a poisonous substance permeating your peanuts should give you pause.

Roasted Peanuts Are Worse
Although the roasting process will rid the peanut of some of its phytic acid, it actually changes the structure of the proteins so as to make them more allergenic. By the way, when you hear the word allergy, you might be thinking to yourself, “Well I don’t have anaphylactic shock when I eat peanuts, so I’m fine.” But allergies can be way less severe than your throat closing up. It could be as subtle as a skin rash or just feeling mentally out of it. Or maybe it makes your digestion wonky.

Anyway, we roast our peanuts in the U.S. while in China, they boil or fry them. According to this study, China wins because the allergenic potential of the boiled and fried peanuts was less than the allergenic potential of the roasted peanuts. That may be one of the reasons so many more people in the U.S., and not China, are allergic to peanuts.

There are about 9-12 peanuts in a tablespoon of peanut butter, so if you’re eating a few tablespoons of the stuff a day, that’s kind of a lot of peanuts…

Overall, I think almond butter is a better choice if you’re going to insist on having a brown spread on your toast – wait… banana? I just don’t think peanuts are worth it, but as always, it’s your choice.

Anyone have any thoughts on the topic?