Teduray Cultural Practices In Elie Wiesel's Figel
Throughout his two years of research in Figel, Schlegel described many Teduray cultural practices; among them include their elaborate legal system, gender and sexuality, marriage and customs as well as their beliefs. Some of the practices he did not understand, but throughout his book he portrays the Tedurays as being spiritual, tolerant, peaceful and noncompetitive group of people. Compared to his upbringing, Schlegel starts to question his own way of life and he starts to change it by being tolerant socially and morally. One aspect of custom that he had a hard time understanding was the first marriage procedures the Tedurays had. He observed that the young people were not given a choice to choose who they wanted to marry or when they wanted
…show more content…
If there was anything to dissolve it was done by the “legal specialists” in which they worked together to solve whatever it is that they want to solve without having a one side winner and the other side a loser. “They all worked together to find the just outcome, to determine who truly had “the fault” and who had “the right”, recalled Schlegel. “The proceedings were cooperative and no way adversarial” (Schlegel, 2006, p. 155). The legal system was done this way to avoid any imbalance in their community as they did not want any “bad gall bladders”. The “specialists” had authority but did not take coercive measures as we have seen and seeing in today’s world (Western culture). Force and violence was not necessary to solve their issues; it was to be avoided at any cost. Though he concentrated his research on the Teduray legal system, economic system and language, Schlegel was also able to learn about their spirituality. He portrays the Tedurays as being spiritual people. They do not believe that there is a God but believe in cosmology. There are varieties of cosmos, one being a “Region of the Great Spirit”. According to Schlegel (2006), the Great Spirit is a creator of everything and is neither male or female, omnipresent, omniscient, nor omnipotent. (p. 217). “Everything was saturated with spiritual significance,” he notes (p.
If there was anything to dissolve it was done by the “legal specialists” in which they worked together to solve whatever it is that they want to solve without having a one side winner and the other side a loser. “They all worked together to find the just outcome, to determine who truly had “the fault” and who had “the right”, recalled Schlegel. “The proceedings were cooperative and no way adversarial” (Schlegel, 2006, p. 155). The legal system was done this way to avoid any imbalance in their community as they did not want any “bad gall bladders”. The “specialists” had authority but did not take coercive measures as we have seen and seeing in today’s world (Western culture). Force and violence was not necessary to solve their issues; it was to be avoided at any cost. Though he concentrated his research on the Teduray legal system, economic system and language, Schlegel was also able to learn about their spirituality. He portrays the Tedurays as being spiritual people. They do not believe that there is a God but believe in cosmology. There are varieties of cosmos, one being a “Region of the Great Spirit”. According to Schlegel (2006), the Great Spirit is a creator of everything and is neither male or female, omnipresent, omniscient, nor omnipotent. (p. 217). “Everything was saturated with spiritual significance,” he notes (p.