Harriot's report on A Brief and True Report of the New Found
Land of Virgina, was a interesting but good read for me. I find it hard to
fully understand how both Harriot and the indigenous people of Virginia must
have felt in the new experience of meeting one another. The text does a great
job of explaining the journey and the interaction with the people. However I
feel I will never even come close to fully understanding the full extent of the
interaction unless I was there. I have this problem with all kinds of
historical texts. For example, no one can fathom the tragedies experienced during
the holocaust unless one felt the pain and fear associated with the experience.
There is however, always something to take away and there a few themes of
humanity that stuck out to me as being significant.
The cultural diffusion
that was met between Harriot and the Wingina people is evident from the
beginning of the text. Harriot describes the people and how they lived in
depth. It’s human nature to take in how people live and compare it to one’s own
life. Harriot seemed to be processing everything about the natives and taking a
different perspective on their appearance and how they lived. Likewise, the
native people were fascinated by the advancement of the sciences and crafts of
Harriot and his men. This culture clash only continued when religion was
explored as well. Much like Harriot, I feel like we all come in contact with
cultural diffusion everyday with people from all different walks of life. I
ride for the cycling club at TCU and just recently a new rider from Switzerland
has been riding with us. It is amazing to see his perspective on the culture of
the American people as well as his experience in Switzerland. Culture shapes
who we are and how we react together. Reading about Harriot’s experience reminded
me of mine. It also reminded me that all cultures are different and can teach
us something if we are willing to listen.
It is interesting to
note the tendency for man to stretch for understanding. I feel this theme was
evident in the native people as they interacted with Harritot and his men. The
native people relied heavily on religion to interpret their surroundings. When
disease struck, the natives did not know what to make of the pandemic. However,
they knew there had to be a reason for the plague that was surrounding them. I
feel like the natives needed an explanation for what was happening to them and understanding
the cause would help restore hope to the people. The second part of this
understanding required a solution to their problem. Because Harriot and his men
were revered as god like individuals to the natives, they accepted their religion
as their solution. One of the Wiroans quotes that he feared offending Harriot’s
god, so he sent for some of Harriot’s men to pray over them.
I feel like we can be
like the Wiroaons when we don’t understand something. We become scared and
frustrated and then try to interpret our situation to the best of our
abilities. This is human nature, but I feel the process of how we understand something
is important. There is no way that either Harriot or the Wiroans could have
understood the biological reason for the infection of the native people.
However, sometimes we don’t always have the reason and that’s OK. Interpreting
situations in a positive light is crucial for developing a strong and positive attitude
about life. Is it hard to learn from people of different cultures from you? Sure
it is. Is it even harder to find the positive as you lay dying from some
disease you have no idea about? I can’t imagine how hard that would be. We can’t
control what happens in this life, but we can control our attitudes and how we
interpret life’s struggles. It’s about always striving for something better. I
feel explorations, like Harriot’s, are founded on that same idea.
