Forum Post: The Asu

An Indian anthropologist, Chandra Thapar, made a study of foreign culture which had customs similar to those of his native land. One culture in particular fascinated him because it celebrates their God through interesting customs such as revering an animal sacred, much as the people in India revere the cow.

The tribe Dr. Thapar studied is called the Asu and is found on the American continent north of the Tarahumara of Mexico. Though it seems to be a highly developed society of its type, it has an overwhelming preoccupation with a vengeful god demanding constant homage and reverence through sacrifice. The will of this God, Yonem, is known only to the highest order of priests within the Asu tribe. Through rituals conducted by these priests within enclosed temples, other artisans and scribes are able to translate their message for lower caste members of the tribe. The scribes and artisans do this by displaying and creating all sorts of trinkets and ornaments respectively. In reverence of Yonem every tribesman is tasked with hunting/gathering as many of these trinkets and ornaments as possible.

Although these items possess very little practical value acquiring them is considered the supreme spiritual practice for the Asu. To gain these trinkets lower caste members sacrifice something of equal or greater spiritual significance to them. Tribesmen offer up their dreams, heart, joy, serenity, time on mother earth, and/or their family. A few devote members of Yonem have gone so far as to kill other members to obtain these trinkets.

The more sacrifices one makes the more favor is believed to be earned with their God. The belief is that gaining enough favor with Yonem transforms them into divine beings which the rest of the tribe must then admire and respect unquestionably. Questioning Yonem's divine caste is unspeakable to the Asu as Yonem is an omniscent and benevolent God. Strangely, it is customary to reward those who cause and maintain the most destruction and chaos in the name of Yonem. Their forests are cut clean, animals are hunted to extinction, and sources of water are polluted with waste. However, according to the Asu such actions are necessary to continue producing their prized spiritual trinkets in the name of Yonem.

Another very significant way tribe members show their reverence for Yonem is by caring for a prized living ornament, the rac -- an animal much like a bull in size, strength and temperament. In the Asu tribe, it is almost a social obligation to own at least one if not more racs. Anyone not possessing at least one is held in low esteem by the community because he has fallen in bad favor with Yonem and can no longer maintain one of these beasts properly. Some members of the tribe, to display their love of Yonem and social prestige, even own herds of racs.

Unfortunately the rac breed is not very healthy and usually does not live more than five to seven years, for it has a tendency to throw its shoes often. There are rac specialists in each community, perhaps more than one if the community is particularly loved by Yonem. These specialists however, due to the long period of ritual training they must undergo and to the difficulty of obtaining the right selection of charms to treat the rac, demand costly offerings whenever a tribesman must treat his ailing rac.

At the age of sixteen in many Asu communities, many youths undergo a puberty rite in which the rac figures prominently. The youth must petition a priest in a grand temple. He is then initiated into the ceremonies that surround the care of the rac and is permitted to keep a rac.

Although the rac may be used as a beast of burden, it has many habits which would be considered by other cultures as harmful to the life of the society. In the first place the rac breed is increasing at a very rapid rate and the Asu tribesmen have given no thought to limiting the rac population. As a consequence the Asu must build more and more paths for the rac to travel on since its delicate health and its love of racing other racs at high speeds necessitates that special areas be set aside for its use. The cost of smoothing the earth is too costly for any one individual to undertake; so it has become a community project and each tribesman must pay an annual tax to build new paths and maintain the old. There are so many paths needed that some people move their homes because the rac paths must be as straight as possible to keep the animal from injuring itself. Dr. Thapar also noted that unlike the cow, which many people in his country hold sacred, the excrement of the rac cannot be used as either fuel or fertilizer. On the contrary, its excrement is exceptionally foul and totally useless. Worst of all, the rac is prone to stampedes in which it runs down anything in its path, much like stampeding cattle. Estimates are that the rac kills thousands of the Asu in a year.

Despite the high cost of their upkeep, the damage done to the land, their spiritual sacrifices, and the habit of destruction, the Asu still regard their trinkets, Yonem, and the rac as essential to the survival of their culture.