An episode of ethnocentrism

Superb starlings at Fisherman’s Camp plunged me into an episode of ethnocentrism. Just little birds!

At first, we and our fellow orientees were in awe of the superb starlings’ striking beauty. Their wings and back reflected a brilliant, shimmery blue-green color. Combine that with their orange bellies and black heads and indeed, their beauty was stunning. And to think they lived right there with us, so close!

Before long, though, their arrogant, tenacious determination to steal our food—right from our plates sometimes!—soured our initial admiration.

To make matters worse, they pooped on our laundry hanging between trees. When that happened, I’d have to get out my little plastic basin, scrub the laundry clean, and hang it to dry—again under those birds!

Then the ibis calls began to get on our nerves—they were so loud and piercing. In fact, they bordered on obnoxious.

Mind you, people come from around the world to watch and listen to Lake Naivasha’s birds, but to my way of thinking, those birds were an annoyance. And they definitely were inferior to my birds back home in Washington.

I suppose we all wrestle with it. It’s called ethnocentrism.

Ethnocentrism—it’s the assumption that our birds are better than their birds, the belief that we do things the right way and they (people in other cultures) do them the wrong way.

It’s the conviction that our way is superior while theirs is inferior—things like traditions, values, music, race, appearance, language, odors, religious practices, humor, marriage, child-rearing, medicine, and food, to name only a few.

And often our assumptions are not correct.

A North American arriving in Kenya might scoff, “People drive on the wrong side of the road here!” In fact, they don’t drive down the wrong side of the road—they drive down the left side of the road. Driving on the left is not inferior to driving on the right side—it’s simply different from the North American practice of driving on the right side.

An important objective during our orientation course, then, was to recognize our ethnocentrism and take a fresh, positive look at Africa and the African way of thinking and doing, and soon Dave and I would conclude that Africans do many things better than Americans. Our goal was to humble ourselves, learn to honor Africans, and live in their culture without causing offense.

And so, I’m happy that I could write in Chapter 1 of Grandma’s Letters from Africa that within a few days, I learned to focus on the positive aspects of Lake Naivasha’s birds.

Still today, I cherish those birdsongs. 

Once in a while, I’ll hear one of them in a movie 

or TV program about Africa—

and oh, the rich memories those songs stir up!

What about you?

Have you experienced cultural differences 

that caused ethnocentric thoughts to break out? 

If so, how did you handle it? 

Did the situation turn out well in the end? I hope so!

Share your stories with us!

Leave a comment below, 

or on Grandma’s Letters from Africa’s Facebook Page, 

or send a private message.

Have you ever been serenaded by fruit bats?

Let me tell you about fruit bats.

It was just before bedtime on the first night of our orientation course at Lake Naivasha, Kenya, when our director, Brian Caston, warned us about fruit bats’ strange nocturnal noise.

He said it sounded like someone striking a note on a xylophone, the same note over and over and over again.

Have you ever tried to sleep through the night with someone playing a xylophone outside your tent? Sigh. . . .

Brian forgot to mention that the note was flat.

According to Learn About Nature’s website, fruit bats are “furry, cute mammals and do not inspire the fear that some people have of bats.” Click here to see pictures of these “furry, cute mammals.”

Researchers with Tel Aviv University discovered fruit bats make various noises to communicate with each other.

Bob Yirka reports, “The researchers grouped the sounds into four main groups: arguing over food, mating and sleeping clusters, and differences of opinion regarding how close was too close when hanging around each other. . . . They noted also that the bats tended to change their tones when addressing members of the opposite gender.” Who knew?! (That sounds awfully similar to the ways and reasons humans make sounds, too!)

And the noise they make is an ultrasonic sound (in frequencies too high for human ears to hear), which they use, instead of vision, to find their dinner and avoid flying into each other.

We owe bats a big asante sana (thank you) because they eat mosquitoes (hooray!) and beetles, distribute seeds and pollinate flowers that result in fruit and vegetables for our dinner tables. In Kenya those would include bananas, mangos, figs, cashews, avocados, and dates. Nowadays fruit bats also play a key role in reforestation in tropical parts of the world. 

Now, in retrospect, it occurs to me that I shouldn’t have been so grouchy about listening to fruit bats all night. It could have been worse. I mean—better a xylophone than a leopard or a lion, right? 

And then there were those lovely birds—400 species at Lake Naivasha alone!

Fish eagle on the left, superb starling on the right

Last week I directed you to a video clip of fish eagles and their shrill, whistle-like cries that reverberated throughout our camp.

I also linked you to raucous ibis calls—sounding like a crow’s “caw!” broadcast over a loudspeaker. They were to become an everyday sound we lived with.

But most of the birdsongs were simply beautiful. I especially enjoyed the mourning doves’ gentle, muffled warble that enveloped us, “woo-OOO-ooh, woo-OOO-ooh.”

At Lake Naivasha, I heard the ring-necked dove’s song for the first time and, above all Kenya’s other birds, its song became the one that most signifies “Africa” to me. Its drawn-out warble, louder than the mourning dove’s song, sounds like, “bup! POW-woe. bup! POW-woe. bup! POW-woe!”

Those birds’ choruses were foreign to me at first, but soon they became familiar and sounded like a grand symphony, especially early in the morning.

Add to that cricket chirps and insect hums, and we were serenaded all day—and night—up close and personal.

Come on back next week and I'll tell you about the superb starling.

People come from around the world to witness Lake Naivasha’s birds

More than a thousand bird species live in Kenya and almost four hundred species make their homes at Lake Naivasha where Dave and I spent the first two weeks of our orientation course.

I marveled at the birdsongs—

their warbles and chirps and calls—

their variety, intensity, and volume. 

Listening to those birds in such close proximity 

was one of the highlights of my life.

It’s no surprise that people come from around the world 

to watch Lake Naivasha’s birds.

We lost all our photos from our stay on the shores of Lake Naivasha but nowadays, thanks to the internet, besides seeing photos of those lovely birds, you can also listen to their songs.

So here we go, thanks to the following links:

At this link, you will see the lake and the birds that live there, and you can listen to their distinct calls. You’ll see vibrant Superb Starlings between the 1:29 point and 1:49. At 2:13 you’ll see the Colobus monkeys that lived among us, too. Watch for their striking black and white silken fur. (Click here.)

At this link you’re in for a treat because you’ll see beautiful Lake Naivasha while also listening to Kenyan singing. I’ll always love their rich harmonies and pulsing rhythms. You’ll also see (at the :47 mark) the most prominent creature that lived among us—and the most deadly—hippos! (More stories about hippo incidents in future posts!)

In the next clip, you’ll listen to bird songs and see tents similar to those we used while there (although our group’s tents were spread apart more than those in the video). You’ll also see way too many photos of marabou storks.

Ibis was another prominent bird at Lake Naivasha. We didn’t see them often (because, I think, they lived high in the trees) but their calls definitely caught our attention. Often. In Grandma’s Letters from Africa, I described the ibis’s call in as kind a way as possible—I said it sounded like a crow’s “caw” over a loudspeaker. What you’ll hear on this video clip is toned down compared to being there in person. Be thankful! 

After listening to the raucous ibis’ calls, you’ll better appreciate the calls of the African Fish-eagle in this next video.

When I recall our days living at Lake Naivasha, my heart still thrills at the birdsongs. (Except for the ibis' calls!)

Look at the birds in the sky!

They don’t plant or harvest.

They don’t even store grain in barns.

Yet your Father in heaven takes care of them.

(Matthew 6:26, CEV)