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| VOLUME 6, NO. 8 | December 27, 2008 |
What's NewBerkeley’s Wat Mongkolratanaram Thai Buddhist Temple Faces Zoning Board
Berkeley Thai Temple Makes a Final Push for Public Support Before Zoning Board Hearing on January 22, 2009The Berkeley Zoning Adjustments Board (ZAB) members will hold a final hearing on January 22, 2009, where a vote to grant or deny the permit to continue the Sunday Food Offering Tradition will be determined.By Debbie Sheen, Veena Dubal, Siwaraya Rochanahusdin, Christina Jirachachavalwong, Virada Chatikul Wat Mongkolratanaram Thai Buddhist Temple in Berkeley is well-known for its Sunday Food Offering tradition during which community members, Thai and non-Thai, come to enjoy a meal at a suggested donation in support of Temple services and programming. The Temple is also home to a Thai language school and the Thai Cultural Center of the San Francisco Bay Area where for nearly twenty years Thai and Southeast Asian youth have been studying Thai language, music, and dance. The Temple’s Sunday activities are not only its primary source of funding, but a religious practice of tum-boon, or merit-making, for all Temple goers involved in the tradition – both the food preparers and servers as well as visitors. As monk Phra Maha Sopasit Sonna explains, “The central tenet of Buddhism is merit-making which practitioners do by offering food and donations to the Temple. As a Thai Temple in the United States, monks cannot walk the streets collecting food and alms daily as is practiced in Thailand.” On April 24, 2008, nineteen complainants from neighboring Oregon Street spoke in front of the ZAB and urged board members to shut down or limit the community event. Complainants spoke of parking scarcity, “offensive odors,” and litter in their yards. The Temple immediately responded to these concerns by undertaking extensive measures to participate in three mediation sessions with the complainants, cut its Sunday service hours in half, implement a neighborhood litter patrol, relocate the preparation of its food items, secure an exclusive parking lot from a nearby retailer, and actively reach out to its neighbors. At a second ZAB hearing held on September 25, 2008, immediate neighbors, members of community organizations, and generations of Berkeley Thai Temple-goers came together and spoke out in support of the Temple. Volunteers to save the Berkeley Thai Temple, comprised of alumni from Wat Mongkol and other Bay Area Thai temple language and cultural programs, are working to engage community support for the Sunday Food Offering tradition. Over the past eight months, support from community organizations and local leaders have poured in, as the Temple struggles to sustain its religious activities and educational programming. The Berkeley Zoning Adjustments Board will hold a final public hearing on January 22, 2009, at 7:00 pm at the Berkeley City Council Chambers on 2134 Martin Luther King Junior Way. Wat Mongkolratanaram is located at 1911 Russell Street in Berkeley, California. For more information, including ways to help, please visit Save the Thai Temple’s website and the Berkeley Zoning Adjustment Board’s website. An Apprenticeship in White Hmong Tiab Dawb
By Sherwood Chen, Associate Director and Apprenticeship Program Manager, Alliance for California Traditional Arts Master artist Ju X. Yang and apprentice and Yang’s daughter-in-law Pao Ge Vue—both of Fresno—are current participants in the Alliance’s Apprenticeship Program completing an apprenticeship in White Hmong tiab dawb, a hand-pleated skirt made of many yards of white hemp fabric, scored, pleated and sewn. An essential part of the traditional White Hmong woman’s ceremonial outfit, the tiab dawb’s pleats are set by tightly wrapping and twisting the skirt in a process which can take several months to a year to complete. In addition to being worn at key times and events in the year, tiab dawb are valued as funeral clothing, and hemp is a preferred fabric for tiab dawb because it decomposes with the body, allowing it to travel with the spirit of the deceased so that one does not arrive to the spirit world unclothed. Yang elaborates: “When a person dies, wearing the collection of very finely made traditional clothes they have collected during their lives has so much meaning spiritually and culturally. When a person gets married, the parents give the bride and groom clothes for their future funeral because we believe that the families will recognize each other in the spirit world by the clothes they have made themselves. It is a very important symbol that helps unite our different clans at marriage.” An Apprenticeship in Chicano Lowrider Vehicle Construction and Lowrider Sculpture
By Sherwood Chen, Associate Director and Apprenticeship Program Manager, Alliance for California Traditional Arts La Puente-based lowrider artist Gilbert “Magu” Lujan—widely known as Magu—and Mario Trillo of Los Angeles are current participants in the Alliance’s Apprenticeship Program, focusing on lowrider vehicle construction and lowrider sculpture. The apprenticeship emphasized working together on each of their respective vehicles—including a 1954 Chevy truck, a 1950 Chevy, and the shell of a limousine—and as well as developing carrito-based mixed media paper-mâché sculptures (of which Magu has been celebrated). The two forms—automobile and paper-mâché car sculptures—are inseparable in their approach, and reflective of Magu’s holistic process as an artist. While Trillo and Magu have developed a friendship and partnership in working together amongst a larger network of lowrider builders, artists, and technicians, the apprenticeship serves to focus on a more structured relationship between the two. Working on cars is typically an ongoing process with multiple concurrent projects, informally and regularly gathering networks of practitioners who share their respective expertise, brainstorming, and group labor focused on building and personalizing individual cars. Magu and Trillo meet frequently in groups and one-on-one, setting aside specific times—typically on Saturdays—to meet and work on assignments related to a given group member’s car. An Apprenticeship in South Indian Carnatic Music
By Kiran Athreya Editor’s Note: Master artist Parasuraman SunderRajan (Lake Forest) and apprentice Kiran Athreya (Lake Forest) are current participants in the Alliance’s Apprenticeship Program, conducting an apprenticeship in South Indian Carnatic violin. In the following article, 16-year old apprentice Kiran Athreya discusses his experience as an apprentice to Mr. SunderRajan and as a participant in the Apprenticeship Program. Carnatic music is a system of music commonly associated with the southern part of India, formerly known as Bharath. This system mainly originated from the four main states of India: Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu. In contrast to Hindustani music from northern part of India, the main emphasis of Carnatic music is on vocals. Over the years, many instruments were added to form an ensemble. For example, the tabla (drums) that was brought from North India is now being used in South Indian devotional music. Just like the tabla, the violin was acquired from the Western world. As used in symphonic bands and orchestras, the violin now plays a vital role in a South Indian classical concert. I was born in a family that supported and nourished music. In addition to being professional engineers, my parents were well versed in vocal music from very young age, inspiring us to continue the tradition. My older sister chose dance, and is currently a very accomplished Baratha Natyam dancer, while I received training playing the violin, and my younger brother in vocal music. Although the violin is one of the most difficult string instruments in Indian music, I decided to take on the challenge and pursue the art. I started my violin training when I was nine years old from a very accomplished violin maestro Mr. Delhi Parasuraman SunderRajan on August 3, 2001. The training commenced with an offering of fruits and a gift to the Guru (the teacher). At first, I was very anxious because I didn’t know Mr. SunderRajan’s personality. After few sessions, Mr. SunderRajan made me very comfortable and I was pleasantly surprised to see that he was modest and a very friendly person even with all his accomplishments in the field of music. Since then, our friendship has grown tremendously. This friendship has helped to make my classes fun and enjoyable, rather than stressful and overwhelming. FundingThe Alliance's Traditional Arts Development ProgramDeadline: Ongoing The Alliance’s Traditional Arts Development Program makes contracts up to $1,500 to support consultancies, mentorships, and travel opportunities that foster a new level of growth for individual folk & traditional artists and organizations engaged in this field in California. Requested services may be focused on organizational, program, and/or artistic development goals. Individual artists and cultural practitioners, as well as organizations, whether incorporated or not, may apply. A sampling of past contracts include: Artistic Mentorships Gen Taiko (San Francisco), an organization dedicated to promoting, preserving and presenting Japanese traditional arts including taiko (traditional Japanese drumming), traditional folk dance, and folk song forms. Its artistic director, Melody Takata, was trained by National Heritage Fellow Madame Fujima Kansuma to learn the Nihon Buyo (Japanese classical) dance called Kojo No Tsuki (Moonlit Castle Ruins). Ms. Takata taught the dance to four of her students and performed it at Gen Taiko’s 10th Anniversary Concert in November 2005. Organizational Consultancies: Kwashi Amevuvor (Los Angeles), a master drummer from Ghana, West Africa, worked with consultant Janet Planet, who assisted him with marketing and web design to develop professional promotional materials to publicize the work of the artist and the traditional cultural arts of Ghana. In addition, Ms. Planet’s consultancy supported Mr. Amevuvor’s efforts in organizing a cultural study tour of Ghana. Travel Opportunities The Eszterlánc Hungarian Folk Ensemble (Foster City) traveled to Southern California to perform for an audience of over two thousand at the annual Magyar Sajtónap (Hungarian Press Day) hosted by the newspaper California Hungarians. At this event Eszterlanc dancers had the opportunity to perform with members of the Karpatok Folk Ensemble of Southern California, which is led by Istvan Szabo. Requests for organizational consultancies, artistic mentoring, and travel support may be submitted to the Alliance at any time. Download the application and application instructions from the Alliance’s website or call (559) 237-9812 to request a copy be mailed to you. The Alliance’s Traditional Arts Development Program is supported by grants from the California Arts Council, the Walter and Elise Haas Fund, and the National Endowment for the Arts. Native Arts @ NEFA
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FEATURES ABOUT ACTA The Alliance for California Traditional Arts strives to "ensure California's future holds California's past" by providing programs and services to support the state's diverse living cultural heritage. The Alliance cultivates the growth of traditional arts and culture through Stewardship, Services to Artists, and Connection-Making. CONTACT ACTA Website: Staff: Sherwood Chen, Associate Director Lily Kharrazi, Living Cultures Grants Program Manager Suzanne Hildebrand, Administrative Coordinator BOARD OF DIRECTORS Melanie Beene Emmett Castro, V.P. of Finance and Administration Jo Farb Hernandez, Secretary Joel Jacinto, Sojin Kim, Ph.D. Amy Kitchener (ex officio) Frank LaPena Malcolm Margolin Libby Maynard Chike Nwoffiah, V.P. of External Development Peter Pennekamp, Executive Director Amy Rouillard Charlie Seemann, Board President Daniel Sheehy, Ph.D. Deborah Wong, Ph.D. Honorary Bess Lomax Hawes FUNDERS
American Quilts: Two Hundred Years of Tradition Shibui – The Subtle Beauty of Japanese Craft The Shape of Things: Paper Traditions and Transformations Kumeyaay: Indigenous People of Southern California Indigenous Voices, Ancient Trade Routes
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