Frohe Ostern

In fostering intercultural understanding, let us take the opportunity today to talk about the great religious holiday the Christian vé'hó'e are celebrating this time of the year when they commemorate the sacrificial death of their cultural hero, the prophet Djeesis.

Djeesis, they claim, was the son of Ma'heo himself. Djeesis had great medicine, occasionally healed the sick and always procured bountiful food for his camp followers. Whenever there was a feast, he would magically multiply the food and turn normal water into white-man-water, so that everybody could get drunk and wanted to be his friend.

He may have been part-bird because, as the old ones say, he could hover above the water instead of falling into it. Yet his outer appearance was that of a rabbit which had such wonderfully fluffy and white fur that some erroneously called him Ma'heo's "lamb" instead.

He taught his camp-followers not to fight, and therefore he got caught and tortured by his enemies who nailed him on a pair of crossed torture poles. When Djeesis was in his death throes and his body orifices finally opened, he first released eggs like a bird, then sweet poo and finally eggs made of sweet poo.

His followers still revere him very much and celebrate the day of his cruel death every year by presenting each other colored eggs and also artificial colored eggs made of sweet poo. They adorn their prayer lodges with crossed torture poles and also wear little miniature torture crosses around their necks. Those are, however, normally not covered in sweet poo, which makes the anniversary of his death always a special day of feasting.