Diversity festival showcases culture
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By Mary Louise Speer | Monday, March 31, 2008 |
Shebah Chirackal of Bettendorf performs a traditional Indian dance Sunday during the Cultural Diversity Festival at St. Ambrose University. (Jeff Cook/QUAD-CITY TIMES) Buy this Photo
Somnieng Hoeurn, attired in an orange monastic robe, shared highlights about his life as a Buddhist monk in Cambodia with visitors Sunday at the St. Ambrose University Cultural Diversity Festival.
He faced numerous challenges in seeking an education when he was a child in impoverished Cambodia. Now, he is the second head monk at his temple and is in charge of running an orphanage, vocational school for vulnerable young women and a junior high school through the Life and Hope Association. He intends to use his college education to better care for the children through the association.
“My life there is very busy. I work 25 hours a day, eight days a week,” he said with a smile. “The more I can do, the happier I am.”
The colors of the Buddhist flag, blue, yellow, red, white and orange, all hold special meanings, he said. Orange means wisdom and peace.
During the festival, visitors and students sampled international cuisine, watched demonstrations of dance and martial arts and visited exhibits that highlighted cultures from Israel to Ireland.
Salma Arabi, owner of Dewey’s Copper Cafe at the Moline Public Library, and helpers offered people bites of kebbah and hummus and chicken wraps.
Hummus is a vegetarian dish concocted of chickpeas, tahini (a paste made from ground sesame seeds), lemon juice and garlic, and kebbah is a vegetarian delicacy made of cracked wheat, red peppers, walnuts and onions.
“I come originally from Damascus, Syria, and this is what I grew up on,” she said. “My favorite is the kebbah, absolutely.”
Shihan David Birdsell of Moline Kendo Club and his students demonstrated Shinkendo, the true art of the sword, and Kendo martial arts. In Shinkendo, practitioners employ swift strokes of silver swords to slash through rolled-up rice paper. Kendo, known as the way of the sword, is practiced with wooden or bamboo swords in traditional uniform and helmets.
“It’s active. I think it’s good exercise,” said Michelle Hammond, secretary to the dojo, or school. Hammond and her husband, Randy Newburg, became interested in the martial arts more than a decade ago.
“It’s nice to beat your husband up with a stick, occasionally,” Hammond joked.
Small children paused to have their photographs taken with 6-foot, 5-inch tall Norseman Lyle Haakenson. He belongs to Sons of Norway — Storelva Lodge in Davenport. He admits to having had plenty of Norwegian blood running through his veins. His dad was pure Norse, and his ancestors came to the United States and settled in the chilly Dakotas shortly after the Civil War.
His costume includes a faux bear fur shirt, leggings and sword. “The helmet is heavy, and it’s hot. This is not a summer costume,” he said. “I’m the tallest one in the group, so I got elected to wear the Viking costume.”
The city desk can be contacted at (563) 383-2450 or newsroom@qctimes.com.
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