This is our short trip to the Museum of Anthropology at UBC. Only on Tuesdays, does the museum opens until 9pm. It closes at 5pm on other days (This is like the normal closing time for the entire country!) Anthropology is the study of human kind, by the way. The museum is not very big but it does hold very interesting items from the First Nations (as they called). My understanding is the indigenous people here are termed First Nations. Apparently, the totem poles are the highlights of the museum. Totem poles was a way of preserving the natives heritage as well as honouring tribal rituals and sacred spirits of people. The natives also had a ‘house post’ near their house, probably as a welcoming gesture?? (Not too sure as we’re moving too fast and we didn’t join in the tour; so will probably go back there again) Besides the totem poles, we saw a lot of masks, baskets and figurines. Interestingly, there were exhibits on the indigenious inflicted with AIDS. Those inflicted with AIDS (to be more technically correct, HIV-positive) were deemed as outcasts and they were recognised easily by the community simply based on their appearances. It always does seem that its the ‘invading’ foreigners who bring diseases and disaster along with them – some ‘wood’ for thought.
