Assignment 2

My dear, you have already set forth on the path of the Santa Barbara T”aki. The paramount prestige and authority that materializes from the completion of the t”aki is the only way you will ever achieve the ultimate political triumph of your elder brothers and become a Jilaqata-mayor. Sponsoring the festival has exhausted our savings and a large portion of our herd to make sure the festival was a success and thereby increase your social standing and power within our hamlet. Consequently, you have secured your Jilaqata career, a career path that allocates you the highest level of respect every man desires. Why would you relinquish your chance of achieving the influence that comes with such a position of power?

I don’t believe you have thought closely about the repercussions of your decision. Converting to Protestantism entails giving up the drinking and dancing that formulate the core of the festivals and sacrifices we share with our community. A desire to save our earnings, and thereby a refusal to partake in the rituals that bind our family with our community, is a path towards greed. The dishonor associated with willingly neglecting your responsibilities to not only our community, but to our kin, will divest our family of the rights associated with membership of the hamlet; stripping us of our identity. In escaping your obligations to your hamlet, you will bring disgrace, shame, and possibly banishment upon your innocent family. By replacing the Santa Barbara t”aki with one directed towards greed and personal advancement, you are choosing a path that will make your children strangers to their kin and hamlet. More importantly, you will be living a life characterized by the imbalance of Tatala’s generative powers and therefore lack the only way we, as humans, can control our destinies and ensure some success in our future endeavors.

After hearing my thoughts, if you decide to complete the Santa Barbara t”aki you will eventually be among the wealthiest...