Got your passport? The average US citizen may decide to get a passport in order to travel to Europe for some culture. Another reason to get a passport may be to soak up some sun in the Caribbean. Now there is a different reason to get a passport – it’s called “tribal tourism”. It’s a new trend now that has brought along a lot of controversy. There are few countries on earth where you can still come face to face with ancient cultures. But if you grab your passport and head to Papua New Guinea you will find 850 different tribes speaking 800 languages.
Other parts of the world where a passport can bring you into a completely different culture include parts of Peru, Kenya and the Pacific Northwest.
Did you ever imagine that your passport could put you in the center of an ancient shaman ritual? Until recently, the closest you could get to these places was to check out a National Geographic magazine. Nowadays, tribal tourism is becoming almost mainstream with US citizens lining up to get a passport so they can stay in a wooden huts with open floorboards and open walls.
A passport can gain you access to places that you couldn’t even imagine still exist.
However, opponents feel that tourists cheapen the spiritual tradition of these ancient cultures and should back off. For an example of the detrimental effects of tribal tourism, one should look at a tribe in Guatemala whose spiritual traditions have been tainted by this new brand of tourism.
The local tribe members base a spiritual tradition around Maximon, a pre-Christian deity. Once a year, the tribes people bring out a statue and parade him through the village of Santiago Atitlan, Guatemala. During the remainder of the year, the carved figure is protected by guardians. During a recent visit to Guatemala, an attorney for indigenous people witnessed that the holy diety had been adorned with a cowboy hat and a Mickey Mouse necktie courtesy of a Japanese tourist.
I should hope that there are better ways to use your passport.
Regardless of what your feelings are about tribal tourism, if you are a US citizen and interested in getting a US passport, contact Rush Passport™. If you need an expedited passport, emergency passport, same day passport, US Passport book, US Passport Card, passport photos or other passport services, be sure to contact Rush Passport™. You can visit us at http://www.rushpassport.com or call us 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to speak with a Live Passport Agent. (877) 937-7277 (All 50 States) or (212) 643-9305 New York Passport Agency. Rush Passport™ Official US Passport Expeditors, serving Brooklyn, The Bronx, Queens, Staten Island, Manhattan, Westchester County, Nassau County & Suffolk County, Long Island, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Connecticut and Miami, Florida.
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