Letter 48. Handmaids of Christ.
26th October 2005
Dear friends,
I am back in Dhaka after an enjoyable stay in Barisal. I must admit I was a bit dushtu (naughty) when I decided how to go there. Most of my friends in Dhaka said that it was not safe for a foreign female traveller to go alone by launch (boat) at night, though this was what I wished to do. A couple of friends said it was no problem, and then of course I used the chance to take their help to get the ticket, and I was very obedient after that. I did not leave my cabin except for going to the toilet, and I did not speak to strangers or receive food from anybody. Of course I wanted to enjoy the journey by having the nice view of the river, and on my way to Barisal I was lucky enough to get a cabin with door and window towards the river. Turning off the light in my cabin I could lie in my bed watching the river life without disturbing eyes watching me from outside. It is so much more comfortable to travel by launch than by bus, and when being followed to my cabin before departure and picked up after arrival, it was not very easy to get lost either.
The Oxford Mission in Barisal is a hundred years old English Mission, started by the Brotherhood of the Epiphany and the Sisterhood of the Epiphany. Today no English Brothers or Sisters are there, but there are growing communities of Bangladeshis. Anyway, it is still known as the Oxford Mission. The Brotherhood of St. Paul has two Fathers, one Brother and one postulant. The Christa Sevika Sangha (Handmaids of Christ) has twelve Sisters and one novice. Five of the Sisters are situated in Barisal. The rest of them are in the village of Jobarpar, one and a half hours drive from Barisal. We had a visit to Jobarpar one day, where I met the old, sweet Mother of the community as well as the youngest one, the 20 year-old novice who came three years ago.
The Sisters and Brothers at Oxford Mission in Barisal share much of their life, though they live in separate houses. They say their prayers together in the most beautiful church I have seen in Bangladesh. They share the responsibilities for the work within the convent premises and they sometimes invite each other for meals or recreation. They do lots of good work, much of it is similar to some of the work YWCA runs, and it was nice to visit the schools, hostels, clinic and development department of the Mission. In addition to providing services to the poor, they have a more evangelical aspect than YWCA. Their hostels are places where children get a Christian formation, and it was quite fascinating for me to see how these young girls and boys were so dedicated in their worship.
The day starts with morning prayer at 6.00 AM, and then Eucharist and an extra prayer done by the Sisters. But half an hour before that, I heard Sisters leaving for the church for private meditation. The great silence, which started at night prayer the night before, ends after breakfast, and then there was certainly no reason to be silent during the day. Some of the Brothers and Sisters were really quite full of life, joking and making fun and laughing all the time. I have to include one more in my list of “most laughing Bengali women” together with Mary and Ripa; Sister Agnes. Sister Agnes was the Sister in Barisal who spoke most English, and she took much care of me. “The life of a Sister is a happy life, so why should I be sad?” she said and laughed. As all my caring friends here, she did her best to make me beautiful. When Norwegians will see how fat and beautiful I have become, they will ask where I have been, and when they get to know about Bangladesh and the delicious food here, they will all come to visit, she explained.
After adding some aspects to my list of useful ways of using the orna (the third part, scarf, of the salwar kameez), I have found out that I want to share this list with you. Some Norwegians can’t understand why we need this extra piece of cloth, and often forget it. I have never found it very difficult to wear, but now I start to appreciate its many qualities even more. The atchul, the part hanging down on the back from the shoulder, of the sari, can be used in the same way. Women’s clothes are very practical here:
1. The main use of the orna is for covering the breast, i.e. hiding the female attributes.
2. As I have mentioned before; on the train journey from Khulna to Dhaka I experienced how good it was to use the orna as burqa keeping the insects away.
3. It is also useful as a sheet to cover your body at night, as it is often thinner than most other materials, and it is comfortable to cover with something light.
4. The salwar kameez does not have pockets. I miss that. But it is possible to bind keys or other important items to the end of your orna. What would I have done without the orna?
5. It makes fun to play with children, you can “hit” them in a gentle way with the orna. (This is Maria’s favourite. She doesn’t like the orna…)
6. It is useful always to have a towel at hand. You can always wipe the tears, sweat and water from your face.
7. At last, you can use the orna to cover your head, for which there can be many reasons:
a) Protect against rain.
b) Protect against sun.
c) Protect your white skin and blond hair from being stared at. It is especially useful not to be recognised as foreigner from behind in a rickshaw.
d) To look like the Blessed Virgin Mary… OK, I am not sure if the head covering is what has made people tell that about me, I believe it might be the white skin and blue eyes, which for some reason many Mother Mary pictures have here.
e) In Bangladesh most women cover their head when worshipping. I have normally not done it, but as everybody did so in Barisal, it was natural to do it. It gave me some sort of physical attitude of humility, though I don’t quite know what I think about Sisters’ veils, as I have told before. I don’t think I want women to start to cover their heads again in the church in Norway.
Isn’t it a wonderful long list? It made me not have more space for telling about my developed monastic thoughts. But they might not be enough developed for sharing yet, so that can come later. Anyway, it has been nice to experience a Bangladeshi Sisterhood and meeting happy Sisters living a joyful life.
Greetings from Hanne.
Dear friends,
I am back in Dhaka after an enjoyable stay in Barisal. I must admit I was a bit dushtu (naughty) when I decided how to go there. Most of my friends in Dhaka said that it was not safe for a foreign female traveller to go alone by launch (boat) at night, though this was what I wished to do. A couple of friends said it was no problem, and then of course I used the chance to take their help to get the ticket, and I was very obedient after that. I did not leave my cabin except for going to the toilet, and I did not speak to strangers or receive food from anybody. Of course I wanted to enjoy the journey by having the nice view of the river, and on my way to Barisal I was lucky enough to get a cabin with door and window towards the river. Turning off the light in my cabin I could lie in my bed watching the river life without disturbing eyes watching me from outside. It is so much more comfortable to travel by launch than by bus, and when being followed to my cabin before departure and picked up after arrival, it was not very easy to get lost either.
The Oxford Mission in Barisal is a hundred years old English Mission, started by the Brotherhood of the Epiphany and the Sisterhood of the Epiphany. Today no English Brothers or Sisters are there, but there are growing communities of Bangladeshis. Anyway, it is still known as the Oxford Mission. The Brotherhood of St. Paul has two Fathers, one Brother and one postulant. The Christa Sevika Sangha (Handmaids of Christ) has twelve Sisters and one novice. Five of the Sisters are situated in Barisal. The rest of them are in the village of Jobarpar, one and a half hours drive from Barisal. We had a visit to Jobarpar one day, where I met the old, sweet Mother of the community as well as the youngest one, the 20 year-old novice who came three years ago.
The Sisters and Brothers at Oxford Mission in Barisal share much of their life, though they live in separate houses. They say their prayers together in the most beautiful church I have seen in Bangladesh. They share the responsibilities for the work within the convent premises and they sometimes invite each other for meals or recreation. They do lots of good work, much of it is similar to some of the work YWCA runs, and it was nice to visit the schools, hostels, clinic and development department of the Mission. In addition to providing services to the poor, they have a more evangelical aspect than YWCA. Their hostels are places where children get a Christian formation, and it was quite fascinating for me to see how these young girls and boys were so dedicated in their worship.
The day starts with morning prayer at 6.00 AM, and then Eucharist and an extra prayer done by the Sisters. But half an hour before that, I heard Sisters leaving for the church for private meditation. The great silence, which started at night prayer the night before, ends after breakfast, and then there was certainly no reason to be silent during the day. Some of the Brothers and Sisters were really quite full of life, joking and making fun and laughing all the time. I have to include one more in my list of “most laughing Bengali women” together with Mary and Ripa; Sister Agnes. Sister Agnes was the Sister in Barisal who spoke most English, and she took much care of me. “The life of a Sister is a happy life, so why should I be sad?” she said and laughed. As all my caring friends here, she did her best to make me beautiful. When Norwegians will see how fat and beautiful I have become, they will ask where I have been, and when they get to know about Bangladesh and the delicious food here, they will all come to visit, she explained.
After adding some aspects to my list of useful ways of using the orna (the third part, scarf, of the salwar kameez), I have found out that I want to share this list with you. Some Norwegians can’t understand why we need this extra piece of cloth, and often forget it. I have never found it very difficult to wear, but now I start to appreciate its many qualities even more. The atchul, the part hanging down on the back from the shoulder, of the sari, can be used in the same way. Women’s clothes are very practical here:
1. The main use of the orna is for covering the breast, i.e. hiding the female attributes.
2. As I have mentioned before; on the train journey from Khulna to Dhaka I experienced how good it was to use the orna as burqa keeping the insects away.
3. It is also useful as a sheet to cover your body at night, as it is often thinner than most other materials, and it is comfortable to cover with something light.
4. The salwar kameez does not have pockets. I miss that. But it is possible to bind keys or other important items to the end of your orna. What would I have done without the orna?
5. It makes fun to play with children, you can “hit” them in a gentle way with the orna. (This is Maria’s favourite. She doesn’t like the orna…)
6. It is useful always to have a towel at hand. You can always wipe the tears, sweat and water from your face.
7. At last, you can use the orna to cover your head, for which there can be many reasons:
a) Protect against rain.
b) Protect against sun.
c) Protect your white skin and blond hair from being stared at. It is especially useful not to be recognised as foreigner from behind in a rickshaw.
d) To look like the Blessed Virgin Mary… OK, I am not sure if the head covering is what has made people tell that about me, I believe it might be the white skin and blue eyes, which for some reason many Mother Mary pictures have here.
e) In Bangladesh most women cover their head when worshipping. I have normally not done it, but as everybody did so in Barisal, it was natural to do it. It gave me some sort of physical attitude of humility, though I don’t quite know what I think about Sisters’ veils, as I have told before. I don’t think I want women to start to cover their heads again in the church in Norway.
Isn’t it a wonderful long list? It made me not have more space for telling about my developed monastic thoughts. But they might not be enough developed for sharing yet, so that can come later. Anyway, it has been nice to experience a Bangladeshi Sisterhood and meeting happy Sisters living a joyful life.
Greetings from Hanne.
posted by Hanne at 8:32 AM
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