Mi Vida Loca: Gormem, Duymam, Soylemem: Tale of Three Monkeys

I never knew what Mi Vida Loca mean, nor did I ever heard of this phrase until I picked up the DVD Movie of the same title at the Los Angeles Public Library.

Mi Vida Loca (My Crazy Life) the movie is based on the effect of Gang Life on teenagers living in Echo Park, not very far from where I live. Now for anyone living in LA, familiarity with some of other aspects of Gang Life is inevitable, be it the graffitti, occasional news of shooting, or mugging, or the shoes hanging from Telephone wires. I liked the movie, because it's pretty much realistic in its depiction of the effect of Gang violence on teenagers.

However, my aim is not a review of the movie, but something I noticed in it. That is, a tattoo of three dots in a triangle, near the left eye of one of the main female characters. The girl was very beautiful, and the tattoos obviously attracted my attention. And what followed was a casual Google search.

And what I found was not what I expected.

Apparently, this triangular tattoo, which is very popular among Hispanic teenagers and usually found on the skin between the thumb and forefinger, stands for "mi vida loca" ("my crazy life". I also learnt that this tatooo has no direct connection to gangs. This tattoo has also been taken up by Vietnamese teenagers,with the interpretation of "toi khong can gi ca" ("I don't need anything").

But Wikipedia also told me the following: "The three dots in a triangle are also used widely in the southeast region of Turkey as a symbol of being one of the tribesman. The three dot symbol is known as "Gormem, Duymam, Soylemem" meaning that "I hear nothing, I see nothing and I tell nothing". Bearing this mark is an oath to the person's own society, and requires great responsibility such as being willing to sacrifice himself in favor of the society."

This reminded me of the three famous monkeys of Mahatma Gandhi. These monkeys sit tigether, one coverying his eyes with his palms, another his ears, and the third his mouth. Their gestures signify: "See no Evil", "Hear no Evil" and "Speak no Evil" respectively.

But the story does not end there. Apparently, the monkeys come from Japanese tradition.

"The trio of monkeys is depicted with one having its hands over its ears, another having its hands over its mouth, and the third having its hands over its eyes. Known as the Three Monkeys, they are a tradition in Japanese culture.

"Beginning in the late Muromchi period (1333-1568), it became customary to carve these figures on koshinto, stone pillars used during the observance of Koshin. According to the Kiyu Shoran, an early 19th century reference work, the Three Monkeys may also be related to the Sanno belief complex, wherein monkeys play the role of divine messangers. The Three Monkeys represent the Santai (Three Truths) advocated the Tendai Sect of Buddhims. The Tendai founder, Saicho is said to have carved a representation of this ideal in the form of monkeys." (Japan. p. 1562-63)

A famous carving of the Three Monkeys is on the sacred stable in the Toshogu Shrine in Nikko, Japan. Carvings of monkeys were believed to prevent diseases in horses."

I Think, I would rather stop my research here!
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Sources:
http://imdb.com/title/tt0107566/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_Dots_Tattoo
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hobo
http://www.santacruzpl.org/readyref/files/m-p/noevil.shtml
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_wise_monkeys

Dances With Wolves: Mo Mowlam

(Note: I started writing this posting on 18th of July, but never finished it until today, the 14th August. Now as I try to finish it, Ms. Mowlam is so critically and apparently terminally ill that she is already taken to be near her family).

They used to say that in the cabinet of Margaret Thatcher, there was only one man: Mrs. Thatcher herself. (The fact of the matter remains that perhaps she was the only woman member in the whole cabinet).

Later on, during the first Tony Blair government, Mo Mowlam (Dr. Marjorie Mowlam) should earn a similar distinction, because she was different from any of her predecessors as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.

Once she was appointed to this post in 1997, some of her immediate priorities were to work towards the restoration of the IRA ceasefire, and to include Sinn Fein in the multi-party talks. She made both of them possible within months. To achieve this, she walked to the Maze prison to meet some of the toughest IRA guys. "In 1998, as Northern Ireland secretary, she went inside the Maze Prison when it became clear that the peace process would only succeed with the backing of the prisoners. The loyalist UDA/UFF prisoners had previously withdrawn their support for the process." Most people were sceptical of her move, and some even were worried about her pesonal safety. But when finally she returned adfter speaking to the tough guys face-to=face for an hour, she emerged a victor and all those guys, earlier opposed to the cease-fire, gave their node to the peace process. Her response to reporters was: “I didn’t negotiate, I didn’t do a deal. If you want progress, you ain’t going to get it if you don’t have talks.” What followed was the Good Friday Agreement.

(Personally, I first knew about her through an article in the Indian news-magazine Frontline because of this particular incident, and I've respected her as a person as well as her courage and determination ever since).

She has always been uncommon. As the Daily Express puts in, "Even her own mother described Mo as "vulgar", and the evidence in Julia Langdon's quite admiring biography does not rebuff the charge.". It further adds that "....no matter what act of clownishness Mo indulges in - presides over a dog's wedding on TV with Graham Norton, say - her popularity only increases. Moralists might describe Mo as a husband-stealer: Ms Langdon describes Mo's repeated affairs with married men, and the sometimes insouciant way in which children seem to be left out of the equation in these break-ups. But this will not affect Mo's ratings one little bit."

A few weeks before the general election in 1997, a British tabloids showed pictures of a puffy Mowlam and accused her of addiction to sweets. She responded that she was taking steroids for a brain tumor, which apparently nobody was aware of. After this episode, she was hailed as "Brave Mo." She also caused an uproar, while woring as the head of the Government's anti-drugs campaign, by confessing that, as a student, she had tried cannabis.

I don't much believe in prayer, but I believe in hope. It's a sad news that she is critically ill. I sincerely hope that she would get well soon.
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Source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_Thatcher
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mo_Mowlam

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/people/features/wiwp/dyncon/mowlam.shtml#
http://195.157.68.115/articles/momolem.htm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/821698.stm
http://archives.tcm.ie/irishexaminer/1998/08/08/ihead.htm
http://www.ucc.ie/en/PresidentsOffice/PresidentsDistinguishedGuestLectureSeries/Title,295,en.html
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4739329.stm
http://www.cnn.com/WORLD/europe/9804/10/n.ireland.profiles/mowlam/mowlam.html
http://saoirse32.blogsome.com/2005/08/03/mo-mowlam-critical-but-stable/