For any large toy collection you have seen, you have got nothing on Sherry Groom, founder of the Troll Hole Museum, a charming little place dedicated entirely to troll dolls and their many iterations. Calling Alliance, Ohio, home, the Troll Hole is a cool destination for toy lovers and anyone with a curious spirit who welcomes the weird and wacky.
No one is certain when the Singaporean bird-keeping tradition began, but most people will tell that it started in the 1950s with the British Armed Forces’ formation of the Singapore Cage Bird Society. As bird-keeping grew in popularity, travel guidebooks began to feature Singapore’s bird-singing areas, quickly turning them into tourist attractions that piqued the curiosity of visitors from around the globe.
Iconic British photographer Jimmy Nelson carries on his tradition of capturing brilliant images of the world’s many indigenous cultures through his latest book, “Homage To Humanity.” While his earlier work, “Before They Pass Away,” had a more cynical view of the fate of these cultures, his new book takes us on a journey through a new lens – one of celebration and honor.
In most Western cultures, death is considered a sad occasion and discussions on the topic are often avoided. However, Mexicans have a different view. Once a year, from October 31 to November 2, people throughout Mexico honor the memory of family members and friends who have died, during the “Day of the Dead” (Dia de Los Muertos) celebration.
Every year on the last full moon in the lunar month of Phalguna, between the end of February and the middle of March, villages across India become awash in color. During this time, men and women, rich and poor, old and young, and locals and visitors come together for the joyous Hindu celebration of “Holi.”
In the far northwest corner of Mongolia, about 25 miles (40 kilometers) across Russian and Chinese mountains from Kazakhstan, there is a community of 87,000 people that still live by the traditions of their ancestors. The Kazakh eagle hunters that inhabit these lands are descendants of Huns, and Turkic, Mongolic and Indo-Iranian indigenous groups who lived in this area.
Long before there was a modern trend of minimalistic living, the British Romani, or gypsies knew how to live simply. As a nomadic culture, they traveled only with what they could carry or fit into a cart or wagon.
Oh, those wacky Swiss. As if those giant horns, yodeling, and Heidi weren’t crazy enough, consider the antics that transpire around New Year’s Eve in the tiny Canton of Appenzell Ausserrhoden, in North-East Switzerland.
“Skyros Carnival” is a fascinating 85-page multimedia publication that offers a sophisticated narration of one of the wildest ritual events in Greece. The book features 60 photographs by Dick Blau, an ethnographic essay by Agapi Amanatidis and Panayotis Panopoulos, and a CD and DVD by Steven Feld.
The Turkana tribe, which is the second largest pastoralist community in Kenya, Africa, after the Maasais, lives in small dwellings made from palm leaves, wood, and animal skins near the shores of Lake Turkana, one of the harshest and most inhospitable places on Earth.
