Anti-Mokita!

> > mokita, n. Truth that everybody knows but nobody speaks.
> > (from the Kiriwina language, New Guinea)

> The mokita of human culture is that there is mokita, that there are truths underlying our society, our culture, our lives and experience that are never verbalized or made explicit. Its unspoken - yet known - nature is largely what gives mokita its power to affect us, even its power to control or manipulate our actions in response to these mute truths, the unmentionable realities.
> Mokita can be about the passion or the loneliness of our lives, the fear we have of change or our great urge towards it. It can be many things, both good and bad- but we believe that too much falls into the category of mokita, that much if not all of it should be voiced, made clear and explicit. For while we may keep some dear things unspoken, most of the mokita of a culture is that which is held beyond our ability to change, considered inviolate - those things we must resign ourselves to or accept unquestioningly.
> By not naming, by not speaking of these truths, we become powerless to change them, for who can change that which cannot be 'said' to exist? In fact, by not saying, we passively allow such truths or situations to exist- as we did in the past with wife-beating, with child abuse, with the horror of war.
> We believe it is time not only the voiceless be given the power of expression, but that the hidden truths be given form, be made conscious as they are made explicit in language. There, we can see whether or not the truths we assume are shared by others, really are. We can examine our traditions, our assumptions, our foundations, and make sure they are good, that they are supportive and not damaging, awakening and not constraining. Perhaps most importantly, by expressing these hidden shared realities, we can know that we are not alone - and together we can find solutions to the problems they illuminate, or connect deeply by sharing the beauties they offer.
> We ask that you join us in this endeavor, and speak of that mokita which your heart or mind says is important to you, to your culture, or to the world.

I was given this web address by a women from New Mexico, who I met while working in a restaurant after the Burning Man festival. Somethings that she said connected with some ideas that I thought. We say so little and think so much. Sometimes we believe that people don't want to be bothered by our voices, yet if we don't unite and speak freely, then who will. We don't have to censor ourselves, we have to privialge of voice and the power of expression. I stand grounded in the belief that the only way to change the course of human evolution is to help others expand horizons they never knew they had. To share the knowledge, thereby sharing the power. Be the voice for those afraid to speak and in time teach those afraid not to fear the power of change, or the beauty of touching another person and helping them see the circle.

Abbi Holtom, Reno NV jupin74@aol.com

Participant Comments follow below

"Mokita" represents a conceptual collective term, and it describes certainly patterns of behaviour we do not wish to face openly individually and collectively. As such we do not have to anti-Mokita, inasmuch as you would not be anti-red to eliminate behaviour associated with that colour. The moment you change your own attitudes and perceptions you too change the world, past, present and future. The things we do not want to see coming out of the shadows are those we fear about ourselves. What we fear is not so much our own failures and mistakes but the power we have to actually induce change. Condemn darkness and you condemn light too. James d'Argantel 03/22/05 07:40:52 GMT

below

If I know the truth, and you know the truth, and she knows the truth, and he knows the truth, why do we lie to each other? – Mokita Shenlon Manta 03/17/05 20:40:27 GMT

All very nice, but if you really want to go deeper, really deeper, meet at the Y at http://www.mokita.com dom dom 09/26/04 03:56:17 GMT

I think that what is described above cannot be considered mokitas, for the very reason that so many people do oppose such ideas. A mokita is much more mysterious, much more intangible than a collective notion such as violence against women or children, or even even the idea of love. It is a truth that not just you, but everyone knows with such beautiful certainty that words are not necessary to confirm it. And that is good. Amanda 01/29/04 17:05:09 GMT

I don't know... some mokita isn't so bad. It is beautiful to speak our thoughts and visions, because often they are far more vivid and complete than this crazy world. But there are unspoken rules, and customs, and at times, love, which if spoken would be ruined. There are shared feeling which should never become more. Some people can communicate without speaking aloud, and that bond is all the stronger and more powerful for it. Sometimes it's better that way. Kali L. Peterson kalifornia95695@yahoo.com 12/05/03 04:57:51 GMT

I don't know... some mokita isn't so bad. It is beautiful to speak our thoughts and visions, because often they are far more vivid and complete than this crazy world. But there are unspoken rules, and customs, and at times, love, which if spoken would be ruined. There are shared feeling which should never become more. Some people can communicate without speaking aloud, and that bond is all the stronger and more powerful for it. Sometimes it's better that way. Kali L. Peterson kalifornia95695@yahoo.com 12/05/03 04:56:43 GMT

Well said. Hi Abbi, I was the redhead who sat next to Valerie, the woman who gave you this website. I'm so glad you found your way to it & to hear from you. I sit in an office surrounded by Republicans and people clammoring for war. It is hard to voice my opinions and have my co-workers come crashing down on me. And yet, it would be harder to stay silent. Moni burningpriestess@yahoo.com 02/05/03 20:12:39 GMT

I don't agree that wife beating or child abuse et al are truths, I believe they are realities, (is a reality a truth, that is a philosophical and/or epistomological qeustion), and they must be brought into and kept in the open, as all real societal malidies should. I've always thought of "mokita" as absolute truths such as, we have free will, or we exist in a universe, for example. I did not think of "mokita" as an individual feeling that becomes a truth, although individuals feelings are true, are they "mokita"? Perhaps I don't have complete understanding of the word, I've always considered it in a univeral sense.