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Bahá’í News

May 1975

Bahá’í Year 132

The green light expedition

A journey of friendship by Rúḥíyyih Khánum
to the Indian tribes of South America

[Page 0] Universal House of Justice Message

Riḍván message

Plan objectives present distinct, insistent challenge entire Bahá’í world

OCCASION MOST GREAT FESTIVAL WE CONTEMPLATE WITH THANKFUL HEARTS ACHIEVEMENTS FIRST YEAR FIVE YEAR PLAN ELECTION THIS RIḌVÁN FIVE NEW NATIONAL SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLIES FOUR IN AFRICA ONE IN ASIA. DESPITE WORSENING PLIGHT MORIBUND CIVILIZATION, EVIDENCES GATHERING CLOUDS WIDESPREAD OPPOSITION DIVINE MESSAGE BELIEVERS THROUGHOUT WORLD FORGING AHEAD ACCOMPLISHMENT GOALS. THREE HUNDRED EIGHTY-SIX PIONEERS ALREADY SETTLED, ONE HUNDRED FIFTY-TWO PREPARING PROCEED POSTS. NEW WORLDWIDE TRAVEL TEACHING PROGRAM DESIGNED BY INTERNATIONAL TEACHING CENTER NOW BEING LAUNCHED BY NATIONAL SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLIES IN CONSULTATION COUNSELLORS. BELOVED HANDS CAUSE ADVANCING VANGUARD ARMY LIGHT LENDING CONSTANT LOVING GUIDANCE ENCOURAGEMENT PROTECTION FRIENDS LABORING DIVINE VINEYARD. WORLD CENTER FAITH RICHLY BLESSED THROUGH ACQUISITION HOLY HOUSE MASTER BIRTHPLACE SHOGHI EFFENDI WITHIN WALLS ‘AKKÁ WILL EARLY WITNESS ON CONSECRATED SOIL SLOPES MOUNT CARMEL INITIATION EXCAVATION FOUNDATIONS PERMANENT SEAT UNIVERSAL HOUSE JUSTICE AND IN ITALY SIGNATURE CONTRACT MARBLE REQUIRED MAJESTIC EDIFICE. AT THIS CRITICAL JUNCTURE HUMAN HISTORY THREE MAJOR OBJECTIVES PLAN AND ITS SPECIFIC GOALS PRESENT DISTINCT INSISTENT CHALLENGE TO EACH INDIVIDUAL BAHÁ’Í ADULT YOUTH CHILD TO EACH BAHÁ’Í FAMILY TO EACH LOCAL COMMUNITY AND ABOVE ALL TO EACH LOCAL SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLY WHOSE DEVELOPMENT IS VITAL SUCCESS FIVE YEAR PLAN AND PROGRESSIVE UNFOLDMENT DIVINELY ORDAINED BAHÁ’Í SOCIETY. MAY REMAINING THREE HUNDRED NINETY-FIVE PIONEERS SPEEDILY ARISE AND ARMY VOLUNTEERS RESPOND NEWLY LAUNCHED TRAVEL TEACHING PROGRAM. NATIONAL LOCAL ASSEMBLIES INDIVIDUAL BELIEVERS URGED CONTRIBUTE UNSTINTINGLY TIME EFFORT OUTPOURING MATERIAL RESOURCES SUPPORT EVERY PHASE IMPLEMENTATION PLAN COMING YEAR. APPEAL BELIEVERS EVERY LAND JOIN US PRAYERS SUPPLICATION BLESSED BEAUTY GUIDE SUSTAIN PROTECT HIS DEVOTED FOLLOWERS IN THEIR DEDICATED EFFORTS PURIFY THEIR SOULS RAISE HIS BANNER SERVE HIS CAUSE.

UNIVERSAL HOUSE OF JUSTICE

Riḍván 1975

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Contents

Universal House of Justice Riḍván message	Inside Cover
Plan objectives present distinct, insistent challenge entire Bahá’í world
The green light expedition	2
A journey of friendship by Rúḥíyyih Khánum to the Indian tribes of South America
Riḍván 132	14
50th anniversary of the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States Conventions cable news of progress to World Center
Around the World	20
Hawaiian Islands, Papua New Guinea, Kenya, Solomon Islands

page 4

page 14

page 21

Cover photo: The “beautiful barge” on which the expedition traveled for 32 days, was powered by two dugout canoes with outboard motors. Here it journeys up the Ventuari River, a tributary of the Orinoco.

Bahá’í News is published monthly for circulation among Bahá’ís only by the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States, as a news organ reporting current activities of the Bahá’í world community. Manuscripts submitted should be typewritten and double spaced throughout; any footnotes should appear at the end. The contributor should keep a carbon copy. Send materials to: Bahá’í News Editorial Office, 112 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, IL 60091, U.S.A.

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Second class postage paid at Wilmette, Illinois 60091.

Copyright ® 1975, National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. World Rights Reserved. Printed in the U.S.A.

[Page 2]

The green light expedition

A journey of friendship by Rúḥíyyih Khánum to the Indian tribes of South America

By David Walker
Photographs by Anthony Worley

On March 12, 1975, the Hand of the Cause of God Amatu’l-Bahá Rúḥíyyih Khánum returned to Puerto Ayacucho, capital of the Federal Territory of Amazonas and principal city of the Venezuelan Frontier Region, having just completed a journey of more than a thousand miles by riverboat and dugout canoe up the Orinoco and Ventuari rivers and many of their tributaries. She had penetrated one of the few undeveloped and largely unexplored wilderness areas remaining in the world. In the course of her 32-day trip she and the seven other members of her expedition visited 38 towns, villages, and homesteads, contacting eight Indian tribes, the Guajibo, Piaroa, Maco, Puinabe, Curipaco, Makiritare, Yabarana, and Sanemá, this last tribe being part of

[Page 3] the Yanomamo group, the most primitive Indians in Venezuela and one of the most untouched tribal societies in Latin America.

“It was a thrilling and wonderful experience,” she told a group of Bahá’ís in Caracas at a Naw-Rúz gathering. “Every moment of this voyage, except for the bug bites, was for me an unmitigated joy. City people tend to forget they are a minority of the human race. According to United Nations statistics, two-thirds of the world’s population still lives in villages. If we take the premise that the Bahá’í Teachings have the remedy for the spiritual, social, intellectual, and economic problems of the world, then we have to ask ourselves when are we going to deliver this message to the other two-thirds? Very few are willing to leave the comforts of the city and go to primitive areas. The Bahá’ís are a small community. Unlike the church, we do not have a great many people to call upon for this kind of service. Yet it must be done and done quickly.”

It was to draw the attention of the Bahá’ís of the world to the urgency of arising and pioneering to primitive areas such as the Orinoco that Amatu’l-Bahá embarked upon this expedition. “Suppose you have two mountains,” she said, explaining the plight of villagers all over the world. “Let us say that one mountain is the civilization of the future, the World Order of Bahá’u’lláh. And the other mountain is the culture of the primitive people. In between is the valley of disillusion, corruption, materialism, and moral degradation, the very thing that many of us highly sophisticated people are just coming out of. How can we get the primitive people, who are so spiritually sound and in many ways pure, from where they are over to the future World Order? I think it is by giving them the Bahá’í Teachings as quickly as possible. Otherwise, they will have to make the long journey down into this dark valley of our present civilization which is too terrible, too difficult for many of them to survive. Many of the tribes will never come through; they will die out or be morally destroyed.”

Compelled by the repeated calls of Abdu’l-Bahá, Shoghi Effendi, and The Universal House of Justice to the Bahá’ís of the world to arise, while there is yet time, and take the Teachings of Bahá’u’lláh to the far corners of the world, and by her own keen awareness of the urgent need for pioneers gained from years of extensive travel throughout Africa, South America, and Asia, Amatu’l-Bahá formulated her plans for a journey to the great Amazon River Basin. Her main purpose is to make a documentary film of some of the indigenous peoples of South America which can be shown to Bahá’ís all over the world to demonstrate the tremendous teaching opportunities and the pressing need for pioneers to respond immediately to the call of The Universal House of Justice in order to meet the goals of the present Five Year Plan. “If I,” she said, “at the age of 64 can undertake such a trip, then surely the younger generation of believers can do as much.”

[Page 4] Amatu’l-Bahá with Dr. Pablo Anduze, Governor of the Federal Territory of Amazonas, when he received her at his residence in Puerto Ayacucho.

Amatu’l-Bahá on the left and Dr. Nosrat Rabbani on the right in the truck that took the expedition from Puerto Ayacucho to Venado.

Embarking on the Queen Mary at Venado on the Orinoco River.

Rúḥíyyih Khánum sweeping the deck in the prow.

While the boat goes up the river, members of the expedition cook and write. Left to right: Amatu’l-Bahá, Rodney Charters, Mas‘úd Khamsí, Counsellor for South America, David Walker, Mark Sadan, Leco Zamora, and Nosrat Rabbani.

Meeting in the schoolroom at San Vicente. Amatu’l-Bahá’s talk is being translated into Spanish by Mas‘úd Khamsí; Leco Zamora, Argentine pioneer to Venezuela, sits on her right. The Indian woman holding her child translates into Guajibo.

[Page 5] The green light expedition

The “beautiful barge” on which the expedition floated for 32 days, christened the Queen Mary, had room enough aboard for a table and benches, a small butane stove, 42 boxes of food and supplies, a dozen barrels of gasoline, two wooden lockers for storing film and sound equipment, and sleeping space for eight members of the party and three members of the crew.

Accompanying Rúḥíyyih Khánum on this journey are Mas‘úd Khamsí, a member of the Continental Board of Counsellors for South America, and Nosrat Rabbani, a pioneer from Iran who completed her medical studies in Holland and has since been pioneering for nine years in Surinam and Curaçao. Rúḥíyyih Khánum also invited four filmmakers to handle the photographic documentation of her trip, Mark Sadan and David Walker of Kiva Films from the United States, Rodney Charters from New Zealand, and Anthony Worley from Brazil. As plans for the project began to unfold in the latter part of 1974, one door after another seemed to open with such marvelous ease and swiftness that Rúḥíyyih Khánum has called this “The Green Light Expedition.” The Universal House of Justice in a letter to her last December wrote, “It is our fervent prayer in the Holy Shrines that this great expedition which is so dear to your heart and which can have such an electrifying effect upon the believers throughout the world will continue to be confirmed by Bahá’u’lláh and showered with His blessings throughout the whole of its course.”

We arrived in Puerto Ayacucho, deep in the hinterlands of Venezuela, on February 6, where our team was joined by Leco Zamora, a pioneer from Argentina and himself an Indian of the Mataco tribe. An appointment had been made for Amatu’l-Bahá to pay a courtesy call on the governor of the territory, Pablo Anduze, whom she had met eight years previously when she had made a brief visit to Puerto Ayacucho and the Orinoco River. On the evening of our arrival, accompanied by Mr. Khamsí, Dr. Rabbani, Leco Zamora and Anthony Worley, she spent almost an hour with Dr. Anduze and two English guests who were visiting him; the interview was most cordial. Although Mr. Khamsí was armed with a letter from the National Defense Department of the Ministry of War requesting that we be given every courtesy, there is no doubt that Dr. Anduze’s authority was such that he could have seriously interfered with our trip had he cared to do so. Therefore Rúḥíyyih Khánum felt it was essential to speak only about the purely personal aspects of her plans. She told the governor that she, as he perhaps recalled, had not been able to procure a boat to go any distance up the Orinoco at the time of her previous visit and thus had been deprived of meeting the Bahá’ís in the villages along the river. Now she had made her plans well in advance and had hired a large boat and wanted to spend several weeks going into the interior. The governor, who is very much opposed to any touristic exploitation of the Indians, asked her why she wanted to do this. She told him truthfully that it was because she loves jungles and before she died she wanted to really visit the jungle, to see it and breathe it and drink in its beauty. She told us later that she felt it was this remark that produced an instant meeting of minds, as Dr. Anduze is a great authority on the whole Amazon region and its tribal people. She made no mention of the filming aspect of our trip, since a great deal of filmmaking is done in search of the sensational or in an attitude of patronizing curiosity and Dr. Anduze has for years endeavored to protect the Indians from the wrong outside influences. Whether their rights can be protected at all is problematic because by the time we returned from our river trip a new governor had been installed.

We embarked February 9 at Venado, an hour by truck upriver from Puerto Ayacucho. Venado is the port for the entire upper Orinoco River system, and consists simply of one giant hump of rock, flat enough for our truck to drive almost up to the side of our boat for loading. Some soldiers of the National Guard went through the motions of checking us in. There is a small shop that sells soft drinks, a few huts, some dugout canoes, and occasionally a larger boat, and that is Venado, the jumping off place for the vast network of rivers beyond—so vast that when the water is high one can travel by boat all the way to the Amazon River in Brazil.

Our private river boat, which Rúḥíyyih Khánum described as “a beautiful barge,” was pushed by two dugout canoes with outboard motors on the back. Since it appeared to be without a name, we dubbed it the Queen Mary. We were indebted to Mr. Khamsí for having made all of the arrangements for our Venezuelan trip during a previous visit to Puerto Ayacucho in January. The boat he had secured for us was spacious enough to hold a table with benches, a small butane stove, all of the filming and sound equipment, which we stored in two wooden lockers as a protection from the rain, 42 boxes of food and supplies, and a dozen barrels of gasoline which were distributed fore and aft. For 32 days this would be home for the eight members of our party plus three crewmen. From the uprights on either side, we strung our hammocks along the entire length of the boat. Amatu’l-Bahá made a place to swing her hammock over the gasoline barrels in the bow.

[Page 6] Leco Zamora teaching in the Piaroa village of Caño Panaven to which the Indians themselves had invited us.

After the meeting at Caño Panaven showing the villagers, 21 of whom accepted the Faith.

Some villages are in the jungle and one crosses bridges such as this to reach them.

Counsellor Mas‘úd Khamsi addressing a typical small village meeting.

The Green Light Expedition’s first home: the Orinoco boat on which we lived for 32 days.

Typical village landing stage with friendly people seeing us off.

[Page 7] The green light expedition

The river system is like a living entity. You have the sense that people know what is going on all along the river, in the same way that the parts of a living body are all connected by the arteries and blood vessels.... Instead of being a giant, snake-infested wilderness, we found it to be one great village.

Once before, in 1968, Rúḥíyyih Khánum had been to Buenos Aires Island, just across from Venado where she had visited the small community of Guajibo Bahá’ís. Leco had traveled one or two days upriver visiting the Bahá’í villages in the vicinity of Puerto Ayacucho. But to all of us, the journey ahead would take us not only to areas that were entirely unknown but into situations we could not even visualize.

Though penetrated as far back as the time of the conquistadores who came in search of El Dorado, the legendary city of gold, the Orinoco River region still remains largely untouched, undeveloped, and, in the deep jungle between the rivers, even unexplored. Among the first expeditions of white men to enter the area were those of Diego de Ordaz (1531-1532) and Sir Walter Raleigh (1595), but no permanent settlements were made until the missionary efforts among the Indians began in the middle of the 18th century, first by the Franciscans and later by the Jesuits.

“We think of the jungle as a terrifying place,” Rúḥíyyih Khánum told the Bahá’ís of Caracas, “full of snakes, wild animals, savage people, and terrible diseases. We tend to forget that God has made a beautiful world. The difference between the dangers of the jungle and the dangers of civilization is incomparable. When I was riding in a taxi today on one of these crowded highways you have here, the driver turned right around in his seat to talk to us and I was petrified. That was twice as dangerous as any snake or wild animal. In our entire trip of about 1700 kilometers (about 1000 miles), nothing happened to cause us fear.

“I am a person of the city,” she continued, “but I’ve spent a great deal of time in the wilderness during the last six years. Bahá’u’lláh tells us that the city is the home of the body, but the country is the home of the soul. I have realized this on many of these trips, but particularly on this last one to the Orinoco. It is difficult to believe in God when you live in the city. That is why the cities are so full of atheists. But it is difficult not to believe in God when you live in the country.”

February and March are the end of the dry season in the Orinoco region, and the river was low. This made it necessary to travel rather slowly, picking out the channel carefully and crisscrossing the river to avoid the rocks and sandbars. Sometimes we would have to jump overboard to help the crew push when we were grounded, and sometimes we would barely inch our way up swiftly flowing rapids. In fact, on one occasion Rúḥíyyih Khánum, in her enthusiasm, jumped overboard in all her clothes and helped push too!

“What struck me as so extraordinary,” Rúḥíyyih Khánum added, “is that the river system is like a living entity. You have a sense that people know what is going on all along the river, in the same way that the parts of a living body are all connected by the arteries and blood vessels. There are merchants who travel up and down the river, there is the malaria control team, there are missionaries and developers; in fact, it is surprisingly inhabited. The most we ever went without seeing a house or a settlement was perhaps five hours. And everywhere we stopped, the people were always friendly. Instead of being a giant snake-infested wilderness, we found it to be one great village, as it were, strung out along a beautiful river.”

From Venado to San Fernando de Atabapo, a distance which we covered in four days, the Orinoco forms the border between Venezuela and Colombia. On the Colombian side of the river, we could see how the jungle is being cleared to make way for large cattle ranches. On the Venezuelan side, however, commercial exploitation is only just beginning. On two occasions, we met geological teams doing mineral surveys of the area which indicated to us that the era of its isolation is rapidly drawing to a close.

This first portion of the river is inhabited principally by Guajibo Indians. The first Guajibos were enrolled in the Faith 12 years ago. In fact, the first Indian Bahá’í in Venezuela was a Guajibo, Ramón Ramirez; he is still an active and devoted Bahá’í living in the environs of Puerto Ayacucho. Since one of our objectives was to visit the Indian Bahá’ís, we stopped and held brief meetings whenever we came to villages where they lived. We were constantly reminded in these meetings of the principle of a universal auxiliary language. Rúḥíyyih Khánum would speak in English, Mas‘úd Khamsí would translate into Spanish, and one of the villagers, often the school teacher, would have to translate into the native dialect. There were times when the language problem became crippling because there was no one in town who could speak Spanish. These occasions were the exception, however, and we eventually became accustomed to meetings in three languages.

[Page 8] The Bahá’í village of La Venturosa where we slopped twice to visit the friends.

Leaving the Maco village of Citio Vapor after our meeting; note the chief and his wife in front on the right.

Up the gangplank and onto the boat with all the children seeing us off.

Villagers of the Guajibo tribe in Capuana Afuera; note the beautiful hut in the background.

The Piaroa chief of Caño Maraya on board the Queen Mary with his relatives and friends.

Some Yanomamo Indians of the Sanemá tribe on Monotiti Island.

[Page 9] The green light expedition

People have no idea of the urgency of taking the Message of Bahá’u’lláh to the people of these areas, she told the Bahá’ís of Caracas. The missionaries are not intent on doing any harm to the Indians, but the white race seems to have a genius for making people feel inferior. The Indians are losing their roots and it is doubtful whether they can become rooted in our civilization.

At one of the Guajibo villages, Laja Marana, where we stopped to visit the Bahá’ís, we held one of our very few nighttime meetings. After some prayers and a short talk by Amatu’l-Bahá, one of the members of our group brought out a flute or recorder and played a few tunes. Musical instruments are always a source of great interest and attraction at village gatherings, and the flute because it is a wind instrument was particularly valuable in this setting. From the darkness, we began to hear flute sounds echo those of the recorder. Eventually, after a great deal of coaxing and more playing, one of the Indians emerged into the light with a flute made of five bamboo pipes of varying lengths. We were all so delighted at this unexpected turn of events and so enthusiastic that one by one other flutes were shyly brought out and they began to play for us their traditional music.

It was only as our trip progressed that we became aware of how unusual this incident had been. Everywhere we went we found that the people were forgetting their music, or at least they were telling us they had forgotten it because they were ashamed to play it. The only songs that the Piaroa children knew were hymns.

“People have no idea of the urgency of taking the Message of Bahá’u’lláh to the people of these areas,” Rúḥíyyih Khánum told the Bahá’ís of Caracas. “I do not believe that the missionaries are intent on doing harm, but we, the white race, have a genius for making people feel inferior.”

Almost daily the Indian culture is being undermined by contact with the civilization of the white people and by the missionaries, who in their efforts to destroy the vestiges of pagan belief often destroy the cultural heritage of the people as well. When talking to Governor Anduze in Puerto Ayacucho Rúḥíyyih Khánum mentioned some recordings of beautiful Indian music which an anthropologist had played for her when she was there in 1968. The governor told her, “I doubt they play that music anymore. All of those Indians have been missionized.” At another time we were told of one missionary group that required the Indians, when they became Christians, to confess that their parents had been sinners. Among the things they had to ask forgiveness for was drinking their mother’s milk!

“Fanatics are usually small-minded people,” Rúḥíyyih Khánum continued, “and a great many missionaries are fanatics; as they have a narrow concept of the teachings of Jesus Christ. They believe that first they have to destroy what the Indians have in order to replace it with Christianity; it is a concept of unity based on uniformity and this is the only concept of unity that most people have. But Bahá’u’lláh teaches unity in diversity. It is a very profound thought. When we teach tribal people, we should praise their culture, and their music, their dancing, and other things. All these things are part of their culture which is being destroyed and lost. The Indians are losing their roots and it is doubtful if they can become rooted in our civilization.”

When we entered another Guajibo village we saw that one of the men had intricate designs painted in red on his face. But he disappeared immediately and returned with his face washed clean. The next morning in a neighboring village as we were holding a meeting another young man with similar markings on his face and an unusual headpiece made out of bear hairs came in and sat down. During the course of her talk Rúḥíyyih Khánum said, “This young man has made me very happy because he is wearing something from his past. You must be proud of your past. The missionaries tell you you must give these things up, but Bahá’ís say you must keep the good things from your past. God loves all of us, whatever the differences in our customs, just as a parent loves all of his children.” It was wonderful to see the delight on the young man’s face at being spoken of in this way and to hear the murmurs of agreement from the others, especially the older people, who were present.

San Fernando de Atabapo, the last government checkpoint on the river, began as a mission town in 1758, and until 1928 served as capital of the territory. We registered with the National Guard and bought a few last provisions. After San Fernando the Orinoco makes a sharp bend to the east, away from the Colombian border, and from there to Santa Barbara the route lies through country inhabited for the most part by the Piaroa tribe.

Though all of the Piaroas that we met had been missionized, we still found them to be extremely open and receptive to the Faith. One Piaroa Indian that we met along the way invited us to come to his village, Caño Panaven. It was an hour’s walk into the jungle from the river. We found the point where the path to the village reaches the river and as we were debating what we should do next a delegation from the village suddenly emerged from the jungle. They had guessed the time of our arrival and had come down to meet us.

[Page 10] An old rheumatic grandmother of the Yabarana tribe comes forward on Rúḥíyyih Khánum’s arm to be filmed.

A meeting with Guajibo believers in Morganito village not far from Puerto Ayacucho on the Orinoco.

Bahá’í families of Buenos Aires Island near Venado; the old woman seated on the right and her son-in-law and daughter standing behind her have been Bahá’ís for 11 years, and were among the first Guajibos to accept the Faith.

The seven members of the expedition, Leco Zamora, the three crewmen, and others disembarking at Venado; seated at Rúḥíyyih Khánum’s left is the captain of our boat.

[Page 11] The green light expedition

She told the captain of the village who wanted to introduce progressive ways to his people that it was fine to adopt the good things of the West, but that there was a lot of bad, too, and he must be careful not to discard what is good of his Indian culture.

It was not uncommon during this trip for doors to be suddenly opened for us in unexpected ways. Every day we said prayers together, and just before approaching this particular village, we had all sat down and prayed. “No matter how insignificant your abilities,” Rúḥíyyih Khánum told us later, “if when you come on a teaching trip such as this your motive is pure, you will be guided and protected.”

As it was already late in the afternoon, we arranged to hold a meeting in the village the next morning, and they promised to come for us shortly after dawn. The walk through the jungle to Caño Panaven was beautiful. On all sides, we heard the chatter and screams of birds, and a narrow winding path led us through the dense undergrowth. There were “bridges” on this trail, we were told, or rather warned: across two steep ravines were fallen trees which had been rigged up with very flimsy railings of sticks and vines on one side and across these, we balanced our way over narrow streams and a drop of sometimes 20 feet.

Almost 50 people, men, women, children, and babies crowded into a house for the meeting and when it was over 21 of them wanted to become Bahá’ís. As we left the village, Rúḥíyyih Khánum said that the greatest heartbreak to her would be if no one came back to visit them.

At Panaven, we were also able to rent a large dugout canoe, or “bongo” as it is called, which we towed alongside of us for the rest of the journey. On our “bongo,” we were able to mount the National Assembly’s outboard motor which we had with us, and this enabled us to go up many of the smaller streams and inlets to visit villages that would otherwise have been inaccessible. One of our first trips in the “bongo” was to Caño Maraya, a Piaroa village about an hour’s journey up a small and beautiful stream. The captain of the village, José Morales, told us that he knew of the Bahá’ís. Eight years ago, when he lived near Puerto Ayacucho, some Bahá’ís had come to their village, had eaten with them and spent the night and talked with them. He told us that they had liked what they had heard and that the Bahá’ís had said they would come back, but they waited and no one came.

As a young man, he had gone to Caracas and had started drinking heavily, but a woman told him to give it up or he would ruin his life. He did and he came back to the jungle. He brought several families with him to this little stream, Caño Maraya, and they cleared the land and built a village. But now, after several years, they had decided that the location was not good. The stream dried up during certain times of the year cutting them off from the river. Just now they were clearing a new site near the mouth of the stream where they could relocate their village. He wanted to be able to trade and introduce progressive ways to his people, he explained. Rúḥíyyih Khánum told him that it was fine to adopt the good things of the West, but that there was a lot of bad, too, and he must be careful not to discard what is good of his Indian culture. His wife had died two years ago and his four children were around his neck and in his lap the whole time we talked. We liked the man so much that Rúḥíyyih Khánum was determined to visit him again on the return trip. Just as we were about to get into our “bongo” at the mouth of the small river he lived on, lo and behold he came by in his own motorized “bongo”, waved to us, and started up the stream; Rúḥíyyih Khánum told us to go after him quickly in our dugout and invite them all to come visit us on our boat as this would save us over two hours’ traveling. They accepted our invitation and came aboard, and we served them coffee and biscuits and sweets and not only had an animated discussion for over an hour but were able to film that visit as well. Fifteen years earlier, he told us, he would have been afraid to come aboard a white man’s boat. “If this man ever becomes a Bahá’í,” Rúḥíyyih Khánum said to us later, “the whole trip will have been worth it.” She liked him immensely and said obviously he was an independent thinker. She told us that in teaching we should always seek out those with capacity, capable of leadership. “A man such as this,” she said, “could be a key to the Piaroas in the whole area.”

Just before Santa Barbara, there is a small Bahá’í village called La Venturosa. It was founded two years ago by seven families of Guajibo Indians from the area of Puerto Ayacucho. The captain of this village apologized for the fact that all of his Bahá’í literature had been stolen and that they had therefore not been able to do more teaching. Although they had not been in touch with Bahá’ís for more than two years, their faith was firm. They took us around the new village and showed us the land which they have set aside for their Bahá’í center.

At Santa Barbara, the Orinoco bends southward again and is joined by the Ventuari which flows down from the north. Our map showed us that beyond Santa Barbara, the Orinoco has been heavily settled by missions, so we decided to head north, up the Ventuari,

[Page 12] The green light expedition

The Macos impressed us because of the close relationship between husbands and wives. It was a remarkable thing to see a Maco captain walking hand in hand along a jungle trail with his wife. We were also struck by the forcefulness of character of the Maco women. The whole Maco tribe could become Bahá’ís, Rúḥíyyih Khánum said, but who is going to come and teach them?

in hopes of meeting tribes which have been less touched. We were not disappointed.

The region of the lower Ventuari is inhabited by the Macos. They are a tribe related to the Piaroas and estimates put their number at fewer than 200. They were the only tribe we met which has never accepted Christianity. They have always lived deep in the jungle and only recently have begun to come out and settle on the banks of the Ventuari. Their beautiful palm-thatched houses, called churuatas, round but rising to a point at the top, were exquisitely made and large enough to sleep 20 or even 40 people. We entered them through a tiny door which we nearly had to crawl through. Inside, when our eyes became accustomed to the dim light, we could see rows of hammocks swinging from the support poles. In some of the hammocks there would be women nursing babies, or curious children, and in others men were smoking pipes. In the center of these impressive communal dwellings there would often be a metal tray with a roaring fire underneath and one of the women would be roasting cassava flour and stirring it with a large wooden paddle. In many of these churuatas, indeed in all of the Indian villages, we also found animals — monkeys, turtles, agoutis, many kinds of parrots, brilliantly colored and very tame macaws, even pygmy anteaters. In one churuata we saw no fewer than four large green parrots sitting on posts around the center pole and two others peering at us from other corners of the hut. And in another house, we heard a chorus of peeps and there, in a wicker basket, we found five fledgling parrakeets so small they did not yet have feathers. And again in another village we encountered a small monkey, quite old, which they assured us they had raised since it was a baby. It was a cherished pet. The Indians love to keep wild animals and are able to tame them very well.

The Macos also impressed us because of the close relationship between husbands and wives. It was a remarkable thing to see a Maco captain walking hand in hand along a jungle trail with his wife. We were also struck by the forcefulness of character displayed by the Maco women. In one of the first Maco villages that we visited, we began to talk informally about the Bahá’í Teachings and the wife of the local captain stopped us. She told us that if we had something important to say we should not tell it to them. We should talk first to the captain of all the homesteads in that area and if he approved, then they would listen. The chief captain was away hunting, however, and would not be back for a day or more. Rúḥíyyih Khánum told her that if this was their custom we were in full agreement, that our religion also teaches us to respect our elders and those in authority. We immediately changed the subject and established a friendly relationship with them on a different basis. The woman who had spoken to us was ill, and Dr. Rabbani examined her and gave her medicine. We went on our way, promising to stop again on our way back.

When we returned two weeks later, our patience and prayers were well rewarded. Not only was the chief captain there, but “everyone was there,” they told us. The old captain greeted us warmly and called the people from all the surrounding churuatas to come and listen to our message. We had a lovely meeting under the trees attended by almost 70 men, women, and children. “If the Bahá’ís had enough initiative and determination,” Rúḥíyyih Khánum said afterward, “the whole Maco tribe could become Bahá’í. But who is going to come and teach the Macos?”

The Ventuari River winds northward through beautiful forests and mountains. At times, when the water was still, it would reflect a perfect mirror-image of the shore. “It was a great revelation to us,” Rúḥíyyih Khánum told the Bahá’ís of Caracas at Naw-Rúz, “to see how easy it is to go to these places. At regular intervals along the river there are posts driven into the sand where the Indians swing their hammocks at night. There is always plenty of wood for fires. They fish and hunt as they go and they take cassava bread or meal with them which they moisten with fish soup or with water, and this is their food for traveling. I have become quite fond of cassava and it is a whole lot better for you than the cotton-wool-like white bread you buy in the supermarket. We ate tapir, sting ray, turtle, turtle eggs, and wild boar. At one meal we had a deviled ham omelette made with 26 turtle eggs and a fresh heart of palm salad. It was delicious! Often to break the ice in a village we would ask if they had any eggs or bananas for sale.”

Primarily the purpose of our journey was to make a film of the region and to assess the teaching possibilities and not just to enroll Bahá’ís. Rúḥíyyih Khánum did not want to arouse antagonism or stir up the missionaries and officials. She wanted the people we contacted to remember us as good, friendly people whom they liked so as to pave the way for future organized pioneering in the region. So we never pressed to teach. The captain of our boat

[Page 13] became very interested in the Faith, and he knew the people along the river. Often he and Leco would go ahead and make the initial contact. If the people seemed interested, we would talk to them. If they wanted, we would stay and hold a regular meeting.

“One always has to be sensitive and tactful,” Rúḥíyyih Khánum told the Bahá’ís of Caracas in reference to village teaching. “We were obviously a boatload of gringos. You know that Bahá’u’lláh forbids proselytizing. You can invite a man to your house to eat, but you cannot sit on his chest and force the food down. We think the Bahá’í Teachings are right, and that is why we offer them, but we cannot force them. This is the spirit in which we made this trip.”

Our boat took us as far north on the Ventuari as the beautiful waterfalls at Tencua. A smaller boat might be portaged around the falls, but this was as far as we could go in our Queen Mary. The area around Tencua is inhabited by the Makiritare Indians, a handsome people who are known as excellent boatmen and artisans.

The Amerindians seemed to us to be natural born actors. Our 16-millimeter camera and sound equipment, though noiseless, could not help but draw attention to itself. Yet the Indians continued to act perfectly naturally. One Makiritare woman and her daughter were preparing cassava meal in a beautiful late afternoon setting. We came with all our equipment to film them. They simply smiled, acknowledging our presence, and then went on about their business. We even asked them at times to perform operations over again, or to wait until we were ready to film, which they did most obligingly. The captain of our boat quickly grasped what we were doing and, unasked, he would tell the Indians not to look at the camera and was, in many ways, helpful.

Just beyond Tencua, the furthermost point of commercial traffic on the Ventuari, begins the region of the Yanomamo peoples, a truly primitive race that has had little contact with the outside world. The Yanomamo, also called Waicas, are the most numerous tribe in the area, estimated at 19,000, with many spilling over into Brazil. There was a small Yanomamo settlement three hours’ walk beyond Tencua on Monotiti Island, and we decided we would go there and visit them as otherwise it was unlikely we would ever see any of these Indians since the main tribe was much further south. This particular group called themselves Sanemá.

Heavily laden with film and sound equipment, cameras, canteens of water and biscuits and sardines for lunch, we set off along a track through the jungle made by tractors that have cleared the way for a new Catholic development project for the Indians. The trek of 17 kilometers, in the steaming heat of the day, was exhausting, and Rúḥíyyih Khánum said it was the longest walk of her entire life.

We finally arrived at the edge of the river, and an old Indian couple, beaming with friendliness, came across with two dugout canoes to take us to the island. When we reached the village, we were objects of great curiosity. Though only one child knew just a few words of Spanish, we were received most hospitably. “All primitive people are very polite,” Rúḥíyyih Khánum said later, telling about this incident. “Because of this and because of their natural openness, wherever we went there was always a feeling of warmth between us.”

The whole area of the Orinoco and Ventuari is being rapidly infiltrated by commercial interests and by missionaries. Several grass airplane landing strips are being cleared each year, making the remotest parts of the jungle accessible by air within a matter of hours. Already the tractor road, which we hiked along, has been completed from Tencua to Cacuri, deep into Yanomamo country, where the Jesuits have set up a school and a community development project. Although the efforts of the missionaries in the region are more than 200 years old, some of their most significant inroads have been made within the last 15 to 20 years.

On our return trip, we visited one of the mission towns, San Juan de Manapiare. The few hours we spent there left us with a graphic impression of what lies ahead for the whole area. Though we reached the town from the south by going up the Manapiare river in our “bongo,” already a road has been cleared through the jungle from the north, connecting the town with the Lower Orinoco. This has brought trucks, Land Rovers, and motorbikes to the vicinity. The town has its power plant that generates electricity. This has brought, among other things, cold drinks to the area which accounted for unsightly heaps of bottles and cans that were strewn along the riverbank. There is a grass landing strip for airplanes there, and we met a team of British pilots who are making a survey of the mineral resources of the entire region using highly sophisticated aerial equipment. The Venezuelan government is planning to exploit the vast natural reserves of the area.

We knew that San Juan de Manapiare was in a region inhabited by the Yabarana Indians, and we wanted to visit them. They are a very small tribe now, numbering, we were told, fewer than 50. At the Yabarana village nearby, we found only one old grandmother. She was lame, but came out to speak with us. Her manner was gentle and friendly. The Yabaranas have been completely missionized, and it was pitiful to think that this tribe may soon die out entirely. In the exclusive government compound, we found the houses were covered with the pointed, palm-thatched roofs characteristic of the churuata, and sensibly so because they keep the buildings cool. But the Indians in town were living in rows of identical cement-block houses with tin roofs, very poorly ventilated when compared to their own traditional native dwellings.

We met a Catholic priest, a Jesuit from Spain and a charming man. But there is an Evangelical mission in the town as well, and as we stood chatting with the priest in front of his house, we heard a roar and there was a cloud of dust and up came the Evangelical missionary on a Honda! He is American and has been there for 20 years with his wife and children. He belongs to the New Tribes Mission which has translated the New Testament into many of these Indian dialects. Most of this has happened in the last 10 to 15 years. The consecration of the missionaries impressed us deeply. How many times Rúḥíyyih Khánum said to us, “What this Faith needs are more David Livingstones. We should learn from the missionaries; their dedication, self-sacrifice, and methods are in many cases exemplary; in fact, we should feel ashamed that they are doing what this new Revelation from God has told us to do!”

“The missionaries do a great deal of good,” she told the Bahá’ís in Caracas, “but from the Bahá’í perspective, their philosophy is very destructive. We do not have professional missionaries in this Faith, but a dedicated Bahá’í should be able to do as much, if not more, because we have more to offer. They are selling something that is 2000 years old. Why should we Bahá’ís fall down on the job when we have the latest Word from God? We need pioneers who will go and stay and learn the language. And we need traveling teachers who will go to areas such as these and support the pioneers. There is no time to waste if the Bahá’ís are to fulfill the mission given them by the Báb, Baha’u’llah, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Shoghi Effendi, and The Universal House of Justice. I am 64 and I had the time of my life! Why are young people so lacking in adventure? It is a thrilling experience, and it is soul-satisfying because you are responding to the call of the Manifestation of God.”

[Page 14] United States:

Mr. Sears urges believers to prepare for enrollment by troops in America

An invitation to individual believers to arise and help prepare the way for enrollment in the Faith by troops was made repeatedly by the Hand of the Cause William Sears, during his several talks at the National Convention.

Recalling a statement of the Master to Roy Wilhelm, Mr. Sears reminded his audience that ‘Abdu’l-Bahá had said in 1912 that if each Bahá’í had exemplified even one of the Bahá’í principles in his life much of New York City would already have become Bahá’ís by the time of His visit.

“It is upon each one of us that this momentous Five Year Plan rests,” said Mr. Sears. “If we would live just one of the principles of the Faith in our daily lives, we would change the face of the world. We have the capacity to do that ... it just takes the determination to try it.”

Mr. Sears took part in a number of the Convention sessions prior to his departure late Saturday evening for the National Convention of the Bahá’ís of Canada. He was also the guest speaker at the special program Thursday evening commemorating the 50th anniversary of the formation of the National Spiritual Assembly.

One of the recurrent themes in Mr. Sears’ remarks to the delegates concerned the possibility of great victories being won when a single Bahá’í becomes detached and imbued with longing to serve the Cause. Recalling the praise given Martha Root, the foremost Hand of the Cause of the first Bahá’í century, by Shoghi Effendi, Mr. Sears pointed out that it was not superior education or training, or being born to wealth and power, that distinguished Miss Root. Rather, it was the degree of her dedication which won her the tribute from the Guardian as a heroine, martyr, and saint.

He recalled also the experience of sitting at dinner with the pilgrims in Haifa in the presence of Shoghi Effendi, and of hearing a statement to this effect: “We know what to do, we do not have to be told what to do. All we have to do is encourage each other to do it.”

He remembered also the Guardian saying that one soul on fire with the Faith could “ignite an entire country.” When we are wondering how to accomplish the goals, he said, we would do well to think

The Hand of the Cause William Sears

in terms of the improvement of our own selves. Here we have the power to change; we can determine ourselves what sacrifices we wish to make, and the goals will be accomplished as we in our individual lives place the Faith first and improve our characters.

At a moving and unusual tribute to the current members of the National Spiritual Assembly on Saturday evening, Mr. Sears spoke the name of each member and lighted a special golden anniversary candle brought from Canada, each with a number “50” painted upon it. He called to mind the great servants of the past who had filled posts on the National Spiritual Assembly, and told of the year when five members went to foreign pioneering goals at one time.

‎ “‎It is difficult to appreciate the greatness of this occasion,” he said. “In the future, we will tell our grandchildren of having been present this evening when the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States celebrated its 50th anniversary.”

He reminded the friends how, from its inception, the national administrative body had led the community in realizing significant goals given by the Master in Tablets of the Divine Plan.

“In 1953, when the call came from the beloved Guardian for the goals of the Crusade to be filled, he said the administrators and the distinguished Bahá’ís should be the first to go and set the example,” said Mr. Sears. “Isn’t that a marvelous thing? Some of those who went passed away at their posts, as you know.” He noted also that some former members of the National Spiritual Assembly had been named Hands of the Cause and had been called to the World Center to continue their service there.

He paid tribute also to the former members of the National Spiritual Assembly who had been called to serve as members of the Continental Board of Counsellors, as well as members of the International Teaching Center.

“We now have serving on the Supreme Body, The Universal House of Justice, five former members of your National Spiritual Assembly: Charles Wolcott, H. Borrah Kavelin, David Ruhe, Amoz Gibson, and Hugh Chance. And among the

[Page 15] Hands of the Cause, the names are like a roster of beauty and wonder ... Roy Wilhelm, Louis Gregory, Horace Holley, Corinne True, Fred Shopflocher, Leroy Ioas, Dorothy Baker, Amelia Collins, and Paul Haney.”

“The light of Bahá’u’lláh will be reflected in the West to an even greater degree than in the East, only if we, His instruments, arise to carry out those great tasks. After acquiring the characteristics we must put them into service. It is not enough just to have them. We have Tablets of the Divine Plan and our task is the spiritual conquest of the planet.

“May I say again, we do not have to be told what to do. We know what to do. We only have to help each other to try it.”

“I leave the words for those who have the heart,” were his final words to the Convention.

50th-anniversary of National Assembly observed

The president of the village of Wilmette paid tribute to the American Bahá’í community in a brief address before hundreds of guests in Foundation Hall, assembled for the National Assembly’s 50th-anniversary observance.

He also presented to the National Assembly of the United States a copy of a special resolution adopted by the village’s Board of Trustees praising the Bahá’í community for its contribution to the spiritual life of Wilmette.

“The message I bring to you tonight on behalf of the village is that we are indeed fortunate; for you, the Bahá’ís, have given us a great deal of spiritual wealth,” said Warren Burmeister, the village president.

Mr. Burmeister and other Wilmette dignitaries, along with the Hand of the Cause William Sears and Counsellors Sarah Pereira and Edna True, joined the National Assembly at an anniversary dinner April 24 and attended an evening devotional program at the House of Worship to mark the event.

Mr. Burmeister made his remarks at a public meeting in Foundation Hall following the devotional program. The principal address was given by Mr. Sears, who spoke about the history of the National Assembly and the role assigned to that institution in the Bahá’í writings.

Wilmette village president Warren Burmeister

When considering the dictionary definition of the word community (“a group of people living together in the same place under the same law”) applied to the teachings of the philosophers, Mr. Burmeister said he could conceive of the Bahá’í community “being located not just in Wilmette but being a marvelously expansive community that begins to embrace all of mankind.”

“So we’re very grateful for the opportunity to be with you, to be moved and inspired by your presence and the fortunate presence of the House of Worship in our small corner of the earth, realizing that it links us with all mankind,” he said. “Perhaps this, someday, will be the measure by which civilization will be realized.”

Firuz Kazemzadeh, Chairman of the National Assembly, accepted the Trustee’s framed resolution on behalf of the National Assembly. “The village of Wilmette,” he told Mr. Burmeister, “has provided us for a long time now with a perfect home for our Bahá’í activities.”

Other Wilmette residents who were introduced at the meeting included two past village presidents, William Alexander and William McKnight; a past president of the Wilmette Historical Commission, James William; and the director of the Wilmette library, Richard Thompson.

Local Assemblies to receive training

A decision to implement a comprehensive two-year training program for Local Spiritual Assemblies in the United States was announced by the National Assembly in its annual report to the Convention in Wilmette.

The training program, which will involve the local Assemblies at the beginning of 1976, is intended to help members of local Bahá’í institutions understand more fully the nature of Bahá’í administration.

In a videotaped presentation to the National Convention on Friday afternoon, National Assembly Secretary Glenford Mitchell said the training program represented the Assembly’s “... response to the requirement of the Five Year Plan which calls for the strengthening of these basic administrative units of Bahá’u’lláh’s World Order.”

The presentation was made with videotape to demonstrate to the delegates the capability of this equipment, which will be used to produce much of the program’s 30 hours of classroom materials.

The training program will proceed in three phases, Mr. Mitchell said.

Phase I involves the training of 20 two-person teams to serve as trainers of the personnel that will work with the Assemblies.

The 40 persons making up the teams of “master trainers” will be brought to the National Center for a week-long orientation later this year.

Phase II calls for each of the master trainer teams to train 15 National Assembly representatives to work directly with

[Page 16] Riḍván 132

50th anniversary

the local Assemblies. It is estimated that it will take 10 weeks for this training phase to be completed. It will result in the training of 600 National Assembly representatives. In carrying out their work with the local Assemblies, the National Assembly representatives will also work in teams of two.

Phase III will bring the local Assemblies into the program. Each team of National Assembly representatives will train four local Assemblies before the end of the two-year period. The training will take 30 hours to complete. At the rate of four Assemblies per team, an estimated 1,000 Spiritual Assemblies will be covered in the allotted time.

The team that trains the local Assembly will be required to remain as a consultant to that Assembly until the end of the program.

Glenford Mitchell, Secretary of the National Assembly, presents details on the Local Assembly Development Program for videotape recording. The finished video cassette was shown to the Convention.

The highest priority will be given to new local Assemblies, to enable them to get off to a good start without delay. The next priority will be given to local Assemblies in California, Illinois, and New York because of their particular responsibilities in the Five Year Plan.

Eventually local Assemblies will be asked to institute their training program for the benefit of newly-elected members of their institutions.

The following schedule has been adopted for the execution of the program:

• Preparation of materials—April-August
• Recruitment of master trainers—April-June
• Training of master trainers—August
• Training of National Assembly representatives—September-April
• Training local Assemblies—October-end of the Five Year Plan

Aboriginal Australian greets Convention

“O beautiful friends of America! I bring you greetings from Australia.” With these words, Harry Penrith, Bahá’í of Aboriginal background, greeted the American National Convention. A Bahá’í since 1969, Mr. Penrith is the recipient of a Sir Winston Churchill Fellowship, which is permitting him to visit and study indigenous and immigrant housing and hostels on a round-the-world travel grant.

Together with his wife, Leonie, and their three-year-old daughter, Lua, Mr. Penrith has visited many Bahá’í communities and spoke of the warm welcome extended everywhere.

“How pleased I am to renew acquaintance with the Hand of the Cause William Sears, whom I met six years before becoming a Bahá’í,” said Mr. Penrith. “When we reached Samoa, we were told our beloved Hand of the Cause had just left there. And when we arrived in Hawaii, he had just left. The same was true in Los Angeles. In keeping with Mr. Sears’ comments at the special observance of the fiftieth anniversary of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States, concerning the significance of Wilmette,” Mr. Penrith declared, “where should we find him? In Wilmette, Illinois!”

Harry Penrith, a Bahá’í of Aboriginal background, was a visitor to the American National Convention.

After listing many of the American pioneers now serving in Australia, as well as on islands of the Pacific, Mr. Penrith added: “I felt I had an obligation to bring the love of these people to you. In a sense, they have suffered from a culture shock, being away from their beloved country. On the other hand, we receive a culture shock coming here for we have not known such affluence in our particular area of Australia as we find here. We don’t really know how homes are heated, such as you have here. It was a new experience for me to walk on snow for the first time, keeping in mind that we come from an Australian summer, which is indeed warm.”

After visiting European communities, the Penrith family will go on pilgrimage to the World Center before returning to their home in Australia. While in Wilmette, Mr. Penrith was interviewed on videotape by the Bahá’í National Information Office. He has gained extensive newspaper, television and radio publicity in the communities visited throughout Canada and the United States, and regards his trip as an opportunity to gain firsthand knowledge of the Bahá’í world community as well as specialized knowledge in his own professional field.

Mr. Penrith mentioned that he had known about the Faith for almost fifteen years before enrolling and had been won to its ranks by the consistent love shown him by the Bahá’ís.

[Page 17] Riḍván 132

Conventions cable news of progress to World Center

Set out below is a representative sampling of news items gleaned from the messages received at the World Center from National Spiritual Assemblies on the five continents. The volume of cables received makes it impossible to include even excerpts from them all.

Africa

Cameroon Republic: “... sum pledged toward self support...”

Lesotho: “... good news progress Faith Lesotho; between 40 and 46 Local Spiritual Assemblies formed; 298 localities opened; one new Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds site allocated; ...pledge find ways increase self-sufficiency....”

Madagascar: “... Dumont Assembly elected....”

Niger: “Hearts overflowing joy of seven delegates, 27 observers, attending blessed historic Convention presence Hand Cause Muhájir, Counsellor; offering prayer gratitude Blessed Beauty first National Spiritual Assembly Niger; beseech prayers divine confirmation accomplishment Five Year Plan under guidance beloved Universal House Justice....” (Niger Convention)

Rhodesia: “... flow expansion deeper consolidation indicative strengthening communities grass root level....”

Sierra Leone: “Joyfully announce successful completion first National Convention Bahá’ís Sierra Leone. Believers gathered Freetown all parts Sierra Leone, visitors Liberia, Guinea, blessing presence Hand Cause Olinga, Board member Kouchekzadeh, representatives National Spiritual Assembly West Africa; determined win all goals Plan; National Fund already launched full participation; beseech prayers Holy Shrine. National Convention Sierra Leone.” [See more detailed report p. 20]

Tanzania: “... pledge reduce dependence international fund...”

Togo: “First National Assembly elected presence Hand Cause Muhájir, Knight (of Bahá’u’lláh) David Tanyi. United delegates determined exceed goals Plan before Nairobi Conference, mass conversion, supplicating prayers Holy Threshold...” (Togo Convention).

Uganda: “... 40 delegates, 42 visitors, including two Pygmies National Convention Uganda ... joyfully report three arise pioneer Zaíre ... generous endowments donated....”

Upper West Africa: “Announce joyful election first National Spiritual Assembly presence Hand Cause Olinga, Counsellor Ardikání, Auxiliary Board member Alsalihi, 23 delegates; greetings from united Convention Upper West Africa...”

Americas

Alaska: “Forging ahead Five Year Plan ... international pioneers four Belgium, three Finland, three Philippines; high level activity international travel teaching; homefront needs assured....”

Argentina: “... received offers five homefront pioneers, 15 international teachers....”

Belize: “joyously announce ... 30 Local Spiritual Assemblies elected....”

Bolivia:

Auxiliary Board members attending the Bolivian National Convention pose with several members of the newly elected National Spiritual Assembly of Bolivia. Standing from left to right: Juan Alejo O., Auxiliary Board member Eloy Anello, Yolanda Claros de Pulley, Auxiliary Board members James Selph, Sabino Ortega, and Andrés Jachakollo, Eshraghollah Ouladi. Kneeling: Prudencia Pena, Isidro Jachakollo, Stephen Pulley, Zabih’ulláh Mohebí, and Valentín Quispe.

Hawaiian Islands:

A member of the Continental Board of Counsellors for Northeastern Asia joins the newly elected National Spiritual Assembly of the Hawaiian Islands for a photograph outside the National Center in Honolulu. Shown in the first row, left to right, are Mike Woodward and Counsellor Elena Marsella. Second row: Tracy Hamilton (Chairman), Evelyn Mussacchia, Gertrude Garrida, Elizabeth D. Hollinger (Secretary), and C. B. Mauldin. Third row: Bradley T. Hollinger, Craig B. Quick (Vice-Chairman), and Benedict Ayala (Treasurer).

[Page 18] Bolivia: “... inspiring call Riḍván message communicated; 36,462 believers, 4,128 localities, nearly 800 Assemblies....”

Brazil: “... fifteenth Convention Bahá’ís Brazil, 250, majority youth, attended....”

Canada: “... adoption long-term intensive prayer campaign ... increasing consciousness nature task Francophone overseas goals ... illuminating views expressed Eskimo, Indian, French minorities ... gift by Eskimo believers tapestry Greatest Name for Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds Godthaab, Greenland, signifying further development relationship Greenland....”

Costa Rica: “... 50 Assemblies ... spirit service assures accomplish remaining goals....”

Dominican Republic: “... increased participation women, youth....”

Ecuador: “... estimated 140 Local Spiritual Assemblies elected ... offers of 26 traveling teachers received homefront and abroad....”

Guyana, Surinam, and French Guiana: “... successful Convention ... 24 Local Spiritual Assemblies formed....”

Haiti: “... 17 new Local Spiritual Assemblies ... 3,766 believers and now 167 localities....”

Jamaica: “... successful Convention ... 24 Local Spiritual Assemblies formed....”

Leeward and Virgin Islands: “... sixteen delegates, eight gathered ninth Convention in St. Barthélemy, French Antilles....”

Mexico: “... joyously share achievements first year Five Year Plan ... 17 additional pioneers, five native traveling teachers, two international teachers....”

Nicaragua: “... Convention held new Center; deeply grateful announce victories toward Plan goals....”

Peru: “... five native pioneers located; seven departing....”

Puerto Rico: “... one believer arose pioneer Nicaragua, 15 volunteered international travel teaching ... greater representation native believers on incoming National Assembly....”

United States: “... Wilmette dignitaries joined in tribute 50th anniversary National Assembly ... President village Wilmette presented formal congratulatory resolution behalf village....”

Venezuela: “... extraordinary spontaneous participation by indigenous delegates ... 248 volunteers national, international, teaching trips....”

Windward Islands (Barbados and Windward Islands): “... 15 delegates, three islands, present ... delighted increased youth participation....”

Asia

Iran: “... 33 among delegates and friends present Convention

Leeward and Virgin Islands:

Believers gathered at the National Convention of the Leeward and Virgin Islands held on St. Barthélemy April 26-27.

Rhodesia:

National Bahá’í Convention in Salisbury, Rhodesia.

[Page 19] responded message August Body and will pioneer ... 85 families declared readiness leave Tiḥrán....”

Japan: “... joyously announce translations Kitáb-i-Íqan, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s Will and Testament, other literature, soon ready for publication....”

Jordan: The Convention was described as an “auspicious and inspiring occasion witnessing for the first time the birth of a national community in a land part of whose soil was blessed by the footsteps of our beloved Master and had associations with the development of His glorious Ministry.” The message received from the National Convention ended with a request for prayers so that the community may rise to “heights hitherto unattained in self-sacrifice, in steadfastness, in unity, and in dedicated love.”

Malaysia: “... first successful Convention after ‎incorportaion incorporation‎ held Kuching, East Malaysia ... thrilled presence of 100 native believers ... resolved to achieve self-sufficiency in Funds....”

Australasia

Australia: “Wonderful Convention, teaching conference ... many offers arise overseas homefront pioneering, travel teaching....”

Hawaiian Islands: “... attendance 34 delegates, 80 adults and youth, and 25 children; newly announced worldwide travel teaching program enthusiastically received, many volunteered; nine arose pioneer’s call; successful completion three-months concentrated teaching deepening program tremendous increase proclamation resulting numerous requests public speakers ... first time budget surpassed ... buildings, equipment, caretaker secured Puna site for permanent Bahá’í school....”

New Zealand: “... new National Assembly announced theme coming year ‘Spiritualization Individual Bahá’í, strengthening Local Assemblies, Foremost Task’....”

South West Pacific Ocean: “... wonderful teaching conference preceding Convention; new spirit believers arise and gain goals, strengthening Assemblies utilizing youth teams, women’s work parties, children’s classes....”

Europe

Denmark: “... aiming at doubling numbers avowed believers through systematic planning of proclamation....”

Italy: “... two new Local Spiritual Assemblies ... new texts editions Italian ready for publication....”

Netherlands: “... thankful 21 Assemblies secured; thrilled announcement 8 pioneers foreign goals, several homefront....”

Spain: “... pioneer offers include three for Uruguay, six homefront, also friends available teaching trips, teaching funds donated; also obtained Andorra endowment....”

Switzerland: “... rejoice glad tidings international travel teaching plan; enthusiastic response; two pioneers Togo; two pioneers within Switzerland; nine travel teachers....”

Sierra Leone:

The Hand of the Cause Enoch Olinga with members of the first National Spiritual Assembly of Sierra Leone. Standing in the back row (left to right) are Alfred Momodu, Charles Bullock (Treasurer), Penny Hubbert (Corresponding Secretary), Horace Brown (Vice-Chairman), and Donald Williams (Chairman). On the first row: Yvor Stoakley (Recording Secretary), Joyce Collins, Rex Kenneth, Mr. Olinga, and Augustine Conteh.

United States:

Members of the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States elected on April 26 in Wilmette. From left to right: Richard Betts, William Maxwell, Daniel Jordan (Vice-Chairman), Charlotte Linfoot (Assistant Secretary), Glenford Mitchell (Secretary), Dorothy Nelson (Treasurer), Franklin Kahn, Magdalene Carney, and Firuz Kazemzadeh (Chairman).

[Page 20] Riḍván 132

Réunion:

Youth in mountain villages learn about Bahá’u’lláh

At Riḍván 1972 the National Spiritual Assembly of the small, mountainous island of Réunion was elected for the first time. Réunion is one of the Mascarene islands which lies about 425 miles off the eastern coast of the Malagasy Republic. Recently the National Teaching Committee of Réunion decided, on the recommendation of the National Assembly, to undertake teaching trips itself rather than invest long hours in planning activities which could not be carried out due to a lack of manpower.

The result of this action is that more than 200 people have learned about the Faith within a two-month period. Public conferences have been held in mountain villages, sometimes during periods of heavy rainfall, and a considerable number of youth have attended to learn more about Bahá’u’lláh and His Teachings. Mayors of various communities were contacted during this program, some of whom expressed interest in the Faith.

An even more significant effect, it was reported, was registered among the believers themselves, who have become encouraged and increasingly active. Four new localities have been opened to the Faith and the number of groups has increased.

Sierra Leone:

First election of National Assembly held

Thirty-five delegates and visitors gathered in Freetown April 19-20 to attend the historic first National Bahá’í Convention of Sierra Leone. The election of the National Spiritual Assembly of Sierra Leone fulfilled yet another of the major goals of the Five Year Plan.

The Hand of the Cause of God Enoch Olinga was the representative of The Universal House of Justice at the Convention. He read both the Riḍván message of the House of Justice to the Bahá’ís of the world and a special message to the Bahá’ís of Sierra Leone gathered at the Convention.

In the latter The Universal House of Justice transferred all of the outstanding goals for Sierra Leone from the mother community of West Africa (formerly Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Guinea) to the newly formed National Spiritual Assembly of Sierra Leone.

Highlighting the report of the outgoing National Teaching Committee was the announcement that all seven of Sierra Leone’s present Local Spiritual Assemblies would be re-elected at Riḍván. A minimum of 15 Local Spiritual Assemblies are called for in the Five Year Plan. Other goals which have been accomplished or on which progress was reported included the incorporation of the Freetown Local Spiritual Assembly, the settling of six pioneers in the country over the past year, the holding of the first national teaching conference of the Five Year Plan, and research toward translation and publication of the Sacred Writings into several of the indigenous languages.

Auxiliary Board member Shidan Kouchekzadeh represented the Continental Board of Counsellors for the newly formed West African region. Although he and Mrs. Kouchekzadeh had come to the Convention from their new pioneering post in Guinea, they hardly seemed like visitors, having pioneered in Sierra Leone for the past nine years. Much of the foundation for this newly elected pillar of the House of Justice was laid by their devoted efforts.

Vivian Wesson, an American who first pioneered to West Africa in 1953, was also a guest at the Convention. She became a Knight of Bahá’u’lláh when she arrived at her first pioneer post in Togo. Later she moved to Liberia where she served for more than 15 years before coming to Sierra Leone in 1970.

On the eve of the Convention many friends gathered in Freetown for a unity Feast to welcome Mr. Olinga. Following the Convention the Hand of the Cause remained in Sierra Leone for five days to visit some of the rural Bahá’í communities and to speak on radio and at colleges.

Hawaii:

Bahá’ís donate trees to Honolulu college

As a part of the tree planting ceremony on May 1 College Provost Clyde Yoshioka (left), National Spiritual Assembly Chairman Tracy Hamilton (center), and Douglas Sakamoto, who represented the governor of Hawaii, plant a jacaranda tree.

In a joint celebration of the United States Bicentennial and the 132nd anniversary of the founding of the Bahá’í Faith the National Spiritual Assembly of the Hawaiian Islands recently presented more than 100 trees to Honolulu Community College for the beautification of the college’s campus.

During a ceremony on May 1, 1975, Tracy Hamilton, Chairman of the National Assembly, presented 132 trees of 23 varieties to the college. Provost Clyde Yoshioka accepted the donation. At that time five jacaranda trees were planted; two days later several Bahá’ís and college faculty members cooperated to plant the remaining trees.

“The Bahá’ís chose to plant trees,” Mr. Hamilton said during the ceremony, “since in so doing they feel they are praising God the Creator, helping in the betterment of the environment, and adding to the beauty of the land. Honolulu Community College was selected because of its need for beautification and because of the importance given in the Teachings of Bahá’u’lláh ... to education and educators.”

[Page 21] A plaque commemorating the tree planting bearing the inscription, “Ye are the fruits of one tree and the leaves of one branch,” will be presented to the college by the Bahá’ís at a later date.

Coverage of the event in the news media included a report on a network television channel in Honolulu and a large article and photo in the morning newspaper. The Bahá’ís of Hawaii carried out the project as a part of the Bahá’í Info-Expo 75 proclamation.

Kenya:

Iranian believers join urban teaching project

In March, 61 Iranian believers journeyed to Kenya to participate in an intensive teaching campaign coordinated by the National Assembly.

Írán-Dukht ‘Ishrat arrived in Kenya a week before the teaching group and assisted the National Assembly in confirming plans to fully utilize the time of the traveling teachers.

“The group inspired us by their devotion,” the National Assembly reported. “They divided into approximately 12 teams, and each group was assigned to visit two or more urban areas in the country. As a result, the Faith was widely proclaimed, and we have begun receiving letters from inquirers who were contacted by the teams, asking for more information about the Faith. In Nairobi, the assigned team visited all the African localities, and two of the friends spoke on the radio and appeared on television. The radio broadcast was heard throughout the country. More than 50 new believers were accepted into the Faith as a result of the teams’ teaching activities.” The Iranian friends had spent a few days in the Holy Land visiting the Shrines before proceeding to Kenya.

Papua New Guinea:

Bahá’í administration delights new believers

The enrollment of hundreds of believers in the Mt. Brown region of Papua New Guinea was reported in the April edition of Bahá’í News. Recently, the National Spiritual Assembly received a detailed report of continued expansion in that area: “Although Mt. Brown is fairly close to the large town of Port Moresby,” the National Assembly wrote, “it is remote in the sense that it is most difficult to reach, involving a four to five-day walk through arid, then steep terrain and across fierce streams. Teaching has proceeded in the Mt. Brown area for three years, and although the believers are poor, they often visit the Bahá’í school in Sogeri, where some of their relatives live, and with each visit, they learn a little more.

“The believers have seized upon the Bahá’í administration and have put it into practice with great joy, surmounting many difficulties. They reconstructed their own village system which, until recently, was under church direction, but as large numbers of people entered the Faith, the church began to withdraw. Since schooling in the village is quite elementary, the level of achievement, organization, and planning, and the response to every request of the National Teaching Committee is astonishing. Reports of activities are received regularly from the friends, sometimes accompanied by hundreds of declaration cards.”

One year ago the Mt. Brown Bahá’ís formed a Regional Teaching Committee which immediately called a conference and established a teaching plan under which teams drawn from eight Focal Assemblies in the area visit neighboring communities to teach. Soon after their return, follow-up teams are sent to revisit the allocated areas.

“Recently,” the report continues, “word came that the flame of the Faith had burst out in the neighboring Northern District. This activity originated from the efforts of one of the Mt. Brown believers who has married into those people. Inara Nevaru, secretary of the Regional Teaching Committee, traveled to that area to assist them in conducting their first regional convention—their numbers exceed 400 already.

“Mr. Nevaru spent a couple of weeks in the area and visited a number of villages. He reported widespread interest and enthusiasm and said he was inundated with questions. One village is entirely Bahá’í, already has its Spiritual Assembly, and has chosen a site for the construction of a Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds. The Faith was introduced to this area only six months ago. Such is the determination these people have already shown. We all have great hopes for its fruition and success,” the report concluded.

Solomon Islands:

Women’s conference held in Auki

Women from various of the Solomon Islands attended the conference.

Small discussion groups encouraged the women to participate.

Bahá’í women in the Solomon Islands gathered in Auki on the weekend of February 7-9 for a conference in response to goals set in the Five Year Plan. More than 90 women representing 12 villages attended. This diverse representation made it necessary for classes and devotions throughout the conference to be conducted in from two to five dialects and languages.

At one of the first sessions, the women expressed appreciation to their fathers and husbands for supporting the conference. Discussions were held on the role of women, the equality between men and women, Bahá’í heroines, local Assemblies, loyalty to government, and child education. During one session, Auxiliary Board member Gertrude Blum spoke of the desirability of forming women’s clubs in local communities.

The National Assembly noted that 14 women individually stepped forward during the conference to express their ideas—a significant departure from their accustomed reticence.

The participants unanimously agreed that another conference should be held soon.

[Page 22]

Illuminated (decorated) Prayers and Passages of Bahá’u’lláh for teaching and deepening make welcome gifts, provide inspiring wall decoration, and aid in memorization. Illuminated Prayers and Passages of Bahá’u’lláh Preservation and consolidation of the victories won: This is one of the three major objectives of the Five Year Plan as the Cause of God goes “from strength to strength” throughout the worldwide Bahá’í community. We can do this even in the face of rising global chaos if we use the strengthening serenity of our Sacred Texts, the Creative Word of God, to deepen and consolidate Bahá’ís. For this purpose, several short, simple, powerful quotations of Bahá’u’lláh have been chosen and are now available in large type, illuminated by dignified artwork. These attractive, brief prayers and meditations are suitable for framing or other kinds of display. Ten different quotations have been printed on 8.5 by 11-inch paper —large enough for wall or window display, yet small enough to be carried in a notebook. Members of teaching, proclamation, conference, and consolidation committees might want to pay particular attention to this set for possible use at summer schools, institutes, and children’s classes. They are excellent for complementing normal teaching materials or for gifts to participating individuals at Bahá’í gatherings. The large type and easy-to-handle pages also make the material useful for persons with poor eyesight or for beginning readers, either children or adults, who are not yet accustomed to Bahá’í literature. In addition, these passages are generally brief enough so that students can memorize them without difficulty. The entire set of ten can be bound into a new believers’ booklet either as they are or mounted artistically on colorful heavy paper. Further decorative illumination can then be added, limited only by the artist’s imagination. In this way, homemade albums can be tailored to a variety of indigenous cultures. Other possible uses include mementos for friends on special Bahá’í occasions or gifts for the sick or shut-in. These ten quotations by Bahá’u’lláh are available either in complete sets or as individual prayers and meditations in multiples of ten. How to Get the Illuminated Prayers and Passages of Bahá’u’lláh Your local Bahá’í librarian or authorized Bahá’í distributor may have them in stock or may be able to supply you with prices and ordering information. If, however, you cannot find them in your area, you may send your inquiry to the International Bahá’í Audio-Visual Centre, 1640 Holcomb Road, Victor, N.Y. 14564, U.S.A., for forwarding to the proper organization.