The Human Condition: Appropriation

By Daniel Schnee on May 11, 2022.

As a cultural anthropologist I am tasked with analyzing Japan and accurately writing about it in the proper context. Beyond that I deeply love Japanese art and music, and that love drives my lifelong engagement.

But with my Ph.D. and my passion comes great responsibility. My desires are not primary, thus I must avoid appropriation: taking and distorting what is not rightfully mine. Thus it bothers me greatly when I read about people such as Jeffrey Craigen, who is set to be deported from Bali for filming himself doing a Maori ceremonial dance naked on the summit of Mount Batur, a sacred volcano, for the sake of building a career as a spiritual adviser.

Craigen, a self-styled wellness guru, later posted the footage with the words, “When you strip naked without shame and can be seen, you become a fearless child of God.” He also warned readers that “no one living in fear will be able to enter the Kingdom of God until they can dance completely naked like small children.”

Later he stated that it wasn’t his intention to insult anyone, rather that, “I wanted to feel alive because I felt dead inside for so long.”

First of all, Craigen greatly alters and distorts tradition, as a Hindu guru for example is a revered master with a lifetime of intense meditation, prayer, fasting, breath control and so on. In fact, the Guru Granth Sahib, the sacred book of Sikh religion, is considered to be so holy it is not printed for use outside of their temples.

This is because the collected wisdom of the Sikh gurus contained therein is of such importance that the book itself is imbued with the essence of divinity: a “living guru” in its own right. Craigen’s understanding of guru-ship instantly disqualifies him from the role, considering his lack of credentials and disregard for the serious nature of such a position. No guru I know of has ever posited that nude dance is required for entry into Paradise.

Secondly, he assumes the mantle of spiritual authority though he openly admits he is using his wellness initiative selfishly: to feel “alive.” He seeks others’ attention, not their wellbeing; having little regard for Maori or Balinese tradition. To be fair he said he did not mean any disrespect, but his actions betray his conscience: his mugshot for the Balinese authorities shows him smiling beatifically, as if posing for a publicity photo.

Craigen’s specific case is unusual, but in practice not at all uncommon. That Craigen hails from Canada is an important fact to reflect upon, as to this day Canadians play frisbee, get drunk, toss litter and have barbecues on lands our Indigenous people find just as sacred as the Balinese do their own. We ourselves have metaphorically danced naked on Plains Cree tradition for centuries.

In the end, it behooves those of us who study and engage in cultural traditions to be respectful of what we are given. Balinese and Maori people wouldn’t trespass in our sacred places to perform nude dances. Showing others the same courtesy will be an excellent first step, if Craigen truly seeks to rise to the rank of guru, and cease feeling dead inside.

Dr. Daniel Schnee is a cultural anthropologist and jazz drummer

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