The project of the Path of the Wise was born during a session of the Council of Elders, made up of 9 women and 9 men aged 60 and over, chosen for their wise experience by the Municipal Councillors. On that day, the subject of reflection was the question of how to bring our republican motto “Liberty, Equality, Fraternity” to life?
The birth of the Path of the Sages
The idea germinated that sprinkle the city with sentences emanating from famous women and men, globally recognized for their wisdom and their humanism, could challenge the awareness of passers-by Borméens as tourists. In order to justify this bold and innovative project in the eyes of the Mayor and his Municipal Council, the decision is taken to combine this route with historical plaques which were to be installed on the city's emblematic monuments. The members of the Council of Elders then determined the route of this path within the medieval village and worked on the support, texts, images and symbols of these plates.
Le butterfly symbol is chosen because it represents joy, beauty, grace and lightness of being. It refers to the power of personal transformation by its strong power of rebirth. Indeed, before being a butterfly, this insect is first an egg, then it becomes a caterpillar before being a chrysalis and finally a butterfly. Each new step symbolizes a change in life, the let go on what you were to appreciate what you have become. As a symbol of wisdom, This animal is a source of inspiration in life. Under his fragile appearances,
The butterfly has a great strength. Indeed, his life is fleeting (life span of a few days to a few weeks) and yet, it spreads joy and good humor by the grace and beauty of its flight, enjoying every moment that nature offers it. So why not do like the butterfly, to approach with confidence everything that life offers us, good or bad experience, because after all it only lasts a moment. These experiences are not the past the better preparation for the future allowing us to move forward more serenely on the paths of life?
Gandhi's Biography
Religious apostle and Indian "Father of the Nation": passive resistance and non-violence.
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was born on October 2, 1869 in Porbandar, India, in a relatively well-off and deeply religious family. Hindu values and tolerance shaped Gandhi's moral convictions. In accordance with the customs of his caste, his family married at 14 with Kasturbai who would remain his wife all his life. As Gandhi grew up he became convinced that he does not will be someone who breaks with the customs of India and copying the English lifestyle. Also he sailed for England in 1888 leaving his wife and child to do his law studies.
Lawyer by training, Gandhi worked for 20 years in South Africa, where he defended the many Indian emigrants against segregation, a period during which he experiments with passive, non-violent resistance to fight against the authorities. It is on these bases that Gandhi develops original means of action, focused around two main principles: the non-violence and non-cooperation, including the commercial and administrative boycott. In 1909 he publishes “Hind Swaraj”, book in which he develops the theories of combat through non-violence: satyagraha. Income in India in 1915, Gandhi does not separate the political struggle from the social struggle which he nevertheless puts forward, but he alternates periods of activism
with long periods of retirement, which even disconcerts his colleagues. He engages in the fight against British domination and becomes themoral authority of the Congress party. The 6 1919 April, to impress the English, Gandhi calls on the people to demonstrate publicly throughout the country and to cease all activity. The demonstration is a huge success. On April 13, in Amritsar, the population demonstrated again despite the ban. General Dyer then orders his men to fire on the peaceful crowd. The toll is appalling: more than 300 deaths and more than 1000 injured. Horrified, Gandhi immediately suspended satyagraha, remaining true to his ethic of non-violence.
Conclusion attachment to traditions, sa life of poverty and multiple imprisonments earn him a great popularity. From 1930 onwards in particular, he mobilised the Indians in civil disobedience and began a new cycle of campaigns, the salt market against the monopoly of England. For 24 days and over 350 km the procession will not stop swelling. Having reached his goal Gandhi picks up a handful of salt and announces that he is beginning civil disobedience. He was arrested again. In the 1937 elections, the Congress won an overwhelming majority in the Indian parliament. From then on, the march towards autonomy and independence seemed inevitable.
When the bursts Second World War In 1939, Gandhi refuses to join the English. He claimed that only an independent India could contribute to the fight against the Nazis. In 1942 he even launched his famous slogan “Quit India”. He urged the British to leave immediately and revived the civil disobedience movement. He and the Congress leaders were arrested after riots broke out. His wife Kasturbai died in custody. In 1944 Churchill had him released. Independence becomes inevitable after the war, but also the partition between Hindus and Muslims. He plays a big role in theaccession to independence in 1947, But the partition between India and Pakistan is a personal failure for him. He is assassinated on January 30, 1948 by a Hindu fanatic in Delhi. “Hey Ram” (Oh God!) will be the last words of the Father of the Nation. His death causes a international emotion. In Delhi, more than two million Indians attended his state funeral. Even if he was not able to radically change Indian mentalities as he had hoped, his message of non-violence and passive resistance has had an immense posterity.
One of the five oil mills
The oil mill on Rue des Contours is an example of an oil mill traditional in Provence. Known to “chapel press”, It has unique features that distinguish it from other oil mills in the region. Instead of using a central screw, this mill uses a chapel-shaped device to extract oil from olives. La structure of the oil mill is designed to resemble a chapel. You can see a nave, a transept and a semicircular choir. The transept houses what is called “the master” or “the bench”, which is pierced with a threaded hole allowing a screw to be fixed. The screw is terminated by a head and exerts pressure on a wooden board guided by two wooden uprights in the nave. This pressure is spread out on piles of scourtins, coconut fiber baskets filled with olive paste.
This Bormes oil mill was commissioned in August 1808 and operated for almosta century. It was one of the five oil mills of the village and received the locally grown olives, transported on donkeys. His strategic location, near the main access leading to the cultivated areas, as well as the availability of water in the area, contributed to choosing this location for the mill. Despite ceasing its operation at the beginning of the 20th century, this Bormes oil mill is a preserved example of the ancestral tradition of olive oil production in Provence.
Also find the Path of the Sages on Baludik!
To discover the fun and geolocated route, scan this QR code. Games and surprises await you with the Baludik application.