[UPDATE 5/6/18: WITHIN 24 hours of posting this, the magazines (Dodho, LensCulture) removed the plagiarized articles from the web under DMCA. But the original PDFs of the violating work(s) will stay here FOREVER as a teachable moment. PLAGIARISM isn’t cool and is unfair to all! This will not go away folks!]
It’s time to hold people accountable and put them on notice. Plagiarism is a SERIOUS offense, and photographer Aga Szydlik is guilty as HELL!
Her 2017 online photo essay, “Keepers of the Rainforest: The Mentawai People of Siberut Island”, was recently removed by the Matador Network under the DMCA after I illustrated that the majority of her text was copied verbatim from my copyrighted (2008/2010) magazine and (2013) website article “Titi: Spirit Tattoos of the Mentawai Shaman.” Her LensCulture “Project Info” is 100% plagiarized from my copyrighted work (see texts highlights here that were copied). Her Dodho article “Keepers of the Rainforest,” which I presume she was paid for, is largely based on my copyrighted work(s) (e.g., see this highlighted PDF of plagiarized text vs. my article text). She also plagiarized text from Dr. Christian Hammons’ (2010) PhD Dissertation thesis on the Mentawai, but that is another story.
This “award-winning” photojournalist continues to utilize my text(s) with no acknowledgement on her website, which features the Mentawai (http://www.agalphotography.com/main-post-article-cultural-post/). She cites three sources for her article (e.g., Thom Henley, my friend Charles Lindsay, and Edwin Loeb)… but SURPRISE these were lifted from MY article, and I doubt she has ever read these sources!
All I can say is she is lazy, unprofessional, and should spend more time learning to write authentic material, rather than STEALING other people’s hard work. And she is building a career doing this!
I feel sorry for the magazines that publish her work, because I wonder how much she has plagiarized from other people for “her” stories?
So I am calling her out in this post as a teachable moment, and for the sake of convenience let’s put her text excerpts side-by-side my copyrighted text. Very quickly you will see that a familiar pattern emerges!
I am also posting PDF samples here of both articles: “Coffee with the Shaman” and “TITI: Spirit Tattoos of the Mentawai Shaman.” I have highlighted the plagiarized sections in the PDFS and below. Enjoy!
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1. Szydlik’s (2015) “Coffee with a Shaman – a journey through the jungles of Siberut”
The Island
“Located sixty miles west off the Sumatran coast, lays the tropical island of Siberut, inhabited by the Mentawai, one of the last most pure indigenous Indonesian societies. The Mentawai are an ancient tribe that for thousands of years has lived on Siberut Island, an isolated jungle island lying some sixty miles west of Padang, Indonesia.”
***Compare with Krutak (2008/2010/2013) “TITI: Spirit Tattoos of the Mentawai Shaman”
“SIBERUT ISLAND is an isolated jungle paradise lying some sixty miles west of Padang, Indonesia…The Mentawai are an ancient tribe that for thousands of years has lived on Siberut Island.”
2. Szydlik (2015)
Flower Power
“Faced with campaigns of evangelization, modernization, and resettlement some of the Mentawai clans made a courageous decision to leave their ancestral villages and move deeper into the jungle in an attempt to preserve their original culture, living in the remote interior of Siberut succeeded in escaping the disruptions and dislocations of the government.”
***Compare with Krutak (“TITI: Spirit Tattoos of the Mentawai Shaman”)
“Thankfully, several Mentawai clans living in the remote interior of Siberut succeeded in escaping the disruptions and dislocations of the government. One such group, the Sarereket or “the people of this place,” made a courageous decision to leave their ancestral village of Ugai – a place where mosques, Catholic missions, and Western clothing were becoming a thing of the present – and move deeper into the jungle in an attempt to retain their original culture.”
3. Szydlik (2015) *this is becoming SHAMEFUL!
Independence Day
“With Indonesian independence in 1950, an aggressive government campaign was launched to modernize the Mentawaians of Siberut. Traditional cultural practices such as tattooing, tooth filing, and the wearing of loincloths were forbidden because they were considered “pagan” and “savage.” In the 1990s, cultural oppression against the Mentawai took on more brutal forms of forced relocation from jungle villages to resettlement sites in government-created villages. Mentawai religion (shamanism) was outlawed, and police stripped practicing shamans (sikerei) of their medicine bundles, sacred objects, loincloths, and their long hair.”
***Compare with Krutak (“TITI: Spirit Tattoos of the Mentawai Shaman”)
“With Indonesian independence in 1950, an aggressive government campaign was launched to modernize the Mentawaians of Siberut. Traditional cultural practices such as tattooing, tooth filing, and the wearing of loincloths were forbidden because they were considered “pagan” and “savage.”
In the 1990s, cultural oppression against the Mentawai took on more brutal forms of forced relocation from jungle villages to resettlement sites in government-created villages. Mentawai religion (e.g., shamanism) was for all purposes outlawed, and police stripped practicing shamans (sikerei) of their medicine bundles, sacred objects, loincloths, and their long hair.”
4. Szydlik (2015) *this is a über LAME!
Welcome to the Jungle
Sacred Spirits
“For the Mentawai, the jungle has always been a place where everything, from plants to rocks to animals and man, has a spirit. Belief in animism emphasizes the existence of nature spirits, souls and ghosts. Spirits are believed to live everywhere and in everything – under the earth, in the sky, in the water, in the treetops, in bamboo and in a dugout canoe – and they are spoken too because they speak and act as human beings do. Mentawaians as many indigenous tribes live in perfect harmony with nature by taking only what they need, eating sesonal [sic] and meat during ceremonial occasions. At all other times of the year their staple food is sago, which comes from the sago palm as well as various types of greens, and rice.
***Compare with Krutak (“TITI: Spirit Tattoos of the Mentawai Shaman”)
WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE
For the Mentawai, the jungle has always been a place where everything, from plants to rocks to animals and man, has a spirit (kina). Spirits are believed to live everywhere and in everything – under the earth, in the sky, in the water, in the treetops, in bamboo, in a dugout canoe – and they are spoken too because they speak and act as human beings do.
…they live in harmony with nature by taking only what they need; they only eat fruit when it is season, and they only eat meat during ceremonial occasions. At all other times of the year, they eat their staple food sago which comes from the sago palm, various types of greens, and rice.
5. Szydlik (2015) * WTF!?
Soft Teeth
“Besides full body tattoos and sharpened teeth, fresh flowers adorn their hair, beads their necks and wrists, facial paint accents their rigid faces and their strong bodies are scented with fragrant ground turmeric.”
***Compare with Krutak (“TITI: Spirit Tattoos of the Mentawai Shaman”)
“And almost every day flowers adorn their hair, beads their necks and wrists, facial paint accents their rigid faces or their strong bodies are smeared with fragrant ground turmeric.”
6. Szydlik (2015) *Suuuuper WEAK!
The Spirit Tattoos
“The Mentawai believe that a person is nothing without a soul. Mentawai keep their souls “close” by beautifying the body. Individuals, be they male or female, who neglect their bodies by not keeping them, beautiful the soul may decide to leave its human host and roam about the body free. The soul is pleased by beautiful and complete body tattoos, as Mentawai believe that it allows them to bring their material wealth into the afterlife. The Mentawai also say that their tattoos (titi) allow their ancestors to recognize them after death. More importantly, however, many forms of tattooing are specifically believed to protect their owners from evil spirits lurking in the jungle.”
***Compare with Krutak (“TITI: Spirit Tattoos of the Mentawai Shaman”)
“Individuals, be they male or female, who neglect their bodies by not keeping them beautiful with beads, flowers, sharpened teeth, and especially tattoos will cease to be attractive to their souls. In such cases, the soul may decide to leave its human host and roam about the body free…
“[T]he Mentawaians keep their souls “close” by beautifying the body…[T]he soul is pleased by beautiful and complete body tattoos, the Mentawai believe that it allows them to bring their material wealth into the afterlife. The Mentawai also say that their tattoos (titi) allow their ancestors to recognize them after death. More importantly, however, many forms of tattooing are specifically believed to protect their owners from evil spirits lurking in the jungle.”
7. Szydlik (2015) *GET A LIFE… AT LOSING!
Tree of Life
“The sago is a central element in the Mentawai culture. It is a motif for tattoos and a nutritional staple. It is a nourishing tree that is vital to the survival of tribes in the jungle. Mentawai tattoos are said to represent the sago palm: the stripes on the upper thighs represent the veins and trunk of the sago; long dotted lines running down the arms symbolize the prickly fronds of its branches; patterns on the hands and ankles may mirror the bark or roots; and the curved lines on the chest represent the sago flower. Some Mentawai elders say that this “Tree of Life” must be tattooed on every shaman, because there can be no death when one is part of a tree of life. Of course, the sago palm is the staple food of the Mentawai people, as well as all domestic animals.”
***Compare with Krutak (“TITI: Spirit Tattoos of the Mentawai Shaman”)
“[T]he intricate body tattoos of the Mentawai are said to represent the “Tree of Life” or sago palm: the stripes on the upper thighs represent the veins and trunk of the sago; long dotted lines running down the arms symbolize the prickly fronds of its branches; patterns on the hands and ankles may mirror the bark or roots; and the curved lines on the chest represent the sago flower. Some Mentawai elders say that this “Tree of Life” must be tattooed on every shaman, because there can be no death when one is part of a tree of life.” Of course, the sago palm is the staple food of the Mentawai people, and all of their domestic animals eat it too.”
8. Szydlik (2015) *You give “journalism” a bad name…the coup de grâce!
Chosen by the Spirits
“Sikerei, is not just a doctor, he is the leader, priest, herbalist, physician, psychologist, dancer, and family man. Whether alone or with the help with spirits, he is able to heal, operate and soothe disease. He has the knowledge of the jungle, animals, plants, and minerals.
Although Mentawaian society is egalitarian, shamans are considered to be the leaders of their people. They are the tribe’s connection to the spiritual world, but also to the outside world. Religious beliefs of the Mentawai are centered on the importance of coexisting with the invisible spirits that inhabit the world and all the animate and inanimate objects in it. Health is seen as a state of balance or harmony, and for the Mentawaians it is something holy and beautiful.
However, if the balance is broken and curse has been cast, the only way to restore it is by placating the spirits that have been offended or accidentally distressed. With the help of medicinal plants, these malevolent spirits can be “cooled down” by magical means, and then they are appeased with sacrifices. The intermediary in these contacts is always the Mentawai shaman, because only he can communicate with the spirits.”
***Compare with Krutak (“TITI: Spirit Tattoos of the Mentawai Shaman”)
“But he [sikerei] is not just a doctor. He is a leader, priest, herbalist, physician, psychologist, dancer, family and community man. Although Mentawaian society is egalitarian, shamans are considered to be the leaders of their people. They are the tribe’s connection to the spiritual world, but also to the outside world.
…the religious beliefs of the Mentawai are centered on the importance of coexisting with the invisible spirits that inhabit the world and all the animate and inanimate objects in it. Health is seen as a state of balance or harmony, and for the Mentawaians it is something holy and beautiful. But if the balance is broken, the only way to restore it is by placating the spirits that have been offended or accidentally distressed.
With the help of medicinal plants, these malevolent spirits can be “cooled down” by magical means, and then they are appeased with sacrifices. The intermediary in these contacts is always the Mentawai shaman, or sikerei, because only he can communicate with the spirits.”
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Thank you, Masurak Bagatta!, for reading…