{ arts & culture

Center Of It All

Chaldean community plans museum to showcase culture and history.

Mary Romayal Contributing Writer

Imagine stepping into an area

where you could do all of the

following: see what the town

center of ancient Babylon

was like; touch the stele on

which Hammurabi's Code

of Laws were etched; walk

into a sacred space and see

and possibly hear the Lord's

Prayer spoken in Aramaic as

Christ would have taught it to the
apostles; be transported to a village
in northern Iraq, such as Telkaif, in
the early 20th century to see what the
homes looked like and to experience
the hardships and joys of a simpler
time; journey to America and view
the New York skyline as early pioneers
would have seen it from Ellis Island;
feel the pride of an immigrant as
you stand inside a grocery store in
the 1930s as if you were a Chaldean
entrepreneur establishing his place
in the Detroit business community;
learn what Chaldeans are doing today
as they expand their professional
horizons. How is all of this possible?
Welcome to the Chaldean Cultural
Center.
A state-of-the-art Chaldean Cultural
Center (CCC) has been designed by a
New York architectural firm that spe-
cializes in museum work. The design-
ers have collaborated with community
members to create a center covering
more than 5,000 years of Chaldean
history. The CCC will be located in
the eastern end of the Shenandoah
Country Club in West Bloomfield,
located on Walnut Lake Road across
from Temple Israel.
There will be five galleries, or
themes, for visitors to weave through:
Chaldeans in the Ancient World, Faith
& Church, Village Life, Journey to

12 CHALDEAN NEWS I JEWISH NEWS October 2011

America and Chaldeans
Today. There will be arti-
facts, media, sculpture,
text panels, etc., to tell the
Chaldean story and sup-
port each gallery/theme.

Up Close

In the gallery highlight-
ing ancient Mesopotamia,
there will be references to
this being considered as
the birthplace of civiliza-
tion. Artifacts will include
cylinder seals used as
ownership and accounting
tools as well as there being
clay tablets. An authentic
replica of the original stele
of Hammurabi (Code of
Laws) has been purchased from the
Louvre for placement in this gallery.
The Faith & Church Gallery will
highlight Aramaic, a Semitic sister
language to Hebrew. The Chaldeans
consider themselves children of
Abraham as do the Jewish people.
Genesis mentions that Abraham went
from Ur of the Chaldeans into the
Land of Canaan. Aramaic was the
language spoken by Christ since this
would have been in keeping with
his Jewish heritage and the use of
Aramaic as the vernacular tongue of
the Jewish people of his time.
Aramaic is still spoken today
in Chaldean homes and is used in
Chaldean religious ceremonies such
as the Mass as well as in baptisms and
wedding rituals.
This gallery also will focus on how
the Chaldeans were converted to
Christianity by St. Thomas and how
they are part of the Catholic Church.
Liturgical manuscripts along with
vestments and other Church adorn-
ments will be displayed.

Moving On

As one moves into the Village Life
Gallery, farming tools, cooking
utensils and clothing can be viewed.
Religious practices, village customs
and dress will be used to show how
the Chaldeans maintained their iden-

tity as a Christian minority within a
larger Islamic culture.
The Journey to America Gallery
will feature passports, photos, steamer
trunks, tickets from passenger liners
and other items used as individu-
als and families emigrated from the
villages and cities of Iraq to come to
America during different waves of
Chaldean immigration. The story of
how and why the Chaldeans came
to settle in Detroit will be told. Part
of this exhibit will feature an early
Chaldean-owned grocery store.
The last gallery, Chaldeans Today,
will focus on the strength and diversity
of contemporary Chaldeans. Through
the use of graphics (i.e., maps), this
gallery will display where Chaldeans
are located throughout the world. This
is especially significant today because
of the Iraqi Christian refugee prob-
lem and how this has contributed to
a Chaldean diaspora just as there is
within the Jewish community.

Spotlight's On

The Chaldean Cultural Center will be
a testament to the Chaldean heritage,
which dates back to ancient times,
but is still a vibrant, thriving society.
The CCC will honor the early pioneers
who had the strength and sense of
adventure to come to a new world
while never forgetting the life they left

An artist's rendering of the
Chaldean Cultural Center

behind. The center will help Chaldean
children, grandchildren and future
generations know their legacy and
instill pride in being Chaldean. It will
serve as a means to display its unique
history to the larger, non-Chaldean
community.
"This center will be the only one
of its kind anywhere in the world to
specifically tell our story," said Francis
Boji, who chairs the CCC board. "It
is hoped that all of the galleries will
immerse the visitor in the totality of
the Chaldean experience'
The CCC has selected a museum
fabrication company: Fruland &
Bowles/Life Formations, Bowling
Green, Ohio. "Once the contract is
signed, it will take a minimum of
six months to build the center, but
in truth, this project has been nearly
6,000 years in the making," said Victor
Saroki, a Chaldean architect based in
Birmingham.
Chaldean Cultural Center support-
ers have been actively fundraising
and will continue to do so to bring the
project to completion. BC

Mary Romaya is executive director of the Chaldean

Cultural Center in West Bloomfield.

