the trip from north phoenix, where i had stayed with a friend for a couple nights, to the location of the event southwest of phoenix, took me several hours by bike. i left near mid-day and then made a mistake around dusk which added fifteen miles or so to the trip. ugh! it was almost 9pm by the time i got there. i went to the first fire i saw. this was the fire of a nice couple, jill and gary. they gave me the warmest welcome, jill feeding me, giving massage to my tense neck and shoulders, and serving tea! we shared conversation late into the night and then i slept in the bed of their pickup which provided a little shelter. what a blessing to be received this way after tiring trip!
orientation day included registration of participants and introduction of the instructors. by late morning i had still not seen my friend jana, who had told me about winter count and i was excited to see. rather than going through the camping areas in search of her i decided top stay put in the central fire area, where she could find me. after going around the large circle of instructors who were displaying their wares and sharing info about their class offerings, i sat on my sleeping pad next to my flipped-over bike and played mbira. some people mistook me for an instructor as i was sitting in the circle with them, just trying to fill in an empty space to balance the circle.
a boy named Abe came around trying to trade a couple of things and i showed him the friendship bracelets i make. i said i could make one with the colors he likes. he looked around a little more and then came back to me to make the trade. he picked out the colors, gave me the arrowhead in trade, and i got started. the man who was sitting with me while this took place showed interest in the bracelets too. i ended up showing him how to make them, becoming an informal instructor! these interactions helped me to feel embraced.
the instructors had given information on the classes they were offering and i had seen lots of things i was interested in learning, but on the first day of classes i didn't know which one to attend. i thought i would just find something that seemed interesting and had room. i also had the feeling i should start with the basics. near the central fire i found a couple folks sitting on the ground preparing for a class. i asked what they would be doing here. the instructor, a very tan, slender, muscular woman, told me they would be listening to rocks and then learning to make fire. this sounded good to me so i was the second participant to join.
this fantastic teacher was lynx vilden. she started by showing us, by hitting various rocks, one way they communicate with us. their surface, weight, and the smell when struck can also tell us of their qualities and how we might make use of them. this introduced the idea that we could look around us and find the tools we need by making ourselves aware of these qualities in natural objects.
i had noticed how the wood next to me, sotol, made a nice sound when struck. so lynx had me play a rhythm while she struck the various rocks in time with me! i was thrilled to begin the class with this music! as we pecked out sockets in softer rocks and shaped wood with sharp rocks for fire kits lynx taught us a song to work rhythmically to. when lynx demonstrated how to make fire with the hand drill a fire song was offered:
burn fire burn
stoke your inner fire
let the coal inside you rise
blow that flame to life
singing this together in encouragement, we all participated as the ember came to life, was placed in the tinder bundle, and a flame was blown to life! what a remarkable demonstration of community and culture! during this rich class i learned not only how to make fire with what is around me in nature, but how culture and community can be created at the same time!
when the next morning's classes began i was similarly aimless, and ended up finding my way to the 'iceman's knife sheath' class, taught by a wonderful woman named sue. the previous day i had begun to learn about cordage with stinging nettle in another class. with sue i learned how to make twine out of dogbane, milkweed, new zealand flax, and tule. making the sheath satisfied both my interest in doing some weaving and enough practice with cordage to get me established in it.
the next day i found my way to the gourd lady's, where i thought i might find a gourd large enough for a deze. but the biggest one she had was just a little too small for the mbira i carry. this gourd was destined to be made into a mask and bowl, both of which gave me great pleasure to make and to use! i traded the mask during the barter fair on the last day to the guys from elemental awareness for the t-shirt pictured above.
every day at 4pm there was west african drumming, with andrew from the gila area leading. we learned a rhythm and dance and practiced it until we really had it solid! this was one of the many examples of song circle helping us share the spirit at winter count. so healing and strengthening.
on mask night there was a fire performance of a warrior story. then those of us who had been learning the west african drumming and dancing performed what we had learned. i didn't learn the dance, which was performed by almost all women. drumming and dancing around the fire continued for a while, then eventually we moved on to song sharing, story and joke sharing, and finally deep conversation. i took the opportunity to share the message that i see healing taking place and more people waking up to love. when i came out on this trip i felt like part o the purpose was to spread this message.
the atmosphere of the temporary village we created was very productive and pleasant. music could be heard much of the time. i contributed to this by practicing mbira near the central fire sometimes, or around other camp fires in the evenings. one day a band came and put on a square dance with us! i jumped right on that and danced with some beautiful girls.
the night after 'mask night' there was a storytelling circle in one of the tipis. i got to learn from some great storytellers and told a travel story from my time in sicily in 2007. mostly i learned that i have a lot more to learn about storytelling.
while i was in that circle there was a pit roast being cooked in the central fire pit. it was taken out just a little while before i got back to the fire, and i got to pick at what was left after the initial feasting. there was a layer of greens that had soaked up a lot of the juices of the meat, which was wild boar and quail. this is the kind of food i was wishing for! the processed and industrially produced food we ate at breakfast and dinner lack the spirit of the ways practiced at winter count.
this same night i stayed around the fire to share in music. later on mead was passed around and we became very very happy. musical collaboration continued, largely improvised, and we stayed up almost 'til dawn. this was one of the most groovy, harmonious jam sessions i have ever been a part of. the love was really flowing.
since the tent i had been sharing with jana had left with her, i decided i would be sleeping by the central fire pit where it was a little warmer. i only got about an hour of sleep that night before the first people were up and about preparing for the next day.
one of the last events of the gathering was a little barter fair which gave everyone the opportunity to sell or trade things. this is when i traded the mask i had made for the t-shirt. i traded some dried apple and tomatoes for a metal awl. i got some seaweed from one man, which i chose to pay for with cash to his dismay. it would have been better if i had gotten creative and offered something as barter. i actually did offer a red cape i had found on the highway. for their kid. but the wife said their little girl only likes pink. anyway i was very grateful to get some wakame and sea palm that this man had harvested himself. other folks i talked to just wanted to give things away, which really shows the wealth of this tribe.
the next day i traded the mora knife i had earned for dried seaweed from another guy who had brought some. he had dulce and a kind of bladder seaweed that was super tasty. i had run out of bullwhip kelp from home quite a while ago, so this was perfect providence.
No comments:
Post a Comment