Sunday, 1 July 2018

Lost Cultures

People from the north physically connect with the ancient cycles of the seasons and the meaning of each passing Moon and Earth cycles, even the equinoxes hold meaning. Here in the South as a northern human it's easy to get in touch with Earth energy, feel the passing of the seasons and the power that each one brings. We do not know the words and rituals and the season work round in the opposite way. Christmas is in June and and Summer Solstice is in December and it's obvious that the intentions of those European festivals are out of sync with the seasons. What we are trying to find is the flip side. Are there the same rituals here as there are in Europe, playing out differently or are they totally different festivals with very different means that relate to Southern African landscape, mythologies.  Are there any openly celebrated Southern African festivals? It's sad to think that in less than a couple of hundred years ancient cultures and traditions can be all but obliterated. Even now ancient African wisdom is discarded as irrelevant. Sangomas are often considered to be charlatans, taking advantage of poorly educated communities.

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