‘In any creative work, be it the artist or the artisan, the creatve person unites with the material they are working with, which symbolises the world outside him/herself. The worker and the artefact become one. The human being becomes one with his creation. ‘ Erich Fromm
The word Poiein in Ancient Greek (ποιεῖν) means making. It is where the word Poetry comes from. Plato had pointed at the connection between craft-making and poetry, calling us to gaze at the rich worlds of form and meaning that come to life when we take raw material from our landscape and create with it. It is possible, when we look at a handcrafted object, to appreciate the emotion and soul life that the maker had infused in it.
Sefrou is located in the heart of the middle Atlas. Traditionally, a market town located amidst fertile farming lands, it is known for its fruit orchards, cherry festival and the large Jewish community that lived there up until the last century. Sefrou is still home to a large community of local artisans, metal smiths, woodworkers, weavers and button makers. Though the community is still thriving, few are the ones of the young generation who wish to learn these skills.
Visiting local crafts people in their workshops, we will learn about their work and daily lives as a way to get a sense of the place through the people and their working spaces. An orientation of the city from the inside out hosted by Culture Vultures, will lead us into a deeper relationship with Amazigh women who spin and weave and we will participate in a hands own textile workshop.
We will be introduced to ‘The Loom in Local Rituals’ and how women used the loom as a sacred medium for protection. On Sunday we will make a day trip to a mountain market town in the Middle Atlas where the wool comes from, to meet women who practice unbroken textile traditions in the region.
Alongside these visits our work will consist of listening to the stories that emerge from our activities, as well as engage with traditional stories from around the world to bring into clearer focus the role of craft-making in the life of the Soul. On our last day we will share these stories in a storytelling evening (no previous experience necessary). Daily shamanic practices will help us access ancestral knowledge and seek healing for modern day’s rupture between skill and community, craft and Time.
Praxis Mundi
A collaborative psycho-magical act of healing and
metaphoric redistribution of power along the 0º Meridian
Jane Glenzinska & Karmit Evenzur
Praxis Mundi
A collaborative psycho-magical act of healing and
metaphoric redistribution of power along the 0º Meridian
Jane Glenzinska & Karmit Evenzur
Praxis Mundi
A collaborative psycho-magical act of healing and
metaphoric redistribution of power along the 0º Meridian
Jane Glenzinska & Karmit Evenzur
KARMIT EVEN-ZUR
Anteus
Ritual storytelling for decolonising ancient narratives
We find the myth of the wrestling match between Anteus (Ante) the giant and the Greek hero Heracles at the meeting point of the Amazigh and the Hellenic cultures, back in the days of the Greek expansion into Western Africa in the 5th century BC. It came to represent the Hellenic colonisation of ‘Lybia’/North Africa in Greek as well as Amazigh mythology.
Heracles takes away the power of Ante by separating him from the ground, knowing that Ante's mother, Gaia is the source of his potent life-force. We find at the base of every colonial endeavour, a process of intentionally separating people from the land, from their source of belonging and power.
This installation and ritual performance for decolonising ancient narratives seeks to re-code the myth, reconnecting the giant again with a maternal underground, magnetic, serpentine energy. As we open our minds to occult topographies of M’zora stone circle, we may imagine the being of Ante as the surface expression of the earth’s underground lithic consciousness. We tell his story backwards, weaving in other mythical characters from the area who give their assistance in pulling the giant back down to touch his mother's body.
Ritual Performance, in collaboration with Aziz Amrani
Still from video by Outman Akjeje
Ritual Performance, in collaboration with Aziz Amrani
... Legend has it that Anteus stood at a towering height of thirty meters, a giant. A true titan in stature.
Folklore whispers that his lineage was divine, born from the union of the mighty Sea god and the nurturing Earth herself.
His lover was Tingis and with her he gave life to two daughters.
Any wanderer passing through was compelled into a grueling wrestling match with him. A trial where defeat was met with demise. From the human skulls he collected in this grim contest, he fashioned an awe-inspiring temple, a monument to his father. A most magnificent temple, resounding the human folly of empty heads stacked one on top of another in Poseidon’s great hall. No one was stronger than Anteus, and the skulls mounted higher and higher.
It was his mother, the earth, who kept him strong. Her throbbing magnetism pulsed through her son’s veins as long as he kept in close contact with her. But one day, they say, a great hero came. A man of flesh and bones. He unraveled the enigma of Anteus's potency and in a web of deceit, subdued the invincible giant. Thus, the reign of Anteus came to an end....
This work is made in conjunction with the M'zora stone circle, and is told to anyone who wants to hear the story. Contact me to book a telling.