Photo by Niyaz Bakılı
Traditions are often the foundations for old cultures. If you are in the culture it is ordinary, but if you are outside of the culture, it can be amazing to see, hear and experience. For many of us, we are like orphans living in a society that tries to make culture for us with no real roots. By exploring other cultures with deep roots, we might rediscover our own forgotten cultures of our ancestors and thus we could attempt to recreate a real culture out of the ashes of the past.
We will also look at beautiful attempts at making culture in more modern times. Sharing in the joy and fun of being together as a people, tribes, community or nations has so many beautiful ways of manifesting. So lets explore all this together.
Here are some examples of what you might find in The Amber Spirit:
Dogon people performing their ritual dance (male version). Shot in January 2012, during the travel through Mali, after visiting the Festival in the Desert.
The 6th National Tambourine Playing Festival has been organized by provincial office of Ministry of Culture in Kurdistan province, to which diverse groups from across the country contribute. The present edition has been called ‘Tambourine, Call of Blessing. In this ceremony 1000 Tambourines are played in one place.
In Oberstdorf, an old village in Southern Bavaria, a unique ancient pagan tradition is still alive – the dance of the wild men (Wilde-Mändle-Tanz), which is held only in this small town, once in five years.
Wilde-Mändle-Tanz is dedicated to the Germanic god Thor, and involves 13 men, all of whom belong to old local families who have been living in that region for centuries. The men’s costumes are made of moss, which grows only in the Allgäu Alps. – Learn More
They dance to rhythmic drum music, building a pyramid, and at the end they drink mead from their wooden mugs, singing a ritual song.
Felt shoe making class in Boulder Colorado in Mongolian style. The Amber Spirit will share such classes and events from around the country.
