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The flyer
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The flyer |
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Ixtab Member
since 1999-06-23
Posts 105MEXICAlpan de las tunas |
The ceremony was ready to commence. The priests and participants, all having participated in a 40 day fast previous to the event where only seconds away from begining the dance in honor of Quihuicolo (god of the mountains. The tree had already been selected and cleared of branches and leaves; now only a long wooden pole with wooven ropes tied to it's top where a square rotating plataform had been placed remained. The proper offerings had also been placed, now all awaited for the caporal (chief) to begin the dance. He was a beautifull human being, past 70 yet strong as a mule and wise as profound is the sea, He wore his ceremonial garmets proudly. He loved this rite for in his heart it brought balance to the universe. He, as the Totonaca cosmology indicated, had a privileged position as a human in this world, it was of course a privilege not exempt of dutys. One was to act as mediator between the higher energies, and the lower ones; that was the siginificance of this rite, to pass on the light to those who couldn't access it first hand. Yet , even in his faith and love of tradition there was a little worm in his soul that had taken much sleep from him. He had seen the arrival of doom in his dreams. The form of doom wasn't important, it was the feeling that was unexplainably vivid, as if new times where heading forth , new winds to sweep away his land and it´s knowledge, to be substituted by barbarism and worst of all ignorance of the place humanity has in the cosmic dance. As he skilfully ascended through a rope to the top of the naked tree, he coulnd´s avoid losing all feeling of fatality and asuming his role as the cosmic dancer the he was. Once on the top of the pole he extende took a deep breath, stood up, and respectfully addresed the four cardinal points for permission. Once the winds had calmed he started dancing, playing a small crafted flute with one hand and playing a drum attached to his belt, with the other. The sun ascended , and when it reached it's cenit the four "flyers", ascended trough the ropes to meet their leader. The sat in the plataform and in sepulcral silence each tied with infinite patience the rope they had ascended through to their own heels while wooving it to the top of the rotating plataform. When the timing was right they let go, and four flyers slowly descended, in circles, head first to the earth they had sprung from. In the meantime the caporal had not ceased to play his instruments and dance in the narrow space he had atop the pole. The sun filled his skin, the wind played with his balance, the sea , some 50 meters away, was calm and soothed his dance. He saw his men slowly descend in circles, he felt the significance of movement, for without it nothing would exist, nothing would die and hence nothing would be born. He felt that strange feeling of doom again for one second, as his eye caught a glimpse of a strange , huge thing looming in the horizon. His feeling became instantly a certainty, yet the dance had to be ended and he regained his composure as instantly as he had lost it. As he descende trough the rope of what he thought had been the best performer in the rite, he heard the screams coming from his town, he smelled the fear gestating in the enviornment, he tasted the adrenalin in his own blood stream. Movement, it's inevitable, he thought as he stoiclly set foot on the earth that saw him dance to the cosmos. |
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Dusk Treader
Moderator
Senior Member
since 1999-06-18
Posts 1187St. Paul, MN |
Interesting story, some spelling errors and kind of grabled sentences, but otherwise great writing. Hmm.. My take on this is that it's a Native American (or African) and settlers are coming to their world while the Caporal performs the rite. Just my take. Good writing, hope to see more!  In flames I shall not be consumed, but reborn. |
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Ixtab Member
since 1999-06-23
Posts 105MEXICAlpan de las tunas |
thanks for the reply. your take was right,the Totonacas are an ethnic group that lived (and some still do) in the state of Veracruz in Mexico. The rite I tried to describe (not very succesfully im afraid) is now called "voladores de Papantla" or "Papantla flyers". Im sorry for the spelling and syntax mistakes but english isn't the language i usually write in. Ive read some of your stuff and i find you (as almost everyone around here) very talented. unfortunatelly my situation is such that i have a very limited access to a computer so i usually cant reply very often. one last detail, the arrivers weren't exactly settlers, more like conquerers other than that you hit right on the spot. |
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Christopher
Moderator
Member Rara Avis
since 1999-08-02
Posts 8296Purgatorial Incarceration |
Interesting story indeed. It is always interesting, (to me) to get a veiw of what differences there are in various cultures. This particular rite as is seems important is portrayed just fine, despite errors! [This message has been edited by Christopher (edited 12-23-1999).] |
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