The Baby and the Shaman (Traces - 04/2021)

I looked into Nature, into the void. Into the Unknown. It is a rabbit hole, filled with the macaroni on the walls, like the caves of the ancients, and their marks that they made. The story of the Baby and the Shaman is an ancient one, of archetypes of consciousness. Of entities connecting across the void. Of finding place and purpose, in the many layers of organisation of nature. Nature well connected, talking and listening to themselves. Here I am! Come to my tree!

Through playing I can connect to my Deep Self, an archetype, always waiting for me to come home, and tell them about my day. Did you have a good day? Was it worth it? In the story of the Baby and the Shaman, the baby is the freshest consciousness closest to the archetype of the Deep Self. The baby comes to show us the way. As we get older, Grow, and become "Wiser", we forget the deep self of play. The shaman at the fire knows why the baby has come. Every baby has wisdom, and it is an opportunity to learn from them before they forget from whence they came.

Text on video

It is many years ago, in the dim dark past. In Spain, in the cave the baby has woken up, and crawls towards the fire, the old shaman is sitting waiting for the baby to arrive. That is the job of the shaman to translate for the baby, the baby says: [hands] I have had a dream, I have dreamed of all of the things, the baby demonstrates waving its hands at the fire, yes, says the shaman, What was that like for you? The baby waves its hands, sings its song of contentment, da da da, ma ma ma, the shaman sings along, they harmonise, they weave in and out, the shaman sings their power song, the song of contentment for their own inner child, for if it works for the baby, it has to work for the shaman too. The baby pulls at the shaman's clothes, the shaman says: I was not born with these clothes, but they are useful, the baby pats at the shaman's hands, and their hands they dance in the firelight, pushing back and forth, the baby pulls the shaman's hair, and the shaman said: I was not born with this hair, it is the gift of living, you will have hair too one day,

[threads]

Hair is a mystery; it reminds me of the fibres that wave about in the universe connecting me to all that there is, my foundation back to eternity,

[hands]

The shaman makes shadows on the wall of the cave and the baby follows, watching the shadows on the wall, do you remember asks the shaman when you were in the womb? the baby waves their hands around in the firelight flickering, and laughs out loud, this is a fun game! They play with the shadows, flickering firelight dancing, the bond that is formed,

[baby and shaman]

The baby tuning the shaman, the shaman responds, it was the story of the tribe, there is the aspect of performance, of cuing the audience to be able to go into the story of sadness and loss, Where do babies come from? They come from Between, it is a place of Playing, to hear the sounds, and to be able to make up one's own story, the audience participates, and makes up its own meaning from the gift, the offering, it is only what the viewer makes up in their own mind. Here’s a story, to evoke sadness and loss, and regeneration through playing, for that is the eternal story, the story of the baby and the shaman.