SCOTLAND

The significant impact of the last two years can be felt through our entire community. Our usually vibrant group of families and friends have been challenged in ways that every diasporic community has, and in facing these new challenges we have fought hard to keep creating. Isolation, loss, impending climate crisis; In the expressive arts we have found ways to grapple with these concepts.

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With the conference of the birds we look to tie the valleys traversed by the birds to the very emotions and moods we have faced day to day. Each valley corresponds thematically to a time of day; the introspection of a community in crisis, expressed musically through the lens of a musician in isolation.

The journey begins…

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The Hoopoe in the Sufi poem said:

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“One who enters here will be filled with such longing that they will give themself up completely to the quest symbolized by this valley. Then they will no longer fear the dragons….When the door is opened and they enter, then dogma, belief and unbelief—all cease to exist.”

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And our Anishnawbe elder and Guiding Bird, Duke Redbird, challenged us to consider the difference between Western hierarchies, and indigenous hierarchies that honoured Mother Earth and our co-existence.

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Our birds were asked:

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“What beliefs or dogmas shape or impact you? What superpowers do you possess to take this journey?”

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The day commences, as the birds do, led by hope and fervour. The marching rhythm of a city; the driving sound of a street crossing; the familiar sound of street chatter that had become so distant at the peak of the pandemic. The presence of birdsong is a brief moment to reflect, before we are pushed along on to the next moment. The birds remain with the listeners as we move through the morning rush, our goals align whether we are aware of it or not.

 

*Track composed and performed by Rasheeq Syed

 

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In this Valley of Love, journeying birds were asked to consider how love manifested in their communities and to share a ritual that expresses love and teach it to another – after considering:

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“If you look at things with the eye of ordinary reason you will never understand how necessary- it is to love.”– Attar, Conference of the Birds

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“And from strength will come power

The power to Love

And of Love

Humanity shall acquire reconciliation…through the power of Love.” – Duke Redbird

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Duke’s is particularly timely/topical as Canada just announced new calls-to-action on Sept.30, Canada’s national day for Truth and Reconciliation.

And I believe our project asks us to reconcile our practices, with the planet and others…

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The pursuit of love can shine differing lights on differing souls. In traversing the valley of love the birds are faced with the truth that love cannot be reasoned with; leaning on the motion of a traditional clave rhythm, we search within ourselves for a love deeper than romance, at an unlikely time of day: The midmorning lull.

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At this time what is love but a burning desire to find inspiration? Or perhaps progress? In the depths of isolation the mid morning is often the time of day we find ourselves reckoning with our own truths, with our faith. As the world’s lust for economic progress pushes the planet further into the embers, we join our Chilean feathered compatriots in asking “como es el amor?”

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In this Valley of Detachment, the Hoopoe tells us:

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“Then comes the valley where there is neither the desire to possess nor the wish to discover…Even when the blood of your heart shall fill the ocean, you will only be able to make the first stage. No traveller has seen the limit of this journey.”

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Our Guiding Bird Duke Redbird shares wisdom through his poetry around loss and reflection.

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We in turn asked the birds:

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“What losses and dramatic changes have you and your community experienced that have detached you from a sense of belonging, a sense of agency, a sense of being in control? What do you see in the mirror and what is the true inner reflection of you as a person or your community as a force? How can you write the change you believe in for your community, for this planet?”

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In this valley the Hoopoe tells us:

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“I and you are no longer relevant as we are one with everything” – Attar

 

Duke tells us that the Dish with One Spoon philosophy is unity itself:

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The “dish” represents the land that is to be shared peacefully and the “spoon” represents the individuals living on and using the resources of the land in a spirit of mutual co-operation

And from his poem The Dance:

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“My voice and my heart, if they live, I live...” – Duke Redbird

 

With this wisdom and guidance in mind, we asked the birds:

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What do you see that has atomized/broken apart in your community or the world? How do we bring it back together?

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We tasked the artists to create something that symbolizes unifying.

 

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In the Valley of Wonderment the Hoopoe tells us:

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“Man lives in a dream …do not do as you have always done, be astonished and bewildered.”

 

and Duke reminds us that artists must chronicle their times, as from his poem, Daphne Odjig:

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“The people drew their legacy in colours and in line

The memory of ten thousand years eternally enshrined”

 

As artists are masters of wondering, we invited all birds to:

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“Wander and wonder, then create an act of wanton wonder.”

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In the Valley of Wonderment we shared with each other something we cherished.

 

Each of us sent another participant a voice message telling them one thing that amazed us: an experience, a being, a phrase, some poetry, a particular moment in our life. We wanted to discover wonderment in anything and everything. We wanted to share a gift.

Here is the result of those eight experiences.

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