This is so beautiful I'm on the edge of tears. That photo of the Mongolian shaman.....I had a psychedelically enhanced experience many years ago looking at an old photo like this. I don't know if the man was a shaman, but I do know he was from Papua New Guinea. The conversation we had did not take place in words, but for a while I could see through his eyes and understand what it was like to live in an animist world. I also understood that a camera really can take a piece of someone's soul, as so many native peoples believed when they first came in contact with them. Maybe they still do. Yet, I'm glad for these photos, because they help keep the memory alive of what it's like to live in a whole world. Your experience living on the mountain reminds me so much of the years I lived on Block Island year round. I had no knowledge of animism or mythopoetics. I just spent all my time outdoors and the creatures of the land and sea showed me they were alive because I showed up in my ignorance and innocence over and over. I'm so glad to have you as a sister in this world, Leah.
This is so beautiful I'm on the edge of tears. That photo of the Mongolian shaman.....I had a psychedelically enhanced experience many years ago looking at an old photo like this. I don't know if the man was a shaman, but I do know he was from Papua New Guinea. The conversation we had did not take place in words, but for a while I could see through his eyes and understand what it was like to live in an animist world. I also understood that a camera really can take a piece of someone's soul, as so many native peoples believed when they first came in contact with them. Maybe they still do. Yet, I'm glad for these photos, because they help keep the memory alive of what it's like to live in a whole world. Your experience living on the mountain reminds me so much of the years I lived on Block Island year round. I had no knowledge of animism or mythopoetics. I just spent all my time outdoors and the creatures of the land and sea showed me they were alive because I showed up in my ignorance and innocence over and over. I'm so glad to have you as a sister in this world, Leah.
Beautiful writing & thoughts. I love the notion of cultivating cultural baskets…