What We Faeries Learned About Ritual From The Dance For All People: ‘Structure Is Not a Dirty Word Any More’ by Kwai Lam
The Dance for All People, aka Naraya, has been danced at Wolf Creek since 1999. I’ve danced since 2000, as have a number of other Faeries. When invited to look at the question faery/naraya, long time faery Wolfie/Fang/Little Green Muffin, myself and Clyde Hall, the initiator of this Naraya and dance chief had a little chat. Here are the juicy bits. Whoa, Structure? Nooo...but. For myself and many others the Naraya is by far the most structured ritual we take part in. So much more structured than Faerie rituals. As many of us walk paths outside of, around and oft forbidden by the structures we grew up with this can be an interesting journey and quite an education. I’ve done Radical Faery rituals for nigh of forty years. We can and often do raise a lot of power. But then what? So bear with us while we humbly offer some possibilities: Imagine a Gathering where everyone present is there to participate fully in the ritual from beginning to end. Imagine a gathering where it’s all about ritual. The ritual lasts for three to four days. Imagine that each person arrives with clear intent, what they want to celebrate/move/ release with the ritual. Imagine that each person prays for themselves and supports each other in their prayer. Imagine that setting the ritual circle and altars is done with the care and patience of baking a scratch cake, the process taking five hours or so. Imagine singing songs that have been sung for hundreds to thousands of years. Imagine feeling the previous circles of people who have sung a song in times past. Imagine signing each song till “it’s done;” which might be twenty minutes or might be two hours. Imagine elders watching over the circle, seen and unseen. Imagine ‘first timers’ welcomed in with special
care and delight. And each chooses a ‘buddy’. Imagine people caring for those ‘out of their mind’ in spirit. Keeping them safe. Helping them home. Imagine a group gathering in one heart. Imagine elders who bring decades of experience, rooted in their traditions, to leading this ceremony. Listening, listening, always listening to what spirit has to say. If you can imagine this, then you can imagine some of the Naraya structure. The Naraya is open and welcoming to everyone: that is a key part of Clyde Hall’s vision. We come together from many places and in many colors: we are “guests in Clyde’s house.” Clyde graciously shares ancient songs and other parts of northern great basin native traditions with us. We are asked to behave, as good guests do, with respect to the rules of the house. The house and its rules have evolved over the course of three decades. Always with reason, always to keep people safe and make the ceremony stronger. The songs that we sing—are ancient, most of them, are songs of the great basin tribal people and some from the Tribes of the Great Plains. They are ancient and sung with permission, respect and joy. Lesson One: structure can help focus and direct magic. (And this structure starts with intent, even before people ‘arrive’ to the ritual, and after they ‘leave’). Lesson Two: structure can and should be dedicated to keeping the ceremony and its participants safe. Lesson Three: incorporate a place for “the will of spirit” in your structure. Lesson four: structure can respect the different paths that participants walk, while still creating a cohesive whole. Lesson five: when you raise power, use it! Lesson five: when done, close the structure and invite guests to leave. Lesson one is pretty old hat, but easy to unRFD 180 Winter 2019 21
