User:Bnstlv/specialissue-20

01 Kick-off: Candles Tarot Joysticks

Pad: Intro to the SI20
We had a brief intro session where we talked about our relationship to (video) games and rituals. Shared memories and thoughts about those two things. I remembered some of the rituals performed in Bulgaria (it is common in Greece too):

One is called Nestinarstvo, traditional barefoot fire-walking ritual:Visual documentatrion

And the other I recalled is Kukeri, elaborately costumed men (masks, clothes, bells, etc.), who perform traditional rituals intended to scare away evil spirits. Visual documentation

Next, in pairs of two, we read, annotated and later discussed a chapter from "The Bare Facts of Ritual" about elements of rituals described which we thought were particularly insightful.

The author talked about rituals and bears (bare <-> bear) and again recalled a memory from my childhood where there were (usually) Roma people walking around towns and villages with a chained brown bear, or as they called them "Dancing Bears". Basically, once the bears learn to obey, the next step is to teach them to "dance". Then, the Roma person (aka gypsy master) would play music on the gadulka or another traditional instrument. In case you're interested, watch this video.

Steve suggested watching "White Noise" (movie on Netflix) which I'm going to do tonight.

 
ONE SENTENCE RITUAL TASK: Every week to write down a ritual. Next, one of the rituals from the list will be performed or assigned to a person. Make them thematic, reflecting the content of the week.