This week, I came across the work of John Trudell ( 1946 - 2015) who was a Santee Dakota activist, artist, actor, and poet who dedicated his life to indigenous human rights, land and language. Trudell writes:
"All human beings are descendents of tribal people who were spiritually alive, intimately in love with the natural world, children of Mother Earth. When we were tribal people, we knew who we were, we knew where we were, and we knew our puprose. This sacred perception of reality remains alive and well in our genetic memory.
We carry it inside of us, usually a dusty box in the mind's attic, but it is accessible."
Trudells' words connected with a very deep part within myself, and sent echoes back through my body and into a place of NoTime. It is the place that reverberates back and forth, constantly reminding me of memories that remain hidden, yet are nevertheless, present. Some of these memories are condemned by societies and movements, yet they are my truth. I have remained silent about them, but am no longer able to. I think that this honouring (of truth) directly connects to my Artist-In-Residence (AIR) research at the University of Johannesburg (UJ) where I am exploring Mycelium, interconnectedness and healing through artistic practice with my collaborator, Kagiso Kekana.
The research is taking me on a personal journey of growth and healing as I connect with various Indigenous, traditional African and non-Indigenous healers across our complex South African cultural landscape. Having recently interviewed the San vibrational sound healer known as Q7 Beckett, "Q" introduced me to understanding Mycelium as an Ancestral connection ... as 'Spiritual Mycelium': that which connects across generations, across cultures, across time, across reasoning, yet connects to a spiritual 'knowing'.
I am humbled in this exploratory research process, much in the same way that Mycelium humbled me during my 2022 Bodhi Khaya Artist Residency As a living, sentient process, Mycelium knew well what needed to happen in order for me to abandon Western thinking, egoistic endeavours and pre-thought idea.
And, as I continue along this journey, I will share with you as I listen, and learn, from Knowledge Keepers.
