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I. Community Greiving Ceremony
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Building the Grief Shrine with Maria Owl
I. COMMUNITY GRIEVING CEREMONY
Everyone feels grief, but not everyone has been supported in understanding its true purpose and power. In our modern Western culture grief has gotten a bad rap. Many of us were raised to swallow our tears, or we were told that it's weak to have grief, or that we're too emotional. When we suppress this natural function within us, we create energy blocks which in turn create health imbalances. Emotions are energy in motion. They are supposed to move and flow through us like a river. It is an internal human balancing mechanism; a renewing and cleansing process.
We may have ideas that if we open the floodgates we'll never stop crying. Or we may feel overwhelmed by the amount of grief we have and fear it will take over our lives if we give in to it just a little bit. Those people who regularly honor their tears will tell you, emotions are likes waves in the sea. When we give them permission to flow, they will rise and fall, rise and fall and then naturally subside, leaving us with a sense of having showered, but on the inside.
Community grief rituals support us in accessing our sometimes hard to reach emotions. They give us a focus (the grief altar) and a container (skilled facilitators) within which to safely relax our hearts. They also validate us in whatever we're feeling, whether it's personal or global, grief, anger or numbness.
There is a reason why grief exists and if we allow these waters to flow inside of us, we will learn a great deal about rejuvenation, emotional intelligence, forgiveness, compassion and peace.
Where is the grieving ceremony from and what happens?
Its origins are from Dagara Tribe in west africa. This ritual has arrived to the west through Meladome Some and Sobon Fu some.
The Ritual entails building three centres (shrines) - Gratitude, Ancestral shrine, Grief Shrine. In the ceremony itself we sing, dance and drum - these elements are key to this ritual and hold its container.
Requirements: A closed contained space. A space in nature to bury the tissues that are used after the ritual itself, to be with an assistant facilitator that knows that community that this ritual is touching. (contact for more information)
Who does it suit:
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Communities that are already in a process together in which they can continue processing what they met together.
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People that are aware of their pain and wish to go deeper in cleansing
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People from the same village which are processing a particular topic together
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Activists
Minimum people: 20
Maximum people: 70
What people bring:
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Flowers
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Photos of Ancestors
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Altar item for the Joy-Gratitude shrine
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Fabric to decorate altars: Black, Blue, Red, Yellow, White, Green
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Wear: Comfortable layered clothing
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Water bottle
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Thermos Mug with lid
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Warm hat, socks, scarf
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Journal w/pen
Minimum time needed for this ceremony :
9 hours (full day into night)
Contact me for more information.
"Grief is felt every time something contradicts our sense of humanity, separating us from our sense of identity; it is a dramatic event creating a crisis of the soul requiring reconciliation.'
- Malidoma Some
“There’s an important distinction between the word ‘cure’ and the word ‘heal.’ In contemporary language, cure means to eradicate an illness or wound. But heal comes from the root ‘to make whole.’ While some grief can not and should never be cured, it can be invited and allowed into one’s way of being in the world."
- Toko Pa
II. Grief and Praise Ritual
GRIEF AND PRAISE RITUAL
Drawing on community grieving ceremony from the Dagara tribe in West-Africa this ceremony was originally reimagined to suit the needs of the IsraelPalestine context for more intimate group engagements. It involves nature walks, creating our own creative safe space for the grief and the praise in a groups of three and learning the art of supporting and being supported with these deep anchored emotions around grief in our lives.
Minimum time needed: 6 hours
Minimum amount of people : 8
Maximum amount : 30
Artwork by Irene Hardwicke Olivieri
Artwork Irene Hardwicke Olivieri
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