Forever

It was almost magic to me, the way that so many of them could just breeze through it all without a care in the world.  No consequences when there is always a safety net any and every time you need it.  I take solace knowing this type of life is its own punishment, forever damned to an inability to find joy in life's fleeting moments, forever looking for something we can never have, forever telling themselves what they can't have is the only thing worth striving for, forever spinning into a never ending journey that won't be enjoyed.

"Fate, the saviors of fools, little children and the ship named Enterprise"
- Commander William T. Riker, posted in reference to blog title.

Preliminary Research Notes on Voodou, for currently untitled Murrayesque Hubris project

Some preliminary notes for my preliminary research:
- First, I just want to confirm your suspicions, I do not claim an authority on Haitian Voodou, and I in no way want this to come off as any sort of authorial source on this most-intriguing particular of Afro-Carribian culture as a whole.  I find this culture to be the most- intriguing of all the Afro-Carribian cultures because of it's deep connection with not just the religion I grew up with, Catholic-Christianity, but also the facts surround it's deep connection with it's African roots, a connection that is deeper than any other island or country in the Carribian due to Haiti's revolution and subsequent independence of most Western ties during it's development as a country.  During this period of independence, elders who were raised on the African mainland, were able to infuse Haitian culture with their African roots.


- Second, I am writing this because I have noticed a dramatic increase in readership searching my blog from google, and I am hoping to get outside information if anyone notices any misconceptions that are inherent within my research.  Please keep in mind though, I am just looking for coherence in my research, not your opinions.  There are many different versions of Voodou, and I am not looking for anything more than coherence within the system I will use.


- Third, I am going to put in brackets personal notes for myself that are largely related to character and narrative.  Please largely disregard these aspects. Now, with further ado, onto the research...

"Les invisibles peuvent être faites le visible par les humains sur la grande scène de la vie." - [FINAL WORDS FROM HOUNGAN(Priest)] 

Translation - "The Invisible powers can be made visible acts by humans on the great stage of life"

Sevis - The ceremony in which a trance occurs.  Here, the visible and invisible interact with intimacy.  Persons involved in the ceremony become inhabbited by Iwa.

Iwa - Spiritual beings that act as mediums between humanity and Bondyè.  They are correlated with many of the saints.

Bondyè - The highest deity in Voodou, largely uninterested in the affairs of man, despite being's its Pangian creator. 

[The houngan in the script left Haiti during the great earthquake due to genocide being committed on houngan's out of superstition and a lack of understanding on the part of the perpetrators.  Possibly has spent some time in New Orleans learning Hoodoo].

Houngan - Voodou preist(ess)

"Run from a naked man offering you a piece of cloth" - Haitian Voodoo saying.

Six commonalities among Afro-Carribian culture/belief/myth-structures.

1. Spirituality and healing are synonymous. [Houngan will tell Jon something to this effect, that the effects of the medicine/spell/curse are all in his own viewing of it].
2. Individual person is defined by the web of connections that includes family/ancestors/spirits/saints.  A strong reason for the importance of this connection with ancestors has to do with the Haitian renaissance after the revolution at the end of the 18th century, and rediscovery of their old culture, IMO. [Jon is not a true person in the eyes of many Voodou initiates, due to his willfully treating his family like shit].
3. Healing takes place by healing these connections with family/ancestors/spirits/saints.
4. Connection between root problems and the symptoms are never necessary.  Angering Iwa is always a possibility.
5. Harmful emotional states that cause disruption in relationships are explained in non-rational, non-verbal ways, just as those who are often exhibiting these harmful emotions which disrupt are often irrational.  A methodology might seem irrational, in that it is not directly connected with anything physical, and is more often than not, a psychological medicine. [Jon will be given a small jar by Houngan. Inside the jar will be a small amount of sugar syrup and a lone cube of ice. with a small sheet of paper containing his name]. He is instructed to say an Our Father and Hail Mary with the jar in his hands three times a day, and attend mass once a day as well.
6. Focus on affairs Western Medicine isn't concerned with like love affairs and family.  In areas of rural Haiti, the hounran still handles physical matters as well though.

"Moun f'et pou mouri" - People are born to die.

"Death is a departure of nom" 

Nom - Lifeforce.  Nom consisters of two main guardian angels, a greater and a lesser.

Gwo Bonanj - Greater guardian angel.  Unlike Nom, it can exit outside the body.  If it has to leave his body, especially during a ritual, there is a greater problem inside the practitioner.  It suggests that the Gwo Bonanj  is angered with the body it inhabits., and is robbing him/her of sleep and sanity, and probably his dreams as well.

Ti Bonanj - Lesser Angel.  This one gives you will to forge on against adversity.  [Jon must confront this aspect of himself in order to solve the problem of the narrative dealing with his family].

Houngan will have a small rattle, which he uses to change the rhythm in the music being played by the Others.  This will also summon Iwa to inhabit the bodies of the Others with him.  The floor will be covered in beads and snake vertebrae.

Iwa take on characteristics of the person, and many times these characteristics allow the person inhabiting it to discover more about themselves.


[At the end of the initial scene, the Priest will draw a crucifix in flower in front of Jon]
Crucifix symbolizes the crossroads [where Jon is in his life]


Most of information comes from: http://themiltondoddreaders.weebly.com/uploads/1/0/8/1/10819822/vodou_in_haitian_life_and_culture__invisible_powers.pdf


Watch, Rewatch, Watch Again Throughout Process - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2YIO_dxyJio

Even though most of this weekend was spent reading secondary sources on German aesthetic tradition or preparing aspects of my new film, I still managed to get out Saturday night and have a ton of fun with old friends I don't see enough anymore.  There seem to be more and more of these friends in my life, but I must not let myself get down over my memories of the past growing further and further away.  I need to keep my sights set on my goals, and my true telos in what I do, the progression of history and the evolution of not just my own, but human consciousness in general.  But I digress, Saturday night was excellent and just like Sol said to Max in Pi, sometimes you just need to take a bath and let your mind go....no acting like I am getting some kinda spiritual enlightenment out of it to give myself reason to do it every night, just good old fashioned purposeless fun for a night...

Even though I'm not much for drinking and partying anymore, at least on the level I used to, it still serves its purpose.  It is good to look back on photos of yourself smiling with old friends...

Second 4th of July in a row with great friends, can't ask for much more.  Hard to believe it was over a year ago now that I went to Camp Zoe for probably the last time...It was such a beautiful experience and I will cherish those memories forever...

Happy fourth of July everyone, blow some shit up for Hunter S. Thompson!