4 Regilaul, 2 Kalevala & 17 Haiku

1430h.  Stretch:  FFB-tabletop-chair-twisted FBintrikonsana-warrior2.  Repeat.
1445h.  Lip trill:  doremi-remifa-mifasol-... etc.  Vocalise:  a-e-i-o-u-E-i.  Repeat.
1500h.  Sing:  Song X.  (Repeat if necessary.)

And so it goes – Saturday Practice*, an SYC ritual created 44 years ago, performed some 20000 times since.  On special occasions, tonight for instance, ceremonial robes and mood lighting are also required.

Rituals.

Our lives are peppered with prescribed patterns and practised procedures.  Tonight we pay homage to Tormis and Schafer, both shaman-masters of the village ceremony.

Incantations using folk lore and epic rhyme, the “aboriginal” songs of Tormis have a bewitching effect.  Ritual ostinati circle each other in endless loop, going nowhere, like days-months-years of routine merging into each other.  Then somewhat abruptly, without any major hoo-hah, the singing stops.

Schafer’s onomatopoeic settings of haiku continue the sense of ritual.  Over 17 x 17 syllables, ritualistic utterances and repetitive recitations transform a day of commonplace happenings in to a series of magical moments.  All together now:  Salagadula-machikabulabibi-dibobidibu.  Repeat as necessary.

Saturday, 1 March 2008.
1945h.  Line up backstage.
1955h.  House announcement.
2000h.  Enter Stage Left

* A variation of the same can be witnessed most Wednesday evenings, starting 1930h.