1) Dancing is too important to leave to the young so get together with a group of other people. Gift a partner with creativity by painting their faces with creative symbols. Put on the drumming music and dance a tribal dance that celebrates creativity.

2) If you cannot find a group of like-minded spirits paint your face, put the drumming music up loud and dance a tribal dance.

3) Find a ring of trees in a wood and dance a tribal dance.

4) Write how you feel as you dance, or simply watch others dance.

by Edwina Peterson Cross

Tribal Daughters Dancing
Fires burning brightly,
smoke drifting upward
lacing through the branches

to the throbbing sound of drums.

My memories merely shadows
in the halls of time,
remembered only in my genes,
of tribal daughters dancing
beneath Moon's ivory light.

My glistening body movesshoulders, breasts, and thighs
in the flickering firelight,
rim lit with Moon's seductive power.

This night
as I sit here in my chair
with embers in the fireplace glowing
but smoke no longer rising,
I think of them though their faces are but shadows
dimmed by centuries passing.
Still, far away through time and space
I still hear the whispering
as the dancers slowly leave.

What of me, crone that I am?
Alone, but not alone
for they are with me still,
those Tribal Dancers of the Moon.
So come gather you around me,
fan the flames
for I have stories to be told
memories to be shared
of those long forgotten

Tribal Daughters Dancing.

Vi, January 30, 2004

Well, since I don't live near a secluded wooded area, which is a shame, really--and our parks here don't count--I can't make use of a white flowing dress for a tribal dance, even if I had one, and I ain't going naked. I'm too inhibited in that regard. And since I really don't have any "like-minded spirits" around here who would see a midnight tribal dance as a wonderful experience and a chance to honor and bond with our ancient ancestors, it's a moot activity. Besides that, there's the fact I'm in a wheelchair. So no dancing for me. At least, not in the traditional sense.

And no face painting. I have none. So, that leaves writing, my forte. *smiles* I've added the above painting and poem for atmosphere and inspiration. Both are primal and evoke images of a time long ago, before rock 'n' roll, before the World Wars, before knights in shining armor, before written records to when oral tradition reigned. To when Nature was the ultimate force, or power, people answered to.

I don't have any tribal music with drums either, so that's another strike against the first three activities, making them definitely moot. *shrugs with a �e la vie attitude* What I do have, however, are CDs of Celtic music, featuring flutes, violins (or fiddles) and the haunting sounds of bagpipes. There's nothing so powerful, or nearly as ethereal, as the soulful strains of the bagpipes. I can't begin to describe or do their mastery over human emotions justice. All I can attempt to do is explain how I feel when I hear that Celtic instrument.

Anytime I hear the bagpipes I'm transported immediately to another time and place. To Caledonia or Eire, when Highland and Lowland tribes or clans ruled and warred, though I've never been to either place. In my mind I see a band of proud Celtic warriors, poised for war on a battlefield; I see a proud, jubliant people dancing, celebrating life, triumphant in their irrepressible spirit against the oppression they once suffered. My soul and every Celtic fiber I possess thrills to the ghostly notes of the bagpipes, and as long as the music lasts, there is a bond between my ancient forefathers and me.

The music is primal, reviving long-lost experiences or memories buried deep in your genes, as the poem above goes, memories passed on by your ancestors--my ancestors--to their children through the centuries. It unites, for a time, the past, present and future. Celtic music is rooted in the past and thus reminds the Celts now of their ancient, proud heritage. Celts today continue to hold onto the past yet look forward to tomorrow. Their children are their future and a way to have immortality. They are taught the history, the myths, the legends and dances of their fathers. They will keep the traditions alive. Now, always and forever.

This is how I feel when I put on the "tribal" music of my people.

moon phase