Influences

The show is rooted in Dagara cosmology. This ethnic group that resides in Burkina Faso/Ghana, West Africa have a worldview that offers clear alternatives to extractive capitalism and human supremacy.

Dr. Malidoma Patrice Some is a Dagara shaman who brought the wisdom of his people to the West. He wrote the books “Of Water and The Spirit”, “Ritual”, and “The Healing Wisdom of Africa.” I was humbled and grateful to have learned from him before his transition to ancestor.

In 2021, during one of the Elementals Rituals, I was buried 6 feet deep into the Earth. I was nude, it was below freezing, in the night/early am and in a higher elevation space. It was INTENSE.

It took some time of shaking from a cold that rattled my bones. Finally I heard a laugh and a message: “I am the last arbiter of justice. No one escapes me.” What she showed me was the inevitable return of all land offenders to the soil from where they’ve come. I felt a strong sense that Earth was more powerful than I gave her credit for. And a bit more…scary than folks talk about.

I have thought about this ritual so often over and over again. Can you tell?

Mycelium. Like, what do you mean there are miles of mycelium beneath our feet? What do you mean it connects plants and animals like some kind of plant wifi/brain synapse? I can’t deal. This is too much. Mycelium to the Earth, as a brain is to a human, as the quantum field is to EVERYTHING.

Aliens. Bruh. They’re totally here and have been here and are some of us. And we’re all trying to get back home. Home home. And Earth sucks, but we’re all like cosmic migrants here. And the Aliens are tryna help (some of them). Also, wasn’t Zeta so cute?

The Dagara Cosmology.

The Dagara have 5 elements in their cosmology: Fire, Water, Mineral, Earth, and Nature.

Fire. Represents the Ancestors. More than Human kin who are present to assist and guide.

Water. The energy of peace and reconciliation. Water has no enemies, because it can make peace with any obstacle.

Mineral. The archive! Everything that has happened, all those stories are encoded in the bones and teeth (dna) of humans and the bones/dna of the earth, such as gemstones, rocks, etc. Making art is a mineral practice as storytelling through arts is considered pulling from the bone archives a necessary wisdom to heal the community.

Earth. This has a masculine and feminine aspect. The masculine side is represented by an ANT MOUND! This is the protector aspect, that will use death and disease to repay. The feminine aspect represents home, belonging. Get it now? LOL

Nature. This is everything on top of the earth: plants, animals, even humans. There are other spirits that belong in this category as well. This is the energy of authenticity—growing according to your design. Nature is a shapeshifter, and those who are of this element can communicate with the natural world. Seen as the natural “witches” who can help humans and nature stay in harmony.

According to the Dagara, for a community to stay in balance, it must stay in right relationship to the humans in the community, the ancestors within the community, and the nature spirits and elements. If there is disharmony in any of those relationships, the entire community is at risk of conflict and harm.

We could learn alot about how to organize our societies from the wisdom of plants and animals. Indigenous teachers worldwide understood the importance of this more than human relationship structure, that the West tries continuously to make us forget.