Sirius Coyote created the sounds of the soul, la selva, and the spirit that moves through our world in a beautiful concert at Wisdom House on Sunday, November 4, to honor Dia de los Muertos. A holiday celebrated primarily in Mexico, Dia de los Muertos honors the souls of the departed on November 1 and 2.
Those who celebrate this day create special altars decorated with items that the departed once enjoyed in this world--gloves, candies, photos, and other mementos--to invite the spirits to visit on this sacred day. It's a lovely time to remember that this world and the next are the same place.
Sirius Coyote plays 30 different ancient and modern instruments. The range stretches from the conch shell to the clarinet. For more than 20 years, the Connecticut-based group has performed original music that captures the spirit of the rain forests, desserts, and villages of Latin America as well as indigenous songs from the Americas.
My daughter and I attended the concert after a morning at our own church in Waterbury, Connecticut. At St. John's, we lit candles to recall departed loved ones and to reflect on the vast circles the Spirit creates as it draws us together in this life and beyond.
The circles are big and inclusive, so it made perfect sense to be at a Catholic Church-run interfaith retreat center enjoying the indigenous music of the people of the Americas in a celebration that hearkened to a pre-Christian time.
Afterwards, my daughter and I walked the labyrinth, a universal symbol of the vast circles that swirl through the cosmos and draw us together on a journey to leads to the artisan of all, Wisdom. It's nice to have a great girl with whom to share this path that leads us to our own center and back to the world again. It's a beautiful place.
Those who celebrate this day create special altars decorated with items that the departed once enjoyed in this world--gloves, candies, photos, and other mementos--to invite the spirits to visit on this sacred day. It's a lovely time to remember that this world and the next are the same place.
Sirius Coyote plays 30 different ancient and modern instruments. The range stretches from the conch shell to the clarinet. For more than 20 years, the Connecticut-based group has performed original music that captures the spirit of the rain forests, desserts, and villages of Latin America as well as indigenous songs from the Americas.
My daughter and I attended the concert after a morning at our own church in Waterbury, Connecticut. At St. John's, we lit candles to recall departed loved ones and to reflect on the vast circles the Spirit creates as it draws us together in this life and beyond.
The circles are big and inclusive, so it made perfect sense to be at a Catholic Church-run interfaith retreat center enjoying the indigenous music of the people of the Americas in a celebration that hearkened to a pre-Christian time.
Afterwards, my daughter and I walked the labyrinth, a universal symbol of the vast circles that swirl through the cosmos and draw us together on a journey to leads to the artisan of all, Wisdom. It's nice to have a great girl with whom to share this path that leads us to our own center and back to the world again. It's a beautiful place.
2 Comments
Sounds like an awesome experience!
ReplyDeleteinteresting celebration...
ReplyDeletesome parallels as well with how some traditional chinese communities furnish the departed's "apartments" (ashes stored in a glass case house in a crematorium) with many personal mementos
o/t: a sense of peace visiting ur blog as usual ^^
Thanks for being here.