Yoruba Ritual

I began my freshman year in college at SUNY Purchase. There they have a permanent exhibition of african art.  It was from this exhibition that my brain really began to turn.  It was here that  I considered the pratical applications of performance art. The origins of peformance art. The spiritual meaning of costume and mask, and the meaning behind embodying the traits and characteristics of a spirit/demon.  I began to consider the application of these rituals to my life, time and world.  I realized that these performances allowed for a release of the bad energies or the demons of a group of people.  It brought to the front the reality of the human experience.  Energies that can only be felt, where personified in the costumed transformation of the actor.  The actor took on these qualities that could not be said with words.  And gave them movement and life.  For a child this actor really was, the spirit.  Like a child of western civilization really believes that he sits on santa's lap.  For the adult it is understood that this spirit actor is not the spirit, but embodies the same vibe of the spirit.  How can we understand the spirits of our time.  What are the spirits of our time and how do we represent them.  In what objects did the spirit demons of our society manifest.   It was in the things that we wish to separate ourselves from. To distance and to push away.  Junk. This way junk can become the material to be used in the costumes that explain the essence of the demons of modern society.

Please follow this link and find the video of the Yurba tribe ritual: Link.