Spiderflower
CENTRE FOR EARTH-ENGAGED PERFORMANCE RESEARCH
Tongues in the Flowering Tree
Research & Presentation Site
ROWAN JACQUELINE
Artistic Director / Contributor
For my background, please take a look at Rowan Jacqueline in the Tattered Butterfly Arts section. Additional to this, a little on why I have instigated Tongues in the Flowering Tree. . .
This ongoing arts project has come about organically through The Flower Drum: Discovering the Deliciousness of the Ancient Dancing Soul. Held in Sweden on a yearly basis, this dance started out to explore the relationship between dancer and drum.
Over many years of working within this field, I have noticed an increasing homogenisation around the drum where we find the djembe or frame drum aplenty. As these drums become ever more popular, I see there is a danger of more obscure drums from all around the world being lost, along with their language, their play and a respectful understanding of the culture they belong to and traditions they carry.
On one level, my intent for heading Tongues in the Flowering Tree is to keep the awareness of these beautiful instruments alive, whilst appreciating the holistic and historical context in which they exist.
Each drum has a story, each story complex and profound. Here, I am dedicate to bringing those stories to life from a pan-cultural perspective.
On another level, this work in action sees the issue of relationship between human being and earth emerge strongly. Spiderflower, as I say many times over, is dedicate to rebuilding an real relationship between flesh and soil.
Through that work, I notice a hunger to connect with the natural world. This I believe to be an inherent human desire, it is an instinct that lives within the fibre of the being.
By renegotiating the body / earth connection, a story will unfold and our roots will regrow. We want to root into the story of who we really are, not who we think we'd like to be, of who our peoples are, and the story of our nature as a human race.
The drum has a very special place within that story, and from what we are seeing already can act as an incredible mirror.
For our work, a quest has been set in motion. Each contributor is to go back to find the drum(s) that live at the root of their ancestral tree. There is no reaching over, no plucking the drum that most attracts us from another culture we have no authentic connection to.
Working through Spiderflower's techniques, we are following a live thread on the ground. We do not know at this stage what we will find as an overall picture. This project is about digging deep to find a true understanding and appreciation of the drums place within the story of humanity, to consider fully why this simple, yet endlessly complex instrument has endured over thousands of years across the world in so many forms.
Alongside having the privilege of supporting a team of dedicated contributors - I am conducting my own research to track into my roots within the East End of London, and Norfolk UK. Please see my own pages below.