Ethiopia Blog 5: The Defiant Dancing Spirit of a Beautiful Harare Girl.
- May 10th, 2011
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I am writing this blog from a the Hilton in Addis Ababa, a day of rest from a couple days in Harar a beautiful city a short plane ride and drive from Addis. The Harare people are a beautiful bunch. Harar is Islam’s fourth holiest city, here Christians and Muslims exist harmoniously and the people young and old keep a warmth of spirit.
Harar was special. And amidst all of the specialness one experience stands out as a profound, beautiful,heart-opening experience. Before our performances in Harare town center we spent time watching the Harare Grandmothers, adorned in colorful wraps, headdresses and jewelry sing devotional music that evoked dancing from the inside out.
As they approached the middle of their performance, an old Harare man began dancing holding his cane up in the air in celebration. Shortly the old man began dancing, a young girl with down syndrome between the ages of 9 and 11 joined the old man with her own joyous and spirited dance. Watching the two of them dancing together was quite a moving sight, until the man, off put by the little girl for some odd reason raised, his cane to her. Shocked, everyone became alert. The little girl walked away for a brief second and began to dance again. The old man raised his cane at her again, scolding the girl. At this point, I was on the edge on tackling an old Harare man in defense of this sweet being. The girl walked a way again this time with her eyes watering and a little short of breath. And still moved by the music, she began to dance again near the old man. This time the old man, took a full swing of his cane to the girl and almost hit her. At this point the Harare elders, scolded this old man and sat the young girl down away from. As I sat, not to far from her, tears began to roll down my face. She began to cry and cough up saliva, as she had exerted energy both dodging the old mans swings and dancing her heart out. The music was still going at this point, and this little girl with tears in her eyes, and short of breath stood up began to dance with even more passion and vigor than she had the previous times, this act of hers moved me beyond belief as the tears streamed down my face. As the song ended a man gave her some birr and she went on her way.
Recounting this experience both moves me and angers me and I ask myself what if we all were such defiant dancers in this life? What if we risked a little more of ourselves to do what we love to do independent of what happens? This little girl has inspired me more than she probably knows.
Quite a stirring entry. You are a superb writer, Evan. Your passion for expressing matters of humanity is compelling. Being in another universe provides you yet more opportunities to explore. Put me in the encouraging column. Keep plumbing, I bet there’s some amazing stuff to be discovered.
“What if we risked a little more of ourselves to do what we love to do independent of what happens. ”
Beautiful. Amen.
Thanks so much for these posts and glimpses into your trip, EFB!
Wow what a thing to see to have your emotions stand you up and shake you.
A dancer’s loyalty to the sounds coming in keep a musician hyper-aware, super-alive! As in how an artist’s freestyle is shaped and refined by the thoughts and emotions of everyone in the crowd.
Again beautiful textures you share here. I see the symbolism behind the actions of all involved and the reason for the effects it had on all involved. The old man jaded and afraid of something that reminds him of his own blocked spirit.
The little girl getting a taste of both the danger of her innate inner power when shown to others but who remains untamed and atill connected to the flow of the sources that says “keep going, keep moving”.
Finally you, the observer who sees it from a particular inner perspective the universe looking back at its self and coming to a deeper understanding of its own energies at play.