friday 5th march
2 to 4.30 "Harmonic Chant" workshop by David Hykes

A 2.5 hour overview session, sharing some key principles and practices of the Harmonic Presence work and Harmonic Chant, perhaps emphasizing how essential influences have been from India and Tibet, including our profound connection with the late Smt. Sheila Dhar, and collaborations with His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Gyuto Monks, etc.

saturday 6th march
2 to 3.30 "Dream Weavers of Rumah Garie" a documentary film.

Pua Kumbu is the traditional ceremonial textile of the Iban people of Sarawak. In prior times they were used in rituals and religious ceremonies, prominently in headhunting and fertility rites. They are still highly valued and play an important  role in celebrations of planting, harvesting and weddings and other rites of passage.

Dreams have an important influence in the creation of the pua kumbu. Each pua is unlike any other. The motifs combined in the design are chosen from a vast collection representing spirits, ancestors, family members, birds, animals, insects, plants and many natural features of the rivers and the rainforest. Their meanings combine to tell a story or illustratea poem. Often the exact meaning is only known to the weaver. Traditionally the weaving goddess Kumang or Meni discloses the designs and patterns to the weaver during dreams hence the name ‘Woven Dreams’.

The women of Rumah Garie longhouse are probably the last group who continue to perform the ‘Ngar’ ritual of mordanting cotton.

In the mordanting process cotton yarn is treated with natural herbs and oils to open its pores using secret ingredients handed down from mother to daughter. This ceremony has been described by anthropologists as ‘Women’s Warpath’ and is equal in importance to the head hunting rituals of Iban men. Women who reach the status of master weaver achieve a status equal to warriors. The ritual takes a full week to perform during which the women eat, work and sleep in the longhouse. They collect the herbs, nuts and roots. They cook, grind, pound and squeeze the ingredients. They have developed their skills to such a high level that their pua kumbu have been awarded the coveted UNESCO Crafts Prize and Seal of Excellence for handicrafts.

This video documents each step in the ceremony. It is inspired by Edric Ong who is from a 6th generation Chinese family of Kuching, Sarawak. He is an internationally recognized textile authority, scholar, author, designer and has done outstanding work in supporting and sustaining the traditional arts and crafts of indigenous peoples. He will also be speaking at the Sacred Textiles Panel on 5 March.
 

sunday 7th march
2 to 3.30 pm TE REO KORI – Maori traditional dance workshop
 

During this one hour workshop participants will learn basic Maori dance movement with the use of music and traditional Maori implements. Males can learn the Haka war dance. The All Blacks have been performing Ka Mate, Ka Mate Haka since the early 1900’s before a game and Maoris now form not only an important part of the New Zealand army but Maori culture has become very much a part of national expression of New Zealand identity. Women will learn the Poi dance, a graceful dance using balls attached to flax strings swung rhythmically.

The workshop includes a process of teaching Maori words where there are levels of meanings wrapped up within the words themselves and the haka was seen by the Maori as a complete form of physical exercise and warrior conditioning.
 

The workshop aims to encourage a greater understanding about the human dimensions of the Bhakti and Sufi texts that have promoted peace and encouraged diversity, in the entire sub-continent. Although there has been academic work done on South Asian medieval poetry, there is a need to bring in new discussion and interactions into mainstream audiences on the significance of this poetry given the rising interest in this genre. Also in a lot of the medieval mystic poetry there is the ‘female’ perspective – of love and beauty; desire and longing; nature and harmony in reaching out. Values, which are considered distinctly ‘female’, can be heard in medieval mystic poetry. If these are ‘human’ values, then we need to work more concertedly towards this framework.

Objective:
To examine values of pluralism, diversity and the feminine that is embedded in Sufi and Bhakti traditions in India

Methodology:
This interactive workshop with practical illustrations and discussions through musical compositions and poetry of Khusrao, Wali, Guru Nanak, Kabir and others will discuss one simple reality of the Indian subcontinent: that the language of the ‘sacred’ is very feminine and this reality has existed in the Indian psyche for centuries.

Vidya Shah is a well-known musician who sings, composes and writes on Indian music. After her initial training in Carnatic music Vidya Shah moved to the North Indian Khayal Gayaki and trained with Smt. Shubha Mudgal. She is presently training with Smt. Shanti Hiranand in Thumri, Dadra and Ghazal. Under the guidance of her Gurus, she has gained a rich repertoire of Sufi and Bhakti Music.

A versatile composer, Vidya has a rich repertoire, made richer by the resonances of her voice. She has performed at various National and International forums like the Humboldt Forum in Germany, The India Festival of Arts, Singapore, Asia Society in New York, The India Festival in Trinidad and Tobago, Women's Initiative for Peace in South Asia (WIPSA) and A Tribute to Africa.

Vidya conducts workshops and writes regularly on Indian music. She is writing on North Indian Art Music for an Anthology of Indian tradition. She is on the advisory board of the South Asia Foundation and contributes to its cultural committee.

As Director-Programs for the Centre for media and Alternative Communication (www.cmaconline.org) she is currently working on a project titled “Women On Record” in a tribute to women performers in the 78 -RPM era from the early 20th Century India. The project includes a series of ongoing concerts, radio programs, exhibitions and seminars among other events.
 

The traditional performers of the Bhutas belong to the economically lower strata of the society who have learned the ritual performances from their ancestors through practice and oral tradition. At the shrine, they dress up in elaborate colourful costumes, invoke the divinity and assume the roles of Bhutas. Then in a trance-like state they gain a higher level of status and bestow benedictions and blessings to the people including the upper caste groups. Bhuta performers are experts in craftsmanship, choreography, singing, dancing and acting apart from having occult and mystic powers.

Balan Nambiar is a painter, sculptor, enamellist, photographer and a research scholar. He has a Diploma in Fine Arts (Sculpture) from Government College of Arts & Crafts, Chennai.

He has an Academy Fellowship from the Kerala Lalitha Kala Academy, Nehru Fellowship, Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Fund, New Delhi, a Senior Fellowship, Ministry of Education, Govt. of India and State and national awards from the Lalit Kala Akademi.

During the last ten years he has been doing sculptures in stainless steel and some of his monumental works are commissioned by banks, corporate houses and various institutions around the country and abroad. Five museums in India have his creative works.