Tracks from the Samekhmem performance at The Event are available on Bandcamp

This was really the first time that the shamanic practices that had been developed during The Nagual (2009-10) projects had been incorporated into a Samekhmem project. As in Nagual projects, a set of protocols was developed in order to perform a specific function in relation to either a context or location. (Scroll down for video of closing performance)

The sacred object was identified as the Café’s hot milk thermometer and was purified with a salty sage solution. I’m not entirely sure why this was the sacred object, when I had previously assumed that it was going to be the column, but the group decision was for the thermometer, so there it is.

The four cardinal points of the compass were purified with colour, sound, symbols and sage. The colours of the bells, and the symbols drawn on the walls using the sage solution were traditional alchemical symbols for the compass points to symbolise bringing balance and harmony to the venue… sage it traditionally used in purifying rituals and the use of water relates to the Hindu practice of washing a statue of Ganesh to bring good fortune to a new home (something that was also done on the same night by Ridhi as part of a separate ritual).

The central supporting column was purified with sage water… I’m no longer sure why this was done, since it was no longer considered to be the sacred object. I thought that, in terms of what audience there was present at this early point of the evening, this worked much better as a visual index of the performance than purifying the thermometer, not that visibility is necessarily at issue in this case.

… and ringed with salt.

The sage candle was lit. Actually a candle with sage in the well of melted wax at the top. Later in the evening, Ana had to rescue this from starting a fire as excessive sage flamed so hot that the sides of the candle collapsed and spilled out. I think we should consider either sourcing some sage candles from somewhere or making our own.

The middle portion of the evening was not documented, but involved offering ‘green milk’ to audience members at the launch as a means of selecting people to ‘join’ the group as drummers during the subsequent performance. Those who drank the green milk also had their forehead marked with the ‘third eye’ ʘ, which is also the alchemical symbol for gold and the astrological symbol for the sun (a sideways reference to drone metal band Sunn o))) ). Green milk is a mixture of goats milk, honey and spirulina powder. The spirulina is a reference to shamanic diets that are high in triptophan in the period preceding rituals in order to promote trance, while the milk and honey is a reference to ‘the land of milk and honey’… I think.

During the performance, I think we all had a fairly negative response to the situation and some of the events, but having viewed the video back I am satisfied that it was an ok performance. Not great, just ok. I think that after the performance at The Event festival we all had high expectations.

To begin, we hadn’t sound-checked properly or rehearsed for more than five minutes because we had been focused on the earlier stages of the ritual in our preparations. We had decided to lay out the drums at the edge of the ‘stage’ ready for calling forth the drummers… unfortunately, we hadn’t accounted for how drunk people would be at this time of night and how poorly the selected drummers would follow instruction. In the event, two people picked up drums at too early a point in the performance, and one of them hadn’t even been invited to do so… they also chanted unexpectedly, which I thought was quite good actually. The mixing desk changed hands half-way through the performance for some reason, so the singing bell got mixed out for a bit because the new guy mistook it for feedback! In the end most of us managed to get into a reasonable trance, even if it did result in Ana going a little feral with the vocals, which I personally thought worked really well in the context of the overall event.

– Stuart