While clown societies were found throughout the Plains, the heyoka, or sacred clowns, were usually few in number, but were found in almost every clan. Heyoka were contraries, often speaking and walking backwards. They acted in ridiculous, obscene, and comical ways, especially during sacred ceremonies. They were thought to be fearless and painless, able to seize a piece of meat out of a pot of boiling water. They often dressed in a bizarre and ludicrous manner, wearing conical hats, red paint, a bladder over the head (to simulate baldness), and bark earrings. The heyoka was thought to usually carry various sacred items - a deer hoof rattle, a colored bow, a flute, or drum. His "anti-natural" nature was thought to be shamanistic in origin -- and as a contrary, he was expected to act silly and foolhardy during battle (although this was found more among warrior clown societies such as the Cheyenne Inverted Warriors.)
However insulting or sacrilegious heyoka actions might be, they were tolerated, since it was assumed they were acting on the higher and more inscrutable imperatives of the Great Mystery. Heyoka were freed from all the ordinary constraints of life, and thus were usually not expected to marry, have children, or participate in the work of the tribe. Despite their bizarre acts (such as dressing in warm clothes during summer or wearing things inside out), they were trusted as healers, interpreters of dreams, and people of great medicine. Whenever they interrupted the solemnity of a ceremony, people took it as an admonition to see beyond the literalness of the ritual and into the deeper mysteries of the sacred. Like the flash of lightning, the heyoka's sudden outbursts and disturbances were thought to be the keys to enlightenment - much like the absurd acts of Zen masters in Japan. (Hultkrantz 1987)"
My mum sent me the above info in an email a couple of days ago. It came completely out of the blue, but it felt divinely timed considering The Fool/Crazy themes which had started to circulate The Sync Whole. Check out Mad Moon for one example.
After reading my mums fascinating email about the Heyoka I hopped on over to The Sync Whole and found Jims new video awaiting me.
At the very end of the video Jim leaves us with these pearls of wisdom:
Die to Live
The point of writing this post was to remind myself that synchronicity isn't meant to be taken too seriously. It's a silly Fools Game which some choose to embrace with open arms, and others choose to reject. Neither choice is wrong. It simply boils down to personal preference, and that's the beauty of free will.
The fun part for me is that this Game has absolutely no rules. You're free to make them up and bend them in any way you see fit. This flexibility and lack of constraints drew me in like a moth to a flame. Deep down I knew I was going to get burned, but then I guess if you want to live, you must die first.
This isn't an elitist Game where you have to become a special member before you can play. It's a Multi-player without limits, a free-for-all, and it's open to everyone whose wishes to be part of the joke. Despite our numerous differences, this Game of Sync has helped me come to terms with the fact that we are all ONE beneath the Fool Moon.
Game ON.
What if you had a dream you were Baphomet and your wife was doing you in the extra hole.
ReplyDeleteSorry about the dirty joke, I like the smiling moon, it makes me warm.
You never know if it was a vision or not.
DeleteCheck out what I was watching just this afternoon:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TKszZhSKKms
Fun,fun,fun. Humor will get us thru this very intense introspection called syncromysticism. The material we synch with is often serious. To lighten up is to stay sane. Dennis
ReplyDeleteSimply BRILLIANT...!
ReplyDeleteLove this post ,it has really resonated with my own experiences around the white rabbit/ phooka the no 17 and the mild mannered janitors over the last 24 hours check my recent post on my blog to go deeper down the rabbit whole
ReplyDeleteFascinating Info!
ReplyDeletevery cool fore sure ... ditto toothy
ReplyDeleteWe are now gravitating the Omega point, dear friends :)
ReplyDeletebeutyfool post, this week I was reading a book and a small figure of Fool/heyoka literally came flying out of the book toward my vision, I walked into school yesterday and flipped open a giant encyclopedia randomly, only to land of the page of Harlequin, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harlequin Thanks Doug, keep em flowin and be very well
ReplyDeleteOOt OOt
ReplyDelete