Attending an Heilung performance is more akin to
participating in a ritual: a ritual that acknowledges our roots in the Earth
and our shared humanity.
Oftentimes those of us from a European background and
heritage can feel lost and disconnected from nature, especially in comparison
to the connections we see and hear within indigenous and nature-based cultures.
Heilung remind us that we too, do in fact encompass a
spiritual connection with Mother Earth. We may have forgotten this. Through
their music, performance, and ritual, Heilung wish to remind us of our
historical and cultural roots.
One of Heilung’s songs – Anoana – lyrically and
symbolically reminds us of this connection with the earth and our
responsibility to the land. Anoana can be translated as ancestral
grandmother, and the band’s promo video of the song personifies and
illustrates that translation.
One of the lines of the song - ‘Athilr Rikithir Ai Landawariar Anoana.’ -
mentions the word landawariar. Maria Franz (the band’s lead female
vocalist) admits to not knowing the meanings of the other words in this line.
However, she is clear that the meaning of landawariar is protector, or guardian, of the land.
(Listen to Maria talk about the meaning of Anoana in this interview.)
As I listened to this song
being sung last Thursday night in Sydney, I was struck yet again by the
possibility of, yet the lack of, ritual around our human responsibility to act
as guardians of the earth. That is, at least for those of us from a European
heritage.
Perhaps one of the reasons that
westernised (largely Christian) cultures have failed to recognise the
responsibility to protect, care for, and act as earth guardians is a
mis-reading of Genesis in the Bible.
Genesis 1: 26-28 speaks of
humans having dominion over the fish, birds, cattle, and all the earth. Western culture has mostly
interpreted dominion to mean
domination, subjugation, and exploitation.
Yet, the Hebrew word radah (translated as dominion), ‘…is not what we think of as forceful, but the
kind of authority that enables the ruled things to develop and open as they
should rather than that which uses them as resources for our own sakes.’1
If westernised peoples are to
renew our roles as guardians, protectors, and sustainers of life and the earth,
then we must also re-acquaint ourselves with this understanding of dominion and our earth connection. It also suggests that we discover (and
invent) rituals that remind us of this responsibility and obligation.
The music of Heilung is a start
on that journey of renewal and invention.
Note:
1. Andrew Basden, Writings on
Christian Topics, https://kgsvr.net/xn/discussion/radah2.html accessed 6 March 2023.
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