Rooted in the Yoruba tradition of sound and rhythm, Spiritual Ginger is a performance ritual of harmony, using an assemblage of objects, rhythm, and percussion instruments to create an energetically abundant soundscape. The performance invites you to explore, reflect, and honor the energies that catalyze this divine existence- When we begin to embrace energy as a currency of existence, how can we embody the divine within and around us? How will embodying the divine affect our relationship with the material and metaphysical? How can that inspire a collective alignment toward ourselves, our ancestors, and our community?
Through Spiritual Ginger, VILLAGER embarks on a cosmic journey of searching, finding, and embodying- creating holistic harmony that reminds us that we are divine life force reincarnate.
This rendition of Spiritual Ginger was an ode to YEMOJA.
Performance Stills by Niajea Randolph
divine is the very essence of my being
there is a lot to remember and experience about this performance. i still remember it vividly. i remember the elements and how i stood in one with them. with water, with wind, with earth. i was also a volcanic rock, steaming with pure power and chaos, like the belly of the ocean. i was also care and nurture like the soothing sounds of the waves hitting the banks. i was air, mist, circulating around the room, touching hands and bringing alive that which has laid dormant.
the water found me and gingered my soul. it made me rest, my neck stood tall, my feet wide, i spoke with the voice of my ancestors. it was an echo of divine alignment. i looked you in the eye and we saw one another. then we remembered that we had been here before.
the water really brought all our true selves and for that i give thanks.
and immediately after, time shifted and aided our ascension. EVERLASTING it was.
may you forever blossom in the good light.
ÀṢẸ
remembering these prayers as i enter another period of rebirth- learning ways to be soft, to slow down, to enter a state of balance and be in tune with my spirit. I can feel a new wind turning.
one of restoration- i have tied my painting hands and have been performing more often. i’m learning this new rhythm and when all is said and done, i would’ve been reborn and exactly where i started again. ready to always become change.
i stayed so long that i found the answers i have been looking for.
the answers which have always been inside of me
the water blessed my garden
it’s wilted branches
jubilating
crying for joy, that they persevered-
this feel softened my skin with rest
i glowed in the glory of time
and when my hands moved,
the rhythms arose in holy accordance
vibrating with valence and vigor
and in the end, time had took control and
bestowed unto me the truth
it showed me the importance of rituals
the potency of the mind and its unending layers
the fullness of a rain drum after heavy pours
OVERFLOW
calling your energy back to you!
to reside
back within your soil.
and your garden shall bloom.
AGAIN
—
extremely grateful for these reflections and ready to embrace my structures with fluidity and motion.
Thankful for my ancestors for showing me what happens when earth meets water.