Conservationists
talk about the importance of saving the earth’s biodiversity. Ultimately,
I want to be a small part of preserving the earth’s cultural diversity,
a diversity quickly vaporizing in front of Western and Middle Eastern
cultural steam rollers.
The Undiscovered Myths Project takes us on a visual journey through
the myths and personal dreams of endangered indigenous tribes throughout
the world. To this point the focus has been on tribes in the most unexplored
corners of Africa, including the San (Bushmen), Himba, Mursi, Karo,
Aerbore (Erbore), Hamar, Bume, Konso, Dogon, Geleb, Bedik, and Bassari
in the countries of Senegal, Mali, Ethiopia and Namibia, highlighted
on this map.
Why myths?
They’re the stories that help us understand life.
They answer the big cosmic questions like where did the first man come
from, what happens to a person after death and where does evil come
from?
Amazingly, some of the African tribes I visited have cultures that
can arguably be traced back some 6000 years. So their myths, that have
helped them survive the unknowns of life, arise from ancient wisdom
born long before known modern civilizations—long before Greece,
before Persia, before ancient China and even before the Egyptians.
They’re vanishing.
Unfortunately, it’s all oral. With
no secret notebooks or illustrated manuscripts, the elders, shamans,
chiefs, story tellers and witch doctors of these indigenous tribes tell
the ancient mythical legends around the sacred fire. When tribal cultures,
languages, and knowledgeable elders die, so do their treasured stories,
insightful myths and predictive dreams. With the story teller goes the
story.
What do we lose?
Just as an endangered Amazon plant could be
the cure for cancer, I’m afraid we could lose some primordial wisdom,
perhaps even a taproot to an ancient spring of human knowledge. That’s
why I’m especially interested in "primitive" tribes that
are least affected by Western or Middle Eastern influences.
In Ethiopia, for example, I found that the Aerbore tribe’s incredible
story about how early man first came to be a meat eater is much more
scientifically accurate than the cave-dwelling meat-eater myths that
I grew up with. In fact, their ancient story matches the most current
scientific theories of man’s evolution. The Aerbore had it right.
But until I recorded the story, it might have vanished with the elders.
Surprisingly, anthropologists say that I’m the only person to
ever record the oral myths and personal dreams of most of the tribes
I’ve studied.
Dreams help with life.
While myths answer the big human questions, dreams are individual
myths. They provide personal insights, even guidance, into daily life.
Karl Jung found that the "primitives" he studied dreamed differently
than we do. I found that to be true.
The tribes I studied place much more importance on dreams than Westerners.
In Ethiopia, for example, to Konso elders a red snake dream predicts
rain in a couple of days so they go to the fields to prepare the irrigation
ditches. Karo elders listen to their ancestors who advise them in their
dreams when to plant the crops. They follow the advice to the letter.
Creating vision images.
During lengthy interviews, the elders, shamans, witch doctors and
chiefs provide detailed descriptions of their myths and personal dreams.
They told, for example: the Konso creation story about the first man
coming from a termite hill; the Mursi god who looks like a human with
colored wings but no legs; the bees that protect Bedik and Bassari villages
from enemies; and the Bume Satan story. All of this is digitally recorded.
I also get the elders to do drawings of what they describe. One 74-year-old
elder held a pencil for the first time in his life. The whole village
came out to watch.
From those detailed descriptions, I create visualizations or photo
illustrations of the myths and dreams. By using the thousands of photographs
that I took on location as building blocks, I create the illustrations
with such digital programs as Photoshop and Painter.
The dream.
My immediate goal is to educate and sensitize viewers
to remote unknown cultures and their unique ancient wisdom. Perhaps
we can even gain wisdom. Eventually, my dream is to set up two-way satellite-linked
dialogues between the tribes and the rest of the world. Through knowledge,
I hope we can erase the fear of the unknown. Perhaps then, we can even
get along.
Africa’s Undiscovered Myths is an educational journey inward to
visions and wisdom from truly endangered cultures.
Please follow these links to Photos and Interpretive Images:
