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Hey, girls. Getting back to you all about splitting the cost of materials.

We are standing at $15 per person. I've gotten payment from most of you, but if you haven't given me a check or cash, please bring them Tuesday to the Harn or tackle me when you see me (I have change).

If you spent money on supplies you'll get the difference back.

Those who gave me checks, expect them to be deposited within the next 3 weeks.

As for the books. Aliana will get the final cost of that separately and take care of that later. It won't be a bad idea to bring some small cash with you to the Harn on Tuesday ($5 in $1-bills is recommended).

Txt me if you have any questions (918) 639 2414.

-Giang Pham

Body Arts (everyday)

Body Arts (everyday)

Bodily adornment is the most prominent type of art within [name] culture. While it is most intricate within ritual settings, the Elumi spare no expense in body art even in everyday settings. Elumi dress references lights, and it is the Elumi’s belief that the more one dresses to emulate the light, the more they can become like light.  Ritualistically, body art is used to emulate the light that is so venerated by Elumi. The clothing, make-up, and other adornment worn during rituals emphasizes the beauty and importance of the Sun. Three major areas of body art within the Elumi society include: fashion, accessories, and makeup.

Fashion

Clothing is relatively unisex. Due to the subtropical nature of the Zunamir, the Elumi wear light, breathable fabrics.

Production of Fabric: The Elumi have a particular plant, called the malvaceae, which is indigenous to its land. Because it grows so well in Zunamir, the Elumi only uses the malvaceae’s fibers to weave fabrics. This plant can grow quickly; it produces seedlings as quickly as a few days after planting. The seedling then matures in the course of seven days and produces a pod that contains malvaceae fibers. It is possible to harvest the malvaceae within two weeks after initial planting. In harvesting the malvaceae, the Elumi remove the part of the plant that can be woven into fabrics and take the remaining part of the plant to be composted into fertilizer. The malvaceae has unique properties and can grow best if it is grown in a fertilizer composed of malvaceae parts.

After the malvaceae is harvested, it is cleaned of excess dirt. Then, it is matted, and the fibers are used to weave into fabric. Because the parts of the plants that are harvested are naturally fibrous, it facilitates the weaving of the materials into fabric. The process of weaving the fabric is uniform within the Elumi society. Fabrics are woven through a loom, and each family is responsible for the production of enough fabric for its family. Within the family, usually the women are responsible for the weaving of the fabric, as the men are responsible for harvesting within the society and bring home to the family the harvested malvaceae.

Clothes-pieces

The Elumi clothing consists of two types of garments for both men and women—flowing pants and a fitted shirt. The garments are meant to be simple and reflect the maximum amount of light. Shirts are individually wrapped based on the wearer's preference. Often, shirts are further adorned with extra metallic ribbons and metallic rings. Ornamentation is based on the wearer's preference, so long as the ornamentation can reflect more light.  There is less emphasis on clothing, because clothing is not as helpful in reflecting light compared to shiny accessories. It is possible to adorn clothes with reflective stones within the fabric, but there is more emphasis on the production of jewelry as opposed to the production of clothes.

Accessories

• Women and men have separate main accessories. Men wear necklaces, while women wear headdresses. The quantity of accessories is significant because a person with a large collection is considered very rich, both monetarily and spiritually. Bracelets are also woven based on individual preference. However, bracelets are secondary to the headresses in Elumi women and necklaces in Elumi men in terms of accessories.
• The most important and valuable accessory is the mirror. Mirrors are highly valued because they are optimal in reflecting light. Mirrors are primarily adorned in headdresses for women and necklaces for men. As an individual ages, he or she gains more mirrors, either through trade or heirlooms, thus building up his or her wealth. Mirrors are acquired through time and sometimes inherited by children from grandparents. In this way, they become family heirlooms and therefore even more precious. For women, their headdress grow in length, while for men, their amount of necklaces they may wear grows outward as men can wear each mirror he receives individually. Mirrors are typically spherical to represent the spherical shape of the light source.
• Additionally, metals can be used within accessories. Metals are typically obtained through trade. The most common metals are gold and silver. Copper is also used, although it is not considered as valuable as gold or silver as it does not reflect as much light. These metals are often shaped into circles but can be molded into interesting woven designs that can be implemented in the headdresses or necklaces. Metals are also signs of wealth, but it is not as important as the quantity of mirrors a person may have.

Makeup

• For everyday use, the Elumi produce golden body paint made from finely ground substances. Many of the materials needed to produce the golden body paint are indigenous to the island. To produce the golden body paint, the Elumi utilize a ground base foundation paint and mix the paint with luminous minerals, such as gold or silver, to give the paint a shiny glow. Other less precious minerals, such as copper or iron, can be utilized in the production of the paint. The Elumi like to use neutral or metallic colors for pigments in their makeup; bright and dark colors are never used because of their inabilities to reflect light well. To make the paint easier to apply on the body, the Elumi add a type of rubbing oil to give the paint a liquid like consistency, easing up the application process.
• The golden paint is sometimes arranged in a five-ray pattern. The Elumi must apply the paint for each other, but the activity of body painting is separated by sex. Young children are all painted by their mothers, but when they reach marriage age, the boys must be join the men in the daily painting while the girls stay with the women. This activity of body painting provides unity within the egalitarian society and close kinship with others in the community.

Whoever did the first part of the ethnography needs to do the Identification part as well. I think that's all I'm missing, since we didn't have a name when we started putting together the ethnography. Some basic notes:

Planet - Zunamir

People - Elumi

and for the identification, you should just describe the planet and the people in general.

Thanks,

Olivia

This Performance

This ceremony is the Elumi’s way of honoring a person from the society who has died or is close to death while simultaneously drawing attention to the coming of the spring and growing season. The heart of the ceremony though is based on the concept that the deceased is not actually dead, she is simply transforming into an alternate form of energy. Her spirit is going from being contained within her human form, to growing with the plants, and eventually it becomes a light source. The community does not view the death of one of their members as a loss, or even really as a death. They view it as a total rebirthing; the spirit of the woman transforming from its humanly form, into a more earthly form, before finally becoming its most natural state (light).

In the ceremony, women of all ages process out to an open area accompanied by the person who is being honored. All of the women are wearing similar costumes: flowing cream pants and tops (each tied by the individual in any of several different styles) with golden accents. The women also each wear a headdress made up of a sparking headband with white ribbon, golden beads, and mirrors hanging down. The length of the strand of ribbons, beads, and mirrors corresponds to each woman’s age with the youngest women wearing the shortest and the eldest wearing the longest. The only woman not dressed in this fashion is the woman being honored. This woman also wears loose pants and a light top however she also has a white fabric covering on her head and wears no headdress.

Each age group has a specific role to play in the performance of the ritual. The youngest take charge of handing **seed bombs** to the observers while the middle aged women lay out strips of fabric, which will later be used to wrap the honoree, onto the ground in a star-like pattern. The elders then enter the area holding a long strip of golden fabric over the eldest woman. The woman who is being honored stops in the center of the large star and the older aged women begin to form a sort of cocoon around her with the fabric strips. As the wrapping is in occurring, the middle aged women take turns sprinkling glitter and seeds into the air and around the honoree. Through all of this, the youngest girls are handing **seed bombs** out, ringing their bells, and inviting people in to join the celebration of life. When the honoree is fully cocooned, she is laid down onto the ground and the women begin circling around and taking turns pouring a little dirt onto her using their bells. After each woman has a turn, the youngest pour the remaining dirt over the cocooned woman and the middle-aged women plant seedlings into the dirt pile. All of the women then take a step back and process out of the area, leaving the honoree to transform into the plant life around her.

final ethnography

Hey guys,

Great job today! make sure to post all your finalized sections for the ethnography by Sunday and that the pictures get sent to Aliana.

Performance Rehearsal!!!!

Hi all!!! We need to meet up ASAP to rehearse the performance and have a fitting of everyone's outfit... What time works for all?? I wanted to email however wasn't sure our email addresses.. I'll look again and try and find it.. However Tuesday at noon? or at least by 12:45 we know we're free, we can meet up in the Digital Media Room and I'll have all our outfits and layout of how the performance is going!

IN SHORT (more or less) the performance will be an entrance with the younger woman who will be bell ringers in the front, older woman who will be carrying an 8 yard piece of shimmering fabric, Rhonda (the eldest) will be in the middle of the fabric, and middle aged woman in the back with the fabric and seeds to prepare the ceremony that will take place in the square courtyard by FAD.

Once we're there we will set up and according (like above) to our "age" have a specific duty as part of the performance... our movements will be intentional and with purpose as we PREPARE and CELEBRATE our "sister's" (rhonda) transformation aka shape shifting aka flesh leaving expansion to the everything/plants/lights ...you all can word it however...

The movement's will be a series of wrapping Rhonda (who will be covered in the shimmering cloth carried) however in a very performative way where the eldest woman are paired and wrapping themselves, spiraling inward toward Rhonda, and then wrapping her and spiraling out the opposing way (kind of like a maypole dance however a little more physical and we'll be part of the wrap, unwrap process where only the eldest is left wrapped (almost like a cocoon.. as we wrap out we'll be given seeds/which will have a golden element to them, by a younger member and pouring them over Rhonda..

So oldest will be wrapping, middle aged will be partial wrapping/seed givers and youngest will be constant bell ringers and will prepare the seeds for the middle aged woman...

this will end as we're all circled around rhonda ringing the bells, her fully covered..

It'll make more sense when we meet up and demonstrate!!!

THANKS FOR EVERYONES WORK and I look forward to a fun performance!!! SEE YOU SOON!!

"This Performance"

· Who is honored? It is a way for us to honor the person from the society who has died while simultaneously drawing attention to the coming of the spring and growing season. The heart of the ceremony though is based on the concept that the deceased is not actually dead, she is simply transforming into an alternate form of energy.

· Who are the players? Women of all ages.

· How are they dressed? To be determined (?) … gold/earth tone outfits with gold/metallic/mirror accessories. Each woman wears a headdress made of mirrors with the length and amount of mirrors corresponding to the woman’s age

· What is the intent of this performance? to honor the deceased member of the society and show her becoming one again with the elements. It also provides an opportunity for the younger members of the culture to learn how to make the seed bombs that are used in the ceremony. In the eyes of the society, the woman being honored has not died; she is simply going through a process of transformation. Her spirit is going from being contained within her human form, to growing with the plants, and eventually it becomes a light source. The community does not view the death of one of their members as a loss, or even really as a death. They view it as a total rebirthing; the spirit of the woman transforming from its humanly form, into a more earthly form, before finally becoming its most natural state (light).