The Lakota, and other tribes, believe in a sacred conduit to forces that defy comprehension. That conduit, a human whose behavior is so backwards, his actions so absurd, exemplifies the irony, the mysterious duality that is the universe. To the Lakota, this was Heyoka, a sacred clown, a foolish wolf, the ultimate mirror. He had a paradoxical, contrary nature that was as revered as it was feared.
The Heyoka were ridiculous, comical, and sometimes obscene, and dressed the part, wearing bizarre and ludicrous clothing, makeup and accessories. They were thought to be fear and pain less, trusted as healers and interpreters of dreams. They were like flashes of lightning, their sudden outbursts and disturbances were likened to enlightenment, in the manner of the irrational acts of Zen masters in Japan.
Through physics, we know the dual nature of electricity means, while an object can carry a positive or negative electric charge, the electron is concurrently a wave and a particle. Early civilizations intuitively understood nature's duality. The Heyoka embodied this dual spiritual nature through tragicomedy, or joy united with pain, inseparable, as is the dual nature of electricity.
Stories passed down, speak of the Heyoka having been touched by divine power, similar to the old wandering fools in Europe. In the chaotic and absurd world today, the Heyoka is a hard fool to spot. But, trust me, they are nearby.
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Hey~Oka (foolish wolves know secrets)
PoetryA first collection of versified vignettes, carvings and doodles, traced by a peculiar pilgrim. Each lettered abstraction flies in the face of human-ness, having haunted wooden seraphs and hobnobbed with spectral sprites. Here are words coming togeth...
