Field Notes #4 Moon Ritual
Em Gill
Chozha Moon Ritual
Description:
Chozha is the biggest annual festival of the Oktip and takes place on a different island every year. This year is on Pikisenja (animal island) where most of the Oktip people's livestock graze in huge pastures across the island. The festival has been a huge celebration filled with beautiful song, dance, and decoration as well as delicious food and drink. This is the third and final night of the festival and the last full moon of the summer. My guide Gicheth tells me that tonight we will participate in the Matfunoktipa Daishe (moon song) ritual to thank the moon for their people's good fortune and ask for future blessings.
After a long day of festivities, the sun has finally set and the crowds move towards the docks. With Gicheth and our traveling companions, I board the fishing boat we came to the island on as hundreds of others do the same. We sail a short ways out, far enough that there is ample space between each boat but still close enough to see the crowd standing along the shore. We stand around the edges of the boat without a word, listening to the waves splashing against the side of our vessel. The bright moon shines overhead illuminating the water with a blueish glow.
Suddenly, I spot a light from deep within the waves. I watch in amazement as dozens more of these light orbs rise from the depths before I recognize their shape. Countless jellyfish, floating on the waves, glow in the darkness and light up the ocean as song starts up from the distant shore. A low hum in the distance, the crowd lining the island's edge sing a verse of song before the hundreds afloat on the waves take up the chorus.
Here is a rough translation:
"O mother of the people
shining bright above the land
we sing your praise and thank you
you provide us all we need
we'll keep your peace forever
please keep our islands thriving"
The night air fills with voices as our boats drift among the jellyfish until they and the moon sink low below the horizon. One by one the vessels raise sails and journey off into the distance. When the path clears we set off as well, back to Chotsheisenja.
Reflection:
It seems the song of the Matfunoktipa Daishe is known to all people of Oktipisenja. The words of the song refer back to myths of the moon goddess central to their religious beliefs and practices. It is a song used for reflecting back on the society's happiness and looking towards the the future. The thoughtful and humbling nature of the language used in the ritual shows the cultural significance of the Chozha festival in self-reflection. The way it is sang by all the people together (led by the festival host island) displays the unity and collectivist ideas that Oktip society centers on as a whole.
Chozha Moon Ritual
Description:
Chozha is the biggest annual festival of the Oktip and takes place on a different island every year. This year is on Pikisenja (animal island) where most of the Oktip people's livestock graze in huge pastures across the island. The festival has been a huge celebration filled with beautiful song, dance, and decoration as well as delicious food and drink. This is the third and final night of the festival and the last full moon of the summer. My guide Gicheth tells me that tonight we will participate in the Matfunoktipa Daishe (moon song) ritual to thank the moon for their people's good fortune and ask for future blessings.
After a long day of festivities, the sun has finally set and the crowds move towards the docks. With Gicheth and our traveling companions, I board the fishing boat we came to the island on as hundreds of others do the same. We sail a short ways out, far enough that there is ample space between each boat but still close enough to see the crowd standing along the shore. We stand around the edges of the boat without a word, listening to the waves splashing against the side of our vessel. The bright moon shines overhead illuminating the water with a blueish glow.
Suddenly, I spot a light from deep within the waves. I watch in amazement as dozens more of these light orbs rise from the depths before I recognize their shape. Countless jellyfish, floating on the waves, glow in the darkness and light up the ocean as song starts up from the distant shore. A low hum in the distance, the crowd lining the island's edge sing a verse of song before the hundreds afloat on the waves take up the chorus.
Here is a rough translation:
"O mother of the people
shining bright above the land
we sing your praise and thank you
you provide us all we need
we'll keep your peace forever
please keep our islands thriving"
The night air fills with voices as our boats drift among the jellyfish until they and the moon sink low below the horizon. One by one the vessels raise sails and journey off into the distance. When the path clears we set off as well, back to Chotsheisenja.
Reflection:
It seems the song of the Matfunoktipa Daishe is known to all people of Oktipisenja. The words of the song refer back to myths of the moon goddess central to their religious beliefs and practices. It is a song used for reflecting back on the society's happiness and looking towards the the future. The thoughtful and humbling nature of the language used in the ritual shows the cultural significance of the Chozha festival in self-reflection. The way it is sang by all the people together (led by the festival host island) displays the unity and collectivist ideas that Oktip society centers on as a whole.
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