I will reblog this EVERY GODDAMN TIME so people can understand how the US government taking more and more land from Natives is nothing new (even the land originally promised after being kicked off their original, sacred lands) and they NEED to be fucking stopped. They need to be held accountable for the destruction of our people not just then but also now.
The Navajo have a unique tradition. When a baby is born, it is regarded as the ultimate, precious gift and must never be abused. From the moment of birth, the child is watched over continuously by family and friends, who patiently wait for the child’s first…laugh.
“Has your baby laughed?” is common question posed to parents who have infants around the age of three months. The first laugh of a Navajo child is a very significant event. It marks the child’s final passing from the spirit world to the physical world, meaning he or she is now fully human. This milestone warrants a party, and what a party it is!
Whichever brother, sister, parent, cousin, aunt, uncle, or passing acquaintance is present at the first laugh is deemed to have caused it. The laughter instigator then receives the honored privilege of preparing a special ceremony to welcome the child into society.
Once a baby has laughed, training in generosity begins immediately—a value held in high regard among the Navajo people. At the party, where the baby is considered the host, the parents or person responsible for the first laugh help hold the baby’s hand as he or she ceremonially gives the rock salt, food, and gifts to each guest. There are also bags of candy, money, and other presents that the child “gives” along with the food. [x]
Yes it is true. I have had of a few relatives invite me to a A’wee Chi’deedloh "The Baby Laughed Ceremony" however I have not had the privilege to actually attended one personally. The Dine’ peoples believe that babies are of “two worlds” (Earth people & Holy people) when they are born. The first laugh signifies the babies desire to become a part of the Earth People so it is a great cause for celebration.
I love this….those kids are geniuses…and do they actually know how to play/tongue/bow the instrument they were playing in that video? Not doubting them or anything it just looked like they swapped instruments….
Ok, as the person in the blue shirt on the left, I can explain what is going on here.
On the far left, you see a clarinetist playing a broken cello. She does not know how to play the cello. (Nor does that cello have any intention of being played.)
My friend and I are collectively playing a frankenstein of an instrument that I like to call the “Eb bassooninet.” It’s an Eb clarinet with a bassoon bocal attached. It sounds like a dying duck.
The bassoonist in the middle is the only one playing a normal instrument normally.
Second from the right, you see a clarinetist playing half a clarinet.
Finally, on the far right you see a clarinetist playing a Bb clarinet that is pulled out so far at every joint that it approximates an A clarinet.
The best part about this video is that everyone is actually a really accomplished musician, not that you’d guess it xD
au contraire, this is the kind of thing ONLY accomplished musicians are fucking weird enough to come up with
Had a friendsgiving this year, we joked that there was only 1 straight guy there. Seriously, in a group of friends (mostly white people, but they were all joking about how goddamn white their food was- 4 different people brought 4 different casseroles) we had only one person who was straight. He was our token straight. Which was funny because us WLW were making jokes like how we’ve all made the mistake of crushing on a straight girl and he pipes up. “I know right?” We turned to respond “Right?!” before it clicked, and I think all of us started laughing at that.
Rook's Writing 