Burning Man Takes Early Burn In Stride
Reprinted from the Mercury News:
Burning Man Festival Takes Early Burn In Stride
By Mark Boslet
Thursday, August 30th, 2007 at 8:55 pm in Burning Man, General.
The unexpectec burning the “man” has done little to dampen the annual Burning Man festival here in Nevada.
True, the ceremonial combustion of the wooden effigy of the man is central feature of the week-long event that has drawn 41,000 people so far to the desert north of Reno. But some “burners” say the annual ritual - always held on Saturday - is an event for everyone to interpret in his or her own way. So the fact that it took place several days of ahead of schedule isn’t consuming much thought. It’s meaning on Tuesday isn’t much different than on Saturday.
Besides, the party must go on.
:I feel no less shattered by its loss on Tuesday than I would on Saturday, said Aaron Selverston of San Francisco.
Others said the premature burn offered the opportunity for a rebirth. (A restored man was erected on Thursday.) This year’s theme of the Green Man lends itself to that interpretation, said Bill Dimmick of Seattle. The man was destroyed and rebuilt in much the same way as the Green Man in ancient religions dies each winter and is reborn again in spring, said Dimmick.
“This week is our spring and summer,” said Dimmick. “We get to live a full and fruitful life for a week.”
In some cultures, the Green Man deity symbolizes fertility and fecundity. Perhaps he will again for a brief period in Nevada.
Reprinted from the Mercury News:
Burning Man Festival Takes Early Burn In Stride
By Mark Boslet
Thursday, August 30th, 2007 at 8:55 pm in Burning Man, General.
The unexpectec burning the “man” has done little to dampen the annual Burning Man festival here in Nevada.
True, the ceremonial combustion of the wooden effigy of the man is central feature of the week-long event that has drawn 41,000 people so far to the desert north of Reno. But some “burners” say the annual ritual - always held on Saturday - is an event for everyone to interpret in his or her own way. So the fact that it took place several days of ahead of schedule isn’t consuming much thought. It’s meaning on Tuesday isn’t much different than on Saturday.
Besides, the party must go on.
:I feel no less shattered by its loss on Tuesday than I would on Saturday, said Aaron Selverston of San Francisco.
Others said the premature burn offered the opportunity for a rebirth. (A restored man was erected on Thursday.) This year’s theme of the Green Man lends itself to that interpretation, said Bill Dimmick of Seattle. The man was destroyed and rebuilt in much the same way as the Green Man in ancient religions dies each winter and is reborn again in spring, said Dimmick.
“This week is our spring and summer,” said Dimmick. “We get to live a full and fruitful life for a week.”
In some cultures, the Green Man deity symbolizes fertility and fecundity. Perhaps he will again for a brief period in Nevada.
posted by Mark Boslet at 11:14 PM
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