Lisa A. Jones, poet

Ibada ya Muziki

Ibada ya Muziki (“Musical Worship” - Swahili)

Hypnotic images sway

as I embrace the way

I feel when I hear those

First silky musical licks.

So sure the vibe’s for only me

But your foot tapping and

finger snapping draw me in;

the universality of speech now

pulsating through.

Hear that mellow, brassy, rhythmic sound;

The syncopation and coordination;

Of tone, of pitch, until at last

we see its vibrant colors

Reaching and stroking,

the fluid notes;

beckon us to slide inside

the damp musician’s skin

intertwining our fingers

and pressing the keys

As though we’ve predetermined

the propulsion soon to follow

The improvisation takes hold

and bebop explodes

Into the tiniest of particles

Filling the cavernous hole

of elation long ago abated;

Seeing a force too heavy

and passion too great

for one person to harness alone,

We wait…..

Holding our breath for the magic

anticipating the wave

as it builds to crest

and release its might upon us

We wait…..

How Devine… Can you taste it?

That delectable morsel is the

sweetest fragment ever formed.

it lays atop our taste buds and

upon the surface of our lips

Breathe deeply, the fragrance of harmony;

Warm and soft, yet cool and strong

weaving its way throughout the essence of our being

Fusing until we are powerful, vital, and

robust as the fingers playing the scales and

creating riffs within this communal space.

Come closer, won’t you sit with me and

we shall ride this whirlwind as one.

Basking in the heat of this unified beat;

all grottos and chasms;

once empty, are filled.

Now supple; their rims overflow

Engulfing us as a silent sunset prayer

ebbs from chants and flows to moans

then groans in a sacred dream of

that which is healing to us all.

Alas triumphant, notes inch and climb along our spine

Releasing that for which we’ve been waiting

Rich and spicy in texture; the blues at last unite us

Blurring and merging our differences until we are one.

L.A. Jones --- 5/16/19

Make-female-synthesis—fluidity

by @Vandana Shah

With all the swirling debate about gender fluidity, I was reminded about a Hindu deity whose representation I started to collect in my early twenties called ArdhNariswara. (Photo below of the only one I managed to acquire, proudly displayed in my home in North Carolina). Ardhanarishvara represents the synthesis of masculine and feminine energies of the universe (Purusha and Prakriti) and illustrates how Shakti, the female principle of God, is inseparable from (or the same as, according to some interpretations) Shiva, the male principle of God, and vice versa. Ardhanarishvara symbolizes that the male and female principles are inseparable.

Even though I am on the fringes of this debate, since I am often asked to choose my gender on various zoom calls, I begin to think that perhaps ArdhNariswara can help us provide a new perspective. Hinduism has always recognized each of us as a synthesis of male and female physical and non-physical attributes, and challenges dualistic thinking. Sanskrit grammar has a ‘third gender’ or gender-neutral option for verb declensions. Gender identification is easier when the physical and non-physical attributes align in an individual as either male or female. But where there is dissonance between the physical and non-physical attributes, the individual who in modern times we call non-gender conforming, transgender, or any such term, may go through an intense internal struggle and may choose to bring those in alignment. Scientific development gives people the opportunity to align the physical self with the non physical attributes to achieve alignment through surgery and hormone therapy.

Vandana’s story and statue (pictured above):

Prior to these developments, most cultures, including pre-colonial India, accepted a spectrum of gender representations, behaviors, and identities. There was little anxiety about or insistence on specific attributes or behaviors for specific genders, and easier acceptance of a spectrum of sex and gender identities and behaviors instead of insistence on dualities or binaries. Technical point: 'sex' refers to biological attributes, and 'gender' to the behaviors associated with those attributes. There is and has always been a spectrum on both dimensions, not rigid and mutually exclusive binaries. Social and cultural customs dictate what behaviors can go with what genders, and are thus subject to change. Men in so many ancient cultures had long hair, wore feminine clothing, jewelry and even make up!

Pre-colonial Indian cultures accepted exaggerated female behaviors in people categorized as “male” - so artistic representations of male Hindu deities typically have androgynous forms, specifically capturing their universality and non-binary nature. Exaggeratedly powerful masculine figures (large mustaches! big muscles!) are those of the Asuras or demons, who are strong but flawed beings with many positive attributes but who lack balance and control. The Indian mythology scholar and writer Devdutt Patnaik has written extensively and accessibly about gender fluid figures in Indian traditional stories, from Shikhandi in the Mahabharata to folk tales from every corner of India.

I wanted to share my ancient Hindu deity that fascinated me 30 years ago to my friends struggling with the notion that gender fluidity/neutrality and sex/gender transformations are new age and/or immoral or break with cultural or religious traditions. If we delve deeper we will realize that they have always been there and we had cultural and religious belief systems that helped us better understand and accept these from a spiritual and practical perspective. @ Sister Scene Creative Justice Community