Black Magic Baby Jezus, Chapter III
The Feast
Black Magic Baby Jezus by Ramin Aryaie, Chapter III
I sit in the grass of the village of Namasari. Feelings of the past few months have materialised into thought and I wonder what to make of them. I watch a friend talk to a group of curious children. They giggle as a girl walks past. She stops and observes the people sitting together, pressing the intestines of a pig between her hands, slowly massaging it. Her mouth is slightly open as if she had forgotten about it. Our gazes find each other. I can tell she’s having difficulties to place me, when suddenly she turns and runs into the bush, disappearing as quickly as she appeared. I know she wanders the secret paths only known to them.
My friend awakens me from thoughts and signals me to follow him. When we enter the village center it’s busy. People stand separated by gender, preparing the food for the “ded man seremoni”, celebrating the death of a man no doctor here could heal. People believe he was killed with Black Magic, a widespread, ancient belief, fuelled by a high child mortality rate and scarce medicine. They say shamans have the power to kill using kastom rituals.
A feast is prepared and repeated 5, 10, 15, 100 and 365 days after death.
It’s a joyful, lively occasion.
In the middle of the festivities I encounter the pastor of the Church. With a hushed smile he welcomes me and asks me to join him. I can’t shake the feeling that there’s someone looking after me at all times, as if I am switching hosts. The pastor tells me about his community and the Canadian and English clerics. He speaks very calmly and thoughtfully, almost meditative in his movements. I look into his eyes and I believe him when he says they are happy. I accept that he has found something.
We speak about life in the bush and how the Ni’van make fire. He grabs two pieces of wood and starts rubbing them together. More men join. After what seems like half an hour, the little pile of sawdust starts to smoke. In between the drops of sweat I can see the bushman inside the pastor. He smiles like a proud boy watching the fire. The island people might go to church, but on the inside they belong to the land, the trees, their wooden canoes.
As I walk away I take a last look at the flames. They burn like the hearts of its people. A big feast awaits me.
Photography & Words by Ramin Aryaie
A Film by Ramin Aryaie
Editor in Chief Vincenzo Angileri
Executive Producers Albert Folch, Rafa Martínez & Guille Cascante
Editor Bernat Granados
Script by Valerie Steenhaut
Voiceover by Mads Vine
Edited by Valerie Steenhaut & Bis Turnor
Artwork by John Zabawa
Reading: Ishmael, Daniel Quinn
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Ramin Aryaie
Experimental visual artist, web designer and film maker
Ramin Aryaie is a german-iranian experimental visual artist, web designer and film maker. His works interweave a variety of mediums and artistic approaches including photography, writing, film, sound, and design.
He explores the material world through journalistic web hybrids, images and books and the human soul through abstract films, AV performances and installations.
He is the founder of VOIIAGE and co-founder of the Liva Collective as well as a member of Justin Vernon's PEOPLE collective. He has worked and collaborated with artists such as Damien Rice, Justin Vernon, Vincent Moon and s t a r g a z e.
@raminaryaie
