Afrika Burns

This is my post on the event Afrika Burns for the synchroblog. Afrika Burns is a South African satellite event to Burning Man in the United States. As Wikipedia has a great article on Burning Man I suggest anyone wanting more information to visit their article here or read the section on the Burning Man website here. This was a rich event. You can view a short video here. Rather than provide a description of it I thought I’d touch on my experience of the event along and then go on to provide some thoughts on how it at once critiques Christianity and calls for us to make a contribution.

Arrival & Camp Setup

On our arrival to the event I received a map from a clothed woman and a naked man. This was the first definitive sign of postmodernism. Gone is the Renaissance naked woman and clothed man. This truth was an echoed like a cord throughout the event. Each square on the map below with a red thingy in it was a camping area. There were some theme camps where larger groups of people bandied together.

The theme camps consisted of much more than what the more humble small camping groups did. The theme camps generally had a social area, cooking area, communal sleeping area or tenting area, some ground cover, major shade cover which also provided some wind cover.It really struck home to me why people group together into tribes. There’s a collective benefit, especially as people pool resources and responsibilities that requires more organisation and produces rules but equally provides greater leisure and social opportunities. Two great and notable theme camps I spent time at were Vivuzela and Partycipation.

Most of the other camps were collections of camping tents like ours. Alan, Mike, Nic, Zed and myself shared a rather large camping tent together. We camped at 5-ish street, roughly 11 o’clock on the circular map. Next year I’d love to be part of a theme camp. I believe there’s a place at Afrika Burns for the Sacred Ecclesia.

My Experiences

I chatted to a number of people before the event and a number of people at the event. I generally experienced a fair amount of cynicism speaking to people before the event. Some felt that the event would be shallow and hedonistic while others felt that it would be a rich experience yielding a valuable experience of community and creativity. I was positively open to everything.

At the event I sensed an ambience of liberation and freedom, creativity and cooperation, expression and community. I had a few great conversations with people at the event, including one of the part-time staff from San Francisco (Steven Rafa) who was down to support the event running in South Africa. There was a simplification of our lives along with a sophistication to our community along with displays of human ingenuity and creativity.

• The environment: Situated in the Karoo this was the Karoo and it was nasty and entrancing - harsh and yet beautiful environment. The sunsets and sunrises were amazing (thought admittedly I did not see the sun rise). It was hot, dry and windy and the ground was hard. This was arguably the harshest camping environment I’ve ever been in. The ground was hard and stony, the weather was hot and dry, and the wind strong with a cool bite. I even  chased down and stood in a dust devil with a 10 metre base. That was in itself an amazing experience – baptised into wind and dust – followed up by seeing chaos as it tore through a scantily protected campsite. Oddly enough, despite being harsh it was akin to camping anywhere else – you’re in a tent without the usual homely luxuries. I noted that some brought their kids. One of the camps consisted of four families with their kids.
• Art, creativity and ingenuity: There were a number of impressive artworks there. It was amazing to see so much art – much of it on a huge scale. You could get a smoothie from a bycicle powered blender or get to stand at a huge bonfire or hammer at a forge or stand in a ballon forest or learn to fire dance. There was a lot going on. I even got an awesome henna tattoo. I recommend the photo blogs listed at the end of the blog to see more.
• Icon & Space & Movement & Participation: A few of the artworks were iconic, serving as a meeting point where people could share spirituality. I participated in a ceremony that was part vedic and part mayan. It was a tribute to John Gong (I think) by a few of his friends. After the burning and the chanting at sunset there was some drumming and dancing. I was reminded by how we all participate to varying degrees in any ceremonies. I myself had gone up with the intention of doing a liturgy. When I got there I was humbled and realised that I had little to offer. Without an appreciation of space, of ceremony, of icon, I had little to set my offering against. My skill with words, concepts and small groups faded. I’m excited to be in a space where I can learn again. I realise that I’ve grown by this experience and will look to integrate space, icon, movement and ceremony into what I offer in future.
• Freedom to express: There were a number of people dressed up. Some cross-dressed, some fun-dressed, and some even undressed and went nude. I was impressed that there was no sense of exhibitionism or lewdness or voyerism there. I feel caged by my own self-image and social conditioning.
• Sideshows over mainstage: The main stage tanked. At most there were 8 to 12 people at the main stage. Its real contribution was the provision of aural-wallpaper to what may otherwise have been a silent desert experience. Three theme camps blased music, so if the mainstage wasn’t there I guess we wouldn’t have missed it at all. The sideshows were the real show; the co-created events were the real happenings. The death of modernity was strongly captured here for me just as the life of postmodernity was exhibited.

What Afrika Burns can contribute to the church

I believe Afrika Burns has much to offer Christians. Here’s a quote from their website:

“Our intention is to generate society that connects each individual to his or her creative powers, to participation in community, to the larger realm of civic life, and to the even greater world of nature that exists beyond society”. 

 The core-principles of communal effort, participation, civic responsibility, immediacy, decommodification, gifting, leaving no trace, radical inclusion, radical self-reliance and radical self-expression can certainly show us Christians a lot about community and living in this world as well as about enjoyment, celebration and participation. The values are postmodern. The values are lived and enlivening. They are creative and the focus on inclusion and expression makes for a surprisingly safe environment. Any Christian seriously interested in postmodernity and in a Christian expression within postmodernism ought to consider and reflect on these values along with their implementation at Afrika Burns.

Afrika Burns can contribute a safe experience of community alongside providing a space for human expression and the arts. It captures something that I experience evangelical Christianity as only hinting at – co-creation of events, the prominences of the arts and creativity, a profound sense of freedom to be and to express and to be included, the healthy use of icon and the wonder of open space and the humility of giving, receiving and serving others.

I believe that Christians from various traditions will find the postmodern Afrika Burns experience to be liberating and challenging.

What the Church can contribute at Afrika Burns

I believe that Christians can make a contribution at Afrika Burns.

• Children: The church has a lot of experience working with children. We can easily provide some form of baby-sitting and child-minding along with events for children at various age levels to enjoy. The idea of the holiday club can easily be re-visioned for this context.
• The prophetic and healing: Events like Afrika Burns attracts a number of people looking for real experience and so many are open to spirituality. The experiential nature of the prophetic and the reality of physical and emotional healing can play a significant role.

Admittedly there is more, so much more, and I’ll certainly update my blog shortly. For now this is my contribution.

Afrika Burns Synchroblog:

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  • Photographs on Signs of Life : Rob Mills and Mike de Freitas
  • John W Morehead on Moreheads Musings : Afrika Burns Synchroblog: Burning Man Regional Burn
  • Tim Victor on Tim Victors Musings : Afrika Burns
  • Ant Paton on CapeConversation : Wondering about the wilderness, by Ant Paton
  • Rob Mills : Signs of Life
  • Emerging Africa : Afterburn: A Karoo Flowering  
  • Mike de Freitas on CapeConversation: Afrika Burns, a Christian response, by Mike de Freitas
  • Nic Paton : a baptism of joyful fire : Afrika Burns synchroblog
  • RuZl on Liquid Light : a desert underground
  • Roger Saner on Future Church : An oasis of silence
• Other writings of note:
  • From the mouth of the Man himself : What is Burning Man? 
  • John W Morehead: Burn, Baby, Burn, Christendom Inferno: Burning Man and the Festive Immolation of Christendom Culture and Modernity
  • John W Morehead: Apocalyptic Man Ablaze: The Hope of Burning Man’s Effigy Fulfilled in the Risen Holy Fool
  • Overtone Music blog : Afrika Burns: Backwater Art Back In Fashion