Page 13 - C.A.L.L. #26 - Winter 2005/2006

KALEIDOSCOPE

And from the same issue of "Communities" we borrow a more scientific dissertation, by Scott Horton - modestly
entitled "We're Only Human"*:

Anthropologists will tell you that making art and living in community are two key factors that define civilization. They go hand in
hand. We as a species began to do both at roughly the same time, tens of thousands of years ago. Making art and living together
are among the most recent steps in our evolution and are what make us human. We have made some pretty impressive
technological advances in the past 30,000 years, I'll admit. Think about this though: not everyone can build a space shuttle or a
laptop, but we can all make art and live together (except, perhaps, for that one neighbor who always seems to block process and
decision making).
A short walk from my house are some rock paintings made by the Cahuilla People, who have lived in and around the San Jacinto
and Santa Rosa Mountains of Southern California for about 3,500 years. To find them, you have to scramble down to the paintings
from the road above through a little rock doorway and down some boulder steps, or climb up a very steep and rocky creek bank
from below. The paintings are a long, horizontal line of simple diamond patterns in red paint on the face of a massive granite
boulder that faces across the valley to Tahquitz Rock, the most prominent geological feature in the area. Tahquitz Rock can be
seen from more than 50 miles away. Clearly, the pictographs have always held a special place, set off by their isolation and location.
Members of the Cahuilla tribes say that the artwork was a traditional part of coming-of-age ceremonies for girls. The young women
travelled a long way up the mountain from the valleys below with elders and their peers to add their diamond or "X" to the design
as they became women. The pictographs were made cumulatively over time and with contributions from many women over many
generations. To the Cahuilla, these paintings truly are magical because they physically embody the collective intentions of the
people, linking past, present, and future without delineation.
What strikes me most as a contemporary viewer of the Cahuilla paintings is their staggering beauty and the fact that they exist at
all. Here, in the middle of a forest valley over 5,000 feet high, an ancient community set aside place and time, year after year, to
create together a lasting symbol of itself and its values.
I suppose we could speculate about the process the Cahuilla underwent. Perhaps not everyone in the
tribe wanted diamond patterns. Maybe someone wanted paisleys instead. It could have been that the
men wanted red as their color and the women had to threaten to withhold acorn meal to get their way.
I'm fairly certain that at least one Cahuilla must have wanted the paintings to be closer to the village,
not such an arduous journey away.

Finally (still from Communities #126 ) a little glimpse into the therapeutic aspects of life,
as perceived by Eleanor K. Sommer and Gail K. Ellison in "Bringing the Arts to
Patients"*:

Bringing the Arts to Patients (and camaraderie of community. We Births, weddings, and all forms of
Community to Ourselves...) spend so much time together, both anniversaries are feted with good
at the hospital and supporting each food and good company. Every
The primary focus of our Arts in
other in a variety of social and artistic holiday is a time for celebration,
Medicine program (AIM) at Shands
endeavors, that by all definitions, including Tibetan New Year.
hospital in Gainesville, Florida is to
except that our houses are scattered Short of funds? No problem, cash
bring the arts - music, dance,
throughout the county and beyond, finds its way to the person in an
theater, writing, and visual arts - to
we might as well be considered an anonymous envelope.
patients at this university-related
intentional community. Even clothing doesn't sit still in the
medical center with patients from all
When an AIM staff member or AIM community. Every few months,
over the southeast. Fortunately for
volunteer gets sick or suffers any loss, dresses, shirts, sweaters, and jackets
us, however, the sense of community
our community springs to life: home- are commingled and shared in a
in our work environment spills over
cooked food is delivered, dogs are convivial evening of fashionable
into the personal lives of staff and
walked, aging parents or spouses are artistry.
volunteers.
cared for - no questions asked. When Those who attend can bring an entire
Although we do not share
anyone in the extended community closet, or nothing. (Whatever is left
community in the sense of habitat,
dies, a memorial service materializes. over is delivered to charity.)
we surely share the spirit and

*Reprinted with permission from Communities magazine, a quarterly publication about intentional communities and cooperative
living in North America. Sample US$6; subscription US$20.00. store.ic.org.

1 1 1 13 33 3