the village; a grief ritual.

a monthly grief-tending ritual in berlin, inspired by practices of the dagara people as brought to the west by sobonfu somé & malidoma patrice somé. led by rotating facilitators, so that everyone can grieve.

each session includes: an opening circle, embodiment practices, a break, snacks, a grief ritual, a somatic practice for integration and a closing circle. everyone is invited to stay afterward the ritual for a shared meal.

dates & registration

🍁 you're welcome to join our Telegram group to receive updates & invitations to our future rituals.

on grief

we have been taught that grief is something to get away from, to get rid of. we've been taught that if we grieve, we must do so privately; so often, when we weep, we weep alone. but grief is among the most universally shared human experiences. we believe that unmetabolized grief can bring about violence; that feeling our grief allows us to access love, praise & aliveness.

in this ritual, each of our personal griefs may be witnessed and held by the collective. any grief is welcome: for loved ones lost to you, your family, or community, for the atrocious violence of genocide & racial domination, for displacement, separation, occupation, ecocide, or the many human ways of living & loving that have been lost to us through the processes of colonisation and industrial modernity.

this grief belongs to all of us: you do not have to grieve alone.

on lineage

this ritual's lineage traces back to the work of Malidoma Patrice Somé and Sobunfu Somé, and the culture of the Dagara, an Afro-Indigenous people. they were assigned by their ancestors the task of teaching the people of colonising countries (aka. ‘the West’) about Dagara ritual practice, in order to correct the huge deficiencies in the way that Western culture deals with intimacy, grief, community and spirituality. we are a rotating collective of facilitators & helpers who offer this ritual regularly in berlin. READ MORE about the ritual's origins & lineage

practical information

🍁 location: Altes Finanzamt, Schönstedtstraße 7, 12043 Berlin
🍁 time: soft arrival starts at 18h. at 18:30, we'll close the doors so we can start & end on time. please make sure to arrive before if you want to join the ritual!
🍁 contribution: free, donations welcome

accessibility

Altes Finanzamt is located on the ground floor, but is sadly not wheelchair accessible (there are several steps on the way to the spcee.) we'd like to help you with accessibility as much as we can—please let us know your access needs as you register.

covid-19

to protect facilitators & participants who are immunocompromised, disabled or chronically ill, we ask that you take a rapid test on the day of the ritual and stay home if you are experiencing viral symptoms.

NB: there is some evidence that rapid tests may be more accurate if you swab your throat before swabbing your nose. please also wait half an hour after eating or drinking. thank you for taking care!

disclaimer

one of the principles of this ritual space is that grief takes many forms and that all of these forms are welcomed. it's always possible that another participant may express their grief in a way that is challenging, or activating, for you. we will do our best as a group to resource and support one another in such situations. there will also be a quiet space where you can go if you need a break, and you can ask a member of the facilitation/care team to come with you if you need.

please bring

other grief spaces / co-conspirators / inspirers