“Telling of the Bees:” Exploring and Mourning Ancestral Roots with Theresa Benson, Ph.D, Betsy Funk, LCSW, LIMHP, MPA, REAT, & Topaz Weis, REACE
As part of old English folklore, bees would be told of important life events-marriages and deaths-in the household through a custom known as “telling of the bees.” Some believe this custom comes from an ancient Aegean notion that bees have the ability to bridge the natural world with the after life. Regardless of origin, this tradition demonstrates the importance of ritual, ceremony, and storytelling in documenting the history of a people. But what happens if that history is lost through diaspora? In this experiential workshop, we will explore how people, whose connection to their ancestral roots may have been lost through migration from their homeland, explore their history and their connection to the natural world when part of that history has been lost. Using movement, visual arts and storytelling, participants will explore their ancestral roots, what it means to grieve a heritage lost, and provide a space to mourn that lost heritage.
Saturday, March 28, 2020
2:15 – 6PM