MEDIA – Faun – Umay

UMAY

Some contextual background

Back in 1994 - sitting in the Missionary Training Center in Provo, Utah was a hard space! I had just recently determined I would do this 2 year thing and I was directed and chosen to go to Paris France. As we got to know the group of 11 or so of us, and we were going through the music interests we were leaving behind - I came to realize I was a bit unique. My list included some of the follow more obscure to many in the group but a there was one guy - JH and we were re-united briefly in St George at a 70.3 Ironman event.

  • Dead Can Dance
  • Social Distortion
  • Danzig
  • Jane's Addiction
  • Smashing Pumpkins
  • Oingo Boingo
  • KMFDM
  • The Cure
  • Leonard Cohen
  • NealYoung
  • Depeche Mode
  • Midnight Oil
  • Peter Murphy and The Bauhaus
  • 10000 Maniacs
  • R.E.M
  • A litany of Punk Rock bands
  • Toad The Wet Sprocket
  • Crash Test Dummies

We were all trying to figure out our paths. And music often told a wee bit about folks. Dead Can Dance and the ominous noise that Lisa Gerrard created was so amazing! At any rate, when I came across Faun a few years ago now, this song just resonated.

A little bit about Umay

Umayis the goddess of fertility of tengrism. An ancient religion practiced by the Turkic, Altaic and Mongolic people of the Eurasian Steppes. Tengrism was characterized by animism. The belief that all objects and creatures have a spiritual essence. Animals, plants, even rocks and rivers were regarded as living beings and treated with great respect. A belief and a behavior to thich we urgently need to return to our modern world.

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