An interactive storytelling experience with Brian R. Martens
Untangle the stories that shape your life.
Join me this Halloween for a story about an old woman who lives in a cave, weaving the cloak of the world. At the back of the cave, an ancient stew simmers over a fire. She divides her attention between weaving and stirring, tending to the work of keeping the world going.
But what happens when the weaving comes undone?
This interactive experience draws on a traditional Lakota teaching story about an old woman and a black dog. With gratitude to the Lakota people, I offer my retelling and invite us to explore what the story brings up in our lives today.
This tale gives us a way to explore chaos, whether it shows up in our own lives, our community, our nation, or the world. Like this Myth, chaos has always been around, as well as our need to make sense of it.
This is an interactive experience. As the story unfolds, I’ll invite you to offer your questions, observations, and ideas. Together, we’ll consider what the old woman’s weaving might mean for us now, and how we respond when the patterns we encounter begin to unravel.
By asking good questions, we can imagine new creative possibilities. We may feel a familiar unraveling from a new perspective, and find something in the story that speaks to a question we’re living with.
Bring your curiosity and an open mind. No prior knowledge of mythology is needed.
Join me and others in your community to remember what we already know.
Story reference: “The End of the World,” published by the Aktá Lakota Museum & Cultural Center, which cites American Indian Myths and Legends, edited by Richard Erdoes and Alfonso Ortiz (1984), pp. 390–392.[1]
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