Burning Man is a week-long festival in Nevada's Black Rock Desert. Its attendees frequently define the event as indefinable, indescribable to nonparticipants.
As an introduction in Burning Man, the festival's website includes the following statement:
"Trying to explain what Burning Man is to someone who has never been to
the event is a bit like trying to explain what a particular color looks
like to someone who is blind."
Naturally, I asked someone to tell me all about it!
My friend Betsi attended Burning Man this year for the first time. This year's theme was Fertility 2.0, and I was curious to hear her observations and have her describe some of her experiences. Here are Betsi's answers to my questions about the festival, as she does her best to give understanding to the blind:
1. How did you hear about Burning Man?
I first heard about BM a few years ago, that it was a
festival in the middle of the desert where they built an entire city for
one week and then at the end they burn the whole thing down. "Burn it
down?" I asked, "What's the point of that?" Oh, and they celebrate some
big statue of a man and a bunch of other sculptures, all of which they
burn down at the end.
Then I started dating a burner with 11 years of Burning Man under
his belt. I learned more about the festival, and when he invited me, I
was excited to check it out. Of course now I know that they don't burn everything, but I still have to ask myself, "Wait, just what is the point?"
2. What were your expectations of Burning Man? Some of your initial observations?
I intentionally tried not to expect too much, though I did do
some Google images "research" to get an idea for how to be prepared and
have a fun first burn. There's a lot of emphasis on experience there -
first timers are dubbed virgins, and many accounts I read said that you
don't really know how to burn until you've done it a few times. I
wanted to be prepared for the physical challenges at least. I was very
interested in what footwear was appropriate for a hostile environment
(the alkaline playa dust can cause chemical burns on your skin if you
don't practice good hygiene and hydration). Turns out, people wear
everything from barefoot to combat boots. I also wanted to get some
ideas about what to wear. I knew that people wear costumes, but I
wanted more inspiration than that. My boyfriend said, "You're already
thinking about it wrong, because there is no right and wrong thing to
wear. Everything is accepted." For me, though, I wanted to know what
was BM-normal so that I would feel proud of my own outfits and not wish
I'd brought more outrageous options. Nothing like being underdressed
for the party....
In the end I even taught my veteran sweetheart a new trick! I
brought a number of lightweight scarves, because I saw a lot of scarves
in pictures. It was the perfect desert clothing item (no wonder they
are standard wear in the Middle East) because it provided shade, airway
protection from dust storms, and could easily become a wrap during
cooler moments, such as at sunset. (I also used them a lot as snot
rags, shhhh!) One day I let him borrow one because he felt like he was
getting too much sun exposure, and he loved it! He said he will be
bringing scarves in the future.
3. How did you prepare to participate in Fertility 2.0? How did you interpret the theme?
I made costumes that played on the ideas of fertility and I
wrote some short stories exploring the ideas of alternative fertility.
I planned to print the stories as tiny zines to gift to people, but in
typical Betsi fashion, never followed through. I'm not sure that the
zines would have had much place in the culture there. People gift left
and right, but it tends to be consumables (food and drink) or
experiences rather than stuff. It's not like a convention where you
leave with a bunch of junk!
The theme was less prevalent than I thought it would be. Sexuality
is already an important part of Burning Man, so I wasn't sure what
elements were BM standard and what was enhanced for the fertility theme.
Of course fertility is much more than sex, but in artistic expression
it's hard to separate them.
It's ironic to celebrate fertility in the sterile environment of
the desert. Nothing grows there, not even microbes. A campmate left
some overripe peaches outside my tent, and despite festering in a
plastic bag in 100 degree heat for several days, there was no smell, no
flies, just liquified peaches. They were probably still edible, but I
didn't test that one out!
A friend and experienced burner talked about her initial outrage at
the theme. How does a heartbroken, sterile woman participate in a
festival about fertility? In the end, though, she said it's helped her
face her issues and intentionally heal.
4.
While living on the playa, did you experience a defining moment, or
moment that was representative of the whole experience? What was that
moment?
Absolutely not! BM is so complex, there are so many types of
experiences to be had, that it's impossible to sum it all up in one
moment!
5. Did you learn anything while you were there about yourself, life, how you relate the world around you?
It was fascinating to participate in a different kind of
culture, even for just a few days. So much of how we view community,
our bodies, art, commerce, sexuality, and even law and order is
societally taught rather than intrinsic to human existence. However,
it's one thing to sit around and theroize about a different approach to
culture and quite another to go LIVE it, even for a short time. For
example, it was really nice to remove sex from nakedness. To have
normal conversations with people whose body parts were exposed in ways
considered inappropriate in the default world, to look at a body out of
curiosity and appreciation as you would an outfit or hairstyle, but not
with lust, embarrasment, or shame. As a Christian, I couldn't help
relating it to a pre-Fall existence, where bodies are celebrated and not
hidden, where all people are family, where rules are kept to a minimum
(just enough to preserve order and safety), where wealth is shared out
of joy not obligation. There's a big emphasis on spiritual health at
Burning Man too, places for reflection, self-exploration, and learning.
I'm not saying it was Eden by any means, but it definitely provided a
taste of a different type of reality.
Betsi is a seasoned traveler who has lived in the continental United States, Italy, and Hawaii. She currently resides in Alaska, where she continues to experience and interpret the world as an artist and a writer.
All images in this post belong to Betsi. Please contact me for permission to use any of the images included in this post.
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