Parade of The Trickster

  • Once upon a time, before there was a sun, moon or star in the sky, there was a Raven.

    A long, long time ago, before humans had stories, wisdom, jealousy or illness, there was a spider,

    In a time long past, when it was still of use to cast a wish, there was, and there was not, a fox.

    Beyond seven mountains, beyond seven seas, beyond any borders, there was a trickster.

    A smoothtalker, shapeshifter, a storyteller,

    a messenger, misleader, a double-dealer, 

    and a magic weaver.

    A trickster who works at the boundaries of human and beast, mortal and divine

    is found at the root of creation and destruction,

    cheats death, steals for pleasure, and brings enchantment to mankind.

    Am I friend or am I foe? I dance on the blurry edge of binaries.

    Bored of eternity, I stole for you the flame that fanned your desire

    and tipped the scales of mortality by giving you stories through which to live on

    I call on the clever curiosity of the Raven

    whose resourcefulness and playfulness brought us out of our shells

    and whose longing for light gave us the chance to bask in its glow

    On the ingenuity of the spider who spins its own home from its tiny body.

    The eyes of Anansi that perceive weakness and opportunity at every turn.

    Whose cunning and nimbleness overcomes larger, more formidable beings.

    On the húli jīng fox spirit’s beguiling gaze,

    between benevolence, mischief and misunderstanding.

    A mirror to mankind, feasting on our energy, taking our shape,

    rescuing kingdoms, and falling in love.

    As dreams grow ever smaller, we fight in filth for scraps of power, 

    buying borrowed time while we wait for fortune’s favour,

    trapped by the whims of the ravenous, mighty few,

    made to bow or to flee by the house who wrote the rules.

    But should the hunger of the few confront the hunger of the many,

    May the winds of change lead to a time of plenty.

    Sometimes it takes a loading of the dice,

    a counting of cards to win a rigged game.

    Sometimes it takes the clumsy ego of a divine being 

    to shower a pot of knowledge down upon the world

    and understand that its strength grows only through sharing.

    Sometimes it takes distraction and misdirection to steal a flame from the gods -

    to take a piece of that power for ourselves.

    Sometimes it takes some sleight of hand and 72 faces

    to challenge authority and see through evil

    while holding on to joy and learning compassion

    Sometimes it takes a trickster.

What transformations do we need to go through to face an uncertain future? What tactics can we use to take ownership of our collective narratives?

The Raven of Pacific Northwestern Native American lore steals the sun, moon and stars from the Sky Chief to bring light to humanity. The Tanuki (raccoon dogs) of Studio Ghibli stage a ghost parade to fight deforestation. Trickster figures from stories all over the world use mischief, cunning and magic to influence the course of the human and the divine. In doing so, they often shift between different creatures to adapt to whatever the situation calls for.

Through retreading traditions of costuming and storytelling, the Trickster series considers what strengths we can borrow from old gods and monsters to fight the new ones looming ahead. Mask-making workshops provide the community with a chance to create their own trickster masks. An opening performance dramatically sets the scene for the Parade of the Trickster, where we channel the more-than-human together on a walk through the cit. And storytelling cards invite you to learn about tricksters past and consider what elements of trickery you yourself might draw from.

 Photos by Michele Scognamillo and Denise Lee