Ciscoe's Dance, page 8
I twirled Latisha a couple of times after we made it to the second point of the dance. Another Lavanny musician with a pandretta joined the song. He shook the pandretta creating a chime-like sound that fell in sync with the other Lavanny musicians. I wanted to make sure I concentrated on how the musicians played. Even though the Lavanny musicians caught onto the songs I played during practice quickly, we’d only had two days together to get the performance correct. And this was the first song we had danced to without words in quite some time. The Lavanny musicians incorporated John Jose Rollins’ song, Can This Last Forever for our performance. Rollins came on the scene about fifteen years before and many people in the city thought he would become the next Walter Fuente. But he only had that one hit song in his career and disappeared quickly. In practice, I saw how the musicians took to Rollins’ song and I knew they were going to use it for that night.
Latisha gave her customary smile to let me know we were dancing well. I returned us to the basic Guanamamma step as we made our way to the third point of the dance. The audience began clapping to the music and I noticed people nodding their heads. I glanced at the musicians and the timbau player smiled at me.
We finished the dance with Latisha twirling multiple times and going into a sidestep position.
“Viddhana!”
We walked up to the edge of the stage and bowed. The audience rose from their seats and clapped loudly.
“Thank you, Ciscoe and Latisha Maldonado!” Ravi announced as we began to walk off the stage. “We are honored that you chose to dance at Gancha’s tonight. May this become the first of many great dance performances here.”
Latisha and I embraced. I did not know if the performance would help our chances in getting to perform at The Festival of Josette. But I could sense that something different had just happened and we were going to be a part of it.
After we changed into our regular clothing, we sat down at the table with Delia. Dinner had already been prepared for us. I was hungry and ready for some Maharra and Apma bread. However, there were several pieces of Apma bread with a combination of food items I had seen mixed together before.
“Mrs. Delia told me how much you love tortas,” Ravi Gancha said as he joined us at the table. “Our people make a similar dish called Sassanna. It has brownberries, corn, grilled fish, and brown rice laid on a piece of Apma bread. I hope you like it.”
“He will!” Latisha interjected.
Everyone at the table laughed as I took my first bite of Sassanna. It was excellent. The sweetness from brownberries complimented the fish, corn, and brown rice. Saahib’s tortas had some competition. A waiter brought a second plate of Sassanna for me a few minutes later.
“Your dancing went perfectly with the music,” Ravi said. “The musicians were glad that you brought music from John Jose Rollins to learn from. I’ve heard them play that song here at Gancha’s quite often.”
“I knew the musicians were going to choose John Jose Rollins’ song after they heard it at practice, “I replied. “Latisha and I had not danced to just music in a long time. We were pleased with the Lavanny musicians’ version of the song.”
“The roots of Viddhana music are similar to Guanamamma music,” Ravi continued. “The use of the timbau drum, pandretta, and altophone horn is foundational to our music.”
No wonder the Lavanny musicians caught on to those songs I played them at practice. Viddhana music used the same instruments and song structure as Guanamamma music. I wanted to listen to some of their music and learn how to dance to it. I knew we had to get the Lavanny musicians to perform at the Festival of Josette. They had a connection to our city’s music and I wanted it to be shown to everyone.
“I loved that John Jose Rollins song,” Delia added and smiled at Ravi. “I’m glad it was chosen for the performance. I believe it made an impression on everyone in the audience.”
Latisha nodded. “Ciscoe and I would love to have a copy of that version of the song.”
“We can get that for you by the end of the night. We record every performance on audio tape for the musicians to have,” Ravi answered. “Mrs. Delia mentioned the impression the song made on everyone. We had several members of the Civita in the audience tonight. Haines Fonseca and his companion, Charlene, is sitting two tables behind us on the right. Also, we have Katrina St. Claire and her companion, Charles, sitting at the table to the left of them. Thanks to Mrs. Delia, they were able to come tonight. And the fact that you danced with the Lavanny musicians playing Guanamamma music shows how it can bring people together.”
I turned around to see the Civita members sitting at the tables that Ravi mentioned. I did not realize that members of Civita were in the audience. Haines and Charlene waved at our table. So did Katrina St. Claire and her companion. Delia waved back. I hoped that was a good sign.
“I had to make sure we got some members of the Civita here tonight,” Delia said. “If they could see you and Latisha dance with the Lavanny musicians, then it can show how Guanamamma music is for everyone.”
Latisha remarked, “If this was stolen music, then it could not be for everyone?”
“Right,” Delia interjected. “Raphael Reynolds made his petition to the Civita to get Guanamamma music removed from The Festival of Josette on the basis that Walter Fuente stole it from the Nerdann tribe and excluded them as Walter’s Grove became a city.”
“But showing that the Lavanny musicians have always used the same instruments for their music reveals it could not have been stolen?” I replied.
“These instruments have been a part of our music since we arrived in this region of the land. Our ancestors came here many years after Walter Fuente did,” Ravi said. “What you did with this evening’s performance is so important. The Civita members just saw with their own eyes the blending of Viddhana music and Guanamamma dancing. Mr. Fonseca and Ms. St. Claire can talk with the other members of the Civita about this performance. This is the opportunity we have been asking for.”
“That was a wonderful performance!” Katrina St. Claire said, as she came to our table and stood next to Delia.
“Thank you, Civita Member St. Claire,” I said.
“Call me Katrina,” she replied and smiled. “I’m not on duty. I’m just Katrina in this type of setting.”
“We are glad you liked the performance,” Delia said. “It shows how connected the Viddhana people are to the city.”
Katrina nodded. “Noted, my friend. We will talk more about that later. But, you know the people want to hear Piccanta music these days. Guanamamma music is seen as something from the past and has a stigma associated with it.”
“A stigma made from a falsehood,” I fired back. “I would think a Civita member would know the truth about our music. It is chronicled in the building you work at.”
Katrina frowned. “I did not come here tonight to be lectured about what a Civita member should know. However, I do know about Raphael Reynolds’ petition to get Guanamamma music removed from The Festival of Josette.”
“My husband and I have been removed from dancing at the Level One Nightclubs in the Roxie and Penelope District. We believe nightclub owner, Darcie Fendlewiesen has used her association with Raphael Reynolds to influence the other Level One Nightclub owners. Now she is trying to keep us from dancing at The Festival of Josette because of his petition.”
Katrina glared at my wife.
“It’s true, my friend,” Delia replied.
“That is a serious accusation. You will need foolproof evidence before I could bring something like that to the other Civita members.”
“That’s why I wanted to have Ciscoe and Latisha dance with our musicians at my restaurant,” Ravi added. “Our people have used the same instruments for our music as Guanamamma music. Their dancing blended naturally with our music. We hope to show that Raphael Reynolds’s petition has no merit and should be removed immediately.”
Katrina nodded at Ravi’s comments. I could sense she had not known about the Viddhana people’s connection to Guanamamma music before tonight.
“Darcie has a vendetta against me for what happened between us years ago. That’s personal. However, when you try and stop my wife and I from performing and making a living, you have gone too far.”
Katrina nodded. “I agree, Ciscoe. We cannot make those nightclub owners give you your jobs back. They will have to make that decision for themselves. But if you can show the true connection of the music, then I will take it to the other Civita members for review.”
“I will see what I can do,” Delia answered, and smiled at Ravi.
***
“Things in life cannot be made straight after becoming crooked,” Morrim Goinz began his latest weekly teaching in his office at Kahall Azur. Latisha and I had requested a private meeting with him instead of teaching in the sanctuary with the other parishioners. “Kammbi wants you to appreciate the good as well as the bad, so we as his followers don’t get blinded by believing life is supposed to go one way.”
Those words came from Book Seven, Chapter Thirteen in the Ryianza section of The Book of Kammbi. The Book of Kammbi was split into two sections: Ryianza (meaning covenant) and Baramesa (meaning promise). The Ryianza section told the story of the early disciples of Kammbi and how their lives were transformed by becoming believers and followers of their God. Those disciples were from the South Country, a land on the other side of the Omarra Sea. The Kammbi religion was created in the South Country several hundred years before it came to this land. The last book of this section contained Kammbi’s words of wisdom on how his believers and followers should live.
The Baramesa section told the story of Oscar Ortega, Kammbi’s greatest disciple, and his attempt bring the religion to this land. Kammbi requested that Oscar Ortega cross the Omarra Sea to find new believers and followers of the religion. The first six books of the Baramesa section chronicled Oscar’s travels in the region, north of the Great Forest, and how he laid the foundation for the religion to take shape in that part of the land. The last book in that section spoke of Oscar’s Prophecy told to him by the Eternal Comforter about how all of Kammbia would become believers and followers of Kammbi. Oscar Ortega attempted to follow out that prophecy but failed when he first arrived into the region, south of the Great Forest, near the city of Charlesville. Two hundred fifty years later, Diondray Azur attempted to fulfill the prophecy. Did he succeed? Well, having a morrim and diakonos from the city of Issabella teaching from the Book of Kammbi in our city was an indication that he did.
However, that day’s teaching was not from the Baramesa section of the Book of Kammbi. Morrim Goinz went to the last book of the Ryianza section to get Kammbi’s words of wisdom. I had read that section several times and those words the morrim said always confused me. I did not understand why a God would not want to straighten what was crooked in life for his believers and followers.
“A life of being a believer and follower in Kammbi does not mean he will remove all the bad things from our lives. Life will become crooked and as believers and followers of Kammbi we must learn how to handle it. And we need to lean on the guidance of the Eternal Comforter, our gift as believers and followers, to get us through the bad things in life,” the morrim continued.
I glanced at my wife and saw the disapproval on her face.
“Why should we believe in a God who does not want to take the bad things away in our lives?” Latisha asked. “We might as well believe in ourselves if that’s the case.”
Morrim Goinz smiled. “Sister Latisha, I’m surprised at your comment. You are usually a close listener. My prior comment stated that we must lean on the guidance of the Eternal Comforter. It is our gift as believers and followers. Kammbi gave us that gift. He will always be with us. But that does not mean he will take away the bad things from our life. Otherwise, people will treat God like some kind of magical charm. Just rub on it when you are in trouble. Kammbi does not work that way. He wants connection with his believers and followers. Real connection comes from the good and bad things in life. Not just the good things.”
Latisha pressed the morrim. “I understand that we need to lean on the Eternal Comforter for guidance when the bad things happen. That gift from Kammbi connects us to him as believers and followers. However, the entire Book of Kammbi talks about obedience to him as the blessing. Obey and you will receive your reward. In Book Three of the Ryianza section, the disciple Jorge states it directly. So it seems that as believers and followers of Kammbi, our obedience should make Kammbi remove anything bad that happens to us.”
I watched Morrim Goinz nod his head and smile again at Latisha’s comment. My wife would ask questions until she got an answer that made sense to her. I had to learn this during our marriage. Latisha had pressed me with her questions on why we should dance a certain way for a performance. She didn’t take the first answer from anyone if it did not make sense to her.
“There’s the close listener I have come to know,” Morrim Goinz replied. “You are correct that Disciple Jorge stated in his book the command from Kammbi, ‘Obey and you will be blessed by me for it.’ However, I believe you left out that Disciple Jorge had a problem with liquor. Kammbi did not suddenly remove Disciple Jorge’s problem. He made his disciple lean on the guidance of the Eternal Comforter to get him through it. Jorge struggled with his liquor problem throughout his early adulthood and even as a disciple. Could Kammbi have taken that problem away? Sure, he could have. Just because you are obedient does not mean that he will take away bad things. Jorge’s obedience finally gave him the blessing of getting rid of his problem through the guidance of the Eternal Comforter.”
Latisha nodded. “That was a good answer, Morrim Goinz.”
“That was a good answer,” I interjected. “Thank you for this private teaching, Morrim Goinz. But as I discussed on the phone, we are definitely dealing with some bad things in our lives currently. As we discussed briefly in the last teaching, Latisha and I have lost our jobs in the Roxie and Penelope District. And they are trying to remove us from performing in The Festival of Josette. It seems that Guanamamma music and dancing is being removed from our city. My ex-companion, Darcie Fendlewiesen, has made it her mission to keep us from dancing the way we love and what represents our city.”
Morrim Goinz nodded. “Yes, I got that from the last teaching session. I have heard from the other parishioners about this man named Raphael Reynolds stating that Guanamamma music was stolen from the original people that inhabited this city. He is petitioning the Civita to get rid of this music.”
“Correct, Morrim Goinz,” I replied. “We have to provide proof to the Civita that Walter Fuente did not steal his music from the Nerdann tribe. The Civita has chronicled Walter’s arrival here from the city of Terrance until his death. They have the proof that Guanamamma music was not stolen. I don’t know what else they would need as proof?”
“Well, Mr. Reynolds has connected with the people with his claim. There must be an underlying belief that Walter Fuente did take his music from the tribe. Did he not create a designated area for the tribe outside of the city as a gift?”
I nodded. “He did. Latisha and I visited the tribe a few days ago. The tribe elders told us the same thing. However, it was not because he stole their music.”
“The tribe elders stated he could not have stolen something that was not his in the first place,” Latisha added.
“That’s why I wanted to go with the teaching from Kammbi’s Book of Wisdom,” Morrim Goinz replied. “Life gets crooked for all of us. The key is how to navigate it? Our navigation comes from the Eternal Comforter as believers and followers of Kammbi. Lean into that navigation and it will give us the correct guidance at the right time. People tend to want to straighten out what is crooked immediately. However, trying to make straight what is crooked will cause more crookedness. You have to go through the crookedness to become better equipped for the next time when it happens. I believe this attempt to remove your traditional style of music and dancing is a rejection of the past. People believe that being modern or updated means you discard the past. No, you don’t. The past is essential to who we are as people. However, we must learn to embrace the present as well. Life will pass you by. Tradition does have a place in current times. But you will have to bring it in a way they can receive it and not lose the essence of that tradition.”
I still did not agree with the morrim’s teaching after the session. It made sense in my head but I felt differently in my heart. Why believe in a god if he could not take the bad things away from your life? It seemed that the God Kammbi wanted to allow unnecessary pain for his believers and followers. What was the point of that, especially if you were requiring total obedience from them? I had taken to most of the words in The Book of Kammbi since I got it from Darcie all those years ago. However, I did not agree with this section of The Book of Kammbi. Of course, I did not grow up in this city believing in a god. Walter Fuente was the closest thing we had to a god and now we had someone trying to replace him. That was crooked to me and I wanted to do everything I could to make it straight again.
***
“Walter Fuente is a Thief!”
“Guanamamma music is not our music!”
“It must go from The Festival of Josette!”
Those were the words I heard shouted on the steps of the Civita Building in the Fork District near the city’s center. Raphael Reynolds led a march from the Wall of Walter’s Declaration in the Roxie and Penelope District to the Civita Building. That was a four-mile stretch and he had gathered a significant crowd to join him.
Latisha and I made it to the front of the marching crowd where Raphael stood on the front steps of the Civita building. Darcie stood next to him and he had several members of the Nerdann tribe on those steps too. The police force created a wall between the marchers and the building. Walter’s Grove did not have a lot of marches, but I knew the police force was not going to let them get inside the building.
The Civita building was the largest governmental building in the city and resided on East 1st Street in the Fork District. The Fork District had all the city’s government and administrative buildings, including the Regnator’s Mansion. It was not a district I visited much, other than to pay my property taxes or utilities. However, it was the starting point for the parade portion of The Festival of Josette and symbolically represented the power of Walter’s Grove.
Latisha gave her customary smile to let me know we were dancing well. I returned us to the basic Guanamamma step as we made our way to the third point of the dance. The audience began clapping to the music and I noticed people nodding their heads. I glanced at the musicians and the timbau player smiled at me.
We finished the dance with Latisha twirling multiple times and going into a sidestep position.
“Viddhana!”
We walked up to the edge of the stage and bowed. The audience rose from their seats and clapped loudly.
“Thank you, Ciscoe and Latisha Maldonado!” Ravi announced as we began to walk off the stage. “We are honored that you chose to dance at Gancha’s tonight. May this become the first of many great dance performances here.”
Latisha and I embraced. I did not know if the performance would help our chances in getting to perform at The Festival of Josette. But I could sense that something different had just happened and we were going to be a part of it.
After we changed into our regular clothing, we sat down at the table with Delia. Dinner had already been prepared for us. I was hungry and ready for some Maharra and Apma bread. However, there were several pieces of Apma bread with a combination of food items I had seen mixed together before.
“Mrs. Delia told me how much you love tortas,” Ravi Gancha said as he joined us at the table. “Our people make a similar dish called Sassanna. It has brownberries, corn, grilled fish, and brown rice laid on a piece of Apma bread. I hope you like it.”
“He will!” Latisha interjected.
Everyone at the table laughed as I took my first bite of Sassanna. It was excellent. The sweetness from brownberries complimented the fish, corn, and brown rice. Saahib’s tortas had some competition. A waiter brought a second plate of Sassanna for me a few minutes later.
“Your dancing went perfectly with the music,” Ravi said. “The musicians were glad that you brought music from John Jose Rollins to learn from. I’ve heard them play that song here at Gancha’s quite often.”
“I knew the musicians were going to choose John Jose Rollins’ song after they heard it at practice, “I replied. “Latisha and I had not danced to just music in a long time. We were pleased with the Lavanny musicians’ version of the song.”
“The roots of Viddhana music are similar to Guanamamma music,” Ravi continued. “The use of the timbau drum, pandretta, and altophone horn is foundational to our music.”
No wonder the Lavanny musicians caught on to those songs I played them at practice. Viddhana music used the same instruments and song structure as Guanamamma music. I wanted to listen to some of their music and learn how to dance to it. I knew we had to get the Lavanny musicians to perform at the Festival of Josette. They had a connection to our city’s music and I wanted it to be shown to everyone.
“I loved that John Jose Rollins song,” Delia added and smiled at Ravi. “I’m glad it was chosen for the performance. I believe it made an impression on everyone in the audience.”
Latisha nodded. “Ciscoe and I would love to have a copy of that version of the song.”
“We can get that for you by the end of the night. We record every performance on audio tape for the musicians to have,” Ravi answered. “Mrs. Delia mentioned the impression the song made on everyone. We had several members of the Civita in the audience tonight. Haines Fonseca and his companion, Charlene, is sitting two tables behind us on the right. Also, we have Katrina St. Claire and her companion, Charles, sitting at the table to the left of them. Thanks to Mrs. Delia, they were able to come tonight. And the fact that you danced with the Lavanny musicians playing Guanamamma music shows how it can bring people together.”
I turned around to see the Civita members sitting at the tables that Ravi mentioned. I did not realize that members of Civita were in the audience. Haines and Charlene waved at our table. So did Katrina St. Claire and her companion. Delia waved back. I hoped that was a good sign.
“I had to make sure we got some members of the Civita here tonight,” Delia said. “If they could see you and Latisha dance with the Lavanny musicians, then it can show how Guanamamma music is for everyone.”
Latisha remarked, “If this was stolen music, then it could not be for everyone?”
“Right,” Delia interjected. “Raphael Reynolds made his petition to the Civita to get Guanamamma music removed from The Festival of Josette on the basis that Walter Fuente stole it from the Nerdann tribe and excluded them as Walter’s Grove became a city.”
“But showing that the Lavanny musicians have always used the same instruments for their music reveals it could not have been stolen?” I replied.
“These instruments have been a part of our music since we arrived in this region of the land. Our ancestors came here many years after Walter Fuente did,” Ravi said. “What you did with this evening’s performance is so important. The Civita members just saw with their own eyes the blending of Viddhana music and Guanamamma dancing. Mr. Fonseca and Ms. St. Claire can talk with the other members of the Civita about this performance. This is the opportunity we have been asking for.”
“That was a wonderful performance!” Katrina St. Claire said, as she came to our table and stood next to Delia.
“Thank you, Civita Member St. Claire,” I said.
“Call me Katrina,” she replied and smiled. “I’m not on duty. I’m just Katrina in this type of setting.”
“We are glad you liked the performance,” Delia said. “It shows how connected the Viddhana people are to the city.”
Katrina nodded. “Noted, my friend. We will talk more about that later. But, you know the people want to hear Piccanta music these days. Guanamamma music is seen as something from the past and has a stigma associated with it.”
“A stigma made from a falsehood,” I fired back. “I would think a Civita member would know the truth about our music. It is chronicled in the building you work at.”
Katrina frowned. “I did not come here tonight to be lectured about what a Civita member should know. However, I do know about Raphael Reynolds’ petition to get Guanamamma music removed from The Festival of Josette.”
“My husband and I have been removed from dancing at the Level One Nightclubs in the Roxie and Penelope District. We believe nightclub owner, Darcie Fendlewiesen has used her association with Raphael Reynolds to influence the other Level One Nightclub owners. Now she is trying to keep us from dancing at The Festival of Josette because of his petition.”
Katrina glared at my wife.
“It’s true, my friend,” Delia replied.
“That is a serious accusation. You will need foolproof evidence before I could bring something like that to the other Civita members.”
“That’s why I wanted to have Ciscoe and Latisha dance with our musicians at my restaurant,” Ravi added. “Our people have used the same instruments for our music as Guanamamma music. Their dancing blended naturally with our music. We hope to show that Raphael Reynolds’s petition has no merit and should be removed immediately.”
Katrina nodded at Ravi’s comments. I could sense she had not known about the Viddhana people’s connection to Guanamamma music before tonight.
“Darcie has a vendetta against me for what happened between us years ago. That’s personal. However, when you try and stop my wife and I from performing and making a living, you have gone too far.”
Katrina nodded. “I agree, Ciscoe. We cannot make those nightclub owners give you your jobs back. They will have to make that decision for themselves. But if you can show the true connection of the music, then I will take it to the other Civita members for review.”
“I will see what I can do,” Delia answered, and smiled at Ravi.
***
“Things in life cannot be made straight after becoming crooked,” Morrim Goinz began his latest weekly teaching in his office at Kahall Azur. Latisha and I had requested a private meeting with him instead of teaching in the sanctuary with the other parishioners. “Kammbi wants you to appreciate the good as well as the bad, so we as his followers don’t get blinded by believing life is supposed to go one way.”
Those words came from Book Seven, Chapter Thirteen in the Ryianza section of The Book of Kammbi. The Book of Kammbi was split into two sections: Ryianza (meaning covenant) and Baramesa (meaning promise). The Ryianza section told the story of the early disciples of Kammbi and how their lives were transformed by becoming believers and followers of their God. Those disciples were from the South Country, a land on the other side of the Omarra Sea. The Kammbi religion was created in the South Country several hundred years before it came to this land. The last book of this section contained Kammbi’s words of wisdom on how his believers and followers should live.
The Baramesa section told the story of Oscar Ortega, Kammbi’s greatest disciple, and his attempt bring the religion to this land. Kammbi requested that Oscar Ortega cross the Omarra Sea to find new believers and followers of the religion. The first six books of the Baramesa section chronicled Oscar’s travels in the region, north of the Great Forest, and how he laid the foundation for the religion to take shape in that part of the land. The last book in that section spoke of Oscar’s Prophecy told to him by the Eternal Comforter about how all of Kammbia would become believers and followers of Kammbi. Oscar Ortega attempted to follow out that prophecy but failed when he first arrived into the region, south of the Great Forest, near the city of Charlesville. Two hundred fifty years later, Diondray Azur attempted to fulfill the prophecy. Did he succeed? Well, having a morrim and diakonos from the city of Issabella teaching from the Book of Kammbi in our city was an indication that he did.
However, that day’s teaching was not from the Baramesa section of the Book of Kammbi. Morrim Goinz went to the last book of the Ryianza section to get Kammbi’s words of wisdom. I had read that section several times and those words the morrim said always confused me. I did not understand why a God would not want to straighten what was crooked in life for his believers and followers.
“A life of being a believer and follower in Kammbi does not mean he will remove all the bad things from our lives. Life will become crooked and as believers and followers of Kammbi we must learn how to handle it. And we need to lean on the guidance of the Eternal Comforter, our gift as believers and followers, to get us through the bad things in life,” the morrim continued.
I glanced at my wife and saw the disapproval on her face.
“Why should we believe in a God who does not want to take the bad things away in our lives?” Latisha asked. “We might as well believe in ourselves if that’s the case.”
Morrim Goinz smiled. “Sister Latisha, I’m surprised at your comment. You are usually a close listener. My prior comment stated that we must lean on the guidance of the Eternal Comforter. It is our gift as believers and followers. Kammbi gave us that gift. He will always be with us. But that does not mean he will take away the bad things from our life. Otherwise, people will treat God like some kind of magical charm. Just rub on it when you are in trouble. Kammbi does not work that way. He wants connection with his believers and followers. Real connection comes from the good and bad things in life. Not just the good things.”
Latisha pressed the morrim. “I understand that we need to lean on the Eternal Comforter for guidance when the bad things happen. That gift from Kammbi connects us to him as believers and followers. However, the entire Book of Kammbi talks about obedience to him as the blessing. Obey and you will receive your reward. In Book Three of the Ryianza section, the disciple Jorge states it directly. So it seems that as believers and followers of Kammbi, our obedience should make Kammbi remove anything bad that happens to us.”
I watched Morrim Goinz nod his head and smile again at Latisha’s comment. My wife would ask questions until she got an answer that made sense to her. I had to learn this during our marriage. Latisha had pressed me with her questions on why we should dance a certain way for a performance. She didn’t take the first answer from anyone if it did not make sense to her.
“There’s the close listener I have come to know,” Morrim Goinz replied. “You are correct that Disciple Jorge stated in his book the command from Kammbi, ‘Obey and you will be blessed by me for it.’ However, I believe you left out that Disciple Jorge had a problem with liquor. Kammbi did not suddenly remove Disciple Jorge’s problem. He made his disciple lean on the guidance of the Eternal Comforter to get him through it. Jorge struggled with his liquor problem throughout his early adulthood and even as a disciple. Could Kammbi have taken that problem away? Sure, he could have. Just because you are obedient does not mean that he will take away bad things. Jorge’s obedience finally gave him the blessing of getting rid of his problem through the guidance of the Eternal Comforter.”
Latisha nodded. “That was a good answer, Morrim Goinz.”
“That was a good answer,” I interjected. “Thank you for this private teaching, Morrim Goinz. But as I discussed on the phone, we are definitely dealing with some bad things in our lives currently. As we discussed briefly in the last teaching, Latisha and I have lost our jobs in the Roxie and Penelope District. And they are trying to remove us from performing in The Festival of Josette. It seems that Guanamamma music and dancing is being removed from our city. My ex-companion, Darcie Fendlewiesen, has made it her mission to keep us from dancing the way we love and what represents our city.”
Morrim Goinz nodded. “Yes, I got that from the last teaching session. I have heard from the other parishioners about this man named Raphael Reynolds stating that Guanamamma music was stolen from the original people that inhabited this city. He is petitioning the Civita to get rid of this music.”
“Correct, Morrim Goinz,” I replied. “We have to provide proof to the Civita that Walter Fuente did not steal his music from the Nerdann tribe. The Civita has chronicled Walter’s arrival here from the city of Terrance until his death. They have the proof that Guanamamma music was not stolen. I don’t know what else they would need as proof?”
“Well, Mr. Reynolds has connected with the people with his claim. There must be an underlying belief that Walter Fuente did take his music from the tribe. Did he not create a designated area for the tribe outside of the city as a gift?”
I nodded. “He did. Latisha and I visited the tribe a few days ago. The tribe elders told us the same thing. However, it was not because he stole their music.”
“The tribe elders stated he could not have stolen something that was not his in the first place,” Latisha added.
“That’s why I wanted to go with the teaching from Kammbi’s Book of Wisdom,” Morrim Goinz replied. “Life gets crooked for all of us. The key is how to navigate it? Our navigation comes from the Eternal Comforter as believers and followers of Kammbi. Lean into that navigation and it will give us the correct guidance at the right time. People tend to want to straighten out what is crooked immediately. However, trying to make straight what is crooked will cause more crookedness. You have to go through the crookedness to become better equipped for the next time when it happens. I believe this attempt to remove your traditional style of music and dancing is a rejection of the past. People believe that being modern or updated means you discard the past. No, you don’t. The past is essential to who we are as people. However, we must learn to embrace the present as well. Life will pass you by. Tradition does have a place in current times. But you will have to bring it in a way they can receive it and not lose the essence of that tradition.”
I still did not agree with the morrim’s teaching after the session. It made sense in my head but I felt differently in my heart. Why believe in a god if he could not take the bad things away from your life? It seemed that the God Kammbi wanted to allow unnecessary pain for his believers and followers. What was the point of that, especially if you were requiring total obedience from them? I had taken to most of the words in The Book of Kammbi since I got it from Darcie all those years ago. However, I did not agree with this section of The Book of Kammbi. Of course, I did not grow up in this city believing in a god. Walter Fuente was the closest thing we had to a god and now we had someone trying to replace him. That was crooked to me and I wanted to do everything I could to make it straight again.
***
“Walter Fuente is a Thief!”
“Guanamamma music is not our music!”
“It must go from The Festival of Josette!”
Those were the words I heard shouted on the steps of the Civita Building in the Fork District near the city’s center. Raphael Reynolds led a march from the Wall of Walter’s Declaration in the Roxie and Penelope District to the Civita Building. That was a four-mile stretch and he had gathered a significant crowd to join him.
Latisha and I made it to the front of the marching crowd where Raphael stood on the front steps of the Civita building. Darcie stood next to him and he had several members of the Nerdann tribe on those steps too. The police force created a wall between the marchers and the building. Walter’s Grove did not have a lot of marches, but I knew the police force was not going to let them get inside the building.
The Civita building was the largest governmental building in the city and resided on East 1st Street in the Fork District. The Fork District had all the city’s government and administrative buildings, including the Regnator’s Mansion. It was not a district I visited much, other than to pay my property taxes or utilities. However, it was the starting point for the parade portion of The Festival of Josette and symbolically represented the power of Walter’s Grove.
