ALWAYS COMING HOME –

future novel, Ursula LeGuin, 1986 Rev. micheal sunanda, ‘87/’08

She’s the greatest woman Sci-Fi author, & here’s totally different novel of Northern California centuries after the giant flood reaches into Sonoma valley. ACH is encyclopedic description of many neo-Tribal cultures living in the valleys from Pacific to Sierras. It took her 5 years to write, seems like a lifetime of research visiting native tribes? then creating many characters living in new lands. She made, spiral symbols, people, chants, charms & elaborate & wild frolicking rituals they use there in seasons cycles. Its radical mystery of mostly women interacting & solitary adventures. She gives us maps, tales, stories, glossary, animals, shelter, clothes, art, tribal history, music & love-life among the 5 ‘earth’ & 4 ‘sky’ villages that connect in the ‘Kesh’ valley on the river ‘Na’.

Its weaving a complex narrative from many viewpoints in community life mostly with low-tech handmade crafts used in deep relationships, beliefs & customs. If you read anthropology descriptions of cultures, its way deeper inside the hearts & minds of women, men & youth. But its so free ranging tribal folktales, bit shocking. I seems wildly extending the hippy back-to-land movement of 70-80s? We do need reorienting form our city-bound mind-games & fears into the bush creating our new cultures of organic community, like in Asia, Africa, tropical islands & So American. But creating new ways as needed & inspired, not from traditions. She even co-created some ‘Kesh’ folk-music a singer recorded on cassette to express the feelings of her ‘future primitive’?

We can compare ACH with “Ecotopia” – Callenbach; 2150? & “5th Sacred Thing” – Starhawk. The Kesh have spirit, passions, myths, legends, fears & seasonal gathering rituals. Their children are raised with village taboos, rules & practices, sort of like native Indians, before white man’s genocide. Each village is different focus, some new & some traditional, with many skills & resources. They network with other tribes. Mother nature, beliefs, habits, needs & emotions guilds their lives like most natives, yet different.

Kesh folk are very ecology aware as their lives depend on nature, centuries after our hippy libbers, cooperatives, communes, kids lib, homebirth, gardening, naked people &animals grew. This is best extension of newage nature lover cultures I ever seen or thot of. The Kesh are primal folks, bonding together, fierce, brave or shy homebodies. I wonder how many centuries till we evolve into Kesh like valley tribes too open & intense to imagine us living on land with instincts, dreams, needs & visions?