TASOCT - Socio-cultural Animator - an Anthropological view

Fa tan sols una o dues generacions enrera, no hi havia electricitat als pobles, ni radios, ni tv, ni internet;  la gent es trobaria a la nit a la bora d'una llar de foc o espelmes com s'han reunit durant mil.lers d'anys a cabanes o coves, amb la por de predadors o enemics en la foscor...

- de que creieu que parlaria aquella gent en la negra nit?

- del que els ha passat, de les tasques del dia seguent i de llegendes,

La vida no tindria molt valor, la gent amb prou feines arribava als 30 o 40 anys de vida, i la mort els acompanyava a prop. De vegades, mentre anaven d'un indret a una altre, i degut a l'esgotament, la fam, la set, la febre... alguns membres de la comunitat o tot el clan es veia a la bora de l'abisme. En aquest context, s'acostuma a perdre la consciencia i llavors, poden dues coses:

 o simplement els seus cossos no aguantaven i morien,

o entraven en una mena d'estat de transit -amb visions- del que despertaven i amb fortuna, es recuperarien.

S'ha sabut des del començament del temps que el moment de la veritat ultima es la mort, la bora de l'abisme, i sempre han hagut aquells que han perdut un ser estimat, o estan ferits, o febles, o que simplement tenen una sensibilitat escpecial i han buscat respostes en aquest moment de la veritat amb deju i aillament voluntaris.

Aquells afortunats que sobrevivien la por, la fam, la set, l'aillament i la malatia sigui de forma involuntaria o no, de segur van compartir aquells somnis, aquelles experiencies de visions i veus, amb els seus col.legues, membres del mateix clan, en nits tanquedes i, aixi, es convertiren en els primers animadors, l'anima del clan, aquells que donaven sentit a la vida, que protegien tothom amb les seves habilitats especials, els que guiava les passes d'aquells pioners endinsant-se en una terra desconeguda.

Aquests primers animadors, per suposat, van anar cambiant i especialitzant-se, alguns eren inventors, d'altres artistes, d'altres actors, ballarins, guies turistics, etc... que seria de tots nosaltres si nomes existis el treball i cap oci per aturar-se, mirar lluny i veure si la direccio que seguim es l'encertada?

• Aquesta classe preten il.lustrar el concepte d'animador tal com figura a la diapositiva 7 i 47 de la presentacio.
• Il.lustra la possibilitat de fer servir aquelles eines senzilles que tenim a l'abast com ara espelmes i estics aromatics, i tancar els llums, i seure al terra sense sabates, per crear un ambient especial i magic com la conversa que va provocar i les emocions que es van compartir.
• I tambe serveix per recordar que conta rondalles forma part del curriculum de l'ultima Unitat Formativa.

Only a couple of generations ago, there was no electrical power in villages, nor radios, TVs or Internet. Peasants would gather around a fire place or candles as we have been doing for thousands of years in huts or caves, with the fear of predators or enemies in the heart of darkness...

- what do you think they would talk about in the blackest nights?

- about the day gone, the tasks ahead, about legends...

Life would not have much value, people hardly got to live to their 30's or 40's, and death would likely acompany them close by. Sometimes, as they were emigrating from one hunting ground to another looking for game to feed on, and perhaps due to tiredness, hunger, thirst or fever... some of the members of the community, or the whole clan, would see themselves on the edge of the abyss and about to die. In this context, we usually pass out, lose awareness and thus two things are bound to happen:

- our bodies simply can not bear it any longer and die or,

. we enter some sort of trance -with visions- from which we might as well wake up and fortunately get over it.

It is well known, from the beginning of time, that the ultimate moment of truth is death, the edge of the abyss, and there always have been those who lost someone dear, or are wounded, weak, or those who simply have a special need to know beyond what they see, beyond the horizon, and have sought those answers in that moment of truth by means of fasting or isolation of their own will.

Those fortunate enough to survive the fear, hunger, thirst, isolation and disease, whether voluntary or not, sure shared their dreams, their experiences of visions and voices with their colleagues, clan members, in moonless nights and, therefore, becoming the first social animators, the soul, the spirit of the clan, those making sense of life, those who protected everybody with their special gift, those who guided the pioneers across an unknown piece of land.


Those firs social animators or activists, of course, did change and specialized in different fields, becoming inventors, artists, actors, dancers, tourist guides...  What would life be like with only hard work to be done, without the free time to stop and ponder, stare far at the horizon and make sure this is the right track to follow?

• This class has been intended to illustrate the concept of animator as stated in slide 7 and 47 of the unit presentation. 
• t also shows the possibility of using simple tools like candles, aromatic sticks, and turning off lights, kicking off our shoes and sitting down on the floor, to provode emotions, to recreate a special atmosphere and even some magic like you guys created with your comments and interaction.
• It should be useful as well to remind you that storytelling is part of our curriculum during the last unit and term.