Here we are. You know all there is to know about our ancestors’ SeTTLing process. That behind the standing stones, in fact, stands the memory of the first stakes, traces of which have been found at Terra Amata near Nice, dating back almost 400,000 years. That behind the stability of all our institutions and constitutions lies the memory of the season of gatherings, of collective constructions, which started at the beginning of autumn and which purpose was to face adverse weather together before heading back to sunny days in the wild.
And now you understand why ṢuKowt, the FeSTival of the BooThs, is Judaism's festival par excellence, the only one called ḤaG, meaning festival, with the « ḥa » of toGeTheRness... You see, ṢuKowt is THE festival of the Paleolithic, and one of the Paraklet's most valuable keys is the understanding that the TowRah is a text imbued with an immense nostalgia for the blessed times of the Paleolithic, when humankind was uNiTed and spoke a single LaNGuage, the SaCRed language, LaShown haQoDeSh, before it became divided and corrupted by idolatry during the Neolithic revolution.
Of course, Jews are not the only people remembering this great auTuMN festival. Muslims too, of course, with the PiLGRiMage, the Hajj, ḤaG!, which takes place during the 12th MoNTh of the YeaR, ḏuw al-ḥijja, a month which, before the Muslim CaLeNDar was uncoupled from the solar calendar, coincided with the autumnal eQuiNoX. The memory of this festival was preserved during the pre-Islamic period in what were known as the ThRee SaCRed months, during which fighting was forbidden, as Jacqueline Chabbi explains, p307:
« No fighting, no violent action, not even vengeance, was to take place during these LuNar months. These were the high times of year for CoLLeCtive rituals: pilgrimages and PRoPiTiatory SaCRifices. This PeRioD should be associated with the three autumn months which saw the SuMMeR HeaT subsiding, during which the BaN was in force. These were the LaST two months of the lunar year and the FiRST of the NeW year, since the TRaNSition from oNe year to the NeXT haPPeNed at the autumnal equinox. »
On the other side of the world too, this autumnal equinox was remembered: by the Celts. Yes, the Celts. This was Samain, the festival marking the TRaNSition from the light to the dark SeaSoN, which lasted a WeeK (yes, SeVeN DaYs) around November the 1st (and is celebrated today with All SaiNTs'day (TouSSainT in French) and haLLoWeen and during which ritual banquets were held under the authority of the DRuiDs and the PReSiDency of the King, particularly in TaRa, the mythical capital of Ireland - yes, indeed, you heard me right: « TaRa » ...
And, just like ṢuKowt and the Arabian sacred months, Samain heralded the end of fighting for WaRRiors and the end of farming for FaRMers. To remain in this Celtic universe a little longer: in the Far North, men would GaTheR in what are known as SWeaT LoDGes, HuTs familiar to the Native tribes of North America, and which Scandinavians still enjoy today with their SauNas.
That's why we find « ShaTa » in the STeW, the SToVe, the STeaM, the DuST (which originally meant the small particles of WaTeR SuSPenDed in the air), the MiST, the MoiSTure and the SWeaT, from which WeT, and WeaTheR derive. Even the Romans were familiar with the steam room, with aeSTus: great HeaT, FiRe, aGiTation, and the BuBBLing of the BoWL of WaTeR BoiLing in the steam room.
Let's come back to the Near East: you now understand why ṢuKowt takes place on the FiFteenth DaY of the SeVeNth MoNTh. We've already talked about why the seventh month: seven is the FeaST. But what's also interesting is that ṢuKowt is held SiX months to the day after PeṢaḤ, which takes place on the fifteenth of the FiRST month, the month of NyṢaN.
The reason these TWo FeSTivals, haLF a YeaR aPaRT, take place on the fifteenth day of the month (i.e. exactly haLFway ThRouGh eaCh month) is that they are foundationally related to the DiViSion of the year into TWo SeaSoNs. The GooD and the BaD. Between the auTuMNal eQuiNoX, the moment of ReuNion, and the spring equinox, which heralded ReNeWal, the end of the ConFiNement PhaSe which our ancestors found burdensome after a while, aspiring to return to the NoMaDic life in the WiLD that was ours for millions of years.
This return to outdoor life, heralded by the spring equinox, left an imprint on all civilizations, especially the Celts, with Beltaine, which turned into our MaY FiRST celebrations. Unlike Samain and the autumnal equinox, Beltaine announced the resumption of fighting, HuNTing, in other words, outdoor activities, and used to be commemorated with the MayPoLes I mentioned at the beginning.
This organization of the year into two seasons is therefore very ancient, being found throughout the entire west of the Eurasian continent. Interesting, though, is that it differs from the ThRee seasons known in ancient Egypt (cf. my previous video), which I believe is the sign a linguistic and cultural rift formed between Egypt and Eurasia during the Upper Paleolithic.
The autumnal equinox festivities are therefore the story of a dream. The dream of a SeTTLed, comfortable, and peaceful life, which at the same time cost us what defined us as humans for a million years. In the Near East, this settling process began around 15,000 years ago with the Kebaran and Natufian cultures, which stretched from the Nile to Mesopotamia, and produced the first SToNe HouSes. For 15,000 years, our ancestors still recalled the BooThs in which they GaTheRed during that celebrated seventh month of feasting and SaTieTy.
This memory has lasted thousands of years, despite the upheavals of Neolithic times, Antiquity, and recent history, going through phases of oblivion followed by « ReSToRation ». One of the most moving passages in the Bible is the book of Nehemiah, which recounts the « restoration » of ṢuKowt in 445 BC, when the walls of Jerusalem were « restored » thanks to the permission of Cyrus the Great.
To commemorate the « restoration » of the walls, the great scribe Ezra read the TowRah for the first time before the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And the Book of Nehemiah recounts how the entire audience literally burst into TeaRs with eMotion, despite the words of comfort offered by the priests, who insisted that this was, on the contrary, a moment of great JoY.
And so it was that, as the walls of Jerusalem were « restored », so too was the FeaST of ṢuKowt, which, according to the Bible, had not been celebrated since Joshua. The Book of Nehemiah recounts how everyone then GaTheRed PaLM, MyRtle and WiLLoW LeaVes to CoVeR their BooThs.
This double « ReSToRation » was celebrated with a great FeaST, and as should be at a feast, everyone aTe, DRaNK, and eXChaNGed GiFts. For, as the Book of Nehemiah states « Ky heByNuw baDeBaRym ʔaSheR howDyʕuw lahem », « the people had (finally) understood what they had been told » (all right, the « finally » is from me!). Indeed, when you understand how connected we still are to our Paleolithic ancestors, you can't help but WeeP. It’s all right, don't CRy. There's no greater JoY than rediscovering that connection to our ancestors, even 10,000 years later, even 100,000 years later, even 1 million years later. And I'm not done giving out gifts...
Now you can see why ṢuKowt is the only FeSTival to be called ZeMaN SiMḥatenuw (the moment of our JoY) ThRee times in the Bible, and why we take BRaNChes of a PaLM tree, a MyRtle tree and a WiLLoW and hold them together with a beautiful citron, singing howShaʕNaʔ « Hosanah ».
Each plant is supposed to SymBoLize one type of Jew, with their qualities and faults, but in my opinion, the symbol goes way beyond the (so-called) « Jewish people »: the uNion of these 4 plants is actually the symbol of the reunion of humankind's LaNGuages, and more specifically, as far as I'm concerned, of Egyptian, Hebrew, Greek and Latin; a reunion that opened, in the year 2022 of the Christian era, the door of the language and culture of our Paleolithic ancestors, which transcends our different ethnic, religious, cultural and linguistic backgrounds.
With this symbol of uNity, it's time for me to bring this great journey around « ShaTa » to a close, with my customary sounding of the ShowFaR. Remember. Zikhron. Ziqra. Chronos. TaShaT, TaShRaT, TaShaT.
5) Solutions
Okay. Now that you've been let in to all the secrets of the grand story of the settling process of our species, you're probably thinking, as usual: « This is all right, but what does this practically mean for my business? ».
Of course, in this video on the settling process, I could talk about remote working, but I think I've already covered that in one of my first videos of 2020. I could also talk about the importance of moving from centralized, stock-based management to decentralized, flow-based management. But I've already talked about that too, last year, in my video on the Neolithic Revolution.
No, in this video, the most important thing is this much talked-about idea of « co-construction » and « co-working » which corporations seldom implement, especially the biggest, which still haven't grasped that the key is not to do as many things as possible internally, but, on the contrary, to do as many things as possible externally.
You see, these poor corporations are built on a cumbersome, bureaucratic, and centralized architecture, that generates mistrust between them and their ecosystems, even as they find themselves faced with what seems to be a puzzling paradox: « How to satisfy employees' need for interactions, sharing and proximity, and at the same time, their need for autonomy, freedom and distance? »
However, if they were to take a closer look at paleoanthropology, they would understand that this paradox, although seemingly quite modern, is but a recent expression of our profoundly ambiguous relationship with settled life.
They would also understand that the answer to this paradox and ambiguity lies in letting their partners and collaborators gather and break up at will. This means using a management system that enables their staff - employees and, more and more, contractors and freelancers - not only to exchange quotes and invoices freely, but above all to sign contracts in the name and on behalf of their company with any partner they choose.
Does it scare you? It's only natural: we're always afraid of the unknown, until we gradually realize that it wasn't as bad as we thought. It is precisely because you need help for this momentous transition that I created weOva : to help on a day-to-day basis each one of your employees and each one of your partners get to grips with the first « decentralized cooperation space ».
I'm sure this video echoed situations and issues you encounter daily in your organization. Beyond the delight of sharing what I consider to be a major anthropological discovery, my main purpose is first and foremost, and to the best of my ability, to help transform your company to make it faster, more adaptative and more open.
Just get in touch with me on LinkedIn through the link below, and we'll set up a 30-minute meeting to identify the key levers that will enable you to move forward quickly and effectively in this direction.
But don't wait: remember, the eaRly bird catches the woRm!