Saaghi-Naame (words of a wine bearer) are ancient Persian tunes of mystic poetry. The words of this song are those of Hafiz in conversation with a Saaghi who in Sufi tradition symbolises a messenger between the lover and the beloved, one who serves the eternal wine of love to the thirsty.
Kamyar, a dear friend from Iran sends in this week's song offering and shares the wisdom beneath the beautiful tradition of Khane-Tekaani (shaking the house clean)..
"Nowrooz, the Persian new year is round the corner. One of the traditions around Nowrooz is Khane-Tekaani (shaking the house clean). Before my family moved to Dubai when I was 14, before my mother loosing a sense of home, our home in Tehran went through intense Khane-Tekani. From 2 weeks before Nowrooz my mother would bring down the curtains, take off the carpets, displace all the furniture and intensely clean every hidden corner of the house. I enjoyed it a lot. It was absolute chaos in the house! Nothing was in place for two weeks. There was so much light coming through, and I had new pathways to run around and play.
Once it's all clean, she would put the furniture back, but in a new formation. Carpets, sofas, dinner table, cupboards... they would all find a new place. So when Nowrooz came, our home felt like a new home.
In the past years I have been looking at the metaphor of Khane-Tekaani. In dreams and the world of symbols, home represents the ego. Our sense of who we are. So it is important that from time to time we bring an intentional chaos, take the dust off each piece and see if they belong to the new order. If not, we may let go and open space for new. If yes, they can find themselves in a new relationship with others. A new constellation. With it, there comes a sense of newness. A new home, aligned with the rest of the earth on the spring equinox. External reflects the internal.
So, I am thinking of being in this inner process in the coming weeks, till March 21st. If this makes sense to you, you can also join life in this process. Give your home a shake. Take curtains down, let new light come through. Let go of what does not belong. Allow things to move and relate to each other anew. Khane-Tekaani!"
