MARA and MAYA are two sisters.
Māyā: the word in itself means something that doesn’t exist. In Indian philosophy, Maya is an illusion, a palpable and mental reality which daily absorbs the consciousness of living beings, hiding the truth about identity and their connection with the absolute from them. Maya has the power of keeping living beings deluded, but can also liberate them from delusion.
The Sanskrit word MARA means goddesses of death. On the Slavic ground, MARA was once a goddess of death and winter. Today in the common sense of the word, MARA is a spirit, dream vision and a personification of our fears.
MAYA is the first half of our musical diptych about the illusory state of the world. We recorded the track live on the dying lake in the town of Strużka in the Lubuski region in autumn 2020. The sensuality of Adam Mickiewicz’s ballad „Świtezianka” („The Nymph of Lake Switez”), the lushness and seductive beauty of the nature described therein contrast strongly with the current state of environmental degradation.
As the river arms drop to the same depth, the song MAYA has come a long way. It all started with Bui sisters, who inspired us to reach for the text and sing the stunning words of Mickiewicz. The first version of the song was created together with Zosia. And now with our new sister Asia, flowing with the flow of change, we have landed on a dying lake, found thanks to the help of Cecylia Malik and Rivers Sisters group.
MARA is the second half of our musical diptych about the illusory state of the world. The song is the first in our repertoire that was composed while working online, from isolation. When writing the lyrics, we were inspired by the words sent to us by our listeners.
We recorded video on the dying lake in the town of Strużka in the Lubuski region in autumn 2020.
This project was produced thanks to a grant from the Minister of Culture and National Heritage – Culture online.
