The Temple we are making is in the style of David Best and the Burning Man festival. The tradition started in the year 2000 when during David's preparations to go to Burning Man a friend of his died in a vehicle accident. He ummed and ahhed over whether to go or not and in the end went. The structure he built there was made in his lost friends memory and then others took it on their own accord and write their own dedications to their lost love ones. By the end of the event the structure was covered in all sorts of dedications and then was burnt on the last night thus beginning the tradition. David Best returned the next year and made another Temple and did so up until 2007.
Over the years the Temple has taken on a life of it's own and is the scared heart of the Burning Man community. It is a place for people to write their deepest sorrows or greatest joys; to mourn their lost loved ones or to celebrate their love for life; a place for people to cry and a place for people to celebrate. All of these emotions are written all over the Temple walls in an ever growing communal dialogue that gains as as more and more people make use of the Temple. It is hard sometimes to not break into tears as you walk around the Temple and read it's walls. It becomes a beautiful and open communal expression of emotions.
On the last day of the festival, after most of the madness is over, the Temple burns as ten's of thousands of people watch in silence and carthatically release these emotions, it is an incredible experience to have.
The tradition of the Temple has been continued to this day at Burning Man, each year with a different crew, and at many of the regional events around the world, including Kiwiburn.
This is the Temple we are trying to create, a space for the Kiwiburn community to love, let go and move on with our lives. Join us in making this happen, we'd love to have you on board!
