What are the Raps?

The raps are collective wisdom for gatherings that have been written down. Some of the raps were written 30 or more years ago. Other raps are more recent. One convention is to give the raps numbers. For example Rap 107 is called "Gathering Basics" and is designed for a someone coming home to learn the most critical ideas concepts.

Sometimes, folks at the gathering print the raps on paper and pass them out. For example the "Rap & Map" we often pass out at the gathering with a site map on one side and Rap 107/701 on the other.

Rap 107

Sometimes,  people paint fabric with colorful renditions of one or more of the raps and then hang them at the gathering -- combing art and information.

Sometimes, people post the raps online in various places for people to read before they come home. When Butterfly Bill was alive, he made a great collection of raps available on his website.

That being said, the raps aren't set in stone and evolve as the times change. New raps are created, sometimes without numbers like the "Access Rap" Tom and I created a decade or more ago. We also have two raps on gathering with Kids. One older and one newer.

I'm hoping this year, on the land, we can update some of the raps to more accurately reflect who we are now and where are focus should be. I'm hoping we can do this in a collective manner.