Happy International Tokeanefege Day

[brightpearl]

I've noticed some animosity aimed at our new member, Authorntuhkat, whenever he posts in celebration of International Tokeanefege Day. At first I assumed it was plain old prejudice, but then I realized it might just be ignorance. Perhaps some of our number are unaware of the wonders of the festivals of Tokeanefege, its history, its customs. So, in the spirit of international cooperation and mutual understanding, please post your stories and photos of your own experiences with International Tokeanefege Day here.

I'll start with a short history.
The first Tokeanefege celebrations of hundreds of years ago, begun to commemorate the hourly return of the Western Lesser Banded Pygmy Proust's Grunion to the shores of a series of small lagoons in the island chain of Lumpkey, were much different than they are today. Archaeologists have painstakingly pieced together the story from precious little evidence, but the fragments of lime-green fabric and piles of fish scales are believed to indicate that the earliest festivals involved elaborate pageantries in which the head priestess, dressed in a long gown of goatskin and purple peacock feathers, adorned with long strings of antelope teeth inset with abalone, and smeared with alligator grease, sang rhyming dirges through a megaphone made of a hollowed tree stump and then took a ceremonial nap in a large teacup made especially for this purpose. Debate over the significance of the large cooking vessels and piles of fish bones continues. They may have been still life arrangements for the ritual oil paintings, or, alternatively, they may have been sleeping quarters for the grunions the islanders obviously worshipped as gods.

Here is a photo of my own Tokeanefege menorah:


and here are Joyce, Victor, Janice, and the kids blowing up the traditional Tar-knocking hat:

[Odbe]

I am STILL wondering how you pronounce Tokeanefege. It's driving me mad. I go round all day with 'Tokean-effigy' stuck in my head.

[brightpearl]

I'm glad you asked that. One of the charms of Tokeanefege is that it has been adopted in so many countries worldwide, and that it takes on something of the flavor of each country where it is celebrated. Its pronunciation varies, therefore. Over here in the southwestern US, we prounounce it "Toe-CAN-uf-feeg", but as many of you know, we're partial to linguistic oddity over here. The most common pronunciation is "Tuh-KEE-an-eh-FEH-geh," but in most of Poland, they put the stress only on the first syllable, and in sub-Saharan Canada, the "Q" is silent.

[T.I.P.]

that's funny, i have the same problem

i usually carry "toe-keen-afeej" around, but if I think about it too much it becomes "toe-keen-effigy".

And then I start thinking...who is AuthorntuhKat ? Somehow I have the image of this Egyptian Cat Writer person, or something...

this is a loosely rendered version of what he looks like from my perspective:

[brightpearl]

^
Why TIP, wherever did you find a 3rd century Tokeanefege yodeling sentinel statue? Good heavens, those are worth thousands!

[craig johnston]

toke an effigy

frieda?!

[Frieda]

what? where?

[Odbe]

Originally Posted by T.I.P.

And then I start thinking...who is AuthorntuhKat ? Somehow I have the image of this Egyptian Cat Writer person, or something...

this is a loosely rendered version of what he looks like from my perspective:

Me too
Maybe when they made our souls they got stuck like pancakes that are too close, so now we have the same ideas.

[craig johnston]

frieds man! something about toking anyway. whatever, i've got
the munchies, can you nip round the shop and get some ritter
sport? go on, i opened the window......

[Frieda]

[T.I.P.]

Originally Posted by Odbe

Maybe when they made our souls they got stuck like pancakes that are too close, so now we have the same ideas.

oh no !
but that's exactly what I was thinking





hey check it out I went looking for a picture of some pancakes
and stumbled upon yet more evidence pointing to the fact that most
Americans have no clue as to how to hold a fork:

[Frieda]

for all the viewers that, like me, have trouble locating abovementioned fork-- it's above the melons, on the right


thank you

[brightpearl]

Originally Posted by T.I.P.

hey check it out I went looking for a picture of some pancakes
and stumbled upon yet more evidence pointing to the fact that most
Americans have no clue as to how to hold a fork:

We keep asking you frenchies to give us fork-holding lessons, but you always throw up your hands and run away.

[Tunesmith]

I think AuthorntuhKat secretly loves this place, and posts his Tokeanefege reminders to show his (her? its?) appreciation for our continued devotion.