Taxa Field Guide

An orgastic celebration of life through art, performances and living in community. Held in the Tanqua desert at Stonehenge, this African festival is based on the premise and principles of the parent burn held in Nevada, Burning Man. Started in 2007 by directors Lil Black, Paul Jorgenson, Robert Weinek, Monique Schiess and Michael ‘t Sas-Rolfes, it has since grown from around 700 people to include over 14 000 people each year.

Set on the premise of a conscious community, that is to say conscious of self, each-other and the environment, it is based on a series of basic principles to encourage harmonious and expressive living (https://www.afrikaburn.com/about/guiding-principles). These are: Radical Inclusion; Gifting; Decommodification; Radical Self-Reliance; Radical Self-Expression; Communal Effort; Civic Responsibility; Leaving No Trace; Participation; Immediacy; Each One Teach One. An emergent and unofficial principle of Safety Third is a mock-cavaliar attitude towards safety bandied about by artists and artwork builders who push the limits of self-expression and self-reliance. 

The central icon and effigy of the event, the San Clan, is derived from an image found in San rock art in numerous locations in southern Africa, and symbolises a community as one. The design was created by Lil Black in 2006, ahead of the first event. 

Yearly events include the Burning of the San Clan, the Purple Wedding and the Moop Swoop - a mass effort to remove litter. Mainstay camps and infrastructure include the Department of Public Works (DPW) comprising a team of dedicated volunteers that sets up and takes down the infrastructure, the Department of Mutant Vehicles (DMV) that organises the art cars and mutant vehicles, the Sanctuary, a safe space for those that have exceeded their limits, and The Rangers, a crack patrol unit of volunteers that ensures people have fun safely and respectfully.

Theme camps are the mainstay of accommodation and situated mainly around the Binnekring (inner ring) that separates the Playa (the central area on which the major artworks are placed, literally translated as "the beach") from the camping area based and referenced on a clock-layout. Over the years certain camps have stood-out and include major party venues such as camp Vuvuzela, the Post Office, Camp Anvil with their infamous blowing of the anvil, as well as conscious spaces such as The Heartspace. 

Living legends of the burn are legion and include fire-marshal Martin Glinister with his nature-inspired outfits who can be found holdin-space at the major burns and the irreverent Archie Bishop-Loon sporting purple robes who presides over the purple wedding, and Ranger Bob. The many artists over the years that have created the minor (the mini-kring) and major artworks such as Danny Popper (Giant Puppets; Lego-Man, Finger of God);  Luke Atkinson (The Pendulum, 2007 - 2016), Nix Davies (X-Here, 2016; Yggdrasil, 2017), Kim Goodwin (nOthing, 2015; !Xam, 2016), Verity Maud (The Lotus Temple, 2015; Awakening, 2016),  Garfield Taylor and Rebecca Haysom (X-Hale, 2016) and Kyle Pratt (the Shell, 2017). The true heroes of The Burn are those behind the scenes that have made it happen over the years and ensure it keeps happening including Monique Schiess, Roger Mallett. Adriaan Wessels, Sonica Kirsten, Scheepers de Bruin (Skippy), Sam Bendzulla, Paul Grosen, Captain Tom Goldschmidt and many others.