"Hwyl.... is a curious Welsh word that expresses the sing-song cadence, the rhythmic auto-hypnotic transport evoked
by musical syllables, in which both poets and orators... have
the power of being themselves."
___ John Cowper Powys, "Obstinate Cymric"
Hwyl (HOIL) is the untranslatable Welsh term for the ecstasy which grips the priest, orator, poet, or actor and which which in ancient times, would have been the clear sign that the Goddess Awen (Inspiration) attended the speaker.
In our day we tend to be suspicious of charismatic speakers who have the power to sway the crowd. Oratory, like all other arts, must have integrity or it can lead to such horrors as the Nuremberg Rally. Hwyl comes when the speaker accesses the way between the worlds, when he clearly envisagesw his subject in a true, living sense. When the voice is flooded with superhuman power like a singer's, when the words appear in strength like a host of soliders, when the listeners lose all sense of time and place and their emotions are loosened - that is when the inspirational power of hwyl is present.
The ecatasy of the wo9rd still has power to change and encourage listeners. We hear its tones in the voices of Martin Luther King, Jr., Nelson Mandela, and other great speakers of this century - men and women who gave their voices, hopes, and hearts to their people as a free gift and to whom is tranted the gift of prophetic and inspired speech.
"Make it your practice today to honor the ecatasy of the word by speaking from your heart rather than making small talk. Listen with attention to what is said and meant."
[From: "The Celtic Spirit" by Caitlin Matthews]
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