"We can have inherited no single syllable from the names given by Paleolithic hunters, but never since their day have our landmarks been without them, without some sound to enrich and confirm their personality."
___ Jacquetta Hawkes, "A Land"
The abiding landmarks of our country have personality, quality, and emotive properties. Landmarks - features of the and that speak to us of the ancient sculpting of the earth in distant eras - recall the coming of humankind, who raised and shaped the land in new ways; and they embody the myths, deeds, and actions that have happened there.
The process of naming places in the land began in ancestral eras too distant to imagine, but we can guess that our ancestors, like us, saw the broad outlines of gigantic figures - the jut of a giant's knee, the rocky profile of a noble face, the upturned breasts of a goddess, the vast cauldron of a river-filled canyon or valley.
Every natural landmark is redolent of the myths and legends of the land. Even in seemingly featureless places, those stories still run like veins of golden song beneath the sleeping earth. The utterance of the landmark's name can be a magical evocation of its stories and remembrances.
"Recall the features of the landscape around your own home. What would they be like without manmade structures upon them? What stories, traditions, and songs abide in your land? If your land was once occupied by other peoples, what was its name in that time, and how does it preserve that meaning?
When you next walk in your locality, be sensitive to the spirit of the place. Name the area; get to know it; let its story be told again."
[From: "The Celtic Spirit" by Caitlin Matthews]
September
Month of September - benign are the planets;
Tending to please, the sea and the hamlet;
Common it is for steeds and men to be fatigued."
___ anon. Welsh poem
The month of September sees the fruit and berry harvest, and the turning of the trees to their many
colors. The meditation themes for this month include appreciating the harvest, home, wandering,
belongi9ng, boundaries, nationhood, music, beauty, and ceremony.
In the great country I live in the country is sung through the Songlines but I expect you know all about that.
ReplyDeleteAh yes, Australia - I do know what you speak of and envy you for living in such a sacred land. I feel there that the people are still so close to the original roots of the Land.
ReplyDeleteSobeit