Welcoming the Ancestors with Ceremony

"Ceremony focuses attention so that attention becomes intention. Ceremonies transcend the boundaries of the individual and resonate beyond the human realm. These acts of reverence are powerfully pragmatic. These are ceremonies that magnify life.

In many indigenous communities, the hems of our ceremonial robes have been unraveled by time and history, but the fabric remains strong. In the dominant society, though, ceremony seems to have withered away." - 'Burning Cascade Head' from Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer

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We received an email as February came to a close. A new door was opening; another clue to just how water flows.

"NWLA (Northwest Language Academy) is having a group visit from Uganda and I agreed to show them around the Tilth campus, on Saturday, Mar. 3 starting around 1 pm. Would anyone like to join us?  There are 10 kids 11 -17 and 4 adults..."

I replied to the email

" Aloha,

 Prescott, Pete and I will have a welcome of sesame and blue corn bread and hot nettle infusions with coconut milk and honey for drinks at 1 PM for our Ugandan visitors, and I will chant them onto the land with Hawaiian 'oli when you arrive.
See you tomorrow! Moki"

There are things to remember, and protocol to put in place when you welcome Ancestors. When I wrote the medicine story 'The Safety Pin Cafe' protocol of respect and hospitality in particular were essential in the telling. Characters of fiction and myth-- the Silver-haired Raven and a Fairy-- operating a cafe welcomed ducks as well as a human dressed in black leather lace-ups or a face that no longer fit. Story pulled on the rootlets of ancient knowings that could and did cross boundaries of time and culture.

"We cross borders without regard, ignorant or arrogant of the protocol native to the transitional spaces that take us from this place to that place. Traditions remembered and practiced would maintain and pass along the right things to do, at the right time, and in the right frame of mind. Have we all become wanderers with passports un-stamped with the memory of teachings from the Ancestors and Nature? There are rituals to remember and common magic to induce respect for the beings and places that share this planet." 

- Mission of The Safety Pin Cafe

That medicine story remains the heart and soul of the real life I live with Pete. Separation from Hawaii challenges me to keep my cultural roots alive. As Robin Wall Kimmerer wrote in the quote above my 'ceremonial robe' and facility -- my ability to speak Hawaiian, share traditional foods and engage with others in practice-- are limited. Observing the Elemental cycles -- Wind patterns, Moon cycles, Bird activity-- helps to keep me from completely unraveling. I do what can be done and adapt. The addition of myth in my writing leaves a crack for magic, or wrinkle for the unplanned or unexpected visit; opportunity to pass along the right things at the right time.

Here on The Prairie Front, which also wears the name "South Whidbey Tilth", I am always on the look out for opportunities to create rituals to remember common magic. Our visit with the Dance of Hope Team from Ugandan was one of those opportunities.

Pete and I took a few pictures of our guests as they and our friend Linda walked up the gravel road to the small cedar fence where I waited to welcome them. Those pictures hide in the memory of our digital camera. I will have to ferret a way to access them. In the meantime use your imagination to enjoy a visit with those 10 kids and 4 adults. The video below shows them in full dance regalia.

Imagine our group of Uganda visitors, without regalia for dancing, clustered at the fence entry just on the other side of the grand pohaku (stone). I greeted them and welcomed them first in English, and then in 'olelo Hawaii (the language of my mother's people) pausing occasionally to expand the 'oli, explain here and there and involve the welcomed Ancestors.

The 'oli I chanted was Na 'Aumakua (the Ancestors)or Pule Houlu'ulu (Prayer to the Ancestors). Listen to the 'oli below.

The 'olelo Hawaii (Hawaiian language) and the English translation are here:

Na ‘Aumakua or Pule Ho'uluulu

*Adapted from Hawaiian Antiquities by David Malo

Na ‘Aumakua mai ka la hiki a ka la kau!
Mai ka ho’oku’i a ka halawai
Na ‘Aumakua ia Kahinakua, ia Kahina’alo
Ia ka’a ‘akau i ka lani
‘O kiha i ka lani
‘Owe i ka lani
Nunulu i ka lani
Kaholo i ka lani
Eia na pulapula a ‘oukou ‘o ka 'ohana Calizar ( insert your family name) 
E malama ‘oukou ia makou
E ulu i ka lani
E ulu i ka honua
*E ulu i ka pae’aina o Hawai’i a me ke'ia moku o Salish
E ho mai i ka ‘ike
E ho mai i ka ikaika
E ho mai i ke akamai
E ho mai i ka maopopo pono
E ho mai i ka ‘ike papalua
E ho mai i ka mana.
‘Amama ua noa.

Ancestors from the rising to the setting sun
From the zenith to the horizon
Ancestors who stand at our back and front
You who stand at our right hand
A breathing in the heavens
An utterance in the heavens
A clear, ringing voice in the heavens
A voice reverberating in the heavens
Here are your descendants, the (name of your family)
Safeguard us
That we may flourish in the heavens
That we may flourish on earth
That we may flourish in the Hawaiian islands and in this Salish island
Grant us knowledge
Grant us strength
Grant us intelligence
Grant us understanding
Grant us insight
Grant us power
The prayer is lifted, it is free

The Prairie Front was blessed with the presence of visitors on Saturday, March 3rd. For a few hours our Ugandan friends enlivened and expanded life here with their presence. They have come more than 8,000 miles by jet and travel in a big white van to spread their messages of hope across the U.S. These dancers did not come dressed in their dance regalia but they did come with an outlook for opportunity to move.

 A basketball lay quietly against the wall of the classroom all winter long. Pete has toted that ball hither and yon. This weekend the basketball became a soccer ball, passing between the agile feet of Ugandan dancers. A spontaneous game of pickup soccer. We watched the glee, the joy and the language of hope expressed as adults and children finally got warm enough to break a sweat. Movement is such a universal language of practical magic.

How fortunate we were to see the opportunity for ceremony in an email. Yes! We could be present. Yes! We could prepare a place of welcome. Yes! We could prepare warm drinks, and cook delicious food. Yes! We could create ceremony to remember to remember. Yes! We could connect ancestry. Yes! We could learn from one another.

This team of Ugandan dancers will be on Whidbey Island until March 9th when they present their final performance before heading to Minnesota. Click here for their Tour Dates.

 "Through music and dance, the Dance of Hope touring program allows children to connect with other children from different countries, to learn from each other and create a global community that allows them to reach a positive future without limitations. During this program, the power of music and dance goes beyond stage during outreach and residency activities, allowing children to deeply connect and make an impact on. Their performances leave everlasting memories in the lives of many people..." - Director's Note from the Dance of Hope Website

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Lastly, a short interview with Dr. Robin Wall Kimmerer caps this rambling post which began with Kimmerer's quote from Braiding Sweetgrass. I listen to her speak to acknowledge the strength of my well-worn ceremonial robe tattered and patched as it is from living with the changeable nature of Environmental Illness. Kimmerer ends the interview with this, "My job as a teacher and a writer is to help people fall in love with the world." Amama ua noa. The prayer is lifted. 

I second that.