Good morning, sunshine!
Jul. 17th, 2007 05:43 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
trystinnThis morning began at about 3:30 am, when I left the house to go pick up Deb and Lori. We drove to the beach to join a group of women celebrating "The Thirteen Indigenous Grandmothers Ritual". The ladies had already created a candlelit path to guide us safely down the path to the beach, where a lovely firepit and altar had been set up and large stones had been set up in a sort of rough circle, outlined nicely by small candles.
The group was a fascinating combination of Japanese, Hawaiian and Native American tribes of the area (Swinomish, Sammamish, etc.) and Western European stock (like myself, though we were definitely in the minority). Most of the women were over 50, and while I wasn't the youngest present it was a near thing. After a bit of chanting in what I believe was Hawaiian and Tibetan (many Oms), we took hand fulls of rose petals and walked to the water, wading in to our knees. Its amazing how you really don't feel the cold after a few moments of chanting. In order, oldest to youngest, we offered our prayers for peace - very few were in English. I offered a simple Hebrew prayer at my turn. When done, we returned to the fire and read words written on scraps of paper from a wicker cornucopia and in turn, shared them in a round - repeating the word for peace in the language specified and its location (I had Alabama, go figure). After another round of singing and laughter, we went back to the water's edge and performed a few steps of a Hawaiian benediction dance. Most of this all occurring after it had started sprinkling, though none of us really cared as we were too caught up in the chanting, watching the sunrise over the ocean and listening to the cries of the bald eagles circling overhead.
My shoes are drying out (no one told me about the wading portion of the morning) and I'm exhausted but totally blissed out.
What a way to start the day!
The group was a fascinating combination of Japanese, Hawaiian and Native American tribes of the area (Swinomish, Sammamish, etc.) and Western European stock (like myself, though we were definitely in the minority). Most of the women were over 50, and while I wasn't the youngest present it was a near thing. After a bit of chanting in what I believe was Hawaiian and Tibetan (many Oms), we took hand fulls of rose petals and walked to the water, wading in to our knees. Its amazing how you really don't feel the cold after a few moments of chanting. In order, oldest to youngest, we offered our prayers for peace - very few were in English. I offered a simple Hebrew prayer at my turn. When done, we returned to the fire and read words written on scraps of paper from a wicker cornucopia and in turn, shared them in a round - repeating the word for peace in the language specified and its location (I had Alabama, go figure). After another round of singing and laughter, we went back to the water's edge and performed a few steps of a Hawaiian benediction dance. Most of this all occurring after it had started sprinkling, though none of us really cared as we were too caught up in the chanting, watching the sunrise over the ocean and listening to the cries of the bald eagles circling overhead.
My shoes are drying out (no one told me about the wading portion of the morning) and I'm exhausted but totally blissed out.
What a way to start the day!
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Date: 2007-07-17 02:20 pm (UTC)I'm envious.
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Date: 2007-07-17 04:23 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-07-17 08:54 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-07-17 10:23 pm (UTC)Though, as I look back, I really wished we had walked the entire way there. It wasn't but about a half mile, but given the hour probably wasn't a good idea - we do have a coyote in the neighborhood.
My shoes are still damp as all hell, though. *WEG*
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Date: 2007-07-18 10:18 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-07-18 07:10 pm (UTC)