A shamanic story from our lineage.
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“I was a shaman and lived in a village that was quite settled, we were not really nomadic, although we were situated on a river, so there was still a nomadic aspect to our existence. We also traded with other villages, we went by water and used canoes. We had to, of course, make the canoes. They could be different sizes, but generally, there was enough room for one person and trading items. The men mainly used the canoes. Trading was an essential part of our existence, so this meant that the canoes were necessary; this made the making and owning of a canoe more than a practicality. A canoe was a symbol of freedom and possibilities, so the making of one was a significant, almost spiritual event.
In many ways, making a canoe was part of initiation into manhood because it was your transport. Still, it also signified your ability to provide for your family in a much more significant way. The building could take up to two years because it was very specialised. You would have to search for the wood, which had to be solid but malleable or pliable, and whilst the elders would guide this, the person had to feel a genuine affinity with the tree. You would find young wood because it had to be moulded to become strong, independent, and purposeful, just like the young human being. The wood was a reflection of the person going through the initiation rite.
The wood then needed to be tempered, so it was soaked in water before being dried and oiled. However, putting the wood in the water had another purpose. It was connecting the material with its new meaning and aligning the two elements to the same energy so they work together. So, now you have the initiate working and moulding the wood and the wood and water working together, they are all becoming connected and invested. The actual making of the canoe was very meditative, and it was at this point that the initiate put himself, energetically, into the canoe. This took time, but this was expected; the more time it took, the greater the transfer of energy.
Once the wooden skeleton of the canoe was finished, it was covered with skins. These were usually seal skins because they too are from the sea and specialised for sea journeying. Killing any animal is a serious business and never something to be done lightly. All seals would be asked to give up their life for this new purpose and then thanked for the gift of life. All parts of the seal would be used, the skins for the covering, the blubber melted down and used as a waterproofing paste on the wood, and the meat is eaten to celebrate the initiate, new life and purpose.
The making of the canoe was not just about having a boat for trading. The process gave the initiate the skills to survive. Because they could make a canoe, they knew how to find and use wood for building, they knew how to kill an animal to survive, they learned what they could use from the animal, they learned by doing it themselves, they became an independent person. They had a canoe that offered them greater independence and an ability to go out into the world.”
~ Ancestor Mother Erith.
A lineage story from our Shamanic Tradition
– Brad and Caroline
Artwork by NC Wyeth
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