The surprise was what I mistook at first as "just another cave," in an area known for its caves. The light was just right and somehow the interior of the "cave" seemed lit up.
I've commented before about a nearby cave sort of resembling a turtle; this big piece of stone immediately reminded me of a bear, especially those little stone beads in the shape of a bear:
...but at the other end, where some stones were piled up...
And I looked down at that fern covered drip edge of this big bear and saw the walled up stones that greatly resemble the stones in front of another place like this I know and thought, "Sweat Lodge..."
... under the bear's head where there was big a fire scorched stone...
Historically, rock shelters, caves, caverns, clefts, holes, or huge splits in bedrock or outcroppings had a connection to the healing spirit Hobbamock or Cheepi of the Underworld. There are several primary source accounts from all over the Eastern Woodlands of ceremonies occurring at such places, and offerings either thrown or placed inside the hole/split/cleft/cave/shelter.
ReplyDeleteThe accounts also talk of these places having connections to a serpent, which certainly makes sense as these places were once likely rattlesnake dens -- and also according to primary sources, the healing spirit most often appeared as a snake, and was most familiar to Pnieses, whose very emblem was the snake.
The old name for this general area was the the "Old Hunting Caves" in some older Waterbury Histories. Another name for a sachem was "Our Bear." The zigzag and other rows along and sometimes perpendicular to the spring and stream are kinda snakey. There's a lot of stuff going on here and I keep noticing more and more new details - in a place I've know about and walked around in for over 35 years...
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