Manitou Api
“The Place Where the Creator Sat"
David Courchene (Nii Gaani Aki Inini)
September 17, 2006
On this sacred site, you could not help but feel the presence of the ancestors joining us in our efforts to find ourselves as a unique and beautiful people. You could feel the dancing of the ancestors as songs were sung at the (Whiteshell) petroforms. As the teachings were being delivered by the elders, it felt so good to be hearing the truth being spoken…September 17, 2006
With the building of the Petroform of the Turtle, this experience literally took us back to the time when our ancestors left markings on the Earth. Today we have left ours, signifying our search for the Truth and our return to the sacred site of our people.
The most noticeable thing was the excitement that everyone was showing as they searched for rocks to form the petroform. As it was being built to its near completion, one of the grandmothers called me over and told me to look in the direction of the back of the Turtle. What I could see was an Eagle emerging from the back of the Turtle. The elder seemed to be so excited. One had to be there to witness and feel what was being done as an event that reached beyond our minds' comprehension.
During the four days, little baby turtles kept appearing…
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Photo at the top of the page:
Muzzu-Kummik-Quae;
Earth Woman of the Anishinabe
Earth Woman of the Anishinabe
Composite of moon, forest and petroform, Whiteshell Provincial Park, Manitoba, 1993.
Muzzu-Kummik-Quae is the mother of all creation.
Geez! I hope that in their enthusiasm to find rocks they did not destroy too many other things.
ReplyDeleteI am going to repeat an earlier comment in a slightly different form: building a rock pile using material from the surface risks damaging subtle placement of rocks. The idea that "enthusiastic" people built a rock pile in the middle of an ancient sacred site is, at best, troublesome and, at worst, somewhat appalling.
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