19. Rituals for mourning
While a person is dying and on the threshold of death, elders will tell the people in the room to reserve their tears until the person has passed on to the Spirit World. They feel that the dying person will have an easier time making that transition if tears are not shed. When the person has finally expired, then tears flow freely. Everyone, men included, are encouraged to cry. Elders tell us that the only thing that will help will be to cry and to cry until you cannot cry anymore. Once the tears are gone then you will have an easier time coping with death.
20. Richness of body language
Mi’kmaqs and Native people, in general, have the ability to use non-verbal signals to warn of danger, to signal indifference, to ridicule and to give directions. Most people know the signals since they have used them or have seen their parents use them. Some signals are universal among Native people and some are unique to a tribe. Without uttering a word, a Mi’kmaq facial expression can ridicule or express feelings and laughter will be spontaneous.
21. Honouring ceremony for elders (Pestiewa’ltimk)
This ceremony was celebrated in conjunction with the annual Christmas season. In the years gone by, elders were honoured during the period from Christmas Day on through to January 6 or the Feast of the Three Kings. Since the name Noel came from the Christmas day itself, all the Noels would be honoured first, followed by second day of honouring all of the Stephens since this day was also the Feast of Saint Stephen. All male members of the village or reserve would be honoured. The honoured person’s family prepared a feast for the entire community, and the community brought a gift of a cross on which a gift of a tie, shirt, or scarf might wrap around the cross. The food was abundant and it was an ideal time of year to rest from hunting. A different name was honoured each evening so eventually everyone with these names, regardless of age, had the opportunity to be honoured.
22. Ceremony for individual accomplishment (Wi’kipaltimk)
This honouring ceremony is intended for people of different ages to honour individual accomplishments or feats. It is performed when a young boy has made his first kill, whether animal or fish. His household prepares a feast, cooking what he has brought home for food. The entire village or neighbourhood is invited. The young boy sits at one end of the table and watches as the elders eat what he has provided. Each elder who comes in brings a small gift for the youth. The young boy does not eat but only enjoys the company and the compliments of his good hunting skills. In the contemporary sense, this ceremony is now used to honour educational accomplishments or acquiring a position.
23. Dreams
Our Creator advised us at our beginnings to listen to our dreams, and thus for ancient millenniums our people have been able to interpret their dreams and understand what knowledge they bring. Some dreams had no meaning while others cautioned or provided guidance. No dreams were taken for granted and each one was carefully analysed for a possible message from the Spirit World. While this is a skill fast disappearing from our Nation, it is still maintained among some of our elders. There are those who have the ability to see the meaning and content of a dream and provide valuable assistance or guidance.
24. Ability to function in separate worlds
In order for Native people to be happy and productive during their lifetime, they must be able to function in what is perceived as the two and sometimes three worlds. One must be productive and happy in his tribal world, but also one must also be able to accept and live harmoniously with all his brothers and sisters on the earth, including those in another society. Thus it is important then for our children to learn of other cultures and peoples, recognizing that they are not forced to be part of those environments but do so from choice. Education offers that realm of knowledge and choice. The Spirit World thus is the other realm that we must come to know, accept, and from which we seek guidance and nurturance.
25. Customs and beliefs affecting women
The female of Mi’kmaq society is a powerful force, well recognized among its people. She is a strong force for transmitting the values, culture and language of the people since she is the main agent of the culture. In every Mi’kmaq unit there is a strong female presence. The power of the woman and the cycles of her body are so strong, they could affect the spirits of the male so as to diminish his ability to hunt or fish. Certain customs are thus followed by women: they must not ever step over a male’s legs, or his fishing pole (smkwati), his bow and arrows, his gun, or anything else associated with hunting and fishing.
26. Customs for visiting
When a male elder visits a home, it is generally understood that the visit is meant for the male of the house; if a female elder visits, it is usually to see the female of the house. If a male elder visits, the wife may leave to give the elder men privacy in their conversations. The same procedure holds for a female visiting the home.
27 Belief in a forerunner
Elders have the ability to distinguish a forerunner from a coincidence. The message of an impending death is represented by a bird, an animal, or a peculiar incident. Some elders can even name the individual who will die because of the message they received. When the elder is visited with a forerunner, s/he will not become frightened or feel threatened. It is a very spiritual foretelling and is well-respected among our Nation.
28. Feeding of Grandfather (Apuknajit)
The feeding of Apuknajit is a time of giving thanks to the Spirits during the most difficult time of winter. It is a ritual which is performed on January 31. When darkness has settled, food is put out into the night preferably on an old stump or near a tree and offered to the Spirits. In days gone by, eel skins and fish heads were offered. An elder would lead the family to a stump, give thanks for surviving thus far and ask for additional assistance until spring.
29. Behaviour modification of children
In the past, not all children’s behaviour was corrected by modeling and metaphors. Children on certain occasions needed something more concrete than words to correct their behaviour. This is a time when the parents will ask the child to go into the bush and select his/her switch (npisoqnn). The indication at the time is that the child is going to be disciplined with it. The psychological effect in securing your own form of punishment is sometimes greater than the actual beating itself. Most of the time parents would consider your efforts and obedience in going into the bush together with a stiff lecture as sufficient for any misbehaviour, although if you had the misfortune of being switched then you would never forget the misdeed that warranted such punishment.
30. Respect for food
The rituals for food, food preservation and behaviour while eating are rigidly reinforced. First, food is sacred and as such we bless ourselves before we eat to give thanks and offer respect to food. Secondly, one is never allowed to play with food or throw food around. One is never permitted to sing, play games, or use any abusive language when referring to food. Food similarly is never put into fire, but always returned to nature. It is also not wasted, and each person takes only what he or she can consume.
Mary Louise Martin
bi-polar codes
grey wolf
today
the sky blue, mauve, grey
the dull teal waters move
in big bunches
toward
shore line
shiny crows
step high
into shallow water
they reach down
and pull out
fresh water clam
grey wolf
i spy
i love you …
kissing a lot of frogs before a good day
mauli crow
she not so old
she say
she feel heart break today
mauli crow
she know
heart ache
when love at stake
she say
it ain’t
a good day
for heart play
pretty wild flowers
smile on mauli and me
we down on our knees
looking all around the frog pond
singing love song
she say kiss a lot of frogs
good way to stay free …
mauli and me …
a warrior
a warrior
has a worthy opponent
to live and learn from opposition
to keep the inner balance
a warrior
in times of peace
to gather
to retreat
to wear the sacred feathers earned
in worlds of sacred harmonies
a warrior
to seek spirit guidance in prayers … in all that is related
to open to the soft whisperings of wind’s song
to accept the offerings of courage … wisdom … serenity
a warrior
to be of one with sweet solitude
learning the language of the winged ones
the dancing trees and falling waters
to sing in their tongue the songs of earth mother
a warrior
to be of the ordinary
to remain noble to humble beauty
to burn the sacred smudge alone
cleansing body mind and soul
to slip into sleeping hours without human fears
a warrior
to play upon the drum
to create heartbeat of the mother
as one …
En’sig no’ga’ma
all our relations
(1996)
[untitled]
i … mi’kmaq live and dream
land of the haunting beauty of the birches
moon … grandmother moon speaks
pearls of cloud ones grace the night sky and surround her
and pass her by
her night light dances on the silver birch bark
mi’kmaq … i live and dream
dusty roads
wild berries
red earth
alder and sweet fern bushes
i dance … alone …
alone … i dance
under night skies
for the sacred beauty and strength
of what lives and dies
within and all around
at every moment of our human time
i … mi’kmaq live and dream
we’lalin niscum
(1996)
smudge
my lodge is thick with fragrance
cedar … sage … sweet grass
sweet fern and pine needles
smoke from their fires
held in the albalone shell
a smudge
warming the soul and welcoming ancestral spirits
out of the night coolness
and into my lodge
on my reserve
with trust …
(1996)
moments to meditate upon
to sit and mediate
the songs of the winged ones
in the mid of day
the cool air
mingled with the penetrating sun
the rain forest awakening
dressed in shades of green deep in emerald
mingled and phasing the shades
are lighter greens into yellows
forest light belongs to shadow’s shade
and to sit
and to mediate the songs of the winged ones
is sweet medicine
is sweet medicine
and how the soul forgets lost in human form
and how the soul forgets
to give thanks
when it is an everyday occurrence
(1996)
grandmother moon
in night skies
she is ever present
and cloud people
surround her hoop of light
misting a shawl
a sacred robe
of evening’s rainbow design …
grandmother moon
grandmother moon
on this evening you are
ghost like hoop
your body of light
powerful and beautiful
there is a calm within
we’lalin
giver of night light …
grandmother moon
piercing the darkness
of night sky land
her sacred white hoop
high above in visual effects
the cloud ones blanket the star people
and she is solo
with a rainbow hoop
of misted waters
that gather around her
she pierces the darkness
powerful
she creates shadows’ dance
she is night light …
grandmother moon
she looks into and beyond my soul
the lacy cedar boughs creating her shadows
cedar ones weave design of midnight canvas
she looks into and beyond my soul
she a powerful sacred hoop of full light
simplicity against the ebony blues and blacks
of night sky land and crystal star people
she looks into and beyond my soul
her round face of translucent beauty and light
quiet powers speak out in her name …
we’lalin
untitled
given to me as a gift
there is a sacred rattle
a rain stick
pebbles run along inside the cacti stick
through the inverted cactus thorns
fast and faster they move inside
as the rattle takes life
from the dances of sound
oh so sacred
from the dances of sound
my mi’kmaq spirit laughs
with her gentleness
reminding me
when once upon a time
a time not so long ago
of sweet falling rains
it is good to be reminded of the weaver
it is good to be reminded of the weaver
yes … from day to day
things … events are quite …
are quite ordinary
to look out beyond oneself
that is what the weaver asks
to walk amongst the cool rains
the soft mist
the surreal of fog
to catch its moisture on our silken threads
of our human life’s design
to stand as a two legged
underneath the standing ones
the tall … overwhelming cedars
or the ghost like essence of eastern birch
haunting the dream state with much beauty
wind all the while creating sound whispers … surround
one forgets the ordinary …
but strangely enough while in the midst of the standing ones
they are dancing your spirit … we must not forget
we are all weavers of the web
we are much like the spiders
producing and weaving silken threads
patterns of great beauty in and through the standing ones
we all belong to our earth mother’s design
and we are no greater than the tiny ancient weaver
and we are gifted indeed to know that we are related …
we’lalin niscum
(1996)
she wonders
she sits at a large picture window
watching for long periods of time
their wing span
it appears to span the horizons
as they soar
and they perch around and by the ocean waters of the bay
as she sits and looks out the large picture window she wonders
she sits at a large picture window
that overlooks blue waters
&n
bsp; ocean waters that are sapphire by skylight blues
ocean waters that are greys by sky land of rain and mist
at times … storms rage and cedars dance
all this wild beauty before her
as she sit looking out the picture window and wonders
it appears to be so
that on certain days
the grandmothers and grandfathers of sky land
eagles in flight
dance upon the winds
before her human eyes
as she sits at a large picture window and wonders
she herself nested in a house built high in the tree tops
the grandfathers and grandmothers of sky land
they appear so close
they cry out
in a high piercing voice not readily understood by humans
they talk
oh they talk
ever so commanding in their presence
as they move with powers
in stillness of wind and in stormy grey skies
grandmothers and grandfathers of sky land in flight …
and in her human form she wonders
as she sits at the large picture window
inside the two legged dwelling
she wonders why she is caged in …
Mi’kmaq Story of Turtle Love
There is a story jeeje (small story) that has been told and retold through all our relations (en’sig no’ga’ma). Our Grandmothers and Grandfathers of sky land whispered the story to me through sister winds. The Wind dancers sang a song of true love, blessed in sweet harmonies with the winged ones from above. It is the story of Glooscap and his peace warrior ways.
Glooscap was the first Mi’kmaq created by the breath of the great spirit creator. He gave life to this son to fulfill the powers and gifts of bringing Mi’kmaq Territory to life. Glooscap’s first encounter was with his grandmother (ami giju). She was the soul survivor of the old worlds, very old and very wise. She knew of the encounter with her grandson and had waited for him. Glooscap always remained faithful to her and never took a wife. However, Glooscap had a very faithful and trustworthy companion that traveled the great Mi’kmaq Territories with him. Glooscap’s companion was Marten, a swimmer of the mighty waters and a four legged of the land. Marten also possessed the stealthy intelligence of his cousins, an important quality during times of coup.