Tags
Afterlife, Afterworld, Ceremony, Departures, journey, Nature, Postaday, Small craft, Tradition, Weekly Photo Challenge
by Whitt Birnie
These small craft are not playthings. They are the creations of a native people honoring their loved ones, those who have passed into the afterworld.
Homemade from palm materials gathered in their backyards, the husk of a coconut serves as a hull, a transparent layer of frond acts as a sail. The rolled, fresh green banana leaf offers a tiny castle, a temporary refuge for the spirit. An optional folded “in memory of” note might contain a farewell prayer, or just a handwritten name.
The departure ceremony could occur when a family is moved to commemorate their loved one’s final journey into the unknown, but is more commonly seen around religious holidays. The only requirements are a tragic loss, and a calm lagoon with a gentle breeze blowing offshore.
Nature, and the cultural traditions of native people, can lend tremendous support to our perspective when life’s journey becomes rough. The simplicity of concept and clarity of vision help us see through the disappointments and distractions of everyday existence, to find time to relax and unwind, to focus more on the essentials, and finally, to appreciate what a precious gift life’s short journey really is.
What a beautiful and simple way to express something so profound.
Thanks, Whitt.
How wonderful! You do write well!
Yes, the ceremony left me deeply moved. But your comment made me laugh-(balance in life). When I got to college, I had advanced placement in English, so I enrolled in a top level literature course featuring Melville, Conrad and other authors whose work I’d read and reread and adored. I got handed a graduate student who nailed me for too many spelling and grammar errors for the major. Failure, or the equivalent, a D+. Impossible to argue content over form. Out went the major, the creative writing courses, and my first choice. Time for a major tack. And so went life, wandering this way and that, working and tacking upwind, exploring, finding plenty to create along the line, but having missed the formal training in writing I sorely needed to really write well.
Haven’t you heard of “schooling getting in the way of education”? Seems to me you are doing just fine
Hey, if I’d had teachers like you, I’d be all set. And your smile shines right through those dark glasses.
Such small craft, freighted with such heavy burdens, on such a broad expanse of sea. Just like human life. Lovely post.
Wish I had your way with words. Thank you so much.