"On this day, in 1916, Ishi died"

I've been following The Suburban Bushwacker blog from across the pond. Tonight I saw a post there that I enjoyed, titled the same as this one (thus the quotation marks). At the end of this very readable post is a quote that I just love:

"Ishi felt Western society was essentially silly - the only things that impressed him were matches and glue"

Enjoy clarity reaching out through time to tap you on the forehead every once and a while,

Bp

[Original post here, photo via Wiki commons, quote via The Free Library]

There and Back Again, The Wife and Hanbleceya Camp '08

The Wife returned from her Hanbleceya yesterday safe and sound, happy, healthy and sun burned. For folks who don't know what that word up there means, here is a post where I talk a little bit about the Hanbleceya ceremony as performed by the Redwind family that we are a part of.

The first picture is The Wife heading out before the trip. Check out those fine digs eh? What can we say, it's not a fashion show. Anything you wear out there needs to be able to be torn and soot-smeared and rolled in dirt without concern.

This next picture is all her gear, which T. dubbed "The Mound of Adventure." Now this much stuff might seem excessive to folks if you're thinking about this as a camping trip. But it's far from a camping trip. For those 'going up on the hill' (the fasters) there is a bunch of ceremonial accoutrement that are needed. For those going out to support camp, there is a lot of comfort needed. This is more like a work camp than a camping trip -- many times you put in 12 - 14+ hour days taking care of all the things that need to happen, so you want a nice comfortable home base to rest your bones in afterwards.

"After" pictures aren't really necessary, as I can provide them with just a few words. For the Mound of Adventure, just roll everything around in a fine fine desert dust and add burrs to anything that's made of fabric. The Wife has a sunburned face and a smile that won't go away. Her eyes are ablaze from her experience, and she is more vibrant and healthier than I've seen her in years (which is saying something, she's never been a wilting lily). She's doing great.

Finally, I couldn't resist, is a picture of that finely worn-in knife sheath that The Wife acquired recently. Always the slave to fashion, she was the Belle of the Ball in that thing, and will be again at Sun Dance camp in a week or so.

Knife fashion

Pictured to the right (with our ever helpful product model Sula) are two nearly identical knives -- one mine and one The Wife's. Both of them are the classic Buck Hunter knife. It turns out that they are also fashion and status symbols in ways I hadn't anticipated.

The Wife only has occasional bouts of materialism, and these few and far between. One place this manifests is with knives. She has a few knives, some folding some fixed-blade. Her decision to get a buck hunter was not because I carry one on a daily basis -- she doesn't go for the whole "twinsies" thing as a couple. No, it turns out that this is the type of knife that "all the cool kids" are carrying this season.

She was out in rural Washington this last weekend with a large group of folks preparing for a summer of Lakotah high ceremony. During the course of the work, one of her friends got complemented on her knife -- it was a Buck Hunter. Not only was it a compliment, but it was from some old-school rural ex-military-type type to boot. The Wife needed one pronto.

She told me about her purchase, showed me the knife, then said something surprising.

"Now, hand me over that sheath," gesturing to my belt.

"Excuse me?"

"I need to switch you sheaths, yours is all nice and worn looking. Mine's all new and stiff, I'll look like a newb out there with this sheath."

After a pause, I shrugged and handed it over.

Only tonight, as she saw me taking pictures and knew I was writing up a post about this hilarity did she say, "gee, I could have offered you the whole new knife and just taken yours couldn't I. But then again, men are sentimental about their knives aren't you."

You know, I am, actually.

Enjoy your continued marital negotiations,

Bp

Unscheduled time

You know your life is running at too high a rev when you finally get unscheduled time, completely free time, and it kinda stresses you out. Is that stupid or what?

Owning a home, there is always a list of things to do. But now that the sink is in, there are no barn burners. Just stuff to get to whenever. I'm not sure it's that list that's getting to me.

I don't know what's getting to me, except possibly lack of sun. I've had a day or two of very self-directed, "work" free days. I did a bodywork trade with a friend of mine, she worked on me on Thursday and I her yesterday. That's always a good thing, it feels good for me to keep my skills up even though it's been many moons since I did that for a living.

My Qi Gong brother Matthew came over and we did some training together. He's at a stage in the abdominal training that requires a partner, so he comes over a couple times a week for me to train him, or train on him, or whatever you'd call that. It's a wild practice, and still very effective for both of us.

Today, I'm going over to a Redwind Elder's (she's going to kill me for calling her that) house to be an electrician for a few hours. It's a great thing to be able to offer the family. Although I expect I'll never work full time for a company again, it sure is a fantastic skill to have.

I have a few chores to do around the house, but otherwise I'm free. Free to do whatever I want with most of my day. And, just typing that tightens my shoulders... isn't that ridiculous?

Getting out to Stud Farmhand's place in Walla Walla is well timed it seems. I leave Monday. You know a trip is going to be good when fly fishing equipment is required, as well as hot tubbing equipment. Looks like I will get some coaching on how to shoot the shotguns I inherited from my Grandpa as well -- perfect. Hoping there will be some blazing sun to reset my Pineal gland, and this cabin fever will be a thing of the past.

Pootie just brought in a slimy section of root from the yard. He's warbling like he's caught something alive. I think he thinks it's a worm. He's a big worm hunter, and eater, out of the compost pile. Apparently the season is getting to him as well.

Enjoy your random seasonal moods,

Bp

Lakotah Sioux secede from U.S.

You probably heard that the Lakotah Nation is seceding from the U.S. They hold, very legally, that since all the treaties that were used to establish the "indian lands" have been broken on the U.S. government side, they are null and void. Makes legal sense -- anyone knows a contract no longer holds if one party boges out on it. In fact, and I'd love for someone to check me on this info, every single treaty that the U.S. has made with a first nation has been broken in some form or another.

I have no idea how this will play out, but it seems completely reasonable to me. What the Lakotah will do to recover from the cultural and literal genocide once they have their own nation will be quite a story as well. They are in a tough spot.

But here's a twist. Putin is reported to be ready to acknowledge them, in retribution for the White House stance on Kosovo. Genius. Talk about unexpected allies.

[Thanks to Piglipstick for finding that extra winger on the story.]

Enjoy your inter, intra-national news,

Bp

Remembering Solstice

Consider giving a moment to the fact that we're tipping over into another 1/4 of the season now. This isn't a Hallmark Holiday, it's real -- the skies reflect it, the sun reflects it. It's the Darkest dark, longest night, the sun turning around to return home, all of that. Can be a good time to think about your life and the year coming, or just go out side and take one, good, conscious breath.

Enjoy your naturally provided holidays,

Bp

"Crafternoon" photos

Crafts are an important part of the culture around here. The Wife and her little clan of crafters get together on alternating weeks and have a "knitting circle" called Crafternoon. Most of the crafts folks are doing involve leather and beads, and there is a group gift project that lots of folks are working on. I've tried to make the photos so that details of this gift aren't given away.


So, the first photo is just the state of the living room during crafternoons -- notice the cheese popcorn, and the oolong tea set. Classic.


The second picture is our friend working on a snazzy stick-constructed bead loom.















Third is a picture of another friend of ours, and oft-commenter on the blog, working on a new-fangled bead loom.





This last picture shows the incredible work our friend does -- he's been working on this deerskin bag for over a year, a little at a time. I'll have to get some photos of it when he's finished, it's just amazing.

Enjoy the excuses to hang out with your friends,

Bp

Ancient Peruvian suspension bridges investigated by MIT students

[photo credit in article link]

This New York Times article talks about the amazing rope suspension bridges that the Peruvians had made in the Andes before the invasion of the Conquistadors. A group of MIT students worked to replicate the means by which the bridges were made, to study the properties of the structures. Very cool.
[thanks Bentley]

Enjoy your mind-blowing ancient knowledge,

Bp

Physical impossibility experienced upon awakening

So I woke up this morning, and the sheets and blankets were all in their usual spot... over on The Wife's side of the bed. I had a sheet and 1/2 of a wool blanket, the other wool blanket, and the quilt were all scrunched over on her side.

This is normal, and to be expected. As we all know, The Wife is ectothermic, and derives her heat from outside sources. This is her special super power in the hero team that is our marriage, she is Ambient Temperature Girl. Combined with Thermonuclear Boy, much crime fighting gets done.

Here's the thing. The Wife is in Washington right now helping out with a Waldorf School fund raiser for The Good Reverend's family.

This leaves me with only two explanations. One: The wife has remotely, from a state away, stolen the covers. Two: Her side of the bed has somehow taken it upon itself to steal the covers for her, even though she is not here.

I don't know which answer is stranger... (more strange... however you say that).

I'm off to church [read: sweatlodge], see ya'll in the PM.

Enjoy your physio-spiritual anomalies,

Bp

Luddite wedding photos: Motley crew, showing off a ribbon shirt

Couple of pictures from The Luddite's wedding that don't involve a latrine. So the first picture is, from the left: The Luddite, Shady Kate (of the Canukistani Crew), The Wife, T., Tony, Bp, Jmichaell.

Second picture: The Wife and I posing as prompted by the photographer to "be romantic." Just can't take a statement like that seriously. I chose this picture specifically because it shows off the beautiful work The Wife did on the ribbon shirt I'm wearing. The shirt is sewn from scratch, and I believe is the first one she ever did. Not a simple design. If you didn't follow the link, the short explanation of a ribbon shirt is Native American Formalwear -- normally a clean pair of jeans, cowboy boots and a ribbon shirt.

Enjoy your formal occasions,

Bp

Street Chickens

I've got approximately 15 minutes to get ready to head to Breitenbush hot springs and carry stones for 2 sweat lodges today. Keep filling my days and going to bed late. My friend and acupuncturist Jon Schell came by last night at like 10 with approximately 60 lbs of blueberries that he got from a client, and we bagged em til almost midnight. I'm a bit delirious, but here is a video to entertain you until I get back.

ZeFrank on NY urban wildlife (introduces another of the inside jokes of The Show, when a segment is weird and random enough, he'll ask "are the new viewers gone yet?"):

First photo from Hanbleceya, Steens Mountains from Akicita post (in the style of Catherine the Great)

Lots of info in this photograph: I'm up at the Akicita (pronounced a kee chee tah) post at sunrise, those are the Steens Mountains in the background, and there is basalt and juniper everywhere. The whole "taking photos of your feet" is an inspiration from Catherine The Great.

I did 2 sunrise shifts up there, keeping an eye out for camp. Akicita (roughly translated as "warrior") is a lookout post, you have binoculars and a radio to call into camp if someone is coming in. In 9 years, only last year did the Akicita post call in to camp; once because 5 cowpokes (1 woman, 4 men, all horseback, 4+ dogs) drove 200 or so head of cattle past camp no more than 300 yards away; and secondly because a BLM guy on a 4-wheel ATV came blazing into camp. It worked out great, once to keep the camp quiet and hidden, and once to make sure we had a welcome crew for the government agent. BLM Guy turned out to be very nice, courteous and respectful. He was just curious to see who had been using the spot, hanging prayer ties, etc.

I'm back from Hanbleceya ceremony, there are dusty clothes all over the living room floor, and I have a lot of settling in to do. I also have to get a Flickr account, and get going on some photographic excess for ya'll.

ps: Found out, to my dismay, that this camera only goes to F8.0 -- it really is a snap and shoot, and I already feel cramped. I wanted 16 or better yet 32 for this shot. Oh well.

More later,

Bp

Vision Quest ceremony, Hanbleceya

Tomorrow morning at 0-dark-hundred I'll be heading out to support a Vision Quest camp. Specifically, I'll be supporting one lady who is going up "on the hill" as it's termed, to fast. I figured I'd just post a few thoughts or introductions to this ceremony as it is performed by the Redwind family.

The Hanblecheya ceremony outwardly means sitting alone in the desert, in a small altar (not big enough to lay down generally), praying. The idea is that you are there to pray and nothing else, so you don't eat, you don't drink water, and you don't even sleep if you can pull that off. If possible you don't even sit down. At least that is where you set your sights. It can last anywhere from overnight, to 4 days/nights -- there are rare occasions where people "do a double" and stay 8 days. In my experience, "doubles" are so rare nowadays as almost to be a thing of legend. My first teacher had performed one in the 60's, and the only people he mentioned who had done it were all heavy medicine people. In some lineages, 4 full days are expected from Sun Dancers, but this isn't a hard and fast rule by any means.

Hearing about the ceremony, people who are unfamiliar with the tradition generally get caught up thinking about the physical realities. It's a daunting proposition, being without food and water in the desert (at least we go to the desert) for 4 days. From a purely physical standpoint, that's really pushing it. From a spiritual standpoint, you just do what you need to do to walk in the footsteps of the tradition -- and all the details built into the ceremony have their reasons. The only way to really realize the wisdom behind the ceremony is to experience it.

This is an intensely personal ceremony. The length of time a person has committed to being up is a secret, and details about what they experienced in their altar are only shared (initially) with the Intercessor of the ceremony and possibly not even them. Questers are instructed to keep their dreams and visions and prayers close to the heart and let them sink in before attempting to share them.

In the end, at least from my personal experience, it's almost impossible to relay what happens to anyone else. It is like trying to describe a dream to someone that had great power for you. The details and references from the dream are so personal that often you cannot really share it a way that can be understood. For me, the Hanbleceya experiences I've had never did translate. Most attempts I made just seemed to drain the power or magic of the experience away. In the end, I drew some pictures and kept some notes, and I go back to review them when I am called to. I always find more information when I do this. The more time passes, and the more I have lived into the prayers I made there, the more I understand the results of those intentions.

Hanbleceya in the old days, as I was taught, was basically a threshold ceremony for young adults. A ceremony performed in the transition to adulthood, where the individual could have an intense experience of their own connection to the divine and pray for direction in their life. I have also been taught that it was performed by anyone who found themselves without direction, or in need of clarification about big decisions in their life. It wasn't, even in the old days, only performed by young adults.

In my opinion, the modern world stunts our development as adults. Many adults find themselves without purpose or direction, and without a connection to a greater cause or meaning. This, to me, is a delayed adolescence. Many people never develop beyond this stymied adolescent state. This ceremony, in my opinion, is a fantastic way to begin walking as adults again.

I could go on and on, but have another final to take and a trip to pack for. I expect I'll post more before I leave tomorrow morning, at least a quickie goodbye post.

I request folks send good vibes, thoughts, and prayers to the Redwind family over the next week, most importantly to the Questers. They are doing important work, not only for themselves, but for everyone else too.

Soon,

Bp

Flashback - - Grandmaster Flash and Melle Mel - White Lines

Found this video the other day on a whim. Finals are two days away, and then I leave immediately to the desert to help out at a Vision Quest (Hanblecheya) ceremony, where I am supporting a quester. I'll have to attempt an explanation of that whole scene before I leave -- but for now, some break dancing.

Best T-Shirt Ever, and other materialistic madness

How materialistic shopping madness happened this day. First -- take the car in, turns out the thing we need fixed we don't need fixed -- boom, saved $250 right off the bat. How must I respond to this revelation so early in the morning? Get off my ass and replace the stolen camera. T. was pleased about this, as he wants to get on archiving this year's garden decisions. With spring spronging, I've seen so many photo ops it's not funny, so this will be a good move. There are some cat dynamics that will just be easier to address with photos as well. Hard to plunk down another 300-some-odd dollars, even though I know some of it was covered by insurance. C'est la Vie.

While I was online, I decided to replace my favorite t-shirt of all time. My original t-shirt is a victim of the Wife's theory of not separating colors in the laundry as long as you wash in cold. (She's pretty and all, but sometimes, GEEZ -- I kid, I kid). I buy the shirt from a Native American source, because the image isn't trademarked and sells so well that everyone and their uncle now prints them.

Update on the ants, almost all gone already -- go genocide.

More later, enjoy your day.

BP

"Naps" after staying up all night

Wow I'm discombobulated.

Just woke up from a "nap." I think I laid down... 3 hours ago? I don't really know, it was light out back then, that much I do know. Feel like someone snuck up on me and conked me on the back of the head with a lead pipe. What week is it?

I was on up all night on Mt. Hood, keeping an eye out for folks who are fasting up there. The ceremony is called the Hanblechya, or Vision Quest. The style they are doing is a "dark" fast, meaning they are inside little teeny sweat-lodge looking structures. Not only no food or water for 4 days, but no light either. It's an admirable thing they are doing, and last night is the only night I could fit in a helper shift in my schedule.

There is a fire kept 24/7 while they are in their altars, and there is a guard post or "Akichita" present the whole time as well.

Akichita is not a totally ceremonial post, as people do come and go off the land and need questions answered, and need to be smudged off (with smoke from cedar boughs) before they proceed into the property. Also, there is a very important feeling for the folks in ceremony that someone' watching over them. Nothing unexpected is going to interrupt their ceremony, they have someone out there specifically to take care of any problems.

It was a haul to stay up all night. I ended up using my cell phone set to an alarm every 15 minutes to pull it off. Gotta love technology. Nice test of my newfound health... sit up all night under a Pendleton blanket in the woods. It was beautiful out, but eventually it got cold enough I had to resort to sitting in my car. I didn't like this idea because I couldn't hear in there, but it was just getting too dam cold.

So, shout out to the folks (3 I believe) who are fasting. They're studs (studettes, all women); may they get the insight they are seeking, may they be safe, and be able to integrate their experiences back into the world.

Book Review: Two Leggings; The Making of a Crow Warrior

I know, this book was published in 1967 -- I never promised NEW book reviews, just book reviews.

Peter Nabokov writes excellent biographical and historical books on Native American culture. Two Leggings is a biography of one Crow warrior based on the field manuscript prepared by William Wildschut for the Museum of the American Indian. It's an excellent piece of writing, both for interest and for history's sake. I enjoyed it very much.

I like reading history from the perspective of the people themselves. If I want to learn about a culture, I want to learn about it from the folks living in it (even in hindsight) over folks in ivory towers telling me "how it is." The first book I read in this style that really galvanized my attention was Sun Chief, autobiography of a Hopi. The guy was irreverent, honest and lewd; as well as wise and of course full of mourning. It lit me up for this style of historical writing.

As for Two Leggings -- I appreciated seeing into the Crow culture, because it is so different than most of the NA cultures I've studied so far. These folks were Raiders, pure and simple. They hunted and followed buffalo, but they were very directed (at the least, the main character was very directed) toward warfare and raiding.

Seeing various ceremonies I half-recognize from my own life (I participate in many Lakotah ceremonies and have for many years) used to hunt down and kill enemies or steal their horses is a real mind bender. It shows the "practical" side of the mysticism, as well as the fact that it wasn't always used for self and humanities' spiritual betterment. It is an excellent way for me to get some perspective on my own studies and personal history.

For folks without this direct connection to the material, this is just a rousing read about a young warrior who wants nothing more than to be raiding constantly. He's obstinate and doesn't listen to his elders until eventually, and inevitably, life shows him that he aught to.

In the end, of course, everything goes south. The Crow are one of the tribes that thought of the white man "enemies of my enemies are my friends." They contributed scouts for the cavalry, even for Custer. They expected to be treated fairly for their help, and of course weren't. The book doesn't dwell on the years of decline, it's entirely about this one man and his life and life stories. I highly recommend it to anyone who has interest in history of the U.S. West, Native American history, or Native American spirituality.