The
language of the Algonquin peoples was developed by the ancestors specifically
to deal with subtle matters of reality, society, thought, and
spirituality.
Ceremonies
and practices such as fasting, acts of sacrifice, dancing, ingestion of various
preparations, dreams and visions all serve to refine the instruments of
perception and allow direct contact with extended realms of reality.
Ceremonies
are associated with acts of renewal, healing, and relationship to particular
forms of knowledge. The use of ceremony
focuses the mind and creates a sacred space in which knowledge can be discussed.
The four
winds are the animating powers and spirits or energies that bring about
maturity, continuation, renewal and
refreshment.
Within Indigenous science, thoughts are inseparable from language. The language that is spoke is not simply a
medium, or a vehicle for communication, rather it is a living thing, an actual
physical power within the universe. The
vibrations of its words are energies that act within the transforming processes
we call reality. Moreover, each language
is a link with the particular landscape in which a people live.
When
people sit in a circle… they are creating physical vibrations within the
universe and these vibrations evoke and bring into direct manifestation other
vibrations, powers, or energies.
The
Algonquin languages are rich in verbs, and the verbs themselves are similarly
rich in their structure, with an intransitive verb [to die, to sleep] having as
many as 350 endings, while a transitive verb [to see, to give] can have over
1200.
English…
is a language for the eye, while an Algonquin language is a language for the
ear. When he has to speak English
instead of mic maq, Sa’ke’j feels that he is being forced to interact with a
world of objects, things, rigid boundaries and categories in place of a more
familiar world of flowing processes, activities, transformations, and
energies. …While the surface world of
objects and material things can easily be identified by the eye, it is the ear
that must deal with the more subtle levels of flux, transformation, and reality
behind appearances. The English
language… does little more than mimic what the eye can do far better by giving
emphasis to names and objects, while the Algonquin family of languages
complements the eye’s abilities by addressing a world of sounds and
energies. … To the Algonquin people,
language is not a duplication of sight, but a compliment to it.
In
English we have the general category of “fish”, which is the result of
classifying, in terms of differences and similarities, the various creatures
that live in the water. It therefore
becomes convenient within our minds to gather together objects of different
shapes, sizes and colors and treat them all as members of the one category
“fish”. The Algonquin family of
languages, for example, does not make use of such categories or boundaries in
thought. Rather, it is concerned with
processes that are happening in the water and with the peoples’ relationships
to such processes.
The Hopi
worldview… does not contain a sense of movement or advancement of time. Rather, there is a notion of process whereby
the manifesting enters the manifest and, at the edge of this process, the Hopi
language is able to talk about things that are on the verge of coming into
manifestation. Possibly this leading
edge of manifesting could be compared to that split second of no return when
you are about to sneeze, or when the words within your mind are about to enter
into physical speech. Although we in the
west have a perception of our intention to act, this is not reflected in our
language. Imagine what it would be like
to think and speak within a language that focused upon the movements of your
thoughts, feelings, desires, will, and intentions; on the way intentions move
into physical action, the ways in which things come into physical existence
around you, and the movement between subjective and objective reality. [expective and inceptive]A complex and
highly subtle worldview is enfolded within the Hopi language. If a person does not speak the Hopi language,
there would be a considerable barrier to understanding and to experiencing this
reality.
Certain
objects contain great power and even to speak about them would involve the use
of names and words that connect a person to potent forces and energies.
Masks are
living beings… no one would think of displaying radioactive isotopes in their
living rooms, yet people quite happily put Iroquoian masks on walls… but these
masks … are replete with powers to transform themselves into different forms. Their powers can shift a person’s life out of
balance.
“All my
relations” means that The People have entered into alliances and contracts,
have obligations to fulfill, and must at times make sacrifices. Harmony is present when everyone, human,
animal, plant, and planet, fulfills their obligations and goes about their
proper business.
An elder
who had taken some young Native men from a mental hospital fishing. He spent the day simply being with hem and
afterward said that if they had been living in traditional ways they could have
become great healers. The young men had spontaneously broken the limited bounds
of our everyday reality but no longer had the support of their society, nor did
they possess the language, songs, and ceremonies that would help them navigate. They were lost, confused, and frightened to
find themselves in a disorienting world of voices, beings, powers, and energies
with no access to the indigenous science of this navigation.
Our
natural tendency is to warn, help, teach, instruct and improve. However… in the native world, you cannot
“give” a person knowledge in the way that a doctor gives a person a shot for
measles. Rather, each person learns for
himself or herself through the processes of growing up in contact with nature
and society; by observing, watching, listening and dreaming.
Coming-to-knowing,
entering into a relationship with the spirits, powers, or energies of
knowledge, is a process that must continue throughout a person’s life.
Healing
is the activation and renewal of spirit in the individual and the group.
The
plants, herbs, pieces of bone, feathers, and fur found in a medicine bag allow
people to come into contact with a much wider reality that includes the various
animating spirits within the world.
Language
= the vibrations that invoke the powerful energies of the cosmos.
Within
indigenous science, however, language has a power all its own and to speak it
is to enter into an alliance with the vibrations of the universe.
Within
indigenous science, to say something is to create an objective event and
release a process of energetic vibrations that enter into relationships with
the other powers and energies of nature.
Thus, since every sound is an event of significance, a person must take
responsibility for whatever he or she says.
Language
was created by the ancestors as a direct connection to nature. Words link man to the inner meaning of
things. There are stories of a time when
humans and animals spoke freely together.
Deep within the hidden recesses of indigenous languages the words of
power can still be found that will enable people to communication with the life
around them.
A
people who can speak to rocks, and hear their voices, must clearly treat rocks
as being animate in their language.
Our
problem is that we are used to living in a world of objects, so when the
question of animation comes up we immediately look at the rock, or try to
discover whether it has special characteristics that make it alive. But in the Algonquin world, animation is the
primary reality and the particular manifestations, the rocks, are less
important. Like young children excited
with a birthday gift, we focus on the wrapping paper and forget about the
present inside.
