Moons, ancestors, time, travel, and personal ecology.
–––
Yesterday, I thought about the idea of re-indigenising our own moons and of naming them after our own ecologies in the manner of the Native American tribes. That tradition is based on a deep knowledge of the land, and it acts as a guide to the tribe on what is happening around them during the period to the next full moon. Here on this mountain, my ancestors would have moved in a similar way to the Nations of the Great Plains — for they too practiced transhumance.
This ancient way means to follow the animals as they search for fresh green pasture. For the plains tribes, this meant the bison. Here in Facinas, it was the semi-wild sheep and cattle.
As the south gradually dried in the summer heat, the great herds would move north into the cooler wetter mountains. They covered many hundreds of miles and took several months. The early Iberians would follow these animals, eating from the land as they went.
For me, in the ancient context, now would be The Moon Of The Drying Grasses.
What would yours be?
Photo courtesy of the author.