“Nipiih and the sacred mekinawewin (Water and the sacred act of giving)”
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Since time immemorial, as with our ancestors, we have come to know that Water is alive, and she is a living Being responsive to the nurturing of all else living upon and within Earth Mother. Our bond with her is reflected in ceremonies, rituals, honourings, teachings and healings; and these bonds are found in the narratives we tell one another.
Here four Indigenous women share their stories of sacred relationships with Water. In the telling of our histories, we’ve embodied our ancestral teachings and gained an understanding of who we are as Mi’kmaq, Basque and Michif women. As we reveal the nurturing life force of place, through Water’s connectivity and the notion of healing, we hold the hope for the protection of those yet to come. In these stories, we honour the sacred Water of our collective and intertwined nations, and women everywhere who protect Sacred Water.
Miigam’agan shares her relationship with Apaqtu’g—the ocean water where the sun rises—and where the ceremonies that signify healing and vitality within Water are held among those of the Wabanaki nation.
Natasha Simon shares her notion of Plujug’jqamati through the eyes of her Mi’kmaq ancestors, and the stories left to her through her grandmother’s lifework.
Idoia Arana-Beobide describes Basque teachings embodying Water that are found at the sacred mountain of Amboto, where the spirit force of goddess MARI and the Christian “Lady of the Remedies” (who are one and the same) resides.
Margaret Kress-White presents kisiskâciwanisîpiy (fast flowing river) of Treaty Six as the traditional gathering place for many Indigenous peoples. Here Water or Nipiih is intricate to all that is living – and to the healing medicines found along the river bank.
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