Tags
Brailsford, Connection, Edinburgh, Environment, Owheo, Shamanic Essences, Stone, Travel, Waitaha, Waters of Leith
Brilliant sunshine and a rare dearth of wind greeted my first visit back to the Waters of Leith in ten years. By nightfall, there was torrential rain and I wondered why I hadn’t packed a brolly when heading north to Scotland. I was staying in an air bnb room in the Leith Toy Hospital – an adult size unicorn in for repairs straddled the corridor. It was akin to staying in a very loud, very friendly, magical hobbit workshop with needles spinning, puppets being brought back to life on workbenches and mermen in the bathroom – plaster. I ran for The Shore undercover of a lurid aquamarine mack/piece of plastic origami which offered no shelter from the wind. I flapped hastily to ‘A Room in Leith’ and thawed fireside. I was still in awe of just being in Scotland after so long away. The staff were very friendly and as the rain beat against the windows, a steaming dish of haddock, cream and potatoes arrived – the Cullen Skink.
A song caught my eye.
The Waterboys – Fishermans Blues: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a4UQJwd3awQ
The following day I reencountered this mighty volcanic rock from Dunedin. I first noticed this rock when I was studying in Edinburgh, Leith, ten years ago. I had admired the stone but then had no idea where Dunedin was or that Aotearoa/New Zealand would play such a pivotal role in my life.
‘Edinburgh Stone
The Edinburgh Stone was sculpted from Aberdeenshire granite rock by artist Sylvia Stewart in 2007 and gifted to the city ( Dunedin) to celebrate the sister city relationship. It was placed near the Forsyth Barr Stadium in November 2011.
A twin piece named Ōwheo sits on the Edinburgh waterfront. This piece was made from a basalt volcanic magma rock lifted from the Water of Leith( Dunedin) in 1999. Ms Stewart worked with Kāi Tahu to select the Dunedin rock and it was blessed before being removed from the stream.
In 2016 the Society was pivotal in the relocation of the Edinburgh Stone upriver to a spot near the Water of the Leith on the University of Otago campus. The new site makes a fitting connection back to the Water of Leith that our sister cities share.’
https://www.dunedin.govt.nz/council/sister-cities/edinburgh-scotland
In its name ‘Ōwheo’ Sylvia Stewart acknowledges the original Maori name of the Waters of Leith in Dunedin, she describes stones being used as ‘communication beacons’.
Stones hold great power and memory and connect into their place of origin as well as where they are placed. The dedication on the Owheo stone also acknowledges consultation with the Waitaha people.
Highly recommending Barry Brailsford’s Book – Song of the Waitaha
‘Song of Waitaha repairs the torn fabric of our past and opens doors into the future. If we are not gentle with life, the garden within us dies. The Histories tell of a society where many peoples walked in harmony with each other. It shows how they honored the land and waters to sustain life harvesting birds and fish to increase the numbers, cutting tall trees for waka and leaving the forest stronger, carving stone without breaking its spirit, respecting the rivers keeping the environment in balance. This treasure from the days of the ancestors journeys out of timeless realms where the people and the land were one beneath the stars. It carries wisdom born of the ancient trails of the spirit and adds a thousand years of wonder to our past. It reminds us if we lose our story we lose our dream.’
Wanting to give back to the stone, I worked with Shamanic Essence No 118 Silver Pine – Language of the Stones to honour this elder, the journey it had made, and all that happens in its presence.
http://www.firstlightfloweressences.co.nz/essences/shamanic-essences-97-120.html