In light of the Mount Polley mine spill and its impact on our Finned relatives, such as salmon and all the Four-legged, Crawling Ones, Rooted Ones, Winged Ones and the Two-legged that depend on the water, I offer this prayer of gratitude to spirit of water.
A prayer of gratitude for the blessed gift of water: Creator, Good Grandmothers, Good Grandfathers of the Four Sacred Directions, we raise our hands high in gratitude for the life nurturing power of water. All Creation is nurtured by water. Forests grow. Animals prosper. Water is the life force for all nations of human kind. As water falls from the sky, it promotes growth on Mother Earth and we are gifted with a richness of beauty and colour as it nourishes the rooted ones.
Water freely imparts its gifts, as it provides abundance for all of Creation. Within its body, it houses Sacred Beings, the Finned Ones, which offers us nourishment. As part of our celebration of the Sacred Water Beings, the first catch of the season is consumed in ceremony. Afterward, the Sacred Finned One’s bones are reverently restored to water, in honour of their sacrifice, so that they will return to feed the people the following year.
Water unities humanity; for all people of every nation is dependent on the life giving properties of water for survival. Water’s only request is that we honour it’s purity by caring for its body and for the Sacred Beings that dwell within its body; and as we do this, water will continue to provide us with life.
Together, within the circle of humanity, we hold our hands high in gratitude as we raise our voices, singing praise to Creator for the gift of water. We pray, Good Grandmothers, Good Grandfathers of the Four Sacred Directions and Creator of all Good Things that healing comes to the water spirits. We pray that the four-legged honour the water so that it continues to flow in the rhythm of life.
Aho!
All my Relations! (ejh)
