The TaraWatch crew will be hosting an Imbolc gathering at Teamhair on Sunday, 1st of February.
The intention is to walk sunwards around the hill with lights or lanterns at dusk, pay homage to the festival and by doing so highlight the continued destruction of the Tara Complex due to the works of the M3 Motorway now reaching its end phase.
People are invited to gather in the Hill of Tara car park at 4.30.
Organiser, John Farrelly, said:
"This should also act as a reminder of the hubris style development which ran riot over our country for the last ten years, laying our environment, social system and economy low, something Tara protesters always warned about and which has now came true."
Learning a small, local language like Gaelic is fundamentally different from learning a massive, international language like French or Spanish. Most people come to grief when they try to learn Gaelic because they approach it like French or Spanish, and you just can't learn Gaelic that way.
Tim provides a number of online resources and has excellent suggestions that apply not only to Gaelic, but to any language spoken mostly by small, insular groups of people. Basically, you need to speak some every day, even when you only have a little bit of the language. The learner needs to shed their fear of making mistakes, and know that everyone knows mistakes are a part of learning. And if you can't find an immersive environment in person, you can get some of that effect via Gaelic radio on the Internet and (in some areas) Gaelic-language television.
It takes more persistence, and more effort to seek out the groups and networks of people who can help you practice. The learner also needs to understand a variety of cultural issues that can help or hinder the process. But with dedication and applied effort, it can be easier than you may think.
Gaelic speakers and learners are relatively lucky, compared to many of the endangered languages of the Americas: we have Internet radio stations, websites and good distance-learning programs, in addition to numerous courses in combined book and tape formats. While it's always easier to learn with others in a group, preferably with fluent, native speakers involved, it's possible to get a solid start on one's own.
Now back to increasing my skills anns a'Ghàidhlig ;-)
Students and speakers of Gaelic, as well as anyone interested in Gaelic culture, will be pleased to discover that Dwelly's Dictionary is now available online. Dwelly's is not only a language resource, but is brimming with folklore and cultural bits. Definitely an essential, and now in searchable form.
To preserve the languages of our ancestors, to pray in their native language - the language of the spirits - it is necessary for the passion for the language to be carried on by the next generations. Here are a few examples of younger people doing good work, from Alba (Gàidhlig), Éire (Gaeilge), and America (multiple Native tongues):
An award-winning documentary filmed and produced by the Norman High School Native American Club. It examines the endangered languages of Native Americans through the eyes of the Elders.
... well, some of them. Reburial seems to only be planned for those who the staff of the National Museum believes died less than 100 years ago. So, your grandmother gets reburied, but Fionn mac Cumhaill stays in the museum.
Human remains removed from the Scaruppa burial site near Enfield during roadworks there, and in the possession of the National Museum of Ireland, will be returned for reinterment, a museum spokesman has said.
...
A team of archaeologists excavating on the site six years ago, on what was to become part of the M4 motorway, uncovered the remains of 461 bodies dating from the fourth century up to the early 1960s. The site included a 'cillin’, a burial site for stillborn and unbaptised babies.
But for the ancestors whose graves have been paved over by the NRA, what will they think of having their bones reburied in a new location? And though I strongly support and commend Bishop of Meath, Dr Michael Smith, for his activism and offers to perform the reburials, I also have to think of the ancestors who were not Christians. Still, if we can even get the bones of the older ancestors returned, I think it's far more respectful to bury them in Christian-consecrated ground than to leave them on display or in storage in a museum. I don't know much about Dr. Smith, but perhaps those participating in the reburial ceremony could aim for inclusion in this. There are many prayers from the Celtic Christian period that would serve well for both Christians and the Polytheists who proceeded them. Even if only the Christians get reburied, I would like to see any ceremony acknowledge all of those whose graves were violated.
Though this is definitely a step forward, so far the pre-Christian ancestors are still out of luck.
Environment Minister John Gormley -- one of 19 VIPs and lottery winners allowed entry to the Neolithic chamber -- didn't get the blame for the sun failing to shine at the ancient Co Meath site. But the Green Party leader was heckled over his failure to reroute the M3 motorway from historic cultural sites at the Tara and Skryne Valley.
"When you come out Minister John Gormley, will your hands be untied?" shouted Heather Buchanan, from Co Meath. "He talks about sacred land but he doesn't practise what he preaches. I want to know what his intentions are going into the chamber, what does he hope to achieve by entering the chamber? What does he feel coming out of the chamber, I'd love to know, I'm sure the whole nation would love to know that."
This is the man whose party campaigned vigorously for the protection of the Hill of Tara, and then said he had no power to change the M3 motorway, when he got elected and appointed Minister, by Bertie Ahern.
Some attendees felt the confrontation of Gormley by other participants was disruptive to the ceremony. Others felt strongly that Gormley's entry into the sacred site, after so letting down the campaign for Tara, was the true desecration.
Sign the petition if you want to be able to watch the Scottish Gaelic TV channel via Freeview, or if you just want to make the channel available to more people, period. At present, access to the channel is limited according to your geographical location, or whether you have access to Sky TV.
And on the other side of the pond, Liam Ó Caiside has started a blog for the US National Mòd: A’ Seinn Còmhla The Blog of the U.S. National Mòd: Celebrating Scottish Gaelic Song, Music, Language & Culture.
An annual tradition since 1970, Day of Mourning is a solemn, spiritual and highly political day. Many of us fast from sundown the day before through the afternoon of that day (and have a social after Day of Mourning so that participants in DOM can break their fasts). We are mourning our ancestors and the genocide of our peoples and the theft of our lands. NDOM is a day when we mourn, but we also feel our strength in political action. Over the years, participants in Day of Mourning have buried Plymouth Rock a number of times, boarded the Mayflower replica, and placed ku klux klan sheets on the statue of William Bradford, etc.
WHEN AND WHERE IS DAY OF MOURNING?
Thursday, November 27, 2008 (U.S. "thanksgiving" day) at Cole's Hill, Plymouth, Massachusetts, 12 noon SHARP. Cole's Hill is the hill above Plymouth Rock in the Plymouth historic waterfront area.
WILL THERE BE A MARCH?
There will be a march through the historic district of Plymouth. Plymouth has agreed, as part of the settlement of 10/19/98, that UAINE may march on Day of Mourning without the need for a permit as long as we give the town advance notice.
PROGRAM: Although we very much welcome our non-Native supporters to stand with us, it is a day when only Native people speak about our history and the struggles that are taking place throughout the Americas. Speakers will be by invitation only. This year's NDOM is once again dedicated to our brother Leonard Peltier.
SOCIAL: We hope there will be a pot-luck social held after the National Day of Mourning speak-out and march this year. Please check back to the website to confirm. We anticipate that the hall may not be large enough to seat everyone at once. We may have to do two seatings. Preference for the first seating will be given to Elders, young children and their mother/caretaker, pregnant women, Disabled people, and people who have traveled a long distance to join National Day of Mourning. Please respect our culture and our wish to ensure that these guests will be the first to be able to sit and eat. With this understanding in mind, please bring non-alcoholic beverages, desserts, fresh fruit & vegetables, and pre-cooked items (turkeys, hams, stuffing, vegetables, casseroles, rice & beans, etc.) that can be easily re-warmed at the social hall prior to the social. Thank you.
TRANSPORTATION: Limited carpool transportation may be available from Boston. Contact the Boston International Action Center at (617) 522-6626.
There is transportation from New York City via the International Action Center, for more information call 212-633-6646.
DIRECTIONS: National Day of Mourning is held by the statue of Massasoit at Cole's Hill. Cole's Hill is the hill rising above Plymouth Rock on the Plymouth waterfront. If you need directions, use Water Street and Leyden Street in Plymouth, MA as your destination at mapquest.com. That will bring you to within a few hundred feet of Plymouth Rock and Cole's Hill. You can probably find a place to park down on Water Street.
Donations: Monetary donations are gratefully accepted. Please make checks payable to the Metacom Education Project and mail to Metacom Education Project/UAINE at 284 Amory Street, Boston, MA 02130.
