Total pages in book: 158
Estimated words: 145341 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 727(@200wpm)___ 581(@250wpm)___ 484(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 145341 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 727(@200wpm)___ 581(@250wpm)___ 484(@300wpm)
In the shamanistic tradition, it was understood that the small always reflects the large; the personal always reflects the cosmic. A movement in the greater dimensions of the cosmos also coincides with an internal movement. For example, the axis mundi of the cosmos corresponds with the spinal column of the individual. Journeys up and down the axis mundi often coincided with the movements of natural and spiritual energies (sometimes called kundalini or shakti) in the spinal column of the shaman or mystic.
En Sarna Pus (The Great Healing Chant)
In this chant, ekä (“brother”) would be replaced by “sister,” “father,” “mother,” depending on the person to be healed.
Ot ekäm ainajanak hany, jama.
My brother’s body is a lump of earth, close to death.
Me, ot ekäm kuntajanak, pirädak ekäm, gond és irgalom türe.
We, the clan of my brother, encircle him with our care and compassion.
O pus wäkenkek, ot oma śarnank, és ot pus fünk, álnak ekäm ainajanak, pitänak ekäm ainajanak elävä.
Our healing energies, ancient words of magic and healing herbs bless my brother’s body, keep it alive.
Ot ekäm sielanak pälä. Ot omboće päläja juta alatt o jüti, kinta, és szelemek lamtijaknak.
But my brother’s soul is only half. His other half wanders in the netherworld.
Ot en mekem ŋamaŋ: kulkedak otti ot ekäm omboće päläjanak.
My great deed is this: I travel to find my brother’s other half.
Rekatüre, saradak, tappadak, odam, kaŋa o numa waram, és avaa owe o lewl mahoz.
We dance, we chant, we dream ecstatically, to call my spirit bird, and to open the door to the other world.
Ntak o numa waram, és mozdulak; jomadak.
I mount my spirit bird and we begin to move; we are underway.
Piwtädak ot En Puwe tyvinak, écidak alatt o jüti, kinta, és szelemek lamtijaknak.
Following the trunk of the Great Tree, we fall into the netherworld.
Fázak, fázak nó o śaro.
It is cold, very cold.
Juttadak ot ekäm o akarataban, o sívaban és o sielaban.
My brother and I are linked in mind, heart and soul.
Ot ekäm sielanak kaŋa engem.
My brother’s soul calls to me.
Kuledak és piwtädak ot ekäm.
I hear and follow his track.
Saγedak és tuledak ot ekäm kulyanak.
I encounter the demon who is devouring my brother’s soul.
Nenäm ćoro, o kuly torodak.
In anger, I fight the demon.
O kuly pél engem.
He is afraid of me.
Lejkkadak o kaŋka salamaval.
I strike his throat with a lightning bolt.
Molodak ot ainaja komakamal.
I break his body with my bare hands.
Toja és molanâ.
He is bent over, and falls apart.
Hän ćaδa.
He runs away.
Manedak ot ekäm sielanak.
I rescue my brother’s soul.
Alәdak ot ekam sielanak o komamban.
I lift my brother’s soul in the hollow of my hand.
Alәdam ot ekam numa waramra.
I lift him onto my spirit bird.
Piwtädak ot En Puwe tyvijanak és saγedak jälleen ot elävä ainak majaknak.
Following up the Great Tree, we return to the land of the living.
Ot ekäm elä jälleen.
My brother lives again.
Ot ekäm weńća jälleen.
He is complete again.
To hear this chant, visit christinefeehan.com/members/.
4. CARPATHIAN MUSICAL AESTHETICS
In the sung Carpathian pieces (such as the “Lullaby” and the “Song to Heal the Earth”), you’ll hear elements that are shared by many of the musical traditions in the Uralic geographical region, some of which still exist—from Eastern European (Bulgarian, Romanian, Hungarian, Croatian) to Romany (“gypsy”). These elements include:
the rapid alternation between major and minor modalities, including a sudden switch (called a “Picardy third”) from minor to major to end a piece or section (as at the end of the “Lullaby”)
the use of close (tight) harmonies
the use of ritardi (slowing down the pace) and crescendi (swelling in volume) for brief periods
the use of glissandi (slides) in the singing tradition
the use of trills in the singing tradition (as in the final invocation of the “Song to Heal the Earth”)—similar to Celtic, a singing tradition more familiar to many of us
the use of parallel fifths (as in the final invocation of the “Song to Heal the Earth”)
controlled use of dissonance
“call-and-response” chanting (typical of many of the world’s chanting traditions)
extending the length of a musical line (by adding a couple of bars) to heighten dramatic effect
and many more
“Lullaby” and “Song to Heal the Earth” illustrate two rather different forms of Carpathian music (a quiet, intimate piece and an energetic ensemble piece)—but whatever the form, Carpathian music is full of feeling.
5. LULLABY
This song is sung by a woman while a child is still in the womb or when the threat of a miscarriage is apparent. The baby can hear the song while inside the mother, and the mother can connect with the child telepathically as well. The lullaby is meant to reassure the child, to encourage the baby to hold on, to stay—to reassure the child that he or she will be protected by love even from inside until birth. The last line literally means that the mother’s love will protect her child until the child is born (“rise”).
Musically, the Carpathian “Lullaby” is in three-quarter time (“waltz time”), as are a significant portion of the world’s various traditional lullabies (perhaps the most famous of which is Brahms’s Lullaby). The arrangement for solo voice is the original context: a mother singing to her child, unaccompanied. The arrangement for chorus and violin ensemble illustrates how musical even the simplest Carpathian pieces often are, and how easily they lend themselves to contemporary instrumental or orchestral arrangements. (A wide range of contemporary composers, including Dvořák and Smetana, have taken advantage of a similar discovery, working other traditional Eastern European music into their symphonic poems.)