Pat! Is your mom going to be in Dublin? Let me know!
I'm beginning to fully realize how old Ireland is.
This weekend I went to the Greenfield Village-style attraction of Northern Ireland. Only it wasn't Model T's and 1800's country homes. No, it was a ring fort from 5500BC. To put that in perspective, that's 2000 years before the pyramids were built.
The ancience of the country is reflected in its present day culture, in little ways one wouldn't notice at first glance. There are whispers of druid religious acts in the superstitions people carry out today here. Tossing a coin in a graveyard well is an gift for spirits to take with them to the afterlife, a tradition dating from pre-Norman times. Waving at a crow or magpie has its origins in Iron Age augury. The small traditions people keep today have their roots in a culture born before Jesus, before the Greek empire, before bronze, practically before time.
So when I describe this next tradition, you must understand it in this context. Unlike America, this country has not been built on science and industry. It was alive long before the industrial eras, the technological era, manifest destiny, Einstein and Hawking...those things were adopted into this culture.
That being said, in Ireland there is a tradition of "ringing so and so" for an ailment.
Here's what I mean: If you're sick, there's always someone you know who you call and they will have the cure. And that doesn't mean medical knowledge. That means magic touch.
I'm not joking.
You might be hard pressed to find a hardened Dubliner who will admit to having someone to ring, but nearly everyone in the still agrarian, ruralized parts of the country (ie: 98% of the country) will have their contacts.
The person you ring can have any means of correcting your ailment. They can touch the affected area, pouring water on it, scratch it, praying on it, or make a salve for it. Sometimes even phoning them alone is enough to cure it. I know someone who has a person they ring for hiccups. They pick up the phone and give the person a quick hello after an onset of hiccups and bang, gone.
Also, I met a man in the country this weekend who can cure anyone's ringworm by spitting on it. Everyone I was with had a story to confirm this.
It's amazing to be part of one of the oldest cultures in Europe, and incredible to live in this community of cumulative beliefs and values. Some people you find will take ringing someone very literally. Some people joke about it, but still have a friend to ring when a cold hits. Others will tell you it's superstition. But the thing you find here is that even if something is "just superstition", people will still heed it.
It's the only place I've ever been where when people say, "knock on wood", they actually do scramble for a piece of wood to rap. Diligently. Never failing.
So there you go. Superstion. Now, back to my near-lethal dose of work at Threefold Ltd. Good Tuesday!
I'm beginning to fully realize how old Ireland is.
This weekend I went to the Greenfield Village-style attraction of Northern Ireland. Only it wasn't Model T's and 1800's country homes. No, it was a ring fort from 5500BC. To put that in perspective, that's 2000 years before the pyramids were built.
The ancience of the country is reflected in its present day culture, in little ways one wouldn't notice at first glance. There are whispers of druid religious acts in the superstitions people carry out today here. Tossing a coin in a graveyard well is an gift for spirits to take with them to the afterlife, a tradition dating from pre-Norman times. Waving at a crow or magpie has its origins in Iron Age augury. The small traditions people keep today have their roots in a culture born before Jesus, before the Greek empire, before bronze, practically before time.
So when I describe this next tradition, you must understand it in this context. Unlike America, this country has not been built on science and industry. It was alive long before the industrial eras, the technological era, manifest destiny, Einstein and Hawking...those things were adopted into this culture.
That being said, in Ireland there is a tradition of "ringing so and so" for an ailment.
Here's what I mean: If you're sick, there's always someone you know who you call and they will have the cure. And that doesn't mean medical knowledge. That means magic touch.
I'm not joking.
You might be hard pressed to find a hardened Dubliner who will admit to having someone to ring, but nearly everyone in the still agrarian, ruralized parts of the country (ie: 98% of the country) will have their contacts.
The person you ring can have any means of correcting your ailment. They can touch the affected area, pouring water on it, scratch it, praying on it, or make a salve for it. Sometimes even phoning them alone is enough to cure it. I know someone who has a person they ring for hiccups. They pick up the phone and give the person a quick hello after an onset of hiccups and bang, gone.
Also, I met a man in the country this weekend who can cure anyone's ringworm by spitting on it. Everyone I was with had a story to confirm this.
It's amazing to be part of one of the oldest cultures in Europe, and incredible to live in this community of cumulative beliefs and values. Some people you find will take ringing someone very literally. Some people joke about it, but still have a friend to ring when a cold hits. Others will tell you it's superstition. But the thing you find here is that even if something is "just superstition", people will still heed it.
It's the only place I've ever been where when people say, "knock on wood", they actually do scramble for a piece of wood to rap. Diligently. Never failing.
So there you go. Superstion. Now, back to my near-lethal dose of work at Threefold Ltd. Good Tuesday!
not sure, maybe. she's in northern ireland now for a few days, looks like you just missed each other.
ReplyDelete