asakiyume: (bluebird)
asakiyume ([personal profile] asakiyume) wrote2016-08-07 07:20 am

Pocumtuck Homelands Festival

When I left the possums with the woman at Medicine Mammals, she invited me to come to the Pocumtuck Homelands Festival, on the banks of the Connecticut River in Turners Falls--an old mill town where once I heard Anaïs Mitchell perform. Yesterday, [livejournal.com profile] wakanomori and I went, and it turned out to be a wonderful time, full of connections, synchronicity, and good news about the possums.



We happened to arrive at exactly the moment that the Akwesasne Women Singers, featuring Bear Fox, were singing songs in Kanienkaha, the language known in English as Mohawk. Bear Fox appears in the film about the Akwesasne Freedom School, a Kanienkaha language-emersion school, that I've written about here. She's also a major force in the documentary Skydancer about Mohawk (Kanienkaha:ka) iron workers. And I got to see her perform! Here are 40 second of that performance:



Later on we went to buy a CD, and I was able to tell her how great I thought both documentaries had been. (The CD I chose was this one. "That's the best one," one of the other women told me."My fingers must have known instinctively," I said.)

Further along, we found Medicine Mammals.





I asked Loril, the rehabilitator, how the possums were doing. "They're doing great," she said. "The two you brought in, plus the other three--they're all together now in a flannel pouch." She said she and her group were about to do some drumming for a woman who was going to perform a hoop dance, so we stayed for that.

Near the end of her performance, the dancer passed the hoops to kids and led them in a weaving dance, then asked them to pass the hoops on to others. Meanwhile the singers modified their chant: "Teeeenage Ninja Muuuutant Turtles . . . They are powerfulllll," and so on. It was very fun.

After we left, we went for a stroll by the shores of the river at a point where its waters were mainly being diverted.





The area was girdled round with danger signs, warning that the water level could rise suddenly, and indeed, above our head, the full power of the river was being diverted away to generate electricity. Photos are inadequate for capturing the roiling, whirlpooling, bubbling, turbulent--how many more adjectives can I add??--power of the river in the narrow(er) channel. We walked over a railway bridge above it and got dizzy looking at it.

Last but not least, in the parking lot I collected data for a new Tumblr: Prius bumper stickers (by which I mean, bumper stickers on Priuses, not bumper stickers featuring Priuses). At least in this neck of the woods, they definitely have themes in common... If you happen to see any good ones, send me a picture, and I'll upload it--crediting you in a form you desire!


[identity profile] lizziebelle.livejournal.com 2016-08-07 11:31 am (UTC)(link)
Sounds like a fun day!

[identity profile] asakiyume.livejournal.com 2016-08-07 02:54 pm (UTC)(link)
It really was--I think you would have loved it. (I'm sure you've been to similar.)
ext_12726: (African flower crochet motif)

[identity profile] heleninwales.livejournal.com 2016-08-07 01:31 pm (UTC)(link)
I'm so glad the possums are doing well. That gathering looks interesting and I'm delighted to learn that there are schools where everything is taught in the Kanienkaha language. Language and culture are so intertwined that you need to make sure that both have a future.

language and culture

[identity profile] asakiyume.livejournal.com 2016-08-07 02:54 pm (UTC)(link)
Yes they are! I'm glad to see them kept alive or revivified--humanity at large is the richer for it.

[identity profile] queenoftheskies.livejournal.com 2016-08-07 02:51 pm (UTC)(link)
Sounds like you had an awesome day. I love the singing.

The river is beautiful.

I'm so glad to hear that the babies are doing well.

Yep, I think the same types of people are driving all those Priuses. (I don't have any bumper stickers on mine. I don't want to ruin the paint, LOL. But, I'll see what I can find around here.)

[identity profile] asakiyume.livejournal.com 2016-08-07 02:53 pm (UTC)(link)
Oh I was just going to write you a note to say that I mean the Tumblr as sort of affectionate ribbing--I didn't want you to think I have it in for Prius owners! Or, for that matter, for any of the opinions expressed, many of which dovetail with my own. So I'm glad you've taken it in the spirit intended ♥

[identity profile] queenoftheskies.livejournal.com 2016-08-07 03:35 pm (UTC)(link)
Out here, you find a lot of business people own Priuses to save money on commutes. But, the rest mostly share the environmental/be kind to everyone frame of mind, which I like.

Some people do not, though, and consider Prius drivers extremely liberal. I have been flipped off and even spat at as I drive by. How bizarre is that?

[identity profile] asakiyume.livejournal.com 2016-08-07 03:45 pm (UTC)(link)
I think that stinks! I'm really sorry people can be such jerks -_-

[identity profile] sartorias.livejournal.com 2016-08-07 03:59 pm (UTC)(link)
Oh, I would have loved to tag along! That looks awesome. Thanks for sharing.

(I have their album playing right now.)

[identity profile] asakiyume.livejournal.com 2016-08-08 11:38 pm (UTC)(link)
Aren't the songs good? I'm very happy with the CD.

[identity profile] khiemtran.livejournal.com 2016-08-07 10:40 pm (UTC)(link)
Looks like a great day! Thanks for bringing us along...

[identity profile] asakiyume.livejournal.com 2016-08-08 11:38 pm (UTC)(link)
Very much my pleasure!
sovay: (Haruspex: Autumn War)

[personal profile] sovay 2016-08-08 02:46 am (UTC)(link)
I asked Loril, the rehabilitator, how the possums were doing. "They're doing great," she said. "The two you brought in, plus the other three--they're all together now in a flannel pouch."

I am very glad to hear it about the possums. The rest of the day just sounds wonderful.

[identity profile] asakiyume.livejournal.com 2016-08-08 11:39 pm (UTC)(link)
It was a wonderful day in every way, and I was so happy and relieved about the possums!

[identity profile] shewhomust.livejournal.com 2016-08-08 10:26 am (UTC)(link)
What a great event - I'm glad you found out about it!

[identity profile] asakiyume.livejournal.com 2016-08-08 11:40 pm (UTC)(link)
Me too! The serendipity of it all contributed to how wonderful it was.
ivy: Two strands of ivy against a red wall (Default)

[personal profile] ivy 2016-08-08 02:38 pm (UTC)(link)
That sounds lovely!

[identity profile] asakiyume.livejournal.com 2016-08-08 11:40 pm (UTC)(link)
It was great :-)

[identity profile] pdlloyd.livejournal.com 2016-08-09 01:10 am (UTC)(link)
I'm glad you were able to go to the festival. I always love events like that one. I've been to a few here, sometimes simply stumbling into an event while out doing other activities, sometimes invited in much the way you were.

I'm very tickled by the idea of the possum joeys in their flannel pouch. Not as good as mom's, obviously, but warm and cozy.

[identity profile] asakiyume.livejournal.com 2016-08-09 12:10 pm (UTC)(link)
Yes, I loved the homemade pouch too. It reminds me of the picture book Sebastian Lives in a Hat (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3860794-sebastian-lives-in-a-hat), about an orphaned baby wombat.

[identity profile] pdlloyd.livejournal.com 2016-08-09 03:15 pm (UTC)(link)
That sounds like a sweet book. I love it that books from Australia, NSW, and NZ are finding their way to the US.