THANKS TO ALL WHO CONTRIBUTED - THE RAFFLE IS NOW CLOSED. I’LL UPDATE THIS POST TOMORRO WITH THE WINNERS.
All Our Ancestors. A Cailleach & Changing Woman Collaboration Fundraiser
The Cailleach. She is the pre-Celtic crone, an ancient primordial figure. A figure whose voice I first in the silence of the hills around Loch Lomond when I was wee. She is to be found in the wild places, under heron’s wing, upon deer hoof (her fairy cattle), in owl screech and in the silent pad of wolf (who only walks her lands in spirit).
One role of the Cailleach in winter is in striking down life, so that the energies of plants, trees return back to their roots and that creatures and insects begin their hibernation. If life does not die then their can be no renewal in spring. As times and attitudes changed this essential role got twisted and many tales vilify the old crone. Yet today she is most definitely undergoing a resurgence.
The doll offered in the raffle represents her role in creation, of creating the landscape as told in the tale of Garavogue in Loughcrew, Ireland. As the crow flies Loughcrew is very near the lands where my mum and her mothers family come from. In Scotland, two other stories tell of this create crone and her power of creation - from Carlin Maggie from the Lomond Hills, and an old poem which describes her as creating the Loch Lomond:
‘She spittit Loch Lomond with her lips, thunner and fire flew fae her hips’
- Taken from Manere of the Crying of Ane Playe
The figure of the Old Woman is found throughout the world, in many stories she brings the world into creation - these old women figures are the bedrock of the very land. For those who look for the Cailleach in their lands I suggest indigenous stories of the people who first knew these lands so intimately. Thanks to Hilary Giovale in conversation with posed to the question to Andy Dann (Diné/Navajo grandfather), who recognized similar aspects of the Cailleach in his Diné heritage within the story of Changing Woman.
By supporting this raffle, you are building bridges between our ancient Scottish ancestors and the Indigenous ancestors of Turtle Island. Thanks to Andy Dann for sharing his insights on Changing Woman and to Hilary for making this all possible - all funds raised will be used to support Diné (also called Navajo) Elders this winter. The Navajo Nation spans the states of Arizona, Utah, and New Mexico.
About Diné needs during Covid-19
During the process of colonization, Diné lifeways were interrupted. Traditional sources of food and livelihood were destroyed and prohibited. This pattern persists today, and climate change makes growing and raising traditional foods more challenging than before. Parts of the Navajo Nation are considered food deserts now. One third of the people do not have electricity or running water, and many families live together in multigenerational households. These conditions have made the Diné people more susceptible to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Connecting the Ancient Ones
There is a Diné creation deity who bears similarities to the Cailleach. Here, Andy shares with us some of the Diné cosmology of Asdzáá Nadlééhí, or Changing Woman:
She is one of the Creation Spirits, or Holy People. She represents all changes of life. By rubbing her palms together, four flakes of dried skin came from her palms. From her body and the use of her Sacred Mountain Bundles, she made four pieces of buckskin and created four couples, who are the ancestors of the four original clans of the Diné people. She also helped create the Universe, Earth, and Stars. She is the mother of the Twin Warriors, who are sons of the Sun. Their names are Naayá Neez’na’ní (Monster Slayer) and Tó Bijischìini (Born for Water). Her parents are Long Life Boy and Happiness Girl. They represent the means by which all Life passes through time.
Asdzáá Nadlééhí is associated with young Diné women’s puberty ceremony, the Kinaaldá. This is a four day ceremony of becoming a woman. At this time, young women receive a blessingway, including prayers of wellness, good fortune, and a long life. Once it was announced that Asdzáá Nadlééhí reached her first menstrual cycle, the Holy People came together, each bringing the white shell they hold precious. They dressed her up in a white buckskin, adding white shells to her dress. She stood there glowing in such beauty that they gave her the name Yoołgaii A’teed (White Shell Girl). Her hair was tied up with a strip of buckskin that was cut from a deer called Dóóa’k’éék’ii that had been killed in a sacred manner. The gathering and tying of Changing Woman’s hair with the buckskin signified the importance of gathering one’s own thoughts, focus, determination and life goals.
Changing Woman represents a natural process of renewal and is important to the concept of Siihasin. To the traditional Diné mind, renewal is not limited to physicality. It also involves mental, social, and spiritual aspects. When Asdzáá Nadlééhí goes through a process of renewal, it is very much like a seasonal process. It incorporates generational thinking - the oldest generations provide the Foundational Growth (liná bitsí silá’í) for the ones to come, in a process of unending succession.
With gratitude for your kindness and generosity (Ahxéhee’),
Andy Dann and Hilary Giovale.
Hilary Giovale and Andy Dann (centre)
Andy Dann is a Diné grandfather, artist and humanitarian. Since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, he and his family have been working tirelessly to support Diné people throughout the Navajo Nation by delivering food, water, firewood, PPE, and volunteering their time to assist Elders and families.
Hilary Giovale is a 9 th generation settler of Scottish, Irish, and Scandinavian descent. She lives next to a sacred mountain of kinship on the traditional ancestral homelands of Diné, Hopi, and Havasupai people, in a place now called Flagstaff, AZ. Hilary often collaborates with grassroots, Indigenous-led work.
The Raffle Prizes:
Raffle Prize 1. Cailleach Doll.
She carries an apron full of rocks as told by the story from Loughcrew, Ireland. As the crow flies this isn’t too far from Argmah, where my mothers family are from.
Raffle Prize 2. Mari Lwyd Doll.
While I don’t have a Welsh bone in my body I’m a great admirer of Old Bone Face and her place in Welsh folklore and those who keep her story alive.
Raffle Prize 3. One Year Pass to Take All of My Online Courses
January - Gathering at Brighid’s Hearth
March - Using Celtic Soul Prayer Beads as a Personal Practice
April - Celtic Goddeses
September - Becoming a Carrier of the Stream - a Journey around the WHeel of the Year with the Ancestral Mothers of Scotland
October - Cailleach Circle
Raffle Tickets
Raffle tickets are priced at $20, you’ll automatically be given one ticket per $20
The raffle runs from Wednesday 25th November until Friday 11th December.
All money raised (apart from Paypal fees and postage of raffle items) will be transferred over to Hilary and Andy .
The winners of the raffle will be picked live on Saturday 12th December on the ‘Sisterhood of the Antlers’ Winter Solstice Gathering (free mini online course introducing the Ancestral Mothers of Scotland)
Winning items can be shipped worldwide