Lawrence Hall
Dispatches for the Colonial Office
Anthony’s Pilgrimage In Nunavut
“What went ye into the desert to see?”
-Saint Matthew II
What went ye among the Innu to see?
To see
To hear
To smell
To taste
To touch
Sedna and Qailertetang have given you fish
They have fed you. And now you must sit and learn
What went ye into the waters to see?
From the ice and the rocks the waters flow
Rippling in the light to delight the eye
The dancing, shimmering visions from Ignirtoq
What went ye among the whispering rocks to hear?
The Angakkuq of earth, water, and air
Whose teachings and songs the people memorise
The liturgies of good and ancient ways
What went ye into the waters to smell?
Healing vapours from the dawn of Creation
From Taimmani until now, forever
For The People, and for the stranger too
What went you into the deep North to taste?
There is truth in salmon, and salt in the air
You can taste the stories on the shifting winds -
(And on Sunday there’s lunch after Mass)
What went ye along the falling streams to touch?
If you touch the earth, the ice, the sea
You touch the Unipkaaqs, you touch their truths
And you will be healed by the touch of those truths
Malina passes, Aningan rises - tonight
The eternal dances of the spheres to light
This land of Nunavut, this realm in white
Be healed, and know that all is made aright
Sit
Sit before the fire
Sit in silence and learn from Nunavut
See
Hear
Smell
Taste
Touch
