In the dominant culture, the phrase “carrying water” has negative connotations, implying both dishonesty and servitude: the notion of shilling for someone in a way that [it’s hoped] insulates the more powerful party to the transaction from criticism.
That’s actually a pretty good metaphor for how to succeed in the dominant culture today, come to think of it. But it’s not what we mean here by the phrase.
No, we mean it in its most literal of terms, the actual, physical carrying of real water, that most life-sustaining of elements in this desert environment, what used to be a daily task for everyone living here, and still is for those who hew to the oldest of traditional ways.
Yes, there are people who still go for water every day, filling buckets and pails and bottles and jars from the river itself, then carrying them back to their thousand-year-old homes.
We are more modern here: We have an artesian well with an automated pump, modern plumbing, running water of the sort that refers to faucets rather than rapids. Still, we “carry water” for another purpose, collecting it in rain barrels placed strategically beneath the roofs of the structures here, precious gallons delivered straight from the sky that are then used to nourish the earth and the plant life it sustains.
Continuing the theme we began on Wednesday, it’s another form of healing, another way of sustaining harmony.
Then, we looked at overt symbols of healing, of medicine, and how they combine with more elemental signifiers to create a harmonious whole. Today, it’s those elements writ plain, embodied in their own discrete signifiers: the earthy host rock, shot through with a single strand of water from the sky, capped with the color of the trees and grass., all suspended from beads of fire and water, copper and pearl. From its description in the Necklaces Gallery here on the site:
A ribbon of rain drizzles into a little earthen jar in the shape of a traditional clay olla. It’s the freshest water possible, a gift from the sky to sustain the people. Here, it’s manifest in a piece of ribbon turquoise, a brilliant sky-blue river across a teardrop of earth-toned host rock. Hand-stamped flowing designs evoking traditional pottery patterns mark the reverse. The jar’s lid is a tiny piece of emerald-green malachite; a little water leaks from the bottom to form individual silver droplets. The pendant hangs from beads hand-strung over sterling silver wire: Florentine-finish silver beads flank the pendant itself, backed by copper-colored trade-style beads over the main part of the strand; at either end are two pearlized gray beads finished by a single onyx bead at each finding. Strand is 17″; pendant, including bail, hangs 2.5″ (dimensions approximate). Reverse shown below.
Sterling silver; ribbon turquoise; malachite; trade-style beads; onyx beads
$625 + shipping, handling, and insurance
Coordinates with Warm Blue Rain earrings and Cloudburst earrings. [Note: Cloudburst earrings now sold; Warm Blue Rain earrings still available.]
It is this synthesis of elemental forces that gives this piece such power. The photo is deceptive; in person, it has a presence far outsized to its relatively modest physical proportions.
It’s a manifestation of balance, a reminder that harmony exists, that we have access to it every day via the natural world.
It’s also a reminder of our own charge in preserving it.
~ Aji
All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2015; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owners.
