Christmas Day is past, but the spirit remains a while yet. We’re believers more in the season than the day, and so I subscribe to the theory that it’s perfectly acceptable to extend holiday wishes to others straight through Epiphany. That gives me a couple of weeks yet to get caught up.
I got what I wanted: Snow for Christmas. The sky lowered all day, but didn’t really release much of its pent-up whiteness until late afternoon, when the flurries began. By the time we sat down to dinner about 5:30, though, it was snowing in earnest — big, beautiful, crystalline flakes that collected on every surface. This morning, we have about four inches on the ground, the boughs of the evergreens are heavy with the weight.
On holidays, we keep one of the traditional practices of our peoples that has not merely survived in some quarters but found its way into this newer religion called Christianity: the spirit bowl. Actually, we adhere to it year-round, sometimes with greater faithfulness than others, but when we sit down to a holiday meal, it’s a given.
What is a spirit bowl? It’s something found, in various forms in many of our traditional cultures across the continent (and, I have no doubt, in indigenous cultures all over the world). Some refer to it as a spirit plate, rather than a bowl. The shape of both the object itself and the means of its use varies, but there is one common thread running through all of it: concepts of making an offering, of giving thanks, of feeding the spirits.
It’s a very old tradition, one that predates recorded time and history. You see one manifestation of it at Zuni, where the people feed fetish carvings daily with corn meal and water. I’m told Hopi has its own version. Half a dozen years ago, one of the potters whose work we carry, Angie Yazzie, gave us first option on one of her then-newest pieces: a stunning spirit plate done in an ancient pattern, one that predated the peoples in this area under their contemporary identities. It was out of our range, but truly an incredible, inspirited piece, and whomever has it today is lucky indeed.
At the moment, we have only miniature versions in our inventory. The two in the photo above are examples, and are found in the miniatures entry in the Other Artists: Pottery gallery. As noted there:
The classic bowl [right] and fluted plate [left] are by Olivia Martinez. Fluted plate is 1″ high by 3″ across; bowl is 1″ high by 2.25″ across (dimensions approximate).
Micaceous clay
$30 each + shipping, handling, and insurance
Each of these, of course, is perfectly useable: The intent of the practice is to provide a bit of food and drink, a small sample as a token gesture of thanks, and remembrance, and even simple inclusion — as we’ll see below, not merely “We thank you,” but also, “We do not forget.” The other miniatures included in the same entry may be used for similar purposes.
You see echoes of this practice in the notion of medicine or offering bundles, offering something of value to Spirit to bless one’s work, and in the practice, now pretty thoroughly intertribal, of offering tobacco (whether commercial or traditional) when one seeks a favor or service of any kind. In non-Native societies, it’s a bit reminiscent of tithing, but among our peoples it feels less like law and more like life — simply a way of doing things, if one increasingly lost to assimilationist pressures. A couple of months ago, Wings offered some help to a lovely young man who is a neighbor; he returned with two hand-rolled cigarettes for us. It was such an unexpected gesture, so old and time-honored, that it brought tears to my eyes. I still have the cigarette.
As I said, the specific practices of using spirit bowls and plates varies among cultures; for some, they’re used to feed ancestor spirits, including those recently walked on; for others, it’s a way of feeding the spirits generally; for still others, it may be used as an offering to a specific being for a specific purpose. What it does do is to bring arcane and esoteric concepts of gratitude and thanksgiving down to the very, very concrete: After all, it doesn’t get much more real, in human terms, than the food and water that sustains us, that keeps us alive.
And so, with a meal — particularly with a special one — we set aside a bit of every dish on offer. For us last night, that meant the roast and broth, the gravy, the potatoes, the vegetables, the nuts . . . yes, even the water that we drank. It all goes into a small bowl, which is then taken outside and offered up to the spirits to share in the feast we are enjoying thanks to the blessings they have provided throughout the year. It makes it more than a gesture of thanks; it’s a way of inviting them into the circle to take part in the celebration, too.
By the time I was ready to take the bowl outside last night, there were already a couple of inches of snow on the ground, and more coming down hard and fast. I have no doubt, though, that the spirits found 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.
