rocks piled
high or low
images styled
part of a whole
history, praise
stories unfold
passing days
stories told
-tkaeu
(pic to the right - an inuksuk built by Peter Irnig - unsure of photographer-maybe Peter Irnig-photo on Flicker and wikipedia posted by Boliyou)
Tracy Niemeyer, of Maple Ridge, British Columbis, calls the urge to stack rocks "spiritual".
When I heard this comment on an NPR news story, my mind instantly began to think of all the stories of "rock stacking" I had read in the Bible. Time and time again Jewish ancestors were stacking rocks as a memorial or testament in obedience to God for various events.
These are only a few examples of what seems like countless stories of stacking of rocks I've read in the Bible...
Genesis 8...Noah builds an altar following the flood
Genesis 12...Abraham marks the beginning of the Israelite journey with the building of three altars
Exodus 17...Moses builds an altar to declare "The Lord is my Banner"
Joshua 4...twelve stones stacked by the twelve tribes of Israel after crossing the Jordan River
Joshua 7...pile of stones from Achan's stoning marking the Valley of Trouble
Hmmm...it's funny how my mind works...lol! Now back to the original point of this news coverage...
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This NPR story goes on to speak of one man's perspective on the 2010 Olympic symbol and a bit of the historic purpose of inuksuks. Peter Irnig, an Inuit cultural teacher, explains that Inuksuks are used for navigation purposes or markers for hunting and food caches. Inuksuks are built as one column. The 2010 Olympic symbol (supposedly built in honor of the Inuit culture) has at its base two columns and is therefore a Inunnguaq, not an Inuksuk. In the NPR coverage, Irnig states that "people rarely stack rocks resembling humans, as it is a symbol that someone committed suicide or a murder took place at the spot.
Well in a way, this symbol of the Inunnguaq, though controversial, may be oddly appropriate. Consider, sadly, the loss of Georgian Nodar Kumaritashvili, who "was killed by the Whistler during his training run" just hours before the February 12th, 2010 Olympic opening ceremonies.
The Inunnguaq-a symbol of human death and suffering as the symbol for the 2010 Winter Olympics?? There is also this perspective (simply my opinion)-what of the emphasis on "how many medals each country amasses" during the games, as opposed to an interest in and emphasis on the skill and sacrifice of the each of the athletes who compete, regardless of winning a medal or not? The heavy emphasis on "medals won" during the Olympic games, in particular, drives me crazy each time the games air. Maybe the Inunnguaq is a symbol of the sacrificial death of the human spirit to the god of competition...hmmm...something to consider.
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Back to my first point...regardless of the underlying and controversial nature surrounding the 2010 Olympic games symbol...I still find myself amazed at how these "coincidences" (stacking rocks mentioned as something spiritual) occur across cultural and historical divides...events/traditions from different cultures crisscrossing over vast spans of time pulling up similar responses from "us humans"...no matter how different or competitive we attempt to be.
Stacking rocks...telling stories to be recalled for generations...
this post dedicated to Nodar Kumaritashvili
