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Madre Luna and the Drum

On a camping trip to a Pow Wow, I had the most wonderful experience. This Pow Wow honored our Elders, and was a three day event. The camp grounds were surrounded in tall pine trees, and the sacred circle was right in the middle of the campground. It was a grass meadow encircled by a tall forrest pine trees. Hidden amongst the pine tree bases were dozens of pitched tents. The air was filled with the scent of clean pine needles, smokey campfires and bbq'd carne asada. Jovial kids ran around enjoying the outdoors while people hung out in groups, laughing, talking, working the campfire and just having a good time.
In the early morning, I was woken by the sound of drums and chanting somewhere from a distant camp. I got up and came outside my tent. The the smell of morning smoke hit my nostrils and as I looked around I heard the quiet rustle of people getting up preparing breakfast. The morning was dewey crisp and felt good in my lungs. I let my senses take over. It was so cleansing.
The sounds of the drum circle finished, and another started elsewhere in the campground. My heart was filled with a joyful pride hearing groups singing out "GOOD MORNING! RISE AND SHINE FOR IT'S A BEAUTIFULL MORNING AND WE ARE STILL HERE. REJOICE!". Then the sounds of conch shells bellowed out announcing community breakfast was ready. Down the hill from my camp, II could see the outdoor kitchen was set up for all those who wished to come together in a meal. The thick smoke from the bbw pits rose up in white pillars toward the sky, and I could swear I saw animal figures forming...disforming.
The Pow Wow started later that morning. I enjoyed the dancers, the ceremonies and talks. That night, I went to my tent and was joined by a group of some friends I had bumped into on the grounds. I invited all to my table and friends of friends also showed up so that my table was full and then some. I was worried the food I had brought would not be enough to feed everyone, but to my surprise, people who had food, brought it to share as well. We ended up having so much food that there were leftovers. I must say, please try the Indin Fry Bread with honey and sugar powder. Too die for.
After dinner, people started forming small groups and chattered in low conversations around a large campfire. The night had a full moon, and it's light started to shine through the thick branches of the pine trees towering above.
Two young men whispering amongst themselves suddenly broke into silence. One of them grabbed a hand drum as the other stepped over to a shaft of moonlight breaking into the campfire cirlce just then. They began to beat a rythym on the hand drum as they broke out into song. The drum beats were steady, the language was Nahuatl, the old Mexica language. As the young men sang, there fell a silence around the campgrounds. You knew everyone was listening, contemplating. The song continued, and as the earth moved, so did the ray of moonlight in the camp. The young singers simply followed the light knelt on their heels, crawling slowly following the path of the earth and moonrays. Soon, other campers started to arrive at the circle in silence, to see this ceremony and pay respects to the song, to the prayer in the language from the tribes of the South. Soon, the moonlight started to dissipate in the obscuring branches, and as this happened, the singing also started to diminish. Soon, the prayer was being sung in a whisper, the drum beat getting softer and lower in tone. Then the moonrays were gone, and the music stopped. There was a hushed "HO" from everyone, and as I looked up from where I was standing, I saw people retreating quietly into the night; their shadows melting into the dark of the forest, back to their camps.
There was no need to say anything. The ceremony, the song, the prayer said it all. I went to bed that night happy and peaceful knowing that the Native American tribes were not only still present and strong, but united across the land as one.
I woke up the next morning knowing who I was. Feeling who I was. I had found my innerself.