Kia ora friends,
I’m delighted to share with you this audio-zine of poems, incantations, prayers and blessings written by participants and conveners of the Gathering at the Gate course. The zine has been lovingly edited and voiced by Sylvie McCreanor.
You may remember me interviewing Gathering at the Gate conveners, Elli and Wren, last year. I had just taken part in the course myself and it had a big impact on me. We explored the difficult territory of how our Pākehā ancestors contributed to colonising Aotearoa. We were encouraged to research our family history and to reach back to our ancient earth honouring ancestors in Europe, Britain, Scandinavia and other parts of the world to discover their rituals and practices.
Lots of beautiful things came out of these explorations. This zine is a small collection of creative outpourings from the course. The hope is that it can be a resource to help us find own lifeways, words, practices and rituals that connect us with something wider and deeper that we can draw strength from now.
You can view the zine or purchase a paper copy on the Gathering at the Gate website.
To help you navigate the audio zine, here are some time
My introduction 00:00:00
Title: 01:43:70
Acknowledgements: 01:55:43
Introduction by Wren Maben: 05:01:23
Part 1: Opening: 08:17:26
Untitled, Anonymous: 08:51:28
Acknowledgement as Tauiwi - Kay Benseman: 10:01:24
An invitation to gather in collective care - Áine Kelly-Costello: 10:58:64
A one-minute blessing - Beau Child: 12:37:24
Elli's mihi - Elli Yates: 13:06:66
Acknowledgement of country and opening dedication - Gambhīrachittā/ Lisa Kelly: 13:52:34
Untitled - Bec (Rebecca Pearson): 15:44:40
Blessing to open learning environment from Pukeahuto- Milly Taylor: 16:06:66
Chloe's opening for hui - Chloe Bisley-Wright: 17:25:30
Brosnachadh - Dani Pickering: 18:12:40
To open a space - Zoe Higgins: 19:05:53
To open a space - Key Benseman: 20:28:16
A blessing for a fine arts class I teach at Massey - Holly Walker: 21:37:26
Part Two - Incantations: 23:09:53
An incantatory opening for mahi by Pākehā committed to decolonisation - Rachel Jane Liebert: 23:42:61
blessed: to consecrate in blood, hallow with blood, mark with blood - Helena Leon Mayer: 24:44:32
A contemplation on non-violence - Kay Benseman: 26:05:38
May we be like trees - Loo Connor: 28:29:67
Prayer for Tangata Tiriti - Elli Yates: 29:26:43
A Tangata Tiriti remembrance spell for the earth, the past, and Te Tiriti o Waitangi - Sylvie McCreanor: 30:31:27
May we all find more Patience - Mim Sherratt: 34:22:05
An incantation for ancestral reconnection and belonging - Claire Gibb: 35:23:16
Unsettling ourselves - Sylvan Spring: 36:29:59
Saining - Sylvan Spring: 37:48:67
Prayer for the hearth - Author unknown: 44:20:44
August-baum - Helena Leon Mayer: 45:17:10
Lied/song/waiata - Tess Dalgety-Evans: 47:53:54
Patience - Helen Lyttelton: 50:19:71
Part Three - Kai: 51:14:42
Lillian's blessing for kai - Lillian Murray: 51:41:28
A blessing for food - Zoe Higgins: 52:07:26
A short, rhythmic blessing (in English) - Anonymous: 52:44:23
Six kai blessings - Anonymous: 53:14:11
Wren’s food blessing - Wren Mabin: 56:36:64
A toast to nourishment - Miriam Sherratt: 56:59:32
An invocation for kai, written at/for Samhain - Rachel Jane Liebert: 57:46:10
To share food - Milly Taylor: 58:31:48
Part Four - Closing: 59:27:72
To close space - Milly Taylor: 59:52:18
Leasanan na tire (lessons of the land) - Dani Pickering: 60:55:27
To close a space - Zoe Higgins: 61:49:59
Wren's two-minute poem for opening or closing a space - Wren Mabin
Blessings! If you’d like to find out more about Gathering at the Gate or sign up for one of their courses, check out their website at
https://www.gathering-at-the-gate.org/
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