“The Ancestors are our predecessors and our own past lives, and are present within us in our genes. Thus the cells of our bodies contain ‘echoes’ of our personal, family, national, and racial past and have an influence on the way we perceive reality.”
Kenneth Meadows, Shamanic Experience
Most people will have an understanding of who their immediate ancestors are, probably most typically parents, grandparents and maybe even great-grandparents. Some are moved to research their family trees: indeed, members of my own family have researched back as far as 1701 on my paternal side and 1796 on my maternal side. These can give one a sense of one’s place in history and how/why/where at least some of one’s own experience, beliefs and values originated.
The shamanic world view often refers to ‘the ancestors’ as a source of inspiration, learning, wisdom and insights. However, there’s a danger that this term is used loosely without a full appreciation of the wealth of deeper meanings ‘the ancestors’ might offer. Thus, an understanding of what they mean personally is important. Over the past ten years I’ve slowly developed my own understanding which includes three levels of predecessors:
Familial Ancestors: One’s family history can be traced back through genealogy - a few centuries - to provide a deeper understanding of the social, economic and religious roots etc. that have influenced the experiences, values and beliefs of past generations. Just reflect for a moment what positives/negatives your immediate family created for you and how your own life’s path is similar/different and maybe why? How might this have impacted how you seek to bring up any children you have?
Originating Blood Ancestors: This is the blood line, but going back further than just two or three centuries. A couple of years ago I undertook a DNA search of my own blood line and discovered that my ethnicity is comprised: 66% English; 28% Scandinavian; 3% Celt and 3% Finn. This was a surprise having thought that my deep love and connection with Greece since the mid-90s might have suggested some Greek ancestory. However, I’ve since further researched the Vikings (beyond the raping and pillaging!) and, given some of the more positive aspects of their societal beliefs and practices, wonder if my attraction to the shamanic path has at least a few roots in some distant memory of their coming to the UK in 800AD? Do you know your own blood line? If so, has this impacted your own self-awareness? If not, what might you imagine it to be, and might you even be curious enough to investigate it?
Existential Ancestors: Shamanism as a belief system and set of complex practices has been traced back by archaeologists to as long ago as 40,000 years ago or even earlier, evidenced by the cave paintings of hands, animals and presumed gods in France and Spain. Very recently, similar cave paintings previously found in the 1950s in Sulawesi, Indonesia, have been dated to 35 – 39,00o years ago, confounding the theory that only our European ancestors became creative then. This is at the close of the Neanderthal/dawn of the Paleolithic periods: by comparison, Neolithic monuments e.g. Stonehenge, Avebury Circle and Cissbury Ring were constructed ‘only’ 4,500 years ago. So, our ancient forefathers developed the most intimate relationship with nature and Mother Earth simply to survive, and their developing, albeit simplistic, understanding of the world, including early spiritual stirrings, laid some of the foundations of practices that are still followed today. Indeed, many now believe that losing sight of at least some of these beliefs has gone some way to causing the madness of the modern world’s consumption-oriented economies, causing many of the present day challenges, not least of which is the climate crisis. You might like to ask yourself if there any times or places when you’re more aware of distant ancestors and how we’ve developed from them?
So what, you might reasonably ask, has this got to do with photography? Well, for me, when I’m in certain locations, particularly those which are known to have supported the lives of distant ancestors, I like to consciously bring them to mind before thinking about which shots I’ll aim to capture. My last blog referred to the meditiations I practice to create a deeper connection wherever I am. Just as in my daily meditation, in specific places I’ll remember these ancestors as part of this process: “May I follow the ancient wisdom of the ancestors who took nature as their spiritual teacher. May I sense their presence, together with my previous incarnations, to breathe their blessings for my eyes to open and my Earth-life journey to be fruitful and of benefit to others.” I’m then ready to hopefully reflect these sentiments in the ultimate images I capture in that location.
The images above and below were taken shortly after dawn on a recent trip to Cheddar Gorge, just half an hour from my home. It’s England’s deepest gorge and has been named the second greatest natural wonder in Britain. It’s also the site of Cheddar caves, where Britain's oldest complete human skeleton, Cheddar Man, was found in 1903, estimated to be 9,000 years old. Older remains from the Late Palaeolithic era (12,000–13,000 years ago) have also been found here. It’s relevance to the subject of Honouring the Ancestors is clear. At this time of day, with only wild goats for company, it’s easy to imagine our predecessors trying to forge a barely sustainable life in these rugged surroundings, while attempting to understand the world around them. What strikes you most when reflecting on these these images?
“Let us honour the wisdom of our elders so the children may recognise the power of the past in the creation of the moment, just as we acknowledge that our thought is shaping this world and we are ancestors to those who are yet to be born.”
Dhyani Ywahoo, Voices of our Ancestors