Beltane Celebration

Four of us from Neskaya went down to the Abbie Greenleaf Library in Franconia for the annual winding of the Maypole.  Sponsored by the library, each year a group of little girls get all dressed up in spring colors and come to wind the maypole.  The pole and ribbons were made by Christy and Ched Shaw-Doran.  It was COLD.  It was cloudy with a chilly wind.  I was wearing a black coat over my festive clothing.  Little girls were arriving as we put the pole up.  Then we gathered in a circle and practiced a “grand right-and-left.” Over & over. Kayla arrived with the music — a specially made CD on a boom box, no live music this year — and we practiced again.  Then everybody who would be winding one of the eighteen ribbons went in to get a wreath of flowers put on her head.  We untied the ribbons which had been tied to the pole.  In past years the wind tangled the ribbons so it was a lot of work getting them straightened out.  At the stroke of eleven we began.  It went very well.  The weaving looked beautiful, it was so even.  After it was wound, people went to the picnic table for cookies and soft drinks.  I showed the few that were left the steps of “Gabi Gabi” a dance from Africa and we started the music.  When people saw how easy it was they joined and we soon had a big circle.  Then we did Maize, a dance for summer.  A few worms had come up, so we did the “worm dance” Omal Garassari, a dance with lots of stamping. Worms always come up when we dance.  One year there were so many they were in danger of being stepped on.  One young boy made it his business to pick the worms up and carry them to a safer place.  Then we unwound the maypole as a group.  It was relatively easy because we’d wound it so evenly.  We had tried it another year, but everybody got really frustrated and we had to quit.  Kayla put on the music of Dudulas for the unwinding.  Everybody agreed it was the best year yet!

For pictures of the winding of the maypole in 2008