Luminary Celebrations

Gatherings to Celebrate the Luminaries:
Nemenhah Citizens should make plans to celebrate together some time during the Lunar Cycle associated with the Shortest and Longest days of the year - the Solstices, and also in the Lunar Cycles associated with the Equinoxes.  These gatherings ought to involve Unipi Ceremony and also expressions of Thanksgiving.  We will grow closer together, and we will be better prepared to further the Five-Fold Mission of the Nemenhah if we are careful to observe these Holy Days. 

Our Ancestors wrote of the times and seasons which they celebrated.  They gathered together often as families, and these gatherings may or may not have corresponded to the larger celebrations.  They also met as congregants at the Lunar Sabbaths, or what we would call "monthly" Holy Days.  Their most important celebrations, however, took place at four intervals during the year.  

These were the Luminary Celebrations:

September:
Autumnal Equinox

The first Great Celebration was in the autumn and was held during the "Lunar" beginning with the Autumnal Equinox.  Among their Rocky Mt. analogs, this celebration was called the "Winter Dances" because it was only shortly after the equinox that the first snows began to fall in the Wallowa Valley and in the Blue Mountains round about.  Further east, in the valleys of the Waters of the Mihsihnsihp, the first frost is usually not long after the equinox.

This was the time of year when all the Delegates from the Settlements and Villages associated with a great Ceremonial Complex like Mihisahuhrit, Pohtahlehkt, Nehspehlhehm, Wihtsihtsihm, Tlahmahtsah and Tlingihtshah met for Great Council.  Both political and religious functions took place at the Autumnal Celebrations.  The Great Council met to deliberate about the state of the nation and to set public policy in a Constitutional Council they called "the Foundation."  The Ancestor, or "Spirit" Dance, and its associated Ceremonies were also performed at this time, and each Settlement and Village provided a Pledger or two for the dance.  In this dance the Pledger makes a significant sacrifice in order to honor all the good things of the earth, but also to set them aside so that communion with their kindred dead might be achieved.  

This celebration corresponds to the West Point on the Nemenhah Medicine Wheel and connotes an understanding and appreciation for the Gift of Knowledge that has been passed down to us in Pattern Language through our Ancestors.  It is by and through this Gift of Knowledge that the Nemenhah hopes to be able to live the Law of Knowledge, or what has also been called the Law of the Gospel.  It refers to the beginning place of all Nemenhah - all that which one may learn by being part of life's journey and experiment.  In the Four Pillars of the Tuhhuhl Nuhmihn, it is characterized by the Girl or Boy Child.  This is to remind the Nemenhah of the manner in which we learn - line upon line and precept on precept.  One step at a time, like a little child.

The Restored Nemenhah still hold Great Council in the Fall of the year, usually on the second (2nd) weekend of September, which falls right in the middle of the Lunar Cycle associated with the Autumnal Equinox.

December:
The Winter Solstice 

Technically part of the "Winter Dance Complex," the Winter Solstice marked the shortest day of the year and the Ancient Nemenhah gathered in their families, and also in their Settlements and Villages to celebrate the resurgence of life that would soon begin to spring forth.  Parents would tell the "Hero Stories" all through the winter months, but most especially during this time.  Old clothing was always repaired or re-made, and new clothing was also prepared during this time, and a significant part of the celebration was dedicated to showing off all that was new.  

Congregations gathered for special Ceremonies of Communion from the Solstice Moon, or the new moon in which the Equinox fell, all the way through to the full moon of the Solstice Cycle.  The Ministers prepare special Communion Meals to celebrate the Coming of the Peacemaker, as well as the Union of Pah Aylohway and Tsi Aylohway, and the confirming Spirit of Haymehnay during this time.      

The Sacred Giveaway was strictly adhered to during this time of the year, for it was the time when most misery was possible, and the Nemenhah were dedicated to the idea that no Minister of the Nemenhah should be impoverished because of their Ministry.  Most of the surplus that had been made or gathered up to the frost was distributed during the celebrations that corresponded with the Winter Solstice and the Nemenhah made themselves so busy in giving that there was little time to spend bemoaning the cold or hardship.  

Most specifically, seeds that had been held back during the growing season were distributed to all the growers at this time, and many seeds and nuts were laid in for stratification in preparation for the spring which would quickly be upon them.  The Minisahuhrit region was blessed with a long growing season, but there could still be severe winters.  The people knew, however, that the winter season was not long - three months at its worst - and that one could be standing in a foot of snow one month, and preparing for the planting the following.  All things were made ready for the changing of the seasons in advance, and in this way the planting was accomplished with good timing each year.

This celebration time corresponds to the North Point on the Nemenhah Medicine Wheel as the Nemenhah contemplate and acknowledge the role that Heavenly Beings play in their lives.  In the Four Pillars of the Tuhhuhl Nuhmihn, this time of the year is associate with the Law of Sacrifice and is characterized by the Adult Man  or "Father" figure.  This is to remind the Nemenhah of the need to set aside ego and selfishness and the beneficial effects of dedicating one's life to the service of others.  Family, and most especially children require so much, and are so important to the continuance of the Nemenhah, that man cannot afford to "prove" himself by the strength of the arm of flesh.  The proof of his wisdom will be his children, and the continuation of the foundation through them.  

As it happens, this time of year also corresponds with the Christmas, Hanukah, and New Year's  Holiday Season, and many Nemenhah have family traditions and customs which make this a time of joyful celebration and giving. 

March:
Vernal Equinox

One of the most important celebrations of the Ancient Nemenhah occurred during the Lunar Cycle in which the Vernal Equinox fell.  This celebration was called the "Festival of Lights."  It was intended to serve two functions.  The first function was to make a celebration of thanksgiving denoting the successful planting season and the beginning of the harvest.  The second was to celebrate not just the assurance of new life and resurrection, but the reality of it. 

The Ancient Nemenhah would gather as families and each would make a Sacred Ceremony in which a bonfire was lit and attended through the night.  When all the families of a village or settlement did this on the same night, it was said to be for the stars of heaven even as they are to us, or, to look down upon such a sight must be for the observer as looking up into the night sky is - filled with light.  For those of the Ancient Nemenhah who were disciples of Ayahtsuhway Sahnehmpteht, the Peacemaker, the Festival of Lights celebrated his life and mortal ministry.

Nemenhah families and congregations should plan a special celebratory gathering during this time of the year to express the same sort of gratitude and to actively participate in the restoration or "new life" of the Nemenhah People.  Not only should the Bonfire Ceremony be practiced (where allowed), but also the Members should be encouraged to carefully nurse and sustain the plant food-bearing trees and shrubs they planted before the bud was on.  They do this in order to be actively engaged with the Earth in the renewing of life on this planet.

This celebration corresponds to the East Point of the Nemenhah Medicine Wheel and is intended to celebrate not only the promise of the "Gifts of the Spirit," but also the actual obtaining of them.

 In the Tuhhuhl Nuhmihn, this Luminary is typified by the Virtuous Woman or "Mother" holding a pot out of which she is pouring water, or lifting up a pot in which she has planted corn.  The Law of Virtue, as symbolized by the Virtuous Woman are all those good gifts to which the Nemenhah aspire.

June:
The Summer Solstice

The Summer Solstice is the longest day of the year, and in the mountainous regions of the Inter-Mt. West and Northwest it is the herald of the coming season of cold.  Each day now becomes progressively shorter and the nights cooler.  There are still many days of growing season left, but anyone experienced in living in the harsh mountains of the West knows that it will take every single day left in the season to prepare for the winter that lies just around the corner.  One must take careful inventory of all that has been gathered in, and all that will still need to be gathered, and then a clear idea of how such resources must be used is required.  

At the Summer Solstice Celebrations, our ancestors gave thanks for the bounty and abundance of the season, and of the Earth, but at the same time, they were careful to recognize that right application of all good things is the minimum requirement for survival.  They gathered together to demonstrate their skills in dance, song, woodcraft, the homely arts, medicine, and so forth, and many weddings were performed in this time of year.

The Summer Solstice corresponds to the South Point on the Nemenhah Medicine Wheel and is typified by contests and performances.  It is a time when the harvest is in full swing and the Earth is giving abundantly, and also a time for the Nemenhah to demonstrate the viability of their culture and religion. 

In the Tuhhuhl Nuhmihn it is represented by the Elderly Man or "Grandfather."  This is to represent that it is in the time of plenty and abundance and that the combined knowledge, understanding and experience ought to be put to best use so that hardship in the times of scarcity or crisis might be avoided or mitigated.