Back to a normal school day today I thought after a mountain climb and a Fun Activities Sports Day last week......
A child came running up to me 'Quick Lynne, he's dug up the kingfisher!'
Sure enough, the small kingfisher that had been found dead last Friday and lovingly enterred in the earth then decorated with flowers and a small twig fence to mark the spot, was now lying still in Buzz's open hand, it's beautiful feathers dusty yet vibrant.
'Why did you dig it up?' asked one child in obvious dismay.
'I wanted to see what it looked like' was the calm reply. Of course.
Several children gathered and examined the bird which was then re-interred back into it's hole in the ground.
Later that day, in the Indonesian lesson, I told the children about a friend of mine who had written about a burial she went to in a small village in Bali. The special and very sacred ceremony of it all....the priest saying prayers for the spirit of the grandmother, the sprinkling of the holy water, flowers placed over the eyes, ears and mouth, offerings woven from palm leaves, the careful wrapping of the body in a special white silk cloth with yellow silk ties and finally the wrapped body placed in a specially woven grass mat tied around with strong fibres.
The children were fascinated.
'That's SO nice Lynne!' was one boy's comment.
Children of this age are naturally imitative.
At lunchtime when I returned from my lunch break a cluster of children around the resting place of the buried kingfisher caught my eye. One child was sprinkling water from his cup over the bird's resting place and singing quietly, others were solemnly placing flowers and twigs to mark the spot. The Balinese priest's bell from our classroom was quickly collected and brought back for the 'ceremony at the temple.'
'We dug the kingfisher up again Lynne!' was the happy remark from the water sprinkler.
'Now, I really think that it is time to leave that bird in the earth and.......' I began, when a voice cut in, 'we got some paperbark from the tree and wrapped up it's body and tied it with grass and we have just finished burying it.'
'I think it's spirit is happy now' added another child 'just like my dad'.
This child's father passed away, very sadly, four years ago.
The wisdom of letting children do what needs to be done...and getting out of the way so they can do it.
How lucky are we parents to have you as our children's teacher, guide, friend? Thank you for lovingly supporting all things natural including death. Being the mother of the child whose father died, it made me cry to read this blog, but my tears were as much tears of gladness as sorrow. Thank you Lynne.
ReplyDelete