MainMan ...
Laurence Main on the Mother of the Isles
The first time I met Jill Smith I saw her dancing naked in a stone circle . At the time she called herself Lacey Bruce and was married to Bruce Lacey . This was in 1979 . Jill was a performer of spectacular , celebratory ritual ceremonies at fairs and festivals . In receipt of grants for live performance art , she made each act a story and a journey . In her own words , ‘ the performance became a form of self-initiation into a deep forgotten relationship with the Earth , its rhythms and cycles and our interaction with the universe ’. Jill ‘ felt the sites weren ’ t separate from each other but linked into a living network which once had humans as part of it as they moved through it , tending it and
For
keeping most
the of
links human
alive .’ existence we were hunter-gatherers
Jill ’ s journeying served to emphasise to her how vital the human part of the relationship between earth and cosmos is . For most of human existence we were hunter-gatherers , having a deep spiritual connection with as well as a great physical knowledge of the landscape we moved through , giving back as well as taking , to mutual benefit .
As Jill wrote to me ( and Jill received a scholarship to perform in Australia ), ‘ I ’ m travelling their Dreaming Paths , made by the creation ancestors . This is what the Australian aboriginal people did for tens of thousands of years . I am sure this is how our ancient ancestors related to the landscape of Britain , and that they also travelled the Dreaming Paths , teaching and honouring the land and cosmic movement through stories , songs and ceremonies , so that people and land are part of one whole .’
Jill lived her relationship with the land in a tough , genuine way , long after any arts grant money ran out . She went on a series of journeys , sleeping at sacred places throughout the year with no tent , linking the places by walking and leaving gifts from one place at the next . When she had a son , Jill did camp in a tent but valued walking with the baby in a pouch at the front and with a rucksack on her back . Her ‘ Awakening ’ journey in 1982 led from Land ’ s End to the Hebrides . As Jill confided in me , ‘ this was one of the most intense times of my life . It seemed that each site became integrated in my body and I into it , so I began to feel I had Britain within me and it had me throughout it .’ When Jill eventually lay on the brow of Sleeping Beauty Mountain on the Isle of Lewis the journey became one with her body also . The land , the mountain and the human as one .
By 1986 , Jill had moved from East Anglia to Lewis . And so Jill Smith came to write the best book on the Hebrides - Mother of the Isles . Her unique qualifications brought this about . Many of you will know the Hebrides . If so , presuming you ’ re not already aware of Jill Smith ’ s work , you have missed something special . Brighde ,
The land , the mountain and the human as one
Brigit , Bride speaks through Jill . The He-brides are the goddess ’ isles . With anything to do with the Hebrides She comes first and last . Be grateful you can send a cheque for £ 12 ( inc . P & P ) to Jill Smith , Monte Rosa , Aird Uig , Uig , Isle of Lewis , HS2 9JA for a copy of Mother of the Isles .
You can be guided around Lewis and Harris by Jill by coming on the Network of Ley Hunters ’ Moot , based in Stornaway , from Friday 13 April to Saturday 21 April , 2018 . We ’ ve booked a whole hostel and a coach . You have to pay your own way to Stornaway and back , but we ’ ll grant free accommodation and field trips to the writers of the best letter ( or maybe , two letters ) from OWPG members to justify this . We expect cuttings in due course , giving details of the Network of Ley Hunters to readers . Of course you ’ ll meet more than Jill . There will be a coach-load of Ley Hunters , including yours truly , too ! My contact details are below .
Laurence Main Network of Ley Hunters 9 Mawddwy Cottages , Minllyn Dinas Mawddwy , Machynlleth SY20 9LW , Wales Telephone : 01650 531354 .
16 Outdoor focus | summer 2017