The Cognashene area is a distinct island community. I tried to instruct myself about the area before we cruised to Portage Island, by reaching for, Wind, Water, Rock and Sky , the Story of Cognashene, published in 1997. What an apt title and what primordial and perfect descriptors.
Reading the forward by the Hon. William Davis, a past Premier and Cognashene resident of 67 years, I am struck by his words, “....time spent on the Bay was a true tonic, a time of rest, renewal and often, introspection. I’ve sometimes wondered if there isn’t some restorative power in the bracing Georgian Bay air.”
Again quoting the Introduction in which it states, “ ....there still remain within the boundaries of Cognashene places where the presence of man is not immediately discernible, and where a sense of the immutability of the rocks and the pines transcend the mundane and creates an irrefutable link between the self and the universe.”
He also quotes E.M. Forster who encourages us to “only connect.” “If we could bottle this, we could sell it to the world,” someone said.
Do we have to be able to eat or drink this and hope there might be a chance to bottle it, to make it worthwhile? These words of Premier Davis seem to allude to some form of invisible power.
No question the natives always referred to this place as the abode of the Gods. Giants Tomb is where Kitchikewana lay down to rest after flinging earth at the world to form the islands within Lake Huron. So goes the story.
It sounds like a huge meteor storm and likely, a collision with a starry body. Myths depict real events and form part of the ancient memory buried within people.
This collision likely formed the Thirty Thousand Islands as well as the Canadian Shield. These star masses, upon collision, leave enormous wealth in earthly form as gold, uranium, nickel and other rare minerals.
The real deal is of course the invisible power that resides and abides here. Wake up! Do you think these figures are just mythical? No. It is a very real and special locale imbued with power.
Not power from dams or splitting atoms, but the very real power emanating from this profound intersection of Wind, Water, Rock and Sky. Remember this: Georgian Bay was named after an English king, but long before, it had another name which denoted its power and majesty. We owe it to ourselves to re-discover this name and this strange source of extraordinary power. We hear the echo, it vibrates within us, but do we heed the call?
It is a very deep and low beat, sounded out by Anishinaabe drummers telling us the story via sound waves, yet we cannot hear their sacred tones, entombed as we are, in the cacophony of the day.
More to come.
Copyright René Hackstetter August 24, 2020. Revised September 7, 2020.
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