Booze and Spirits
(Courtesy: Kanien’kehá:ka Onkwawén:na Raotitióhkwa Language and Cultural Center)
Story told by Geraldine Standup
As a teacher, it’s difficult. It’s difficult because you have to walk your talk and you can’t say one thing and go do something else, you know? You can’t be sitting in a bar on a Friday night swizzling booze and saying, “Okay, tomorrow morning we’re going to do a sweat lodge.” It just doesn’t work like that.
From our understanding, booze is spirits. The greater society even understands that it’s spirits, but it’s negative spirits. Now, in our way, when we want to reach the higher beings, the angelic realm, our personal spirit guides. We pray and we do ritual, we do ceremony to help us along with whatever it is that’s disturbing our lives.
Whether it’s booze or drugs, what happens is that your physical body will really reflect what is going on in your mind. So, you may see someone walking into a bar, and they’re alive, lively, talkative and chatty, they throw back one drink after another and you can see the body begin to sag and if they insist on more, their heads will bounce off the bar. That’s when the lower beings come in.
So, we raise our vibration as much as possible through ritual and ceremony to connect with the higher being. When we are boozing, what happens is that we are connecting with the lower beings. Lower beings are always bent on mischief and destruction.
This is when we all get into fights, we are robbed or killed. Any kind of thing can happen when we are in that state. These are understandings I got from the old people. “Tóhsa shnekì:ra, don’t drink.” There’s going to be trouble because you are going to be attracting it - you are now in negative mode.
KANIEN’KÉHA VERSION
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KANIEN’KÉHA VERSION ↓
Onen'tákeri tánon' atónhnhets
(Courtesy: Kanien’kehá:ka Onkwawén:na Raotitióhkwa Language and Cultural Center)
Geraldine Standup IAKOKÁ:RATON
Wentó:re' ki' wáhi ne iakorihonnién:ni naieia'to'ténhake'. Wentó:re' ase'kén ó:nen'k tsi tentiatenróhake' tsi nihsatiéhrha' tánon' tsi ní:tsi satá:tis tánon' iah thaón:ton' tsorì:wa ahsì:ron' sok ó:ia' nahò:ten' nenséhsiere', saterièn:tare' wáhi? Iah thaón:ton' tsi ionthnekahráhkhwa' iahsanitskó:ten' ne Wískhaton o'karahsnéha kwah tesawén:rie' sanen'tákeri tánon' sá:ton, "Háo' ki' nio, enióhrhen'ne' ohrhon'kè:ne iakwaneniontakóhe'." Kwah iah tho ní:tsi teioió'te'.
Tho ní:tsi wake'nikonhraién:ta's tsi atónhnhets í:ken ne onen'tákeri. Kwah kentiohkwakwé:kon ò:ni' iako'nikonhraién:ta's tsi atónhnhets nen' nè:'e, nek tsi wahétken niwatonhnhehtsherò:ten's í:ken. Ok nì:'i tsi niionkwarihò:ten, nó:nen eniákwehre' aiakhiwennà:ronke' ne è:neken thonnónhnhe', thí:ken karonhià:ke thatinákere', né: ki' ne ionkhihaharahtén:nis. Eniakwaterén:naien' tánon' eniakwentanó:ronste', teniakwatenonhwerá:ton' né: ki' naiá:wen' aionkwaia'takéhnha' ne tóhsa othé:nen taonsaionkwa'nikonhrhá:ren' tsi iatiónhnhe'.
Thikawenní:io ka' niká:ien' nonen'tákeri tóka' ni' ne iontsheiaronkwáhtha', tó:kenske eh neniá:wen' tseròn:ke entewatena'ké:rahte' tsi nítioht ne sa'nikòn:rakon. Né: ki', ahshé:ken' ki' ónhte' ónhkak tsi ionthnekahráhkhwa wà:'en', tánon' iakónhnhe', iakota'karí:te', tó:k niiakoterihwatiè:ni, enionteksaténia'te' tenionteksáweron' tánon' enhsáttoke' tsi entewatáhsawen' ská:ti nonkwá:ti entewà:sen'ne' noieròn:ta' tánon' tóka' shé:kon entsehnekanón:wake', kwah teionthiohsotahkhwà:ke tenionteniahkáro'ke'. Thò:ne ki' wáhi thí:ken ehtà:ke thonnónhnhe' enthontáweia'te'.
Kwah tsi niionkwakwénion iakwahará:tats tsi iatiónhnhe' nó:nen eniakwentanó:ronste' tánon' teniakwatenonhwerá:ton' né: ki' aón:ton' taiakwatahsónteren' thí:ken è:neken tiakónhnhe'. Nó:nen ionkwatenonhwarahton'tonhátie, tó:kenske' eh niiá:wens tsi tetewatahsontéhrha' thí:ken ehtà:ke thonnónhnhe'. Tió:konte' roti'nikonhrha'tà:tskon tánon' tehotihrihtà:tskon ne thí:ken ehtà:ke thonnónhnhe'.
Thò:ne ki' wáhi entewateriiohá:ton', enionkhíhkhwa' othé:nen tóka' ni' enionkhírio'. Kwah thikawenní:io nahò:ten' nenionkwaià:tawen' nó:nen tho niiontionhnhawèn:'en. Kwah nè:'e ionkhi'nikonhraientastén:ni ne thotí:ien's. "Tóhsa shnekì:ra." Tó:kenske seri'tstonnià:ne ase'kén tehsatirontà:ne' - ó:nen ki' iah teioiánere' tsi nisonhnhawèn:'en.
Edited by: Simona Rosenfield
Translation by: Karonhí:io Delaronde