History – 220 pages – my copy (paperback; 1991) purchased from Amazon and read during May 2012
#44 of 2011-12 – #165 of All Time
- 4 nods out of 5 -
The tagline of this book alone should wet the appetite of serious book worms out there amongst us: ‘Fifteen thousand years on one square mile’. The Worm came across the name of this book when recently reading Earth In Mind by David W. Orr; Orr recommends the changing of education with students getting involved in their local communities and to see what people and nature around them has to offer. It is a well recommended read: in the course of little more than 200 pages Mitchell takes the reader from the time of the last age ice, through mythology of the Native American, to end up at the end of the consumerist driven age of the late twentieth century.
The one square mile in question is located in a town in rural Massachusetts, USA. The author names it Scratch Flat, and it is the area surrounding his own home. But rather than a place in built up modern America, it becomes a pre-historic area of ice, of a Never-land in which the reader can immerse themselves and think: this place could be anywhere, in a land that time has forgotten. The author takes on Peter Pan-esque qualities, walking through the forests at night, trampling across fields whilst the town is asleep. It is all part of Mitchell’s attempt to bring nature back to the average Joe; as he comments on the reactions of those who heard about the proposal of his book: ‘Wilderness and wildlife, history, life itself, for that matter, is something that takes place somewhere else, it seems.’
Mitchell acts as unbiased reporter of the various anecdotes, theories and speculating of his cast of characters, from the Native American folk-lore of Nompenekit and Tonupasua (particularly the stories about the mysterious and powerful entity known as Glooscap), the forward thinking approach of Peter Sarkesian, the speculative theories of Toby Beckwith, and the visits of the wonderfully named Red Cowboy. Mitchell even puts into practice an experiment of living off the land: eating berries in the forest, and attempting to kill wildlife… Mitchell truthfully accepts the near possibility of this week, reflecting on renewed respect for the Native Americans who lived such a life for centuries. Throughout it all, the author maintains a respect for those who came before him; when discussing the local history of the post-1700 settlers in the community, he eloquently writes:
‘I confess to a pronounced interest in these near-nameless individuals. They are not heroes, nor are they, as you might imagine, the muscle and blood of Scratch Flat, the work force without who assistance the place could never yield a single bushel of produce. They are not necessarily the salt of the earth; they are not anything but individuals who lived their time and who, in their time, died. But that, it seems to me, is the real story of Scratch Flat, the real history of the world.’
But just what is Ceremonial Time, the Worm hears you cry out! The author explains:
‘Indian time stretches itself out on occasion, on occasion contracts or reveres its apparent flow. It is not exacting, not measured by dials or digits on a lighted screen, and at the base of this system is the concept of ceremonial time. It is then…that you can actually see events that took place in the past. You can see people and animals who have been dead for a thousand years; you can walk in their place, see and touch the plants of their world. And more importantly, when ceremonial time collapses, the spirit world can be seen, the gods, ghosts, and monsters of the Indian manifest themselves’.
Ceremonial Time is one of the most original books the Worm has read in a long time; to deem it ‘History’ does not give it full justice. It is more than that: science, folklore, topography and much more. It is a book for those who enjoy living and for those who wish to dig a little deeper in attempting to find the answer as to who we are, as humans.
Buy it here:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Ceremonial-Time-Fifteen-Thousand-Square/dp/0201149370
Find out more about the author here:
http://www.johnhansonmitchell.com/pages/books.html
