Remembering Mother Earth
These ancient stones reverberate
With the memories of years.
Fire and blood and ritual,
Passion, joy and tears.
Passages of time enshrined,
Tracking moon and sun;
Rhythms of the Universe
In which we all are one.
Endless cycles arc and whirl
The atoms dance and sing
The wisest song of Harmony,
Which governs everything.
There was a time we knew all this.
And strove to show respect.
Now parasites, we poison, kill,
A cancer of neglect.
How soon will Nature shrug us off,
Protecting all she’s worth?
How soon will we be on our knees
Remembering Mother Earth?
© Jeni Caruana 2003
With the memories of years.
Fire and blood and ritual,
Passion, joy and tears.
Passages of time enshrined,
Tracking moon and sun;
Rhythms of the Universe
In which we all are one.
Endless cycles arc and whirl
The atoms dance and sing
The wisest song of Harmony,
Which governs everything.
There was a time we knew all this.
And strove to show respect.
Now parasites, we poison, kill,
A cancer of neglect.
How soon will Nature shrug us off,
Protecting all she’s worth?
How soon will we be on our knees
Remembering Mother Earth?
© Jeni Caruana 2003
In 2003 I held a solo exhibition in the National Archaeology Museum in Valletta, Malta. I designed it in the form of two apses, the outer one contained paintings of all the above ground Temples. This led into a smaller one, where I hung paintings of sleeping women, an 'altar' of natural objects such as seeds, salt and unusual pieces of bark and stone. Poems and words came to me.
The effect overwhelmed many of the visitors, and me too.
Below are photographs of the exhibition, taken by Daniel Cilia.
The effect overwhelmed many of the visitors, and me too.
Below are photographs of the exhibition, taken by Daniel Cilia.
... and this is from the catalogue
The prehistoric Temples of Malta are the oldest free-standing structures in the world. Traces of them can be found all over these tiny Islands, mostly demolished or incorporated into the local rubble walls. Why were there so many temples? Why here? There is little evidence of weaponry; the temple builders must have come in peace. There is little evidence of contemporary habitation; was this a place of pilgrimage?
These huge stones were not cut, moved and erected so precisely simply for the fun of it. Some face south-east and track the sun’s journey between the equinoxes. Others seem more aligned to the moon, stars or planets. Tremendous importance must have been attached to these sites; was it the space they occupy or the building themselves? Or both? It seems that Malta was held in high esteem by ancient peoples, and I wonder why….. I wonder what they knew that we are too ‘civilised’ to know.
It seems obvious that the prehistoric peoples had to survive by living with nature, predicting its seasons and being in touch with its cycles. They knew that they were part of the great rhythm of the earth. They had to know when to plant, when to store grain. They also knew that women brought forth new life from within their own bodies; surely a magical and mysterious process even today. They must have treasured the fertility of women as well as the earth, and found both worthy of respect, if not adoration. How else would they have had a future?
Conventional archaeologists and scholars are of the considered opinion that the Hypogeum, the incredible underground Temple at Hal-Salflieni, was simply an elaborate burial chamber. Others believe that the space was only used as such many years after its original purpose was lost or forgotten. Inspired by the “Sleeping Lady” statuettes found there, its amazing properties as a sound chamber and its orientation to the sun and moon, they consider it more likely to have been a place of communication with Spirit.
As an artist the latter notion is highly evocative. I was lucky enough to spend hours down there painting, and the experience left a lasting impression. Perhaps their rituals, celebrating the cycles of life, death and rebirth have erased the usual feelings of grief and fear that we associate with death, as the atmosphere is one of safety and wholeness. Did they come to communicate with echoes of the past or visions of the future? Did women retreat there during their menses (a sacred time in some societies), did couples create precious new life? Did these people come to give birth, or even to die?
The thought of peaceful, sleeping women curled in the chambers communing with something much deeper than everyday life is what led to my “Mother Earth’ series. Originally painted from real women, I overlaid the images with red earth from the Pwales valley, where I live, and sand from Ramla L’Hamra (Red Sands) in Gozo, which I have always found magical.
Whatever you choose to believe about these Temples, no-one really knows what the truth is. We can only see the evidence through our modern eyes. When we see a flat “altar” we add on priests and sacrifices, decorated with popular myths of wild orgies, huge flames and thunderbolts! Perhaps the truth was much more down to earth. Literally.
I do believe that emotion is somehow printed into the fabric of time, and that sensitive people can feel this. Quantum physics is rapidly expanding the frontiers of conventional science and (re)discovering the amazing ways that energies interact. It is entirely possible that ancient people instinctively knew more about the intricacies of Life than we do; perhaps it is time that we listened to the echoes?
The prehistoric Temples of Malta are the oldest free-standing structures in the world. Traces of them can be found all over these tiny Islands, mostly demolished or incorporated into the local rubble walls. Why were there so many temples? Why here? There is little evidence of weaponry; the temple builders must have come in peace. There is little evidence of contemporary habitation; was this a place of pilgrimage?
These huge stones were not cut, moved and erected so precisely simply for the fun of it. Some face south-east and track the sun’s journey between the equinoxes. Others seem more aligned to the moon, stars or planets. Tremendous importance must have been attached to these sites; was it the space they occupy or the building themselves? Or both? It seems that Malta was held in high esteem by ancient peoples, and I wonder why….. I wonder what they knew that we are too ‘civilised’ to know.
It seems obvious that the prehistoric peoples had to survive by living with nature, predicting its seasons and being in touch with its cycles. They knew that they were part of the great rhythm of the earth. They had to know when to plant, when to store grain. They also knew that women brought forth new life from within their own bodies; surely a magical and mysterious process even today. They must have treasured the fertility of women as well as the earth, and found both worthy of respect, if not adoration. How else would they have had a future?
Conventional archaeologists and scholars are of the considered opinion that the Hypogeum, the incredible underground Temple at Hal-Salflieni, was simply an elaborate burial chamber. Others believe that the space was only used as such many years after its original purpose was lost or forgotten. Inspired by the “Sleeping Lady” statuettes found there, its amazing properties as a sound chamber and its orientation to the sun and moon, they consider it more likely to have been a place of communication with Spirit.
As an artist the latter notion is highly evocative. I was lucky enough to spend hours down there painting, and the experience left a lasting impression. Perhaps their rituals, celebrating the cycles of life, death and rebirth have erased the usual feelings of grief and fear that we associate with death, as the atmosphere is one of safety and wholeness. Did they come to communicate with echoes of the past or visions of the future? Did women retreat there during their menses (a sacred time in some societies), did couples create precious new life? Did these people come to give birth, or even to die?
The thought of peaceful, sleeping women curled in the chambers communing with something much deeper than everyday life is what led to my “Mother Earth’ series. Originally painted from real women, I overlaid the images with red earth from the Pwales valley, where I live, and sand from Ramla L’Hamra (Red Sands) in Gozo, which I have always found magical.
Whatever you choose to believe about these Temples, no-one really knows what the truth is. We can only see the evidence through our modern eyes. When we see a flat “altar” we add on priests and sacrifices, decorated with popular myths of wild orgies, huge flames and thunderbolts! Perhaps the truth was much more down to earth. Literally.
I do believe that emotion is somehow printed into the fabric of time, and that sensitive people can feel this. Quantum physics is rapidly expanding the frontiers of conventional science and (re)discovering the amazing ways that energies interact. It is entirely possible that ancient people instinctively knew more about the intricacies of Life than we do; perhaps it is time that we listened to the echoes?
Listen………
Oh, hear the sound beyond your ears
That thrums throughout your veins.
It is the sound of Life itself
Where only Passion reigns.
It ebbs, it flows,
It sighs, it screams,
It echoes wildly
Through your dreams.
It plays the rhythm of your heart
It holds the perfect beat.
It spins the world, it sings the birds,
An opera complete.
Each word, each thought
Is part of this
Potential perfect sound
And we, we shards of frozen Light
Vibrate our crystal ground.
Deafening silence
Cries and calls;
Perfect stillness
Rises, falls.
And somewhere deep within your soul
You know the song of songs;
Dancing with the tune of it
Is where your heart belongs.
Love surrounds,
The Song delights;
Light resounds,
The Sound relights.
© Jeni Caruana 2003
Oh, hear the sound beyond your ears
That thrums throughout your veins.
It is the sound of Life itself
Where only Passion reigns.
It ebbs, it flows,
It sighs, it screams,
It echoes wildly
Through your dreams.
It plays the rhythm of your heart
It holds the perfect beat.
It spins the world, it sings the birds,
An opera complete.
Each word, each thought
Is part of this
Potential perfect sound
And we, we shards of frozen Light
Vibrate our crystal ground.
Deafening silence
Cries and calls;
Perfect stillness
Rises, falls.
And somewhere deep within your soul
You know the song of songs;
Dancing with the tune of it
Is where your heart belongs.
Love surrounds,
The Song delights;
Light resounds,
The Sound relights.
© Jeni Caruana 2003