23/06/2022
Lapwing in Legend
baltic falklore
Murmurs of war are reemerging from the men in the seaward side of the village. They say it will come within the next full moon. The women in the village seek signs for clarity, reason, and solutions While hunting, a father and his daughter Ana were surrounded by loudly flapping and riotous chanting of lapwings.
They stopped in their tracks to listen to the birds speak. Distressing calls and feelings of foreboding waved upon them from their high-pitched heralds of potential doom and war.
When the father returned to the village Ana stayed behind and sat silently among the lapwings. She was submerged into their dance and song, refusing to hear or see anything other than the unfolding of life and preparation, ignoring what she feared most..the ravages of war. Ana spoke to them, asking them what she could do to calm their fevered pitch and hysterical gyrations.
The lapwings spoke to Ana in mesmerizing, rhythmic tones,
all the while dancing like Dervishes upon the marshes. Her eyesight blurred and she was enveloped with the lapwing spirit. They said they live by protecting their innocents, and her village should do the same. Ana did not understand. She was taught none among them were innocent, as they were all children of many wars and inhabitants of a cursed world. The lapwings repeated, telling her to protect the heart of the village by protecting that which is unmolested by war or world.
Ana thought long on this. She sat in the marsh, soaking in the freshwater, immersed in the “pweek-pweek” song of the lapwing, and soaking in the sun…beckoning all this to saturate her so she might understand the lapwing message.
Still unsure, Ana gathered berries, collected moss, picked mushroom, and plucked buckthorn for tea, as this felt natural. She returned the largesse to her father and told him what the lapwing shared. He said this is good and then they all gathered in the village. The father announced it is time to do as the lapwing does and prepare that which is unspoiled. In preparation for war, it is time to honor the gifts of nature, celebrate the bounty and store what we can to prepare and protect the innocence of nature and the innocence of the children of the village.
Ana went back out into the wilderness and continued to forage while her father hunted. Ana then went back to the marshes and began weaving reed shelters for the lapwings. She wanted to protect the lapwing eggs as well as stock her village with surplus proffered from nature so that all may be protected and prepared from war. Two full moons passed, and there was no war. Ana asked the lapwings what it all meant. They said in honoring the innocent, preparing for the worst, and protecting that which is sacred was action enough for the spirits to intervene and prevent the destruction of the village. From that day on the lapwing was considered a protective bird for the village. It was always honored by the villagers for as long as the people had memories to share. The lapwing is loved for its wisdom and praised for its willingness to intervene on behalf of the villagers and protect the village from the crushing blows of war.
//this story was written by Avia. she found it in records made by her great ancestor Ugne who lived in the baltic region of Europe in the 1800s.
