Under the Maple Leaves
Into the Wilderness.
Even though I have, in the course of these notes, already quoted various friends of mine all too often, I can’t help doing it once more. A typically good-humoured and absent- minded university professor from Guelph (no more than 100 kilometres from Toronto) was looking truly excited: “Just imagine- two-hours’ drive from here straight North, and you are in the middle of nowhere. You might proceed for days without meeting a living being then!” And that’s exactly what several hundreds people did almost four centuries ago. The only difference was that they didn’t have cars, and their journey on ships and canoes took considerably more than two hours- or months as the case may be.
I haven’t mentioned Jesus Christ among the major Canadian Gods because he had been born far too early and in a clearly wrong region to play ice hockey! In all earnest, faith and religion didn’t seem to play a dominant role in those places I happened to visit, but to the best of my knowledge, there is at least one part of the country where religion is regarded as an utterly important matter. This territory is known as the French Canada.
Strictly speaking, Canadian history is about as ancient as that of Europe because the land has been populated by different Indian tribes for at least two millenia. Yet an absolute majority of modern Canadians has European ancestors, and the first wave of the Europeans came from France to bring the “light of Faith” to local heathens. They considered it a sacred mission and were prepared to lead a life of a missionary. For that reason, they built a village that remained in history as SMATH- Saint Marie Among The Hurons.
Coming into a wilderness for a month or even a year can be called an adventure, and that was the last thing on the missionaries’ mind. They arrived at a new territory without a trace of hope to ever return to their cozy rooms, narrow cobbled streets and everything that constituted for them a concept of normal life. THAT had to be build again- and from the scratch. First of all, it was necessary to provide for a daily life- and men of spirit (monks, philosophers and possibly scientists) became smiths, millers and butchers. To be even more precise, they started with constructing smithies, butcheries, carpenter shops etc to work in. At the same time one could not afford forgetting about the surroundings: hostile natives made it vital to raise walls, fences and even ramparts, curious ones contributed into creating a unique edifice- a non-Christian long house. It was located within the mission but on a “neutral” space (between the two walls), and the locals who wanted to learn more about faith without committing themselves, were hosted there- sometimes, for quite a while. Trustful converts lived in a more regular Christian long house, and both groups (as well as the missionaries themselves) used a hospital and a church. In fact, there were two сhurch buildings because the hesitant natives wouldn’t put their feet on an artificial floor thus losing contact with Mother Earth…
That was about it. The whole missionaries’ world was narrowed down to this set of functional buildings because survival had to come first while recruiting new souls for God inevitably became a by-product. On the other hand, these people’s minds were set upon their spiritual task as firmly as their bodies were toughened against the natural hardships. True, the missionaries were sharing the fate of innumerable other settlers scattered throughout different historical spaces and times, but unlike the “Mayflower” passengers, they didn’t have to flee from any persecution. Likewise, contrary to Irishmen driven to the USA by despair in the middle of the 19- century, they weren’t plagued by famine in their home country. Whatever one might think of their cause, they displayed a whole lot of perseverance and personal courage. Many of them died from diseases, while several others were captured and tortured to death during the 1649 siege that resulted in the annihilation of the mission. The victims were proclaimed martyrs, and a shrine was built to bury their remnants. It was the martyrs’ blood combined with the legend of the pioneer saints that stirred the imagination and emotions of the future generations and rooted Christianity to the land.
Four centuries ago a success in turning a motley collection of separate buildings into a well-governed village meant the difference between Life and Death quite literally. Nowadays, when the village has been reconstructed and turned into a museum, such a success means but a cultural achievement- and yet, this task is utterly dear to everyone involved. Probably that’s why the museum immediately reminded me of a similar institution in the Norwegian capital- the Oslo-City Museum. Both are run on exactly the same principle- the only way to do a period in question justice is to properly present it, and that means “to show” rather than “to tell about”. Consequently visitors are met by “men and women in period dress who welcome them into their daily lives and invite them to share in their activities”. That, combined with various shows and presentations, helps one to get into the mood of the epoch, which is a precondition to turning a pastime into a real experience. A Japanese painter stated once that in order to depict a cow, he would have to turn into one! Taken literally, this idea is bound to be wasted on a western mind but a more flexible approach might prove it pretty useful. There is, indeed, no better way to enjoy and understand something than to identify with it as fully as possible. That identification is largely facilitated by a wigwam, where it’s possible to “live” (though but for a few minutes) just like a native would, or a curl of acid smoke breaking off an open fire and hurting one’s eyes and throat. Besides, everybody is welcome to grind a handful of grain into a powder using a very special wooden spoon, or to take a glimpse of an underwear looking through a couple of special slits made in wealthier people’s shirts. According to the guides’ explanation, that was the only way to emphasize the social difference
because the main garment had to be purely functional (mostly, providing warmth and insect protection) and therefore- unified. Unfortunately, trying on a pair of moccasins (said to be by far the best shoes for the climate and conditions in question) or writing a note with a quill peacefully lying on a rough but solid table was not on the agenda yet. That might be the next step in the museum’s development! Finally, the interior exhibition is devoted to France as it was in the mid-seventeenth century. Judging by the items represented in that softly illuminated room filled with a quiet music, one can hardly doubt that the settlers left behind one of the most prosperous countries of the time…
Even though I have, in the course of these notes, already quoted various friends of mine all too often, I can’t help doing it once more. A typically good-humoured and absent- minded university professor from Guelph (no more than 100 kilometres from Toronto) was looking truly excited: “Just imagine- two-hours’ drive from here straight North, and you are in the middle of nowhere. You might proceed for days without meeting a living being then!” And that’s exactly what several hundreds people did almost four centuries ago. The only difference was that they didn’t have cars, and their journey on ships and canoes took considerably more than two hours- or months as the case may be.
I haven’t mentioned Jesus Christ among the major Canadian Gods because he had been born far too early and in a clearly wrong region to play ice hockey! In all earnest, faith and religion didn’t seem to play a dominant role in those places I happened to visit, but to the best of my knowledge, there is at least one part of the country where religion is regarded as an utterly important matter. This territory is known as the French Canada.
Strictly speaking, Canadian history is about as ancient as that of Europe because the land has been populated by different Indian tribes for at least two millenia. Yet an absolute majority of modern Canadians has European ancestors, and the first wave of the Europeans came from France to bring the “light of Faith” to local heathens. They considered it a sacred mission and were prepared to lead a life of a missionary. For that reason, they built a village that remained in history as SMATH- Saint Marie Among The Hurons.
Coming into a wilderness for a month or even a year can be called an adventure, and that was the last thing on the missionaries’ mind. They arrived at a new territory without a trace of hope to ever return to their cozy rooms, narrow cobbled streets and everything that constituted for them a concept of normal life. THAT had to be build again- and from the scratch. First of all, it was necessary to provide for a daily life- and men of spirit (monks, philosophers and possibly scientists) became smiths, millers and butchers. To be even more precise, they started with constructing smithies, butcheries, carpenter shops etc to work in. At the same time one could not afford forgetting about the surroundings: hostile natives made it vital to raise walls, fences and even ramparts, curious ones contributed into creating a unique edifice- a non-Christian long house. It was located within the mission but on a “neutral” space (between the two walls), and the locals who wanted to learn more about faith without committing themselves, were hosted there- sometimes, for quite a while. Trustful converts lived in a more regular Christian long house, and both groups (as well as the missionaries themselves) used a hospital and a church. In fact, there were two сhurch buildings because the hesitant natives wouldn’t put their feet on an artificial floor thus losing contact with Mother Earth…
That was about it. The whole missionaries’ world was narrowed down to this set of functional buildings because survival had to come first while recruiting new souls for God inevitably became a by-product. On the other hand, these people’s minds were set upon their spiritual task as firmly as their bodies were toughened against the natural hardships. True, the missionaries were sharing the fate of innumerable other settlers scattered throughout different historical spaces and times, but unlike the “Mayflower” passengers, they didn’t have to flee from any persecution. Likewise, contrary to Irishmen driven to the USA by despair in the middle of the 19- century, they weren’t plagued by famine in their home country. Whatever one might think of their cause, they displayed a whole lot of perseverance and personal courage. Many of them died from diseases, while several others were captured and tortured to death during the 1649 siege that resulted in the annihilation of the mission. The victims were proclaimed martyrs, and a shrine was built to bury their remnants. It was the martyrs’ blood combined with the legend of the pioneer saints that stirred the imagination and emotions of the future generations and rooted Christianity to the land.
Four centuries ago a success in turning a motley collection of separate buildings into a well-governed village meant the difference between Life and Death quite literally. Nowadays, when the village has been reconstructed and turned into a museum, such a success means but a cultural achievement- and yet, this task is utterly dear to everyone involved. Probably that’s why the museum immediately reminded me of a similar institution in the Norwegian capital- the Oslo-City Museum. Both are run on exactly the same principle- the only way to do a period in question justice is to properly present it, and that means “to show” rather than “to tell about”. Consequently visitors are met by “men and women in period dress who welcome them into their daily lives and invite them to share in their activities”. That, combined with various shows and presentations, helps one to get into the mood of the epoch, which is a precondition to turning a pastime into a real experience. A Japanese painter stated once that in order to depict a cow, he would have to turn into one! Taken literally, this idea is bound to be wasted on a western mind but a more flexible approach might prove it pretty useful. There is, indeed, no better way to enjoy and understand something than to identify with it as fully as possible. That identification is largely facilitated by a wigwam, where it’s possible to “live” (though but for a few minutes) just like a native would, or a curl of acid smoke breaking off an open fire and hurting one’s eyes and throat. Besides, everybody is welcome to grind a handful of grain into a powder using a very special wooden spoon, or to take a glimpse of an underwear looking through a couple of special slits made in wealthier people’s shirts. According to the guides’ explanation, that was the only way to emphasize the social difference
because the main garment had to be purely functional (mostly, providing warmth and insect protection) and therefore- unified. Unfortunately, trying on a pair of moccasins (said to be by far the best shoes for the climate and conditions in question) or writing a note with a quill peacefully lying on a rough but solid table was not on the agenda yet. That might be the next step in the museum’s development! Finally, the interior exhibition is devoted to France as it was in the mid-seventeenth century. Judging by the items represented in that softly illuminated room filled with a quiet music, one can hardly doubt that the settlers left behind one of the most prosperous countries of the time…