Pagan Relics Old and New
When approaching the topic of ancient paganism, location is everything. For instance, locals in Ireland (and the UK) are often very proud of the ancient statues and landmarks from the pre-Christian era. To illustrate this point is a recent story in the Guardian concerning the Janus stone in the Caldragh graveyard on Boa Island in Ireland. Plans to possibly move the statue to a museum in Belfast is drawing an emotional response from the locals.
The Janus
Photo: Around Ireland
“The Janus, which has stood in the Caldragh graveyard on Boa Island in Co Fermanagh since it was put up by the Celts more than 2,000 years ago, inspired the Nobel prize-winning poet Seamus Heaney to write the poem, ‘January God’. Locals hold the 2ft tall figure, depicting a man on one side and a female on the other, in awe … rumours are circling that the statue may be moved to the Ulster Museum for its own protection. Opponents say it would be like moving Stonehenge to London … Looking around last week at his fellow protesters gathered inside the graveyard where the statue stands, Carrigan added: ‘These people and more like them are prepared to do the same. We will physically stand in the way of anyone trying to take the Janus away.’”
Similar responses have occurred in Ireland over plans to build a motorway through the Hill of Tara. These defenders aren’t just some small band of Pagans (though Pagans have been involved in such efforts), but patriotic Irish citizens proud of their country’s rich heritage and history. Pagan stones are a part of things, co-existing with their Christian heritage. A heritage that America doesn’t share, which explains the often hysterical reactions to even the possibility of a pagan or non-Christian landmark.
“Sedgwick County commissioners have put a planned Stonehenge-like Solar Field in Sedgwick County Park on hold after some Wichitans worried that it had cultish religious connotations … The privately funded one-acre project, which is similar to Wichita artist Steve Murillo’s Riverside solar installation but on a larger scale, does come off as vaguely New Agey — the artists call it a peaceful and “metaphysical” place of healing.”
Local clergy fear goths and gangs if such a thing were to be built!
“What these exhibits tend to attract are kids into the Gothic, people who are on the edge of living and because of that they tend not to attract enough of the city who feels comfortable enough to go there … Gangs, sometimes, will tend to be attracted there because it has a very mystical connotation. It’s not a positive thing.”
We see here the difference between a people unthreatened by their rich pagan past, and a people who have disconnected from such a history and the resulting religious insecurity that follows. Perhaps things here would have been different if the near-cultural obliteration of America’s indigenous peoples hadn’t occurred, but that is just speculation. What is clear is that as the numbers of modern Pagans grow, some places will feel keenly threatened by that growth and by any attempt to leave a permanent mark on the landscape.
One response so far
Thanks for reminding me of Heaney on this cold, rainy, spring day.
We will physically stand in the way
of anyone trying to take the Janus away
is a good beginning for a poem.