hoodoos

{hoodoos watching the Bow -- a picture taken by Bryna}

Also -- I have updated flickr with some photos from Banff. So if you would like to see more photos of hoodoos taken by Bryna & I, do take a look here. It was a hazy-blue afternoon, & the rocks were so warm & full of presence, watching the Bow. According to the Siksika, the hoodoos are slightly malignant spirits (changed to stone as punishment) that move about at night to throw boulders at passing humans. However I feel that this little congregation is quite benign. One even appears to be sitting & meditating, contemplating the river like Siddhartha.

(We even found a secret document under a rock, entitled 'The Mystic Powers of the Hoodoos'. It appeared to be a script written by ESL students, & was quite amusing.)

I recently learned how to say the original names for the Banff area:

nato-oh-siskoom = holy springs in Siksika (Blackfoot) this one is my favourite, i think.

minihapa = Nakota (Stoney) for waterfall place

nipika-pakitik = Cree, named after the falls on Cascade Mountain

tsa-nidzá = T'suu T'ina for in the mountains