The city's sounds painted on Burlington, Vermont's Lake Champlain as its not yet melted winter ice water breaks on the rocks.  

Water Canvas

In the traditional dwelling is found a well of spiritual, cultural and material information. Through it many things are revealed, from the ways in which our forebears used materials from the natural environment to meet their own specific needs, to the symbolic and spiritual concerns at play as they choose sites upon which to build.

In this month's podcast Claire and Jonny explore some of the customs and rituals attached to the luck of the house, those practices employed to bring about plenty, prosperity and safety from all harm. Step over the threshold then, and sit awhile with us then while we take you about this old house - there are a great many things to behold herein!

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'An té níos treise ná Dia a chuirfeadh faid siar as a teach' / 'Only he who is stronger than God will extend his house westward')

This proverb references a traditional taboo regarding the extension of a dwelling in a westerly direction (a direction commonly associated with death in folk-tradition). The following photograph shows an instance in Co. Mayo where church renovations were ceased after locals insisted that the building could not be extended westward, leaving only an unfinished architrave on the wall - a curious example showing how closely intertwined are the material and spiritual!

http://www.paradisepossible.ie/DesktopModules/Inventise.DM/DMHandlers/PictureHandler.ashx?DestinationPicture=400

Blúiríní Béaloidis 04 - The Luck Of The House

Welcome to the first episode "Of Song and Bone," a podcast exploring ancestral arts and people's history through song, story, and poetry. In this episode, we explore the old Scottish Ballad "The Elfin Knight" and its relationship to other folkloric and mythic stories from Northwest Europe. Let's dive into tales of clever lasses, riddle-weaving giants, and otherworldly heroes. Features the old recording of "The Elfin Knight" by Ewan Maccoll. 

Learn more at: ofsongandbone.wordpress.com

Ep. 1 - "The Elfin Knight," Impossible Tasks, and Riddle Ballads

A podcast by Fern Maddie exploring ancestral arts and people's history through song, story, and poetry.

Ep. 1 - "The Elfin Knight," Impossible Tasks, and Riddle Ballads

Of Song and Bone

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