SM9537 : The guardian of the cemetery

Fishguard/Abergwaun, Pembrokeshire, Great Britain

The guardian of the cemetery
The guardian of the cemetery
Old gravestones, dating back to the early years of the C19, have been ranged around the edges of St Mary's churchyard in Fishguard.
The cat's knowing, watchful gaze brought to mind an old Canaque legend of the South Pacific:

He is there night and day, old Nehewoué, the guardian of the cemetery.
Each rising sun finds him sleeping, exhausted as he is by night work, and the light of every moon sees him stand.
He goes to gather the herbs that conjure: they conjure life and they conjure death.
He knows, old Nehewoué, how to conserve the spark that animates the old man, and he can extinguish the hearts of strong men, just as we suffocate a torch underneath our feet.
From far off, we come to see the guardian of the cemetery and consult with him; with the one who lives with the dead that sleep in the branches and the dead that sleep under the earth.
He hears the sounds that climb and the sounds that descend, Nehewoué the guardian of the dead.
What do the bones say to you, Nehewoué, when they crack in the branches with the wind's breath?
Do you hear the worm in the flesh? Do you hear the eager hawk?
Why have you become powerful and terrible, Nehewoué? It's because you live with the dead, and death is more powerful than life.

(Collected by Louise Michel, translated from the French by Robert Helms)
Creative Commons Licence [Some Rights Reserved]   © Copyright ceridwen and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.
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1:50,000 Modern Day Landranger(TM) Map © Crown Copyright
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Grid Square
SM9537, 62 images   (find more images nearby)
Photographer
ceridwen   (find more nearby)
Image classification
Supplemental image
Date Taken
Wednesday, 23 July, 2008
Submitted
Thursday, 24 July, 2008
Category
Cats   (find more nearby)
Subject Location
OSGB36: geotagged! SM 958 370 [100m precision]
WGS84: 51:59.6499N 4:58.5446W
Photographer Location
OSGB36: geotagged! SM 958 370
View Direction
North-northwest (about 337 degrees)
Clickable map
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