Anakwika is the result of a collaboration between myself and Abenaki-Irish artist Élise Boucher de Gonzague. I asked Élise if she knew any words in Abenaki that didn't exist in English or French that could offer a window into a different worldview. She mentioned how in Abenaki the word for forest is different depending on where we are in relation to it...In other words, our relationship to other living beings has an impact on how we perceive and interact with them, something many languages do not take into account. This song is a call to remember our innate interconnection with the rest of life & the state of peace we can find when immersed in nature.
lyrics
How long did I wander before I found myself?
How long did I wander before I found myself...
In the graceful ways of water moving out of a river’s mouth In the sounding of the thunder before the rain came tumbling down
In the rays of the newborn sun at the dawning of the day
How long did I wander before I found my way to wonder...?
Reviens à la forêt, fuis les bruits de la ville
Choisis des sentiers où tes pas guérissent les maux.
Reprends ton canot, retrouve le calme de l’eau.
Viens faire de ta vie un berceau pour ton âme fébrile.
Reviens à la forêt, fuis les bruits de la ville.
Reprends ton canot, retrouve le calme de l’eau…
Traduction des paroles abénakis - Translation of the Abenaki lyrics
*Trois mots en Abénakis pour signifier la forêt - Three Abenaki words for forest
ANAKWIKA: Ensemble d’arbres. - The word for all the trees as a group
KPIWI : Le nom que l’on donne à la forêt quand on la voit à partir de l’eau.
The word we use for the forest when we see it from the water
SAKHIWI : Quand nous sommes dans la forêt c’est ainsi qu’on la nomme.
The word for forest when we're IN the forest
credits
from La Rencontre,
released February 16, 2020
Paroles & musique: kyra shaughnessy, élise boucher de gonzague
Voix: kyra shaughnessy, élise boucher de gonzague
Guitare: kyra shaughnessy
Tambour et sisiwan (hochet): élise boucher de gonzague
Piano: cédric dind-lavoie
Arrangements: kyra shaughnessy, élise boucher de gonzague, cédric dind-lavoie
*Merci, WLIWNI à notre professeur d’abénakis, Philippe Charland ainsi qu’à Monique Ille Nollet qui fût l’enseignante à Odanak pendant plusieurs années et qui reste notre référence en matière de langue abénakise.
(Élise Boucher-DeGonzague, Abénakise d’Odanak, Août 2019.)
Kyra Shaughnessy’s music and writing invoke presence and awakening. Of mixed heritage, born, raised and unschooled in
Québec, composing in multiple languages across genres, Kyra’s work represents a unifying vision of humanity through an artistic practice grounded in a holistic perspective of healing and respect for the interconnectedness of all life....more
Buoyant songs that summon the spirit of New Orleans, with beautifully bleary brass, light up the latest from Annabelle Chvostek Bandcamp New & Notable Mar 27, 2021