Meditations on Fire No. 7 - How to Build and Start a Fire

My father had this parable about “the one match”. In the lodge, after a story about “man’s inventiveness” as he would put it, my dad would give the firekeeper a single “strike anywhere” match. He then instructed him to light the fire. Now if you were paying attention during the story you would have observed the firekeeper building the fire with certainty and order. Various sizes of wood, kindling, and one, maybe two types of pitch or “firestarter” as my dad called it. It is the firekeeper’s duty to have gathered and prepared all of this before the people arrive. The fire had been built with order and intention. In our lodge it was dry aspen or cottonwood sorted by size. Kindling laid to breathe. One or two kinds of pitch, never more. This was the firekeeper’s responsibility. 

Near the end of the story, the match was struck. Most of the time, the flame began quietly, almost unsure, then slowly found itself. A low hum, a small crackle. Sometimes it caught quickly, if the pitch and kindling were dry. Sometimes it failed, and then another lesson appeared, softened with laughter. After we had a good flame going, my father sent everyone out onto the land. Alone. Each person was asked to gather small sticks for kindling. When we all returned, we shared with the council what we had learned during our time away from each other.  

I assisted him through this many times. I came to understand that Pueblo teaching moves slowly. It relies less on explanation and more on being shown, again and again, how something is done properly. Small adjustments come only after long practice.  I think this is where tradition and progress meet in a significant way and it is this that moves culture forward. Not as opposition, but as continuity. Past, present, and future held in balance. It is through the acknowledgement of the past, present and future and through teachings of protocols and traditions that is the opportunity for communal living in a harmonious way. It is with this metaphor of the single match that I learned this.