Nommo & the Whale Singers

Because we share a ‘home in the sea’ I have always felt an affinity with dolphins. As a young adult I used to imagine that I could summon them, or at least one of them. I don’t remember querying as I do now, why a dolphin would bother to comply with such a whimsical human request, but they didn’t seem to mind and answer they did.

The back of Penguin Island and the craggy limestone reefs of Point Peron were my teenage 'hunting' grounds. My friends and I spent every weekend snorkelling there and, in truth, did much more exploring than hunting. So as a lone (and lonely) young adult I went back there to stand on the limestone reef and call out to the dolphins telepathically. Somewhere I had read that they answered to a sacred name, so I used to repeat the word nommo soundlessly, over and over, concentrating all of my energy, visualising them there in front of me. And without fail they would appear, just one generally, but occasionally several.

According to Wikipedia (well this isn’t my doctorate….) the Nommo are ancestral spirits or deities worshipped by the Dogon tribe of Mali (west Africa). Nommos are 'amphibious, hermaphroditic, fish-like creatures'. Folk art images portray them as creatures with human torsos and fish-like lower torsos and tails - very much like our mermaids (et al) of course. They are also referred to as 'Masters of the Water', 'the Monitors', and 'the Teachers'.

Today I came across an old e-mail from my WORF (wise-old-Rosicrucian-friend) in which she mentioned a recent conversation with the Whale Singer, Bunna (Lawrie). Apparently he had been telling her about the traditional Aboriginal cultural practice during which his tribe would gather on the coast near Port Talbot in WA to 'sing the whales into shore and communicate with them'.

It was not surprising to hear also that the SA Govt had constructed a viewing platform (where they were able to charge tourists a fee) in the very place where the tribe used to congregate. It made it impossible for them to gather there freely and, as usual, the Whale tribe had not even been consulted.

Bunna's story reminded me of my own efforts to communicate with dolphins, so I went in search of more information. What I discovered was truly fascinating. I was a bit overwhelmed by the depth and breadth of the story that unfolded, so I will continue to follow this line of enquiry into other posts.

Suffice to say for now, that there is a movie called The Return of the Whale Dreamers in which Mutwa, a traditional Zulu healer explains the relationship between dolphins and whales: 'The dolphin is the symbol of man’s reconnection to nature and to God who is the whale'. Therefore, he advises, ‘go down to the beach and dream your dreams with the dolphins and the whales'.

Oh, did I mention that my favourite movie is Whalerider?

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