As a child I also heard many stories about my Bisnona Carmella, who was the village mid-wife and “Stregha” in Limosano. She was a powerful woman who lived to be well into her nineties. People from many of the neighbouring villages would come to be “healed” by Nona Carmella, deliver their babies, and have the evil-eye broken. There are even stories of her bringing an ailing horse back to life with her “magic coin.” She was a kind woman, who went to church twice a day, and took mass very seriously. Spending time in those old medieval churches in the village also gave her ample opportunity to discuss the virtues of spiritual life with the many resident ghosts of the old Franciscan brothers who, after centuries, still couldn't leave their monastery.
Sometime I dream of my Bisnona. Unfortunately, I’ve still not mastered how to hold a conversation with her in the dialect of Limosano.
While I can’t confirm that the Tarantella was actually an old pagan ritual, I was struck by the possibility that maybe the spider venom was used by the old Italian Shamans and Streghi to induce visions, not unlike the powerful medicines that various healers around the world use for the same purposes. The skin and venom of Bufo alvarius, for example, has been used by Shamans in the southwestern United States and northern Mexico for centuries for spiritual purposes. We know that rhythmic stimulation of the human body at a rate of 210 beats per minute, combined with these medicines produces a profound change in consciousness, enabling one to experience alternate states of consciousness. While some tarantellas were definitely slower than 210 beats per minute, I’m sure that others easily matched this cadence.
Sources on the Canadian contribution to the Italian front in World War II included: The Assault on the Beaches of Pachino, Sicily; July 1943, By Maj, R. G. Liddell, reproduced from The Connecting File, April, 1946; and The Road to Campobasso and Beyond
October 11 to November 2, 1943 By G.K. Wright, from The Connecting File; April 1947.
These were both accessed online at www.theroyalcanadianregiment.ca/history/1939-1945.
Other reference material came from Canada at War: Canadians in Italy, 1943-1945, https://wwii.ca/page24.html.
Content on old Italian traditions was inspired by materials in Charles Leland’s classic. Aradia, Gospel of the Witches. Found online here: https://www.sacred-texts.com/pag/aradia/index.htm#contents.
“The Original Love Story: A Sermon for Christmas Eve” is credited to Rev. Bill Adams of Trinity Episcopal Church, Sutter Creek, California. https://www.rockies.net/~spirit/sermons/b-ch00-adams.php.
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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental, unless it is in the public record.
About the Author
Siomonn Pulla lives on Vancouver Island with his wife, Melanie, their two sons and their Bernese Mountain Dog Daisy. When Siomonn is not teaching university classes or working on scholarly pursuits, he’s writing fiction and spending time on the mountain or on the ocean connecting with nature.
To learn more about Siomonn check out his website: www.siomonnpulla.com
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