The Big Country to the South
Forest of Distraction #29
This newsletter presents a small collection of geographic, historical, archaeological, cultural and/or artistic articles that have caught my attention. As a fantasy writer, I am fascinated by the nooks and corners of our real world and constantly find inspiration for my own world building and storytelling — it’s my hope that these newsletters are an inspirational resource for other writers, too, or for anyone who wants to learn more about our world.
When this reaches you, I will be making my way northwards, leaving behind the el país grande del sur, the big country of the south, or what has come to be known in English as Big Sur. I expect I will not be the same person, driving, that I am, writing this some days before I even depart on my journey. At least, I hope that will be the case. What is the point of a physical and spiritual retreat from the world if you do not return from it even a little changed?
While I’ve driven the Coast Highway several times, I have never stopped for longer than photo ops (the picture above is one of mine!) and maybe a bathroom break along the way, so I’m really looking forward to lingering a few days in the embrace of this spectacular landscape. Since I can’t take you with me, I have put together a little collection of things that might make you feel a little magic of the place from afar: a creation myth of the Essalen tribe, who were some of the first residents of Big Sur; a poem by Robinson Jeffers, who took much of his inspiration from this place; and a geographical oddity that tickles my purple-loving self.
The Beginning of the World
Pico Blanco is considered the “Center of the Esselen World”; it is where the creation story for the tribe began. We have researched this site extensively and have references dating back to 1772 in mission records. In 1910 A.L Kroeber had contact with several natives and had recorded the following creation story.
When this world was finished, the eagle, the humming-bird, and Coyote were standing on the top of Pico Blanco. When the water rose to their feet, the eagle, carrying the humming-bird and Coyote, flew to the Sierra de Gabilan. There they stood until the water went down. Then the eagle sent Coyote down the mountain to see if the world were dry. Coyote came back and said: “The whole world is dry.” The eagle said to him: “Go and look in the river. See what there is there.” Coyote came back and said: “There is a beautiful girl.”
The eagle said: “She will be your wife in order that people may be raised again.”
Read more: Esselen Creation Story
The Beauty of Things
Basking on Sands of Purple
The purple sand gets its coloration basically from erosion from manganese garnet the area is is known for. Washing down from the nearby hills into the creeks and then into the beach area the manganese from the erosion is broken down into smaller sand particles that are heavy and stay on the beach areas as large swathes of color in between normal brown and black sand areas of the beach. With more rainfall in the area, there are more deposits of the minerals that get left into the beach areas compared to dryer days in the area.
Read more: Unveiling the Enchanting Beauty of Pfeiffer Beach’s Purple Sand: A Coastal Gem
Featured Artist
Stace- This is an enchanting read on coastal marvels and the end and beginning of the world. I appreciate it!