Ómós Ois : Honouring the Deer
Ois: Deer
Fia: Deer, wild, land
Click here to be add your name to our cancellation list.
12th - 18th September. Donegal, Ireland
Honouring the Deer is a deep dive into relationship with the deer, and will be simultaneously deeply practical and soulfully prayerful.
Over six days and nights, we will be exploring “Ómós Ois”, “Deer honouring”, to better understand this mythic creature, once known to be a symbol of the wildness and fertility of this land.
You will learn the practical skills of how to use every part of the deer; for food, tools, beauty, ceremony, warmth and more. And, whilst we have not inherited the ceremonies and rituals which of course would have accompanied such a time of sacred and abundant harvest, we will explore together what it might mean to unearth these ceremonies, to honour and give thanks for this greatest of gifts: life.
Following the trails of deer through the woods is not always easy - and so it is with following the subtle tracks and signs leading us back to the restoration of ancestral lifeways.
As humans, we have evolved closely with the hooved ones - in climates across the world, they have walked beside us, fed and clothed us… in many regards, they have made us.
Throughout our time together we will be exploring these questions:
How do we honour this death? What does it look like to honour these animal kin?
How do we stay present and allow ourselves to feel all that arises in the face of death, particularly one we have a part in causing?
What would it be like to remember our trails as humans on this land?
How do we become worthy of asking someone to die so we may live?
How can we be in reciprocity?
What culture can emerge when we honour an animal’s life and make beauty from their body?
During our explorations, we will make camp on 43 acres of rewilding land, nestled within the glens of Derryveagh/Dhoire Bheatha, on the shores of Lough Gartan, County Donegal.
The purpose of the land regeneration project here, and indeed within this offering itself, is to understand how we as humans can assist in restoring the land to health, whilst simultaneously tending to our own hearts and bodies.
To explore our place as humans in the web of life, weaving ourselves in with joy, respect, reciprocity, humility, and gratitude. A deep remembering, through bloodied hands, full bellies and aching hearts.
We intend to gather together in community as we collectively grieve and celebrate this most ancient of gifts. As we remember our place as hunters, as beauty weavers, gratitude gatherers and feast makers.
Over the course of the four days and nights, we will explore:
Skinning & hide tanning, Butchery, Meat processing and preservation, Tracking, Trailing & Deer behaviour, Bone, sinew, antler & hoof craft, Deer mythology & co-created Ceremony
Butchery and cooking
Processing a whole deer - from carcass to plate.
Jerky making
Earth oven pit roast
Fat rendering
Bone, Antler & Hoof craft
Tools
Jewellery and buttons
Hide tanning
Leg skin pouches
Tanning a collective hair-on bark tanned deer skin
Tracking & Trailing
Learn how to identify the tracks and signs left by deer
Explore deer behaviour to better understand where they might be in a landscape
Experience finding and following a fresh deer trail with the hope of seeing the animal
Ceremony
Co-creating ceremony with the land to honour death and life and remember what we ought not to forget.
… Reaching a place where we can’t help but be grateful, where we cannot help but know ourselves to be fite fuaite, interwoven, with the vitality of the hooved ones, and the health of the land on which we each walk.
Your Facilitators
This is a collaboration between Lucy O'Hagan of Wild Awake Ireland and Jessie Watson Brown of Oak and Smoke Tannery .
Where?
This offering will take place on 43 acres of Rewilding land in Donegal: Crockraw, Cnoc Rátha, Lough Gartan. Churchill is the nearest town, reachable by a 20 minute bus from Letterkenny.
What’s included?
Simple breakfasts and dinners on all days
Camp kitchen, toilet, sheltered communal space
Drinking water & hot drinks
All materials for class
Tuition from practitioners who have been honing & teaching these crafts for over 7 years
Meeting with local hunter and land tender to explore the role of the deer in local ecology
What’s not included?
Transport to and from the venue
Lunch and snacks
Camping equipment
Who’s it for?
Anyone and everyone with a love for the wild, a desire to explore the above questions and and a wish to connect in a nature-based community. No experience necessary. We are welcoming adults and families on this course. Please get in touch if you wish to bring children.
Financial Contribution
€675
(We have concessionary places available, just ask)
A non-refundable deposit of €150 will secure your place. In booking this course, you confirm that you have read and understood our full terms and conditions.
