Ashes Ceremonies
SCOUTER @ Inreach (@)
Tue, 30 Mar 1999 16:31:42 -0600
On Wed, 24 Mar 1999 21:47:13 -0600 Kris Swank <dswank@SAT.NET> writes:
>In doing research for Wood Badge I ran across a number of references to
>Ashes Ceremonies where ashes from years of Campfires around the world
>are mixed into the ashes of your Campfire and then passed on to be added
>to other fires. Where do you get the starting "ashes with a history"?
>This would be SO cool to start off a Troop with little history of doing
>Campfires at their campouts. My district also will be having a Camporee
>in a month and it might be something to add to a campfire, there too.
>
Dear Kris,
I have been collecting ashes for going on 15 years now and have nearly 3000
entries in my ash "pedigree". When you have an ash ceremony, it is
customary to add your ash list to any others who have brought theirs,
adding each list together. My list starts back in 1919 now. The beginning
of the list has a short story that is told at the beginning of the campfire:
Ash Ceremony:
LEGEND HAS IT THAT THE FOUNDER OF THE BOY SCOUT MOVEMENT, LORD ROBERT
BADEN-POWELL, WOULD ALWAYS TAKE A SMALL AMOUNT OF ASHES FROM THE LAST
CAMPFIRE HE ATTENDED AND SPREAD THEM ON THE CAMPFIRE HE WAS AT, THUS
BRINGING THE SCOUTING SPIRIT FROM CAMPFIRE TO CAMPFIRE AND PROMOTING THE
WORLD BROTHERHOOD OF SCOUTING.
THE MAIN PURPOSE OF THE "SPREADING OF THE ASHES" IS TO BRING TO ALL
SCOUTS AND SCOUTERS THROUGH-OUT THE WORLD THE INTERNATIONAL ASPECT OF THE
WORLD SCOUT MOVEMENT.
TAKE SOME ASH FROM ANY SCOUTING CAMPFIRE, AND CARRY THEM WITH YOU TO THE
NEXT SCOUTING CAMPFIRE AND SPRINKLE THEM INTO THE FLAMES. DO THIS WITH
"CEREMONY AND IMPORTANCE". THE NEXT MORNING, WHEN THE ASHES ARE COLD, THE
ASHES ARE STIRRED, AND EACH SCOUT OR SCOUTER TAKES SOME OF THE ASH TO BE
MIXED AT THEIR NEXT CAMPFIRE. ADD YOUR CAMPFIRES TO THIS LIST.
IF MORE THAN ONE SCOUT BRINGS ASHES TO THE SAME CAMPFIRE, BOTH (OR ALL)
OF THEM ADD THEIR ASHES TO THE CAMPFIRE AND ALL OF THE LISTS ARE COMBINED,
WITH THE DATES, EVENTS, AND PLACES OF ALL THE CAMPFIRES RECORDED AND PASSED
ON.
IT IS TRADITION THAT "ONLY THOSE PRESENT AT THE CAMPFIRE CARRY AWAY ASHES
FROM THAT CAMPFIRE."
---
Hope this helps to start this wonderful tradition in your Troop. Maybe
we'll meet on the trail sometime and we can share our campfire ashes.
Yis,
Dave Tracewell
President
USSSP, Inc.
www.usscouts.org
dave@usscouts.org
