The Holiest Island!

 

Not holy, Holiest Island!

 

 

Holy Island is incredibly a wonder of the nature.  Google reports that “the small population in Holy Island of just over 160 persons is swelled by the well over 650,000 visitors coming from all over the world every year”.  That itself is the wonder of the island in Northumberland. If an average is taken, per day 1780 visitors come to see the island and to roam the roads in the island. Holy Island has another name, Lindisfarne!

“What is there in the island?” That was my question to my son and daughter who had planned a trip to the Holy Island with an appropriate itinerary for me and my wife. “The island itself is the sight; need not to explain in advance.” Niya, my daughter uttered with pride in her mind as she was the discoverer of the island! Her claim was generated from the confidence that she had enjoyed from the three or four previous visits to the same spot with her guests from India, who stayed in their homes at Newcastle and Warwick.

Though the journey was around 11.00 am towards the Holy Island, Niya was applying a back-seat driving of our Jaguar, though Akhil, my son was the actual driver. Several times she was reminding us saying “we must come back from the Holy Island before the next high tide from the sea on to the cause-way.”  My wife and I couldn’t hide our doubt. “If there is high tide from the sea, what’s the real threat before us?” For this question Niya and Akhil didn’t answer clearly, but gave a poser to us to think over.

Our Jaguar was galloping through the straight narrow sea route like a horse to conquer the Holy Island, to where tens of other cars with visitors were moving carefully, because both sides of the cause-way were appeared low-lying and flat, but marshy or muddy without any sea-weed. ‘Does any smell of wet mud or sea-animals come to the nostril?’ Downing the closed window pane, I sensed the outer air. No! No bad smell from around! When the car reached somewhat the middle of the total distance to the island from the main land, there was a notice erected as a sign-board. ‘Visitors, come back from the island before water overflows this cause-way. Otherwise, you may be stranded in the island.’ There was one more warning 100 meters away from the first one, indicating clearly the attentiveness required on the journey. Then, without much explanation from Niya, I understood the inner meaning of her claim, why we should return from the Holy Island without much delay. “Today the high tide on the cause- way is by 4 o’clock.” Goggling on her mobile she told that like a discoverer of facts around her.   Niya is a doctor, safety first is her policy always.  Safe and unsafe time of the cause-way for that day was clear from a chart on the mobile, looking at which Niya showed much confidence about the journey to the island.

Car parking slot is as larger as to accommodate at least 1000 cars on the open space facing the North Sea. At a distance we can see an old castle.  After paying the car parking-fee, all the visitors were hurriedly walking towards the castle. It may take at least 20 minutes’ walk through the roads of the township. Almost all houses, shops and other buildings were old, seem at least aged two centuries. To my surprise, now the road takes a diversion, it leads to the castle that had been erected very close to the sea. Next diversion of the road ends at a place where there are three things, which reasoned the nomenclature Holy Island. What are those three holy things that gave the name to the island as Holy Island?

Can you imagine a Christian church built in 635 AD, fully constructed with black stone gathered from the place close to the site? St. Mary the Virgin church stands with all its grandeur and splendour facing to southern direction, where the visitors could see the outer walls of another old building. Inside the church there are volunteers speaking to the visitors, who are also serving pamphlets and souvenirs. How enthusiastic and proud were the volunteers to explain the antiquity of the church! Listening to them and reading the notices inside the church, so many questions came to my mind: ‘In the 7^th century when the church was built, how many priests and laymen were there in the island? Where are those houses they lived? Those days how did they come to the church, crossing the dangerous cause-way? Or did they live in the town-ship near the church and going out of the island, once-in a while to buy things from the market in the main land?’ At present there is a lower primary school and a high school in the town-ship.

The second reason for naming the island as Holy Island was very clear when we stepped out of the church, which is under the control of the Church of England. As a most common scene with almost old churches in UK, the cemetery appeared before us. Outer wall of the cemetery keeps the boundary to show the nearby low-lying marshy sea-shore. The marshy shore was covered with rubbles and broken granites. In the cemetery, all the tombs have indicators showing the names and family names of persons, who were laid in to eternal sleep fourteen centuries before our visit, and recently? ‘Who are they, men and women of the parish? How was the funeral of that time? Have the relatives cried at the burial?’ As of a visitor interested on antiquity of any construction, my thoughts were flying back in to the olden days of the island. Due to the oldness, certain names on the tombs were not clear to read, where some parts of the outer stone-slab had been faded or decayed naturally.

On crossing the meadow around the church, we were moving in to the reminiscences of a huge building. Roof of the building had been devastated due to some reasons! Was it a storm, weakness of the construction or a purposeful demolition? Foundation and basement of rooms are clearly seen within the high outer walls. “This was the monastery close to the church and the cemetery. There lived Christian monks in this monastery...” Niya, my daughter was describing better than a tourist guide, out of her previous knowledge about the place. Inside the walled area a priestess was getting ready to lead a prayer service.  The priestess was clothing herself the cassocks and surplices near the lighted candles. To my surprise, I noticed once again! It is a priestess, she is about to begin an important prayer service there in the presence of two altar boys or assistants. From the first sight itself I could understand that, that was a rare thing in a Catholic church and thus, it was a practice followed in the Church of England or Methodist Church. Priesthood is effectively shared to women also! This old monastery is the next valid reason for naming the island the Holy Island. Thus every inch of the island is holy, altogether to be renamed as the Holiest Island.

Coming out of the three holy places, we thought of taking some food from any eatery in the township.  Searching an eatery, we reached near a wine-shop. “… But this wine shop has a speciality, here the wine is produced and sold out through an outlet run by the priests of St. Mary the Virgin church, exclusively for the island. The wine has the unique age old process of production.” When Akhil explained the uniqueness, everyone supported him to buy two bottles, as a testimony for our visit to the Holy Island. He has kept these two full bottles unopened even now, sometimes he may open one when a dearest guest visits his home in Warwick.