The Name
So about this dajji thing.... when I was in Nazareth, I visited one of the shrines of the Annunciation. (There are 2. or more. Lots of those things over there. Popping up like daisies.) The Eastern Orthodox have a really pretty little shrine, over a spring, which was the one that I liked, and the Roman Catholics have a HUGGGGGEEEEEE one built in the 1960s, with murals of Vatican II all over it. Because this is what you want, on a church dedicated to Gabriel's visitation to Mary. Also it lacks a well.
So that's where I was, down in the bowels of the church, at the spot where Gabriel evidently showed up. The floor of the church is made of stone, and steps down to the lower altar and the lower shrine of the Annunciation. I was standing down there, clutching my cherished Nalgene bottle (hydration! gotta have hydration!) when I decided to gaze up at the domed ceiling, thus loosening my grip on the Nalgene.
*****CRASH*********
Immediately, I grabbed the errant, but still well-beloved Nalgene, and fled the scene of the crime, as my reverberations echoed throughout the church. But as I scrambled, three little monks darted past me, chattering nervously in Italian. One concernedly pushed me out of the way, and roped off the grotto where I had dropped my Nalgene, while anxiously consulting with his equally concerned collegues.
The rest of the monks began to clear the church, and my tour group gathered at the front of the building. My friend, who had seen the whole incident, wanted to know what on earth I had done to offend the protectors of the holy shrine. "Nothing!" I yelped, "I dropped a closed Nalgene!" She grinned, "Abuna, [Father in Arabic]," she asked the leader, " how do you say 'crash' in Arabic?"
Thus, I have earned my nickname. I have a freakish ability to shut down holy shrines with sheer force of will and a mere water bottle, envied by other mortals! Dajji is a terrifying force!
So that's where I was, down in the bowels of the church, at the spot where Gabriel evidently showed up. The floor of the church is made of stone, and steps down to the lower altar and the lower shrine of the Annunciation. I was standing down there, clutching my cherished Nalgene bottle (hydration! gotta have hydration!) when I decided to gaze up at the domed ceiling, thus loosening my grip on the Nalgene.
*****CRASH*********
Immediately, I grabbed the errant, but still well-beloved Nalgene, and fled the scene of the crime, as my reverberations echoed throughout the church. But as I scrambled, three little monks darted past me, chattering nervously in Italian. One concernedly pushed me out of the way, and roped off the grotto where I had dropped my Nalgene, while anxiously consulting with his equally concerned collegues.
The rest of the monks began to clear the church, and my tour group gathered at the front of the building. My friend, who had seen the whole incident, wanted to know what on earth I had done to offend the protectors of the holy shrine. "Nothing!" I yelped, "I dropped a closed Nalgene!" She grinned, "Abuna, [Father in Arabic]," she asked the leader, " how do you say 'crash' in Arabic?"
Thus, I have earned my nickname. I have a freakish ability to shut down holy shrines with sheer force of will and a mere water bottle, envied by other mortals! Dajji is a terrifying force!


1 Comments:
i remember that!!!
By
Sarah, at 7:17 PM
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