|
The Phantom Ship
The phantom ship is my favorite
legend because l spent a few years trying to learn something
about it; such as its origin, meaning, witnesses, etc. l have
just received my 2458th version. After finding out that this
was a universal legend, based on a natural phenomenon, i.e.,
a mysterious fire on the waters, seen by millions of witnesses,
each one her own interpretation, l still have a few questions
unanswered. When and where it started, what science has to
say about this nature's mystery, what is the purpose of its
apparition... So, until further discoveries and scientific
answers, l have to lean on old fishermen's explanations and
man's philosophy to try getting a few scientific concepts
about the Ship. An 87-year old Caraquet fisherman, Jaddus
Lanteigne, told me that this feu-du-mauvais-temps, as they
call this phenomenon, was as old as Acadia. Mostly alI my
informants declared that punishment was the purpose of its
existence; because the real boat had been sailed by men who
were far from being perfect. They were pirates, or other bad
people, and their crimes brought fire on their ship and themselves.
As they are still burning in the everlasting fire, they appear
to let us know that the same punishment is awaiting us, if
we do not follow the Golden Rule.
For my part, l think that this
legend spreads from man's nature, because it deals with the
universaI problem of human beings facing the unknown. An old
English ballad, in its last verse, sums up my philosophical
conclusion:
A full-saiIed ship on the great broad sea
Keel down and bearing home
All the romance from Homer's days
To now across the foam.
For purple-white in rippling dusks
Or edged with sunset's fire,
BehoId, each ship is a phantom ship
That bears the world's desire.
Catherine Jolicoeur
Centre universitaire SLM
Edmundston, NB
Université de Moncton,
Centre d'études acadiennes, Fonds Catherine-Jolicoeur,
63.051
|
