Creating a new Shimenawa for the Shinto Shrine

The Sacred Cedar Shrine suffered tremendous damage during the spring ice storms here. The hokora itself was untouched, but a tree fell over the Tori, breaking it, and the path to the hokora and the surrounding area is impassible due to downed trees and fallen branches. We lost close to 80 trees. So we've moved the hokora to a cedar that is closer to the house and in a more accessible area. Sacred trees have a Shimenawa, which is a circling or enclosing rope that marks the boundary where sacred space begins. They usually have shide, the lightening-shaped strips of paper, and other sacred symbols like offerings of grain tied to them. They are fragile, and animals often take the seed offerings, so they need to be replaced regularly throughout the year. The Shimenawa that was on this cedar was a couple years old, and needed to be replaced. A few have asked how we make these, so I recorded how I made this one. The materials are: 1" Hemp or Sisal 3 strand rope. Bailer twine (Hemp or Sisal twin). Some poplar dowels to help hold the rope up on the tree. If you are going to do something similar, please remember to announce your intentions to the tree before you start. NOTE: At about the 6 minute mark the microphone suddenly becomes more muted - sorry about that. I got a couple years good use out of it, but it seems to have reached the end of it's useful life. I've got a new one on order which I'll have for the next video.