Y ddarn fuddugol yn nghystadleuaeth Gadair Cymdeithas Madog, Cwrs Cymraeg Y Man Cyfarfod, Toronto, 1999 gan Gwiwer (Paul C. Graves)

Y Man Cyfarfod

Oes lle ble mae rhannau ein bywydau ni'n cwrdd â'i gilydd? Yn y byd modern mae popeth yn ddarniog, ac weithiau mae'n anodd gweld y patrwm. Oes lle ble mae'r gorffennol a'r dyfodol yn cwrdd, ble mae'r galon a'r ymennydd yn gweithio gyda'i gilydd, a ble mae'r ffydd a'r ffeithiau'n cysylltu? Oes, ond mae rhaid i ni gael map i ffeindio'r ffordd i'r lle. Ond, pa fath o fap sy'n ddefnyddiol i ni? Dilynwch y map sy'n byw mewn breuddwydion, y map sy'n cael ei wneud yn eich calon.

Deg mlynedd yn ôl, es i i Gymru am y tro cyntaf, i ddringo Bannau Brycheiniog gyda ffrindiau o Gaerdydd. Pan cyrhaeddon ni ben bryn, roedd yn bosib gweld calon Cymru o gwmpas. Roedd map gyda fi, a fe ddarllenais i'r map i weld enwau'r afonydd, y trefi, a'r bryniau. I fi, roedd y profiad yn od iawn - roedd enwau annealladwy ar y rhan fwya ohonyn nhw, enwau estron - enwau Cymraeg. "Beth ydy hyn," fe ofynnais i, "a be' ydy ystyr yr enwau?" Doedd dim ateb gan fy ffrindiau - doedd neb yno yn siarad Cymraeg. Ond, ar ôl munud, roedd yr ateb yn glir. Yr enwau oedd hanes y wlad, a fe ddwedon nhw stori am y wlad a'i phobl buodd yno yn y gorffennol. Fe sylweddolais i byddai'n amhosib i ddeall y wlad a'i hanes heb ddeall ystyr yr enwau, a bydd hynny yn amhosib i wneud heb yr iaith Gymraeg. Fe ddechreuais i ar siwnai newydd ar ben y bryn yn y Bannau Brycheiniog, siwrnai heb ddiwedd. Fe ddarganfyddais i fap i'r siwrnai yn yr iaith Gymraeg.

Mae nifer o ffyrdd i'r lle ble mae popeth yn cwrdd, ac mae ffordd gwahanol i bob un ohonon ni. Fe ffeindiais i ffordd yn yr iaith, ac trwy'r iaith, dw i'n cwrdd âphobl newydd o bedwar ban byd; dw i'n darllen llenyddiaeth unigryw yn ei thafod wreiddiol; dw i'n gwrando ar stori sy'n tyfu a byw o flwyddyn i flwyddyn.

Fe ddarganfyddais i le ble mae'r rhannau fy mywyd yn cwrdd, a mae'r allwedd yn yr iaith Gymraeg. Dyna'r man cyfarfod, ar ben y bryn, y lle fe welais i fyd newydd. Y Man Cyfarfod yw'r man yn y galon ble mae'r ysbryd yn byw.

Gwiwer

The Meeting Place

Is there a place where the parts of our lives meet together? In the modern world everything is fragmentary, and sometimes it's difficult to see the pattern. Is there a place where the past and the future meet, where the heart and the brain work together, and where faith and facts connect? Yes, but we must have a map to find the way to the place. But what kind of map is useful for us? Follow the map that lives in dreams, the map that is made in your heart.

Ten years ago, I went to Wales for the first time, to climb the Brecon Beacons with friends from Cardiff. When we reached the top of a hill, it was possible to see the heart of Wales around us. I had a map, and I read the map to see the names of rivers, towns and hills. To me, the experience was very odd - there were incomprehensible names on the majority of them, foreign names - Welsh names. "What's this," I asked, "and what is the meaning of the names?" My friends had no answer - no one spoke Welsh. But, after a minute, the answer was clear. The names were the story of the land, and they told a tale about the country and it's people who had been there in the past. I realised that it would be impossible to understand the country and it's history without understanding the meaning of the names, and that will be impossible to do without the Welsh language. I started on a new journey on top of the hill in the Brecon Beacons, a journey without end. I discovered a map to the journey in the Welsh language.

There are a number of ways to the place where everything meets, and there is a different way for each one of us. I found a way in the language, and through the language, I meet new people from the four corners of the world; I read unique literature in its original language; I listen to a story that grows and lives from year to year.

I discovered a place where the parts of my life meet, and the key is in the Welsh language. That's the meeting place, on top of the hill, the place where I saw a new world. The Meeting Place is the place in the heart where the spirit lives.

Paul C. Graves
Cyfieithiad gan / Translation by John Otley