As we prepare for some intense ceremony that we will be doing in a prolonged process throughout the Summer and into the Fall, many Ancestral voices are speaking loudly and clearly. We are fortunate and blessed to have a diversity of spaces to use for our ceremonies, we have spaces within the forest and spaces that are in full sun, spaces that are in the process of re-foresting, spaces that are by springs, spaces that are on the tops of hills, spaces that have clay, spaces that have bedrock cropping up, spaces that are mossy, and spaces that are lush with vegetation. In these photos we show the Bateys we have that are in the forest, on either side of a gentle valley that funnels all the water from the hillside down to the spring below. One side of the forest is almost bare soil, just covered with leaves under tulip poplar trees (a popular bee food) the other side is green under walnut trees (a popular human food). As we prepare for ceremony we communicate through every drop of sweat, through every thought, through every footstep and breath with the Ancestors and Misterios who are gathering for the Ceremonies. We also recall the many memories of past ceremonies and those who were present. We look at how the forest has transformed, which trees have grown suddenly taller, how the vegetation has increased or receded from certain areas, how the bamboo we have planted within the forest has grown, and we think of the Nkuyu in the bamboo and trees. Of course at this time of year the lightning bugs are everywhere! Essential within this process is our uses of Divination to deepen our communication with the Ancestors.
There are many criticisms on the internet and in talking circles (or gossiping circles) everywhere regarding how this one or that one conducts their spiritual and ceremonial lives, and how they also conduct their personal lives. These criticisms and judgements are evidently tremendously entertaining, however completely empty and non-productive. Like many gossiping circles, these also rarely go to the source to actually look closely at what and who they are so eager to condemn. These circles arise out of ignorance, insecurities, new age fantasies, envy, jealousy and romanticizing spirituality. They are parasitic and rooted in malediction, and many times what arises from these circles is the ultimate in mediocrity or downright hypocrisy.
There are those who are searching for the holy virgin of spirituality, searching for a spirituality and ceremony that has not been changed, transformed or aged by the ravages of slavery, colonialism, industrialization and consumerism. It brings to mind Ponce de Leon searching for the fountain of youth as a material structure, it is a fantasy that does not take into consideration thousands of years of historical and cultural Facts!
Here we are on the east coast of Turtle Island where summers are hot and humid, winters are cold. We live in lush greenery all summer and brown decay all winter. Our rain fall is mostly consistent year round. The energy of transformation in the spring time and fall is intense and fast, and our physical bodies and minds also have to adjust quickly and in healthy ways. This is totally different to our Caribbean homeland which undergoes dry and wet seasons but maintains comfortable temperatures year round. The rapid rate of decay in our homeland is very different than the widely different rates of decay here from summer to winter. These are basic facts that make a huge difference to our Spiritual and Ceremonial practices. To be in denial of them is to put a wedge between ourselves and the Spirit of Mother Earth in the place where we find ourselves. We have to face the reality of our migration, whatever the reason for our migration, whether it was our generation or past generations who made the decisions to migrate. Knowing that we come from a long story of migrations within the Caribbean should allow us to more easily embrace the facts of our migration, even if that migration was forced by necessity. It is important to note that if our Taino/ Carib Ancestors had refused to adapt to the realities and Spirits that they found in the Caribbean, then they would not have survived, and we would not be here. Furthermore, if our African Ancestors, who came in chains to the Caribbean had not embraced the local Indigenous lore regarding Plants, Animals and Spirits, then their Spiritual Traditions would not have survived and we would NOT have any Afro-Caribbean traditions as we know them today. Again, these are basic historical Facts and resonate easily with common sense. This is the reason that we have little patience with those seeking virginal spiritual traditions within the sofrito that is the Caribbean! Let's remember that the Caribbean was already a Sofrito BEFORE the gangster Kolumbus and before the despicable and unforgivable trans-atlantic slave trade.
Huracan is a Spirit/ Misterio who is obviously greatly respected and feared in the Caribbean and all along the gulf coast, and even from time to time along the east coast. The Huracan (Taino word) is created when the hot air of Africa collides with the warm moist air of the Ocean and gains energy as it comes across the Atlantic Ocean. Whereas Tornado(spanish derived word) (in Turtle Island) is created from a combination of Cold canadian air, Warm/Moist Gulf of Mexico air and dry Rocky Mountain air. Very different geographical and climatic conditions create each phenomenon. By blindly following rote rituals, without regard to where we happen to be standing, is to assume that the Huracan and Tornado are interchangeable, is to assume that Ellegba and Lucero Mundo are interchangeable, is to equate Yoka Hu with jesus and Atabey with the virgin mary. These blind correlations are completely lacking the basic understanding that the Cemis or Mpungos that one is working with have a profound relationship to the environment (geological, climactic, historical and so on) one finds oneself standing within. They do not float above the earth as if they are a concept or idea but arise from the Earth herself, unique to each point upon Mother Earth. It is up to us to discover that uniqueness.
Of course, as Taino we are going to put our Sacred Ancestral petroglyphs on the stones around our Bateys, and we are going to build our Bateys, but we are not going to take tropical plants which will die in our climate and plant them around the Batey because "that is what our Ancestors did" and we are not going to focus our Ceremonial meals exclusively on seafood, negating the fact that we live miles away from the sea and what is abundant here is Deer, Rabbit, Turkey, Snappers not Carey (sea turtle). Here we can grow blackberries, strawberries, walnuts, but not plantains, tamarindos, or coconuts. So we seek to find the balance between our Ancestral Practices and the place we find ourselves living in. Here we know that we can plant our crops at certain times, and they will grow, for us to blindly continue to plant our crops according to the tropical planting calendars is to face massive crop failure. The same equally applies to blindly carrying out a ceremonial calendar that is appropriate to the tropics not to the temperate regions. You cannot change the seasons here to apply to Boriken or Cuba, and you cannot change the season in Boriken or Cuba to apply here.
There are principles that are universal, that apply worldwide, and there are many, many principles that are location specific and apply just to the area you live in. As Tainos, as Paleros and as Human Beings we need to uncover through in depth study and practice the difference between the universal principles of our Traditions and the location specific principles of our Traditions. Here we see all the tulip poplar trees, this is a native tree here. For us to ignore this tree because it is not tropical, or not Caribbean or not African is to be offensive to the Indigenous Misterios who are here, is to weaken our relationship with Mother Earth, and is to miss out on an amazing and beneficial tree that can help us tremendously spiritually!
During our Ceremonies there are many points when we make offerings of prepared Food (meals), and also raw fruits and roots and vegetables for the Ancestors and Nkisis, Cemis, Mpungos and so on. These are vital moments of expressing appreciation for the movement and wisdom of these entities within our lives. These are also moments of offering vitality to the "Dead" to strengthen and refreshen the so called "Dead"! Traditionally these offerings are Yucca, Batata, Papaya, Guayaba, Maize, Potato, Calabaza, and so on. While we can grow Batata, Maize, Potato, Beans and Pumpkin here, we cannot grow all the tropical fruits and Yucca. Many people simply go to the store and buy the various tropical offerings, and this is at times important to do because we are working with our Caribbean Ancestors who are accustomed to these foods. However we are also working with the Indigenous Spirits of wherever we are standing and we should also strive to sometimes cook Buffalo, Venison, Snapping turtle, Turkey and these traditional foods, and many times if we offer whatever we have grown ourselves, the Misterios and Ancestors will be very happy.
The vital energy of these foods is essential. When we grow the offerings ourselves we know the food is vital, is fresh and comes from the soil that we are standing on, and we know that our love, our invocations, our creativity, our hands have all been present in the growing process. When we buy food from the market, we do not know who grew it and more importantly under what oppressive and toxic conditions. Yet in that case we are at least still buying unprocessed raw foods. However, there are some sad cases where folks are going out buying processed food (such as canned corn, pre-made casava bread etc) and offering these ultra-depleted foods to the Ancestors and Spirits. This is sad because it speaks to how far away some of us have travelled from our Roots. One has to wonder how badly an individual treats their own body/ self if what they offer to the Spirits is a can of corn, especially since most of us live in places that have food choice available, unlike the many "food deserts" that are all to common worldwide. If we are offering the food to strengthen the Spirit, but we are offering canned depleted food, we have failed in our action. This is a hypocrisy that the Ancestors do not fail to notice as we call on them with all kinds of Taino vocabulary and imagery, yet offer them something they do not even recognize as edible!
During our Ceremonies we have a principle that we cook all our food here, most frequently on a wood fire in our cast iron pots. We focus on whole, nutrient dense foods which will sustain our bodies during the profound Ceremonial Processes. Most of the time we do not allow anybody to eat out at all during the process. We also do not allow junk foods as this runs counter to the Ceremonial purpose. Our ceremonies are about purifying on many levels, and there is always a physical level involved. This purification continues after the Ceremony, much like the healing that is triggered through an acupuncture treatment continues afterwards, and may require us to rest or drink a lot of water to help in that cleansing and healing. Imagine a scenario where one engages a profound ceremony (triggering purification at spiritual, mental and physical levels) then one walks into a fast food restaurant to get lunch, you have just totally derailed the healing momentum and sent a message of hypocrisy to the Ancestors; we undercut our own healing process.
Another principle that we hold strongly is that anyone calling themselves a "shaman" should naturally be utilizing plant medicine for their own ailments, and to create conditions of health and vitality in their own bodies. There is something wrong when one finds a "beike" aka "shaman" who relies first and exclusively on conventional pharmaceuticals without undergoing the various lifestyle and natural living transformations that will bring balance to their conditions. Their shamanic healing in this case is based on a part time play or charade rather than a rooted process. There are even those depicted as leaders within the Taino Community who are junk food and pharmacy junkies, and have yet to establish any kind of true relationship to the many plants and foods that sustained our people for thousands of years. How are these leaders going to lead anyone, when they seem unable to even lead themselves? Similarly what is wrong with the people when the people turn to leaders and healers who are in personal decay and chaos? Leaders and healers should be examples of healthy and sustainable relationships with Mother Earth and all her Spirits! Unfortunately there is a very low standard today with regard "Casikes", "Beikes" and other "leaders" within the Taino Community; a standard that our Ancestors never dreamed we would fall to. This is a result of the history of a destruction of our Culture, but that is no reason to continue to allow the destruction, perversion, prostitution and dilution of our Spiritual Legacies. We survived so much, to chose to be mediocre now, and to chose to weaken our future generations with a diet of soda, GMO foods, pharmaceuticals and miseducation. Some of us may have various witchcrafts that have been thrown and spiritual enemies, however, "we" may find that the Spirit that is the most angry with us is our own Ancestral Spirit who look at us as a parasite and asks us "why are you wasting the Spiritual Inheritance that we worked so hard to give you; that spiritual inheritance that was for you to caretake and expand upon and deliver intact to the Future Generations?"
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