Pruning the Raspberries, and the Love for the Spirit of the Land!

Late winter or early spring is time to prune away the dead raspberry canes and any weak canes or canes that are in the pathway.  It is very important to do this to ensure a productive and healthy season for the raspberries.  We grow raspberries for their taste, their high vitamin content, and their medicinal properties.  Raspberry leaf tea is very good as well as a syrup that we will make this year from our black raspberry early spring shoots.  Anani is a big fan of the raspberry patch.  We also have in these rows grapes and strawberries.  Our Raspberries are Black, Red, Yellow and Purple!

This pile of debris came from just one side of one row of the raspberry canes.  It is very essential to remove all these old canes and debris because leaving them next to the raspberries can make the raspberries diseased.  Raspberries are very sensitive plants.  We ultimately burn the debris to ensure no disease is spread.  Spiritually it is also important to clean up and remove debris as this helps us and the Spirit refreshen for the Spring that is around the corner!  When an individual is involved in cleaning up, whether it be pruning, raking leaves, weeding the gardens, and so on, upon a Sacred and Ceremonial Land, or even within a small Monanso, the action of cleaning is an EBO for the individual and the individual's frame of mind is very important within this EBO!  When working with these things, one MUST be grounded in Love for the Earth from a Spiritual Perspective!

This is before the pruning, showing the chaotic appearance of the canes, many are broken due to wind and snow from the very hard winter we had this year, and many send shoots into the pathway.  

Left Photo:  After pruning, you can see the shift in energy and how clean and clear the raspberries now look.  Right Photo:  This is very important.  This is an EGUN TREE dedicated to a specific EGUN which stands at the lower end of one of the rows of the canes, right at the entrance.  We know that the EGUN associated with this tree is Observing the activity with the raspberries, and since there is an Egun Tree right by the raspberry rows we have to pay even greater attention to the physical and mental energy we apply when engaging the pruning activity!

Here Anani is participating in removing the debris.  It is very important for her to be involved in these activities and to understand and learn how to caretake the various gardens and spaces.  This way she learns from an early age what is needed to caretake this Space within ATABEY!

Left Photo:  The pile grows.  Right Photo:  The end posts of the rows are visible and next to them the Egun Tree.

Here you can see the walking path in between the rows which also gets cleaned of old dead grass and debris.  You can see the Egun tree's position in the left photo and how close it is to the raspberries. In the right photo you can now see that the raspberries are all in a  neat row and the path is easily accessible and clear.

Left Photo:  This is another Egun Tree of one of the Elder Egun of the Land!  This tree is just down the slope from the raspberry rows, and this Egun is also observing what is going on.  Right Photo:  While we were working a Vulture drew our attention to him/herself because she/he was making an unusual flight sound due to what looks like a missing wing feather.  The Vulture represents the DEAD as well as REBIRTH, which is relevant to the time of year and to the fact that we were engaged in working in close proximity to TWO EGUN Trees!  It may be that the Vulture is molting which is a form of renewal!

Here Thunder the Bull has just been re-captured.  We had found him next to where the fire pit for burning debris is.  This particular bull was originally brought to the Land for the benefit of the EGUN whose tree is right next to the raspberry rows.  So to see him loose on the very day we came to prune the raspberries was very significant!  Fortunately he was cooperative in allowing us to coral him once again in a safe field, because this bull is very fearless and bullish and will use his weapons without hesitation.

We also see this as the EGUN making himself known and bringing us a message!

Making "Chamba"

Chamba is a drink for the Fundamento or Nkisi (including Cemis).  This particular chamba is for exciting and motivating the movement of the Spirit.  It is very powerful and is not for human consumption and can burn the mouth, so let's be clear this is not a drink to play with or take for granted.  Chamba can only be made and handled by those of legal age to do so (21 years in this country).  

This Chamba is unique for us and special because the existing chamba of the Monansu is approximately 10 years older than this one and is very strong, however its original ingredients were purchased from a market rather than grown on the Land herself.

We begin with harvesting HOT PEPPERS from our Garden which were grown especially for this process.  This Chamba includes jalopenos, Peruvian Purple Peppers, Bolivian Rainbow Peppers, and  two types of Cayenne Peppers.

All the peppers are placed in a large GLASS bottle where they provide a colorful array of colors and textures as well as tastes.  All of these hot peppers have a unique Spirit or Essence which will be "captured" within the Chamba.  

We will show some of the ingredients that we used in the Chamba, but not all.  Every Palero has his own recipe and certain elements we keep as knowledge only within the Monanso.

Here are 121 pimentas de guinea (top left), yellow jackets (top right), 5 palo ceibe from Boriken, a tiger's eye gem, and a quartz crystal.  We use overproof white rum for the alcohol.

Ingredients get added and the first bottle of rum is added.

More ingredients are added... including fire ants (in jar), several bird bones and shark teeth.

Close up of the fire ants, and additional ingredient garlic (also harvested from our garden, the smaller the garlic cloves the stronger).

Close up of shark teeth,  and bird bones (of three different species to remain nameless).

Bones are added....

Teeth are added and fire ants (carefully because they sting).

A second bottle of rum is added.  Several large pieces of ginger sit in front of the chamba to be added.

Ginger is sliced and added.

Chamba is sealed well and a hole is dug in preparation for burying the chamba.

Once the hole is prepared the chamba is buried.  In our Monansu the chamba is buried for 121 days.

This chamba was buried in Lucerito's Monanso.  After 121 days it was time to dig it up again.

Slowly and carefully the chamba is dug up.  It is important that one does not forget the exact location of the chamba.  Here since the chamba was buried in the hut the snow did not make our job more difficult.  The time of year that the Chamba is buried is relevant to the final product.  A chamba made in the summer will embody different subtle energies than one made during the winter as this one was.  This particular chamba was buried in a location that at a certain time of day the sun comes in the door and lights up the floor exactly where the chamba was buried.

When we bury the chamba we bury it right into the Earth.  Here the chamba is located and carefully brought out of the hole and the hole is closed up.

The chamba liquid is much darker after the 121 days.

Again this chamba is exceptionally strong and must be used with wisdom and caution.  It will continue to gain strength over time and as it gains strength the color will continue to darken as the alcohol pulls the essence from the peppers into the liquid.  There is an extraction process that is taking place.  

The final product!