Winter with the Misterios

Massango / Maiz : Sacred Tratado made on the Kalunga Line!

Maiz/ Massango is sacred to both Taino and Palo traditions, as well as sacred to the majority of Indigenous Nations of this continent.  Many within the Palo and Taino communities take this sacred grain for granted due to the commercialization and genetic engineering of this grain that has made it a staple killer in the conventional food system and enviroment where its appearance as "high fructose corn syrup or corn sugar" has accelerated the occurrence of diabetes, as well as numerous other dis-eases.  The can of corn that is utilized by some of our brothers that suffer from severely calcified pineal glands is just one example of the de-spiritualization that corn, the sacred spirit, has undergone, much like our people- Indigenous to this continent and globally! 

The story of corn is magical and mythical and defies materialism and western rationality.  The Spirit (Cemis/ Mpungo) of corn manifested materially due to the profound spirituality and horticultural wisdom of our Ancestors of Meso-America.   This manifestation is of unique spiritual Power, whose only example is the Corn!   These genius cultures were able to literally create (pull, bring forth) the Spirit/ Ancestor that manifested as corn.  Other popular grains around the world have easily recognized and edible ancestors who were the wild grains that were domesticated by the peoples.  Corn is unique, with a wild ancestor that is radically different from the corn we know today.  The Ancestor of corn is "teosinte" a wild mountain grass, whose hard, almost indigestible grains are a far cry from the nutritional giant that is MAIZ.

Corn manifested due to a profound TRATADO between the People and the Spirit of the Corn.  Corn contains a hard husk, which does not allow corn to naturally or wildly propagate (shed its seeds to grow the next generation).  Corn requires the effort of the People to Harvest and SOW the next generation.  This requires an ongoing commitment by the people over what has been thousands (at the least) of years; consistency year to year.  As Paleros, as Tainos, we should understand the nature of Tratado and the dynamic relationship between the Living and the Dead which must be maintained in a consistent and deeply Respectful manner.  

Here in our Conucos, in the gardens of our Munanso, we grow Indigenous varieties of corn, not your yellow modern variety which has been selected for the disempowerment of the Spirit of the Corn and for commercial purposes.   (STOLEN LEGACY!)  We have this year, HOPI BLUE and OAXACAN GREEN DENT.  The colors are beyond words, and the feel of the corn in one's hands is heavy and so full of Spiritual Energy.  The energy of the corn vibrates!  This cannot be compared to using corn out of a can, which no Brujo or Bohitu in their right and balanced mind would utilize such a despicable dilution and distortion and perversion of the Sacred Spirit of Corn who has been so beneficial to our Ancestors!

We need to remember that our ANCESTORS held profound Tratados with these Sacred Spirits, whose presence enabled the manifestation of High Cultures that stretched across this Continent and whose temples, sacred roads, horticultural research centers (Machu Pichu among others), and cities are still rising from the soils to tell the profound story of the wisdom and spiritual advancement that our Ancestors achieved.  The Spirit of the Corn provided such abundant nutrients that our Ancestors were able to live inside the energy of Thriving and Abundance rather than the current energy of Survival that we are subject to and oppressed by (the rat race).  This has profound implications for the importance of corn within our Palo rituals!  (Kuenda Nsasi!)

As Paleros in particular, we cannot forget the critical role that Corn played inside the atlantic slave trade.  Corn, introduced to the African Continent by the Portuguese, was such a powerful and easily cultivated grain, easily stored, easily transported, that it became the staple grain of choice utilized in the Infamous and Evil Middle Passage.  African agriculturalists grew the corn which was sold to the slave traders and transporters who utilized it to transport more and more Africans to the Caribbean and Continent.  After a period of time Corn took on a significant spiritual and ritual role within African Societies, however this does not negate its abuse and misuse in the enabling of the slave trade.  Today we see a continuation of this abuse of the Sacred Spirit of Corn in the genetic modification of modern corn and the production of high fructose corn syrup.  If we as Paleros, as Tainos, forget this, then we, too, enable and promote the selling into prostitution of our Ancestral Legacy, which is this Sacred Tratodo (Pact) between our Ancient Peoples and the Spirit of Corn.

 From its birth place in Meso America, the cultivation of corn extended across this continent, and was grown in diversified gardens (Conucos) which has become the foundation of organic, biodynamic agriculture, permaculture etc.  The Milpas, which were and are diversified garden in Meso-America included/ includes MAIZ, Avocados, Squash, Beans, Melons, Tomatoes, Chilis, Batata, Jicama, Amaranth, Mucuna (tropical legume) which together give rise to both an ecologically and nutritionally complete system.  This system enables land to be continually cultivated for THOUSANDS of years, whereas the conventional system currently in place which arose out of the plantation (slave) system of monoculture destroys topsoil and requires "expansion" into new fields after just decades.  

Here, in our temperate zone, we are entering the season of "dormancy" where the energies of the Deciduous Plants go into the roots, empowering the roots which are full of energy at this time of year.  For us the Roots represent the Dead, so this is the time that is dominated by the world of the Dead.  It is also the time when we gather the fruits of our Conucos to present to the Ancestors and Mpungo to continue to enhance and empower the cycle of Abundance and Thriving and of Spiritual Justice.

Always we have the fire!  Burning from a diversity of Palos who are manifested Solar Energy (Sunlight manifested into form).  Trees are the Ancestors who enable our lives, who preceded our Human Existence!  They are able to take SUNLIGHT and make MATTER!  They balance our exhale with their inhale, balancing the oxygen-carbon dioxide equation in our lives. 

While the trees thrive from the Sun, they grow to the rhythm of the Moon, and this Rhythm is reflected in the Ceremonial Cycle of the Palero and Bohitu.  This Harvest was presented at the time of the November Full Moon, when the Earth moves with the Moon in the one direction and the Sun in the opposite direction.  We utilized the White Corn to represent the reflected Sunlight of the Moon, and the Yellow Corn to represent the Sun's Light.  The white corn covered each mound (of the four directions or moments of the Sun) and the yellow corn encircled each mound.  A fire is in the Center. The abundance in our lives is only possible from the healthy balance of Sun, Moon and Earth.  Although the photograph is taken during the day, this Ceremony includes Day and Night because a Full Moon Ceremony reaches its strength during the night, not the day.  (The Mpungo/ Cemis must be present for the Ceremony!  There is no point in doing a Full Moon Ceremony when the Moon is not at its peak of Fullness...)  

The Moon dictates cycles of fertility, particularly at the point where animals and most significantly human beings arise within the evolutionary story.  The plant cycle is dependent on moisture/ rain/ tides, which is influenced by Moon but dictated by Sun.  However, the fertility cycle of Animals is solar and lunar, and the fertility cycle of the Mothers of Human Life is primarily LUNAR in nature and is embodied by GUACAR (WAKART) the Taino Spirit of the Women's Menstrual Cycle.  Birds and other animals have fertility cycles triggered by sunlight (they nest in the Spring and Summer), animals have a variety of Solar and Lunar influences, however, Women are almost totally influenced by Lunar Energies in terms of the fertility Cycle, whereas Men follow a Solar cycle.  This Menstrual cycle is one of the most powerful spiritual energies available to us (quiet as it is kept).  It only comes through the Mothers of Life, and it is for this reason that the Yayi (Yaya) of the Munanso are latent energies of thriving and abundance who need to reclaim their traditional roles within our Sacred Traditions and to not continue to accept an inferior role within our Traditions.   Here on our Ceremonial Land we have a Sacred Space for the Mothers of Life to engage the Traditional Bleeding Ceremony with the Earth.  Our Lives arise out of this Dance between Solar and Lunar Energies!

The blues and greens of these Indigenous varieties of Maiz are just amazing, and the photos do not do them justice.  You have to hold them in your hands to fully appreciate them.  You really gain an appreciation for the Spirit and Nutrients involved in their manifestation!  The Hopi Blue corn cob is a dusty pink/ magenta color, and the Oaxacan Green is a blood red that is stunning.  It is important to pause for a moment and profoundly appreciate those Indigenous Peoples who have struggled to keep these varieties alive in spite of the onslaught of modern agriculture.  We are humbled to play a small role in bringing or re-introducing these varieties to this land.   

Interrelating with the Misterios in this way IS THRIVING!  Many folks look down on rural horticulturalists, jibaros, and agriculturalists with destain, calling them "subsistence famers", however this is a profound and deeply sacred relationship to the Mpungos and Cemis of LIFE!  

Corn is extremely promiscuous, and sends its pollen everywhere and so is continually developing new varieties.  It is not rigid or stagnant but fully embraces evolution and diversity.  The corn below was harvested from our Hopi Blue patch but has purple grains rather than blue and among the grains are cream colored red streaked kernels.  We will replant this next year to see what will develop!  Indigenous Traditions are profoundly realistic and not fantastical.  They are about life, death (putrefaction), earth, sun, moon, cycles and evolution.  As a people, we have been through hell and back and must reclaim our Ancestral Legacies and defend them against dilution, prostitution and commercialization!  The Spirit of Hatuey must always been supreme in our thoughts, ideas and actions!

It is so wonderful to be able to use our own Corn for the Palo Ceremonies.  Below we cook the vital organs to present to the Misterios.  These represent nutrient dense spiritual energies that relate to solar and lunar energies.  They also represent those meats given high value by our Ancestors who understood the health benefits of organ meats.  

The fire is the embodiment of the sacredness of the Sun.  The human development of cooking historically allowed us to access nutrient uptake that was unavailable through raw food.  The animal effectively acts as an intermediary between solar manifest energy (plants) and provides humanity nutrients in a form that we are able to fully access.  These animals here, inside the pot, along with the corn, were raise by our family, we nourished them daily, observed their behavior, utilized them to fertilize our Conucos, and generally developed a relationship to them based on reverence and respect.  The goat was outside our back door for months eating and working to clear all kinds of weeds and thorny bushes form our back garden.  The roosters ate our table scraps and ranged over our gardens to find bugs.  

The cooking fire, again, was a sacred evolutionary transformation that humanity engaged, which again made nutrients available to human beings with greater efficiency.  As Paleros and Bohitus, we know that the aroma from the Barbacoa (the outside Barbeque) attracts Los Misterios y Los Ancestros!  The aroma is intoxicating and the intimate relationship developed with Sun, Earth, Palo, Plants and Animals cannot be replicated or adequately substituted by mass produced, factory farmed non-equivalents!

There are so many ingredients that are utilize for Palo Ceremony that are taken for granted, such as Corn, Cacao, Nsugna (Tobacco), Melafo, and so on, which all tell us a story.  It is important to retrieve that story so that we can bring more consciousness to our practices and we can protect ourselves from the disease of fantastical thinking and "purist" illusions.

Here we have venison from our land, roasting with everything we have grown within our gardens.  This is the true "free range" meat!

Finally we adorn the Nkisi/ Fundamento with evergreens.  Evergreens are not only the only tree still green at this time of year, they represent Immortality, everlasting life, and the abundance of critical and sacred vitamins and nutrients during the winter.  A pine needle tea, infused oil, or vinegar greatly helps the winter blues!  It is for this reason that those Africans who found themselves in this region planted evergreen trees and yucca in the Campo Santos / Nfinda Kalunga/ Graveyards to represent eternal life, and Indigenous peoples of this continent enjoyed the bounty evergreen trees bring to the winter table.  

Finally, after the ceremony, the snow arrived, bringing the full dormancy and internal fire of winter forward.  It is a time of introspection and planning, however we should always remember, as we engage these extreme weather patterns, that the time of Earth Changes is indeed upon us...

Nkisi's In The Garden!

Maiz (corn) is a Traditional and Valuable food, sacred to Indigenous People all over this continent and adapted to many different conditions.  It is a staple crop, meaning it has the energy that can sustain people as a primary food source.  Today this blessing has become a curse through the manipulation of corn through GMO and the heavy spraying of pesticides, as well as through the creation of high fructose corn syrup that is devastating to one's health.  However, a number of heirloom and Indigenous varieties of corn continue to be available to gardeners.  We have grown two varieties this year, the Green Oaxacan and Hopi Blue.  Both will give us corn to grind to cornmeal or corn flour, but can also be eaten as 'sweet corn'.  In particular the Oaxacan Green Dent corn has grown very lush.  

Not only do we use our garden for the practical purpose of growing food, we also use it for Spiritual Purposes.  Here we bring our various Nkisis to the corn to be within the forces of the growing corn and to be refreshened and strengthened.  

It is vital to realize that this corn and the whole garden is not sprayed with any chemicals at all, just with some Witch Doctor's brews made from herbs.

We also have brought out one of our Cemis to the Garden to sit among the potato plants.  Potato is another valuable and sacred food crop to many people of this continent, in particular in the South.   Many Paleros and Tainos make offerings to the Nkisis or Cemis of corn and potatoes as well as other sacred foods such as Yucca, Coconuts, and so on, however there is also a benefit when we can place our Nkisis right within the garden to take in the essence of these plants on a different level.  The feeling of sitting in a corn field is a unique feeling as the energy of the growing plants is very intense.  

There are many ways for us to feed our Nkisi or Cemis, and it is up to each Palero or Bohitu to find those ways that work for them.  We need to avoid becoming rigid or unteachable in terms of what it means to caretake a Cemis or Nkisi, especially as the Earth continues her "changes".  Our Mother Earth is speaking in very loud ways, that even the most deaf of us should be able to hear, and the time to reconnect with her from a spiritual perspective was Yesterday!  But if we did not do it yesterday, we must do it today!  

Our garden is created using Traditional Principles, which are principles of 'polyculture', utilizing the landscape to conserve water, and using the plants to increase the soil fertility rather than deplete it.  Not only are these principles beneficial to the Earth's Harmony and produce higher quality foods, they also create a garden space that is beautiful and dynamic, that refreshens one's Spirit.  It produces a garden that is also a wonderful 'laboratory' for building one's understanding of life and the life processes.

In the flower bed below there is food and medicine growing, some are native varieties, others are exotic (such as rhubarb).  The blessings the garden brings are: Sustenance, Flavor, Health, Wisdom, Happiness, Fragrance, and Visual Joy.  We have some sacred bundles in this part of the garden that have been absorbing all this good energy.

By working with the garden spiritually, we also are working to refreshen the depleted Spirits of the place where we live, who have been depleted by years of abuse in this area where conventional monoculture farming has been going on for years.  The bad farming and living practices as well as a total disregard for Spirit has brought a tiredness to this area that is obvious.  We have been happy to see the way that the Spirits have responded to our work with our Gardens and Ceremonial Grounds.

Behind the garden you can see the 'Solar Shed' which holds solar panels on the roof and various necessary electrical gadgets and batteries to run the solar power plant inside.  However, as remarkable as "solar energy" is in terms of photo-voltaic systems, the plants themselves are "solar power plants" using a far more developed, refined and efficient technology that is ANCIENT!  The plants create their bodies from the energy of the Sun and their green leaves are photo-receptors that take in that energy.  Every leaf is a solar panel!  The difference being that everything about the plant is beneficial, from the carbon dioxide it takes in and the oxygen it breathes out, to the beneficial humus it creates when it dies back (drops leaves or dies back to its roots in the winter) and the food or medicine it creates.  Even the most modern photo-voltaic system creates waste and inefficiency.

Below a Sunflower, lillies, veronica and trumpet vine all occupy about 4 square feet of space, all working harmoniously together to create food and beauty for insects, animals and humans.  It is a picture of the most beautiful and eco-friendly power plant!!!

Here our strawberries grow in the  front next to some areas that have just been planted for fall and winter vegetables so that we can eat from the garden in 4 seasons!  The strawberries ripen from June through October giving us an extended harvest.  The shrub on the right is an Elderberry that must have arrived thanks to a bird, and will give us berries in the next couple weeks.  Further back tomatoes are growing and raspberries.

It is within all this energy that we bring our Nkisis and Cemis to be refreshened and powered up by the energy of the Sun and the first Ancestors (the Plants) and it gives us an opportunity to remember that the plants are the Ancestors that made it possible for animal, bird and human life to be viable upon the Earth!  For this reason we must always ask the Garden for its Blessing!

Our "ELDERBERRY Bushes"

Indigenous agriculture resonates with the natural ecology of Mother Earth.  To an astronomical extent the terrain that we have become so accustomed to, from urban parks, to suburban yards, and agricultural fields, are extremely unhealthy and depleted ecologies; more precisely these are ecologies in crisis.  

The Land that we caretake and work with is coming from a number of years of depletion, both from conventional agricultural practices and orchard practices to logging.  We have quickly come to recognize that there is a healing process that we are witnessing upon this Land as we follow Mother Earth's lead in this healing process.  

A natural and healthy ecology consists of many layers of vegetation that grow simultaneously in one place, from the ground covers and perennials to the shrubs and trees.   Rather than monocultures, we want to assist Mother Earth in creating the extreme diversity that is required for health.  Certain plants appear as vital healers within this process.  They are Mother Earth's emergency Medicine, and often they are also our Medicine that can assist us to develop or enhance healthy immune systems.  Elderberry is a powerful immunity enhancer.  

The two previous posts on this blog show earlier years (2010, 2012) elderberry harvest and medicine making:

The Elderberry Bush


Elderberry Medicine

At this time of the year the Elder is in full flower.  The berries will ripen in early August.  The flower is also a Medicine.  We dry it for use in teas.  It encourages sweating which is beneficial for colds and flu.  We combine it with Yarrow Flower and Mint in a winter cold care tea.

From the Elder's first appearance several years ago, it has spread throughout our animal pastures, and into our vegetable garden and even into our Munanso!  We have ABUNDANT ELDER HERE NOW!!!! This Medicine is very revered and it is said that you should never cut down an Elder, certainly without permission.  

We use the Elder shrubs here not just for Medicine but also to place Cemis in to energize them.  In the photo above our daughter is hiding in the Elder bush.

The Elder is a powerful Medicine and we feel very blessed to have Elder in our lives.  As the name suggests this is a very revered plant that gives abundant blessings.  We make many good things from the Elder flower and Elder berry.  The birds also benefit from the Elder, and most likely it was a bird who originally brought the Elder here!  The Elder is a very beneficial plant for bringing healing to the ecology of our space, and it also is a useful plant for us humans!  These two aspects are essential to Indigenous Agricultural practices.  Our Ancestors were master agriculturalists, master gardeners, and as we strive to "follow in the footsteps of the Ancestors" we realize that since we are not living in the same place and time that they did, those footsteps, while upholding the principles of the Ancestors, are, and will continue to be, unique to the here and now!

The Red Headed Woodpecker (INRIRI)

This year is the first time we have ever seen the Red Headed Woodpecker here!  We always watch for birds that are unusual, taking note of when they arrive, how long they stay or if they come and make themselves at home.  

Inriri (woodpecker) is a sacred and significant bird to Taino.  This particular species of Inriri is unusual in that it catches many insects in mid air in an amazing diving style flight, and while it does tap on trees, it does more of its hunting in the air.  It also sometimes stores live insects in crevices in the trees, such as grasshoppers!   In addition to all this, the Red Headed Woodpecker is a stunning bird with its full read head and black and white body, it is an eye catching woodpecker.  

This Red Headed Woodpecker has decided to take up residence here, and from the first sighting a month or two ago, he has been around consistently for the first time ever!  This also indicates to us that we are having success in introducing diversity and health back to the space we are caretaking.  This is, for us, a sign that a healthier eco-system is developing here.

Tobacco and Sage

Ceremonial moments call us to bring forth the principles and attributes within ourselves that we are seeking to manifest in our lives.  When we create offerings for the Ancestors and Misterios which are to call forth or pull abundance and thriving into our lives, we are more successful if we mirror that which we are looking for within the approach we take with the offerings.  To put it simply, if we are looking for abundance and thriving and health and balance in our lives, we need to give the Ancestors and Misterios offerings which reflect this using the resources and blessings which we have already received from the Ancestors.

With this principle in mind, it is vital for us here to offer the Ancestors Tobacco and Sage which we ourselves have grown here on this Sacred Soil where we live.  When we are starting out with little resources, maybe all we have is simple Nsunga/ Tobacco or branch of sage to offer, but as we engage the cycle of blessings with the Spirit, we are given more, and now have the resources to offer more!  This creates the cycle of Abundance that can continue to build.   This also represents a creative and intelligent use of the blessings of the Ancestors!

All the photos here show the Tobacco and Sage that we still have from a bumper harvest of Tobacco and Sage that we had back in 2010.  This harvest was so huge that we have used it non stop for 3 years, and this use has been very abundant.  When we burn sage, we burn the equivalent of 2-5 regular size sticks of sage for one day of Ceremony!  We have no need to ration our Tobacco and Sage offerings to the Spirits.  This itself is a blessing that has come from the Ancestral Blessing of the Space to grow the Tobacco and the abundant crops that came from that space.  

To see the posts about the sage and tobacco harvests from 2010, click on the links below:


Sage Harvest 2010


Tobacco Harvest 2010

Here you see the loose Tobacco (above) and the Tobacco bundles (below).  Ideally of course we would not have to store them in plastic but that is what we have available at this time.  There is always room for progression and improvement, and so we are planning in the near future to create some wooden boxes for storing the tobacco and sage.

In the plastic bag below is tobacco seeds in seed pods.  There are literally tens of thousands of seeds just pictured here!

Finally sage is in the basket below.  All this is very important and is an essential ingredient in our Taino Resurgence!  This practice of growing those things that we need for our everyday and ceremonial practices is absolutely what our Ancestors did!!!

Listening to the Voices of the Ancestors!

 

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 basic principles regarding Ceremony, that have strong roots within the divine power of common sense!  The Ancestors of the Past were naturally and whole heartedly rooted within these principles within their entire life, they did not have a huge disconnected gulf between their Ceremonial life and so called "regular" life, the two intertwined seamlessly as One!  However, today, the vast majority, who are crippled and blinded by the rat race, suffer a profound uprootedness which creates a massive separation between Ceremonial and "regular" life, and which undermines and depletes the vitality from both!  

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?"