tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38218833913796764072024-03-05T00:20:42.916-08:00Caribbean Spirituality and Understanding in the Diasporatukuendahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01180192135323861481noreply@blogger.comBlogger113125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3821883391379676407.post-53569905925962756182021-02-19T09:23:00.000-08:002021-02-19T09:23:39.923-08:00Initiation into Afro- Caribbean and Taino traditions<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFICSbmR6SL_5StkMny2-3v0SU8iIZ6Wy_mSD-waDiaE8kEx9MXzSVkaA0FcGT8NfKw94xwEjg7q8y_-9EsiyJXRSBCw42jnOpmnqCZqBNy0Px-V6BdRVC5rPiYPGhLD1EXU8irDaAsTW8/s3872/DSC08197.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2592" data-original-width="3872" height="429" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFICSbmR6SL_5StkMny2-3v0SU8iIZ6Wy_mSD-waDiaE8kEx9MXzSVkaA0FcGT8NfKw94xwEjg7q8y_-9EsiyJXRSBCw42jnOpmnqCZqBNy0Px-V6BdRVC5rPiYPGhLD1EXU8irDaAsTW8/w640-h429/DSC08197.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><b>Initiation into Afro- Caribbean and Taino traditions</b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">When Ni Bon Te Ban was first presented to Palo Nkisi (Fundamento) back in 1988, access to our Spiritual traditions was through word of mouth, extended family, neighbors and so on. It was clear that if one found oneself in front of Fundamento, one clearly had a destiny within, if not Palo, then within one of our sister traditions within the Caribbean. While this did limit who could find their way to Fundamento or Zemis (Taino Nkisi), it did simplify the process of finding an elder. For good or bad, your elder was your elder, and you could not just go out and "shop" for a new one. We reflect back on this process, because today our traditions and specifically INITIATIONS are marketed heavily on social media, radically changing the process of finding an elder. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">When Guariche Kao first sat with Ni Bon Te Ban for a divination in May, 2000, he asked her "who brought you here?" She replied with the usual response, pointing to the person who had told her about Ni. "No!" Ni replied. "Spirit brought you here, your Ancestors brought you here!" At the time the internet was in its infancy and very few books were readily available concerning Palo, and only few concerning Taino. The idea of shopping for an elder had not yet manifested. There was a clear understanding that DESTINY had brought one to the mat. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Destiny brought Ni to Tata Justino back in 1988. Destiny brought him to the elder (who we will just call JV at this time) who initiated him back in 1995 into a Briyumba line of Palo. Justino was a Tata of integrity, love and great wisdom, who sadly (for us) returned to our Ancestors soon after Ni met him. Meanwhile destiny brought Ni to a crossroads with the newly emerging Taino resurgence in 1989 in NYC with<i> L'Association Indigena Taino </i>(which later split into <i>La Nacion Taino de las Antilles </i>and <i>Maisiti Yucayeke Taino)</i>.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">In sharp contrast, Tata JV was petty, vicious, and completely lacking integrity. In today's environment, Tata JV would have been thrown to the side and another elder sought out. However the 90s were a lifetime away from where we stand now. Now we can all fact check or get a second, third or fourth opinion on social media, back then, we had to figure it out ourselves. The spiritual battle that Ni had with JV was an epic one, which perhaps one day we will share in its own book. Looking back, we cannot deny it was destiny for us to fight that spiritual battle to its conclusion. It contributed greatly to making us who we are today. As per the Lucumi proverb "Your enemy will do you evil, your enemy will do you good", this irony, or apparent contradiction, is woven deeply through many aspects of life. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdfuZVT78i0WP_0wv-rWBENhd6C1HI2gWsguTw-B8E6bdhC-66hW1uuqN4itNsUD180rCpCX83AkbcpjFu3WGILGLTyA-nuokW3lcHr_eImL1JRb9YKrIksbhq5ZE3tdcWtlmjIyhMYm0o/s1600/DSC01028.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1071" data-original-width="1600" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdfuZVT78i0WP_0wv-rWBENhd6C1HI2gWsguTw-B8E6bdhC-66hW1uuqN4itNsUD180rCpCX83AkbcpjFu3WGILGLTyA-nuokW3lcHr_eImL1JRb9YKrIksbhq5ZE3tdcWtlmjIyhMYm0o/w640-h428/DSC01028.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">A strange trait of destiny, is that when one comes upon those crossroads, nodes of destiny, there can be an overwhelming desire to run away from them. After all, physical death, is destiny, one that we find incredibly hard to prepare for and deal with and which we would rather avoid. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Many people are initiated into Afro-Caribbean traditions, especially now with the resurgence of interest and increasing social acceptability of our traditions. It is even "trendy" to be initiated these days. These initiations which are being marketed on social media, range from being legitimate initiations with responsible elders, to being diluted initiations, to being down right fake. It can be very difficult determine one from the other with all the dust in the air. Those with an experienced eye can easily tell the difference, but for those who have little experience, it is not so easy.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Let us assume that one does receive a legitimate initiation into one of our traditions. This does not insure that one has an elder of integrity. One's elder may pass to the Ancestral World, as Tata Justino did. Or one's elder may be using the Fundamento to manipulate, confuse and entrap, as Tata JV has done. This does not mean that receiving the Initiation was in error. If one receives a legitimate initiation into one of our traditions, it was a destiny that emanated from the Ancestral realms, and should be valued as such. The spiritual battle that sometimes comes along with it should also be valued as destiny. </span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGBMDgKaBbKoH3YXXhUdg2mUNAkAR3eCTe3-UrgPy34vjkxg53RtLGZG6vrbthtdOpMGC8TwrSyRmcF3-JTOD5QBmAwEXb65Z2qkMfPXylWVHvj_8v0hrI8LbcmFWJNiEX-SFdbVxREN2S/s2048/PC100202.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGBMDgKaBbKoH3YXXhUdg2mUNAkAR3eCTe3-UrgPy34vjkxg53RtLGZG6vrbthtdOpMGC8TwrSyRmcF3-JTOD5QBmAwEXb65Z2qkMfPXylWVHvj_8v0hrI8LbcmFWJNiEX-SFdbVxREN2S/w640-h480/PC100202.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">When we knock on that door, we have no ability to foresee where that fateful decision will lead us. If we run away from what that door opens to, then either we ran away from our destiny or perhaps it was not our destiny to begin with and we should not have knocked on the door in the first place. Life is a Mystery and the human experience is cloaked far more in obscurity than illumination. As limited as our ability to see visible light on the entire spectrum of light, is our limitation inside of the human experience. Initiation opens the doors of our Vittiti, our spiritual vision. We can then choose to develop Vittiti, or to sink deeper into denial. </span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Initiation is a rebirth, and just as a baby takes time to develop her ability to discern shapes and colors and understand what they are, the initiate takes time to be able to make sense of the new entities that they are sensing. Initiation is not a winning lottery ticket, it is not a guarantee of success, it is not an ego trip or an item on our resume. Initiation is an opportunity to express our best and highest and to embody our true selves.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>tukuendahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01180192135323861481noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3821883391379676407.post-87138491414450554782021-02-19T07:53:00.001-08:002021-02-19T07:58:41.192-08:00Unlocking the Spiritual Power of Plants- Book to be published 2021<p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL-uWhpomyOI1NwdSFkRnYZlaUj_7aUFHKjV1sndCiRMyFNC-B8QqVim_w_RLnlPDHBKN4ebqITQrhBHOmuV5NiO771pPxc0fX1Dsng1eTwn4SjCBZFsznZ027sYtAd9GiLmq4SgQRJMg/s1600/IMG_6838.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL-uWhpomyOI1NwdSFkRnYZlaUj_7aUFHKjV1sndCiRMyFNC-B8QqVim_w_RLnlPDHBKN4ebqITQrhBHOmuV5NiO771pPxc0fX1Dsng1eTwn4SjCBZFsznZ027sYtAd9GiLmq4SgQRJMg/w640-h426/IMG_6838.JPG" width="640" /></a> </p><p style="text-align: left;"><b style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large; text-align: center;"><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span>Unlocking the Spiritual Power of the Plants</b></p><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><b><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span>Our upcoming book</b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><b> 2021</b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Our book, long in the writing, is taking its final shape, and we anticipate publishing it this year. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">The book is an in depth look into the spiritual powers of plants, understanding some of the most commonly used plants within our traditions, as well as a guide to unlocking the spiritual power of plants found in our "new" surroundings in the diaspora. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">We write from our perspective as Palo Kongo Taino, honoring our dual roots of Kongo and Taino (not negating European). We have combined 45 years of experience as initiated Paleros and elders of our Munanso. Spanning the Kalunga line, this book is both a dedication to our Ancestral Tree and to our Future Generations in the widest sense of the word "our" to also embrace "your".</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">The book also contains recipes for spiritual baths, incenses or smudges, Chamba, Wine, and more. We also discuss Nkisis or Zemi carved from plants.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br />We thank you for your patience.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEFKiiKQsGAt8s1KeTvJln3wBu6zae_0whdCxQE782aJlfCAKWjIj5Q8LdftrMp06IZINXV85kS2WXiTdCs3lCKIp5OwfY9QJzcfiAd9qpdixn8ko5wcSKLjfZcsjSjRZn65MIReDowt4/s640/IMG_3305.jpg" style="font-family: Times; font-size: medium; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="427" data-original-width="640" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEFKiiKQsGAt8s1KeTvJln3wBu6zae_0whdCxQE782aJlfCAKWjIj5Q8LdftrMp06IZINXV85kS2WXiTdCs3lCKIp5OwfY9QJzcfiAd9qpdixn8ko5wcSKLjfZcsjSjRZn65MIReDowt4/w640-h428/IMG_3305.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div><p><br /></p><div><br /></div>tukuendahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01180192135323861481noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3821883391379676407.post-89107207328850972362019-12-06T17:53:00.001-08:002019-12-06T17:53:21.869-08:00DIA DE LOS BAKULU 2019 (in the absence of Denial!)<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><i><span style="font-size: x-large;">Dia de los Bakulu (Dia de los Muertos)</span></i></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1uE5iJH8-oLyJ7qxhkGdMOUObfpin6Bn7-5tPWpsS_AxPSAZkiH7b6EL-IbNrUw_pNV2b2UoYottGK1_MOB3FN1j8vRsdkDISxG31CUxXiW223-4zBEZLBv5510tDXY3w7mrn6jjxm8gS/s1600/IMG_0353.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1uE5iJH8-oLyJ7qxhkGdMOUObfpin6Bn7-5tPWpsS_AxPSAZkiH7b6EL-IbNrUw_pNV2b2UoYottGK1_MOB3FN1j8vRsdkDISxG31CUxXiW223-4zBEZLBv5510tDXY3w7mrn6jjxm8gS/s640/IMG_0353.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">A Bakulu is an Ancestor who was able to achieve the state of expertise within the destiny of their Spirit. They were able to truly fulfill their rite of passage (tratado), which is life, holding onto their principles and expressing their "best and highest". A Bakulu is a very sacred Ancestor, one who embodies the greatest Wisdom and Love. When we have the great blessing to know a future Bakulu, while they were still walking upon this Earth, their transition to the World of the Ancestors is both devastating and full of phenomenon. The devastation is perhaps more of a function of the ignorance and fear that modern "society" has towards "death" in general.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">On this Day of the Bakulu, we take a moment to reflect on this ignorance and fear that causes our many peoples to consent to the incarceration of the sacred bodies of their loved ones in concrete, filled with poisonous embalming fluid. We take a moment to make an invocation for all those Spirits, who, upon leaving their human experience, find their former bodies treated with such disregard by a system that sees those bodies as a final payout, a final profit, from that person's life. We also take a moment to reflect that our Taino Ancestors kept their loved one's remains within their Bohios (homes) hanging in a gourd from the ceiling or buried beneath the floor. Perhaps the devastation arises more from the memories of our Spirits, who remember how closely we held our Ancestors, who cry out in pain, seeing our loved one's bodies in a warehouse of corpses, lined up in rows, stacked up one on top of the other.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Is it possible to "celebrate" the "Day of the Dead" when we allow strangers to bathe our loved ones for the last time? To dress them for their final journey out of this physical world? When we consent to the draining of the blood from the body and that sacred substance discarded as "medical waste"? </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">While Day of the Dead is a wonderful moment to acknowledge and honor the ancestors, does our responsibility end here? Have we ourselves considered, in a clear, honest way, our own inevitable transition to the World of the Ancestors? How will we choose to make that transition? In denial? Leaving the hard decisions to our distraught and devastated family and loved ones? </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguh2Uvynt3gUJkXc_TRbdugxSa2nV6-pr9J7tApinvVHSV5fAnH82uzXkqDkzL2AG5N1KqTWgIgB7Brbw-DinHXdYUFKGamaGonz3SKwphjzVi2F_P8jPMgkdBHJBU2ZRtosmOvaUC4X3S/s1600/IMG_0360.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguh2Uvynt3gUJkXc_TRbdugxSa2nV6-pr9J7tApinvVHSV5fAnH82uzXkqDkzL2AG5N1KqTWgIgB7Brbw-DinHXdYUFKGamaGonz3SKwphjzVi2F_P8jPMgkdBHJBU2ZRtosmOvaUC4X3S/s640/IMG_0360.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Over the years we have written extensively concerning the Day of the Dead and included many photos of the offerings that we give to the Sacred Ancestors, known and unknown. This year demands a different conversation, an honest assessment of how we, as Taino, as Paleros, as Spirits having a Human Experience, are allowing our loved ones, and ultimately ourselves, to make that momentous transition into the World of the Ancestors. Are we <u>empowering</u> or <u>disempowering</u> our loved ones within that most significant ceremony of Life/Death?</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0qCxgxcYGtYjC8fzKT3SxHoFep7-rzzn5far-NrLL-hEn5MTznlY6KILZm7-Q-fyOdEzaNefA_8xE2T473GjPux2gD2Z7q8u3ji_bGXImRg2NOKxkaFlcMx0tMNJeHP-bsIJqThmU7Lcb/s1600/IMG_3471.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0qCxgxcYGtYjC8fzKT3SxHoFep7-rzzn5far-NrLL-hEn5MTznlY6KILZm7-Q-fyOdEzaNefA_8xE2T473GjPux2gD2Z7q8u3ji_bGXImRg2NOKxkaFlcMx0tMNJeHP-bsIJqThmU7Lcb/s640/IMG_3471.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><i>A Bakulu will be able to manifest their continued influence within the Physical Realm- Here a double Rainbow</i></b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLe1Wjez9Lf8dKWYh0kaOMbGEqSkKwipt2Dnptg15zxRe9hl0YxadUInI_8M_qEyoWyUcrnImY0nGvHVeyMy24K7edsxzYV36L6SjQkl-dvsjlaMG4l1XLIQn3qqt0KMItqGAEM1KgNPwm/s1600/IMG_3517.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLe1Wjez9Lf8dKWYh0kaOMbGEqSkKwipt2Dnptg15zxRe9hl0YxadUInI_8M_qEyoWyUcrnImY0nGvHVeyMy24K7edsxzYV36L6SjQkl-dvsjlaMG4l1XLIQn3qqt0KMItqGAEM1KgNPwm/s640/IMG_3517.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><i>Here Eagles....</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><u>A couple resources for Home Funerals:</u></b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">www.crossings.net (home funeral resource)</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">www.homefuneralalliance.org (national home funeral alliance)</span>tukuendahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01180192135323861481noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3821883391379676407.post-62626148620596835492019-07-28T15:52:00.001-07:002019-07-28T15:52:23.563-07:00Walk in Nfinda 2019<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/GfD8eqiZU1w" width="480"></iframe><br /><br />
A walk through the Nfinda, where we discus tratado!<br /><br />
<br />tukuendahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01180192135323861481noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3821883391379676407.post-29031616173910209382019-07-27T18:06:00.003-07:002019-07-27T18:06:59.153-07:00Conuco 2019 Part 3<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/yjzxR80Sdrg" width="480"></iframe><br /><br />
The 3rd and final part of our Conuco/ Botanica walk.tukuendahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01180192135323861481noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3821883391379676407.post-72904708474497122312019-07-27T15:08:00.001-07:002019-07-27T15:08:22.083-07:00Conuco 2019 Part 2<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/HDpfz9eFDFM" width="480"></iframe><br /><br />
Part 2- Our Conucos, our Botanica!tukuendahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01180192135323861481noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3821883391379676407.post-64547261740366885832019-07-27T11:58:00.001-07:002019-07-27T11:58:45.953-07:00Conuco 2019 Part 1<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/VNOMkVlCUAo" width="480"></iframe><br /><br />
We give an update on our Conucos, Bateys and Nfinda. Lots of medicinal plants, lots of fruit, lots of trees are in our BOTANICA!!!! This is part 1 of 3.tukuendahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01180192135323861481noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3821883391379676407.post-29986314055941284532018-11-06T11:56:00.002-08:002018-11-06T11:56:38.937-08:00Dia de los Muertos 2018<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXTnMBolB4TWV7JWnjgPKqYM9oW1WfWPFc7oIq6ERmFjYy9ADn5ziO4cyzbme0m2oSn2Pyaj5D_ZQfFDL9vD3WqQ2UQG1Qz8gs2qKpG9jo4-_bZDme4tG04XGkWsc_y7nMS5jE_H6g_-qp/s1600/IMG_1322.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXTnMBolB4TWV7JWnjgPKqYM9oW1WfWPFc7oIq6ERmFjYy9ADn5ziO4cyzbme0m2oSn2Pyaj5D_ZQfFDL9vD3WqQ2UQG1Qz8gs2qKpG9jo4-_bZDme4tG04XGkWsc_y7nMS5jE_H6g_-qp/s640/IMG_1322.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) accompanies a radical transformation, here in the temperate regions, when summer transforms to winter. The leaves which have absorbed so much sunlight during the summer, now turn every shade of yellow, orange, red, and brown and fall to the earth to nourish the soil. The tree trunks left reflect the palos within the fundamento, showing us how the Earth is one great big Fundamento with every palo imaginable within her. This year we chose to make our Day of the Dead offerings in a new Batey that we are building for our son, Hatuey. The tree in the center is his tree, planted when he was one years old, over his placenta. The stones of the Batey itself are from an older Batey that was in the forest. Everything changes and shifts, and shape shifts in life.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The cemis, Opiel Guabiran and Guatauba Maquetaurie, are present, representing the Taino ancestors. Various batons and palos are present representing ancestors, as well as various other elements of the ancestors. The petroglyphs visible are all Taino petroglyphs. While we are honoring "Day" of the Dead, in reality everyday for us is the "day of the dead". As Nganguleros, Taino, we see the Dead as being instrumental, essential and present in every day movements.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Our offering consists of all the vital elements, cooked and raw, that can be absorbed by the ancestors. The aromas are of particular importance in this process. Cooking the food allows the aromas to be carried upon the winds in all directions, calling the ancestors to approach. Essential elements such as the sweet guayaba for the muertos is present year to year. The sacred root of the Taino, Yuca, is always present, here cooked with name, jautia. Bacalao and smoked fish from the oceans are present. Maiz tostada, grown from our conucos here, and a cacao cake with chili peppers are also part of the offerings. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxQPzRjPM6HUycZdpi3p6e1XDG_kFcFk80e5ypwv2PyvAZx5GDlG8766koHqZDF5F2ES0ytd3bOEck0M5NpH22HJL_dQsYA9HceY-7S7Qg8kzfjQpTxnl9vHgK4rsCZ51_-g4Oo9KKg94g/s1600/IMG_1339.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxQPzRjPM6HUycZdpi3p6e1XDG_kFcFk80e5ypwv2PyvAZx5GDlG8766koHqZDF5F2ES0ytd3bOEck0M5NpH22HJL_dQsYA9HceY-7S7Qg8kzfjQpTxnl9vHgK4rsCZ51_-g4Oo9KKg94g/s640/IMG_1339.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The offering is varied, as we are making offerings to ancestors from many traditions. We acknowledge the Indigenous ancestors of this region, the various ancestors whose bones are buried here. We honor our Taino ancestors, our African ancestors, all our ancestors, known and unknown. We honor those ancestors we knew in life, and those we never met.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqoPQFK5v5G5pFAWuB7HUxmlT5yartj92CbToR-btPEj1HkOeyw7pS98Ja5DGhu-u80QTrCl8FhBdwN_TKmefyifQaqa8OJHLW5iEVhIgvKaBdPBY0y0nEsPgVQ4uu8DnnEExeN8chFHEu/s1600/IMG_1356.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqoPQFK5v5G5pFAWuB7HUxmlT5yartj92CbToR-btPEj1HkOeyw7pS98Ja5DGhu-u80QTrCl8FhBdwN_TKmefyifQaqa8OJHLW5iEVhIgvKaBdPBY0y0nEsPgVQ4uu8DnnEExeN8chFHEu/s640/IMG_1356.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">From day to night, the energies shift, revealing faces that were not visible earlier during the day. It is important to us that the ceremony continue throughout the two faces of life (light and dark), the whole circle of life. The night blessed us with a clear sky of stars.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ_7t0ePkXhPrVO2i-E9S5KUmNaN0ZW0Rjc86OS-ZYxmUeHjNdWyMxUDIosY2b6XyGDFhhGLhmqnQip9OqPIA0SWcUGmklYb6TtAhlkwvbIpKB8w3rW_8MtVlMGPw2pSOqEGyjcwnix7Pj/s1600/IMG_1361.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ_7t0ePkXhPrVO2i-E9S5KUmNaN0ZW0Rjc86OS-ZYxmUeHjNdWyMxUDIosY2b6XyGDFhhGLhmqnQip9OqPIA0SWcUGmklYb6TtAhlkwvbIpKB8w3rW_8MtVlMGPw2pSOqEGyjcwnix7Pj/s640/IMG_1361.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">In this time of extreme Earth Changes, we continue to affirm the continuance of our spiritual traditions, teaching our children that their ancestors and cultural/ spiritual traditions are the most precious, sacred aspect of life. We bring out our Taino cemis, Opiel and Guatauba, to affirm the ancestors, to acknowledge the dead, to make the statement that we are the living, walking extension of our ancestors. We remind these semis of the stories of the Taino Casike Hatuey, the freedom fighter!</span><br />
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<br />tukuendahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01180192135323861481noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3821883391379676407.post-60999009774507141832018-11-06T10:00:00.000-08:002018-11-06T10:00:08.940-08:00Upcoming Book.....Unlocking the Spiritual Power of the Plants<div style="font-family: 'Arial Rounded MT Bold'; line-height: normal; text-align: center; text-indent: 36.1px;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Unlocking the Spiritual Power of the Plants</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"> Plants sacred to our Afro-Caribbean Traditions from a Palero’s Perspective</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyCp9n2MHT710I62LbW7Sgvs6JToEtEl1urk-RYTgECncDzujUISUNBYgvXg9QhVYEgqI9eqtvOsYeV1oqvdFAlzXZnUuoxPq5vRenriJYRr83pUjzadoF5WfxOy4-t1nhi0vYvB4PA9fA/s1600/IMG_0981.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="428" data-original-width="640" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyCp9n2MHT710I62LbW7Sgvs6JToEtEl1urk-RYTgECncDzujUISUNBYgvXg9QhVYEgqI9eqtvOsYeV1oqvdFAlzXZnUuoxPq5vRenriJYRr83pUjzadoF5WfxOy4-t1nhi0vYvB4PA9fA/s320/IMG_0981.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Over several years, we have been working on a in-depth book on using plants in Palo. The book looks not only at certain key plants that we use every day in the munanso, but also at plants that grow outside of the Caribbean which are powerful spiritual plants. In our munanso, we do not want to be reliant on botanicas for our plants, and have turned to the natural environment that we live in here in the diaspora for local options. The book includes history, cultural notes, plant energies, and uses in palo. We expect to be completing it in the new year (2019).</span>tukuendahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01180192135323861481noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3821883391379676407.post-62675092199634689712018-01-17T13:59:00.000-08:002018-01-17T13:59:17.770-08:00Growth of the Central Batey<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;">After years of depletion and non-Indigenous farming practices, the land that we first stepped onto was in great need of the vitality that our traditional practices bring to the Earth herself. These traditional practices not only involve the many ceremonial offerings given throughout the cycle of the year over many years, but they also include a transformation of the landscape. What was once a tired hayfield, is now becoming a biologically diverse healing space. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWY7kMhgiYbtO78BKNhSZiFnbvDL5dF9y5nH2y-3lesvGgPQd1Z8iDmWkESybk8DZZ96sBvpm2e6Net8piQ62wjw89jkbyuMmvxGMbHv8CWi6wbFl7Vd7FQigziZvf7F13gVOnwIbh2CTP/s1600/DSC05735.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1072" data-original-width="1600" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWY7kMhgiYbtO78BKNhSZiFnbvDL5dF9y5nH2y-3lesvGgPQd1Z8iDmWkESybk8DZZ96sBvpm2e6Net8piQ62wjw89jkbyuMmvxGMbHv8CWi6wbFl7Vd7FQigziZvf7F13gVOnwIbh2CTP/s320/DSC05735.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">The photo above and below shows the batey during the early days. The single maple tree in the foreground as well as the large boulder next to it and a number of the stones around the circumference of the batey were all brought from our prior ceremonial grounds. Many of these stones already had petroglyphs on them. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNqWe5gp3E5ohIhXbBTlpbAD4GsJnNZtUZylw7nijm_HHoknrTmECgGSW3PpXLxUkWd5KeASYhd9HDWtZaRqosnKVCtdLw7mpKnu4s2tDE4fqed2I5EhyRxrxx1iLja1SlfelMrA7CDYfi/s1600/DSC09899.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1072" data-original-width="1600" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNqWe5gp3E5ohIhXbBTlpbAD4GsJnNZtUZylw7nijm_HHoknrTmECgGSW3PpXLxUkWd5KeASYhd9HDWtZaRqosnKVCtdLw7mpKnu4s2tDE4fqed2I5EhyRxrxx1iLja1SlfelMrA7CDYfi/s320/DSC09899.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">As Tainos, as Paleros, we are always seeking spaces where sacred ceremony can take place and healing can occur. We look for where the Nsimbi call out from, where the spiritual energy is palpable, where trees embody the expressions of the Nsimbi, Cemis, and Muertos. While it is good to seek out healing from the Nsimbis, from Mother Earth, from the ancestors, it is also vital, especially at this point in time, that we also extend our hand in healing these spaces. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">When creating a ceremonial space, we do not always start with a pristine space. Very often we begin in a space that has been abused, has been depleted, or literally used as a dump. Our previous ceremonial space first began to be created by removing tons and tons of trash. This ceremonial space began as a tired hay field. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnCGSiA9EpT6GEYtRIUcmYXw-Bd_jfp9GUl74HqQUb3fE1cZs3_SzSZnSB-dQJaQ7IVlSwt9hu8Gp_EPtV0Jnx_4eDQyWVtuoZtOPiwhO9V5c1AwK0jgOuiKX43EE3V6b_mdIEiUSk2OQg/s1600/IMG_9275.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnCGSiA9EpT6GEYtRIUcmYXw-Bd_jfp9GUl74HqQUb3fE1cZs3_SzSZnSB-dQJaQ7IVlSwt9hu8Gp_EPtV0Jnx_4eDQyWVtuoZtOPiwhO9V5c1AwK0jgOuiKX43EE3V6b_mdIEiUSk2OQg/s320/IMG_9275.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">The photo above shows the same batey today. The large tree to the right next to the stone is the same ceremonial tree pictured in the first photo. The batey itself is now surrounded with trees who are growing at a tremendous rate. Trees are powerful healers of Mother Earth as they renew the soil, embrace a wide variety of life, and empower the water cycle through their shade. Many of these trees were planted by us, others simply sprung up in the soil around the batey, to which we had added compost. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Many of the Nfindas in which Paleros play are becoming overburdened with spiritual debris. As those who are seeking healing from healing spaces, it is a powerful step forward to also create those healing spaces by renewing the fertility and abundance of Mother Earth. As long as Mother Earth is being poisoned and abused, healing and health will be the exception rather than the norm that it should be. </span>tukuendahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01180192135323861481noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3821883391379676407.post-86374360762262855272017-08-13T06:33:00.001-07:002017-08-13T06:33:23.950-07:00Conuco Walk 2017 Part 4 of 4<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/lIZycRPQLxQ" width="480"></iframe><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The final segment in the Conuco walk 2017 looks at the forest and rain and pollinator gardens.</span>tukuendahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01180192135323861481noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3821883391379676407.post-6409027178260543572017-08-13T06:32:00.002-07:002017-08-13T06:32:32.291-07:00Conuco Walk 2017 Part 3 of 4<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="344" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/RwiETmct6Q8" width="459"></iframe><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Part 3 of 4 continues the Conuco walk.</span>tukuendahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01180192135323861481noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3821883391379676407.post-37845112959397356972017-08-13T06:31:00.000-07:002017-08-13T06:31:13.417-07:00Conuco Walk 2017 Part 2 of 4<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/bj3qKi_XF68" width="480"></iframe><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Part 2 of 4 continues to explore the Conucos and ceremonial spaces.</span>tukuendahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01180192135323861481noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3821883391379676407.post-38397433216750542292017-08-13T06:29:00.002-07:002017-08-13T06:29:47.614-07:00Conuco walk 2017 Part 1 of 4<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/2jSKsTBXD2M" width="480"></iframe><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">We take a walk around the ceremonial spaces and gardens, discussing working with Mother Earth, Ntoto, the Nfinda and the plants. We look at how the gardens and forest have evolved since last year and our actions to regenerate the fertility of the soil.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">This is part 1 of 4.</span>tukuendahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01180192135323861481noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3821883391379676407.post-51359814337787165682016-06-14T13:17:00.000-07:002016-06-14T13:17:02.439-07:00A walk through the Conucos: Evolving Ancestral Manifestation<span style="font-size: large;">The "Conuco" was sacred to our Taino Ancestors. It was the source of abundance, and home of the sacred Yuca plant, as well as the sacred Tobacco and many other plants. Our Ancestors cared for their Conucos very carefully, bringing in nutrients and organic mater in the form of Bat Guano and other sources of fertility. They understood that the World of the Dead feeds the World of the Living and we today see the truth to that principle multiply profoundly in the here and now. They understood that healthy plants start with healthy soil, soil that is vibrating with the life that is inside it. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">As time passed, the word "Conuco" came to be used all over the Caribbean and South America to mean small, diversified, family farm or garden. Conucos were a means of survival and thriving, and the spaces wherein the Ancient food crops could be protected and passed on generation to generation. The bloodsuckers of our lands brought in their monocultures, designed to maximize profit at the expense of Mother Earth and our Ancestors, as well as at the expense of our Ancestral ecosystems and the multitude of animals and plants. These monocultures continue today to accelerate the Earth Changes (Climate Change) that we are experiencing in devastating ways today. These monocultures are threatening the plants, the animals, birds, insects and precious soil micro-organisms and fungi. Without this healthy web of life, the human thread in it cannot survive, not spiritually, mentally or physically. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">We shared videos a year ago, showing our Conucos. Here we follow up a year later, showing the progression of those same Conucos. In healthy gardens, there is always shift and transformation. Year to year they shape shift. For us it is always amazing and constantly a source of wisdom to watch the gardens in their ever changing dance. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The first part begins looking out from one of the Munansos. We look at the various plants in the Munanso gardens and speak about the trees surrounding and in the Munansos. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Part 2 continues as we walk out and look at the long, snakelike raised bed Conucos that also function as swales, catching and absorbing water. These Conucos grow fruit, flowers, tomatoes, potatoes, strawberries, blueberries, elderberries, medicinal herbs, garlic, grain, corn, melons, tobacco, sage, sweet potato, peppers, artichoke, cotton, and hundreds of tree and shrub saplings. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Part 3 moves into the forest, where we discuss the care taking of forest. We then move into the north facing field which will be undergoing a process of transformation as we plant trees and shrubs to create forest pasture for our sheep and goats, allowing us to raise them in healthy, harmonious ways. Here we see our milking goat "Venus" who has allowed us to stop buying milk!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">In part 4 we move into our son's "magical forest and magical garden", which is a food forest, as well as an extensive garden designed to be a place of appreciation and exploration for the children (and adults), with lots of berries (raspberries, blueberries, gooseberries, currants, strawberries, elderberries), hardy kiwi, paw paw, hop vine, native flowers, roses, grasses, lilies, and many medicinal plants such as lemon balm, echinacea, skull cap, feverfew, lavender, osha, rue, and yarrow as well as self seeding parsnips, cilantro, mint, fennel, hibiscus, catmint. We look at our quail who are taking care of the guinea chicks. Finally we look at the Rain Garden, which has really expressed itself this year with its abundance of plants and some of the plants surrounding the house. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The diversity of the Conucos continues to increase as we continue to meet new plants and develop relationships with them. They become great friends and helpers in our lives, spiritually, physically. The children can explore and play, eat berries, taste herbs, and nourish their innate love for Mother Earth. We have a excellent source for the many plants we use spiritually, and we continue to be immersed in the greatest University of all time- Mother Earth herself! </span><br />
<br />tukuendahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01180192135323861481noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3821883391379676407.post-18305283279858243942016-01-13T09:16:00.000-08:002016-01-13T09:16:03.043-08:00Conuco Progression Over A Year's Cycle and a 7 Year Evolution<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Conucos are Living Entities! </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">What to some may look like a pile of "dirt" is actually an intricate web of the living and "the dead". Living components are of course the plant life, the fungi, microbes, worms, centipedes, slugs, snails, and many more, including the ground hog! Other components of the Conuco's life are the Deer, Sheep, Goats, and multiple other mammals and birds who eat off the Conuco and contribute their manure to the Conuco. The "dead" components are bone, blood, shell, stone, sand, gravel, silt, clay and any other non breathing or non photosynthesizing element. Some we have consciously added, others were added as part of the soil and trees that we contributed to the Concuco. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Here we look at a Conuco's progression over the time frame of a year. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The above photo shows the freshly formed conuco last Fall (2014). Top soil from below has been placed on top of branches and logs. We consciously created a relatively flat area because we knew that there would be a Batey formed here. Below is a photo from this past Fall (2015). It shows the upper conuco with the soil settled and the lower conuco with the settled soil and a border of stones (which will be discussed later in this article). The form of the Batey can be seen taking shape, and this was the space we used for the <a href="http://caribbeanspiritualityandunderstanding.blogspot.com/2015/11/day-of-dead.html" target="_blank">Day of the Dead 2015</a>. The Batey has an elaborate bilongo in it, and the conucos have their bilongos as well. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Reviewing once again the process of building the Conuco, we start with whatever dying, rotting trees we have. Below is the pile of logs that will form the lower Conuco. These logs are perfect due to the state of decay and their abundant fungi. (Without fungi wood would never decay to soil and we would be perched on top of a huge pile of sticks rather than fertile soil). Old cotton clothes are included as they will also decay to soil. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The next step is to cover the logs with soil. We use the topsoil from below this Conuco to cover it. Clumps of grass and other plants are in it which decay and further enrich the soil. This particular soil was very good because of the horse manure, as it had previously been a horse field. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">We had planted corn, sunflowers and peanuts on it last year, which were eaten by the deer, which assisted in stabilizing and nourishing the soil. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Last November we planted our garlic for our 2016 harvest and rye grain. The purpose of the rye grain is to stabilize and nourish the lower half of the Conuco, preventing erosion, decreasing evaporation and feeding the microbes. The purpose of the garlic is to eat. The garlic is not a plant that the deer like, although we do expect the deer to mow the rye at some point. Our garlic has been one of our most successful crops and has enable us to not buy any garlic for 7 years. We are selecting a hard neck, soft neck and elephant garlic over the years that will be perfectly suited to our ecology here.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The blue stones are not just the edge of the Batey. They are local stones that we acquired from a local construction project at least 8 years ago. We placed them on the edge of the Conuco for a number of reasons. They define the edge of the Conuco and Batey. They reduce erosion of the Conuco. They provide a seat when someone needs to sit down. They also are facing east where they absorb the early morning sun, warming up the soil more quickly than it would otherwise warm. This is especially good for winter and early spring crops that can benefit from that extra warmth. Each stone is a Spirit that also brings an important presence to the Batey and Conuco. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Above, by mid winter the garlic are pushing their green shoots through the straw mulch. They obviously love their Conuco home and have an almost 100% success rate. We also included some shallots and perennial onions. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Other Conucos were utilized to grow hundreds of bare root native shrubs and trees. We have 25-50 of each: Winterberry<i> Ilex verticillata</i>, Sweetbay Magnolia <i>Magnolia virginiana</i>, Virginia Sweetshrub <i>Calycanthus floridus</i>, White Pine <i>Pinus strobus</i>, Witchhazel <i>Hammamelis virginiana</i>, Southern Arrowwood <i>Viburnum dendatum</i>, Canadian Serviceberry <i>Amelanchier canadensis</i>, Black chokeberry <i>Photinia melancarpa</i>, Red Osier Dogwood <i>Cornus sericea, </i>Common Ninebark <i>Physocarpus opulifolius, </i>Red Bud <i>Cercis canadensis,</i> Siberian Crabapple <i>Malus baccata </i>(Not native to our area but has naturalized), Common Persimmon <i>Diospyros virginiana. </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The Conucos have worked well for the bareroot plants not only because the fertile loose soil (above) allows easy root growth but also because it is easy to remove the bare roots and transplant them. Each variety has a very different growth rate. The most vigorous are the Redbud trees (below) which must be transplanted after the first season. They are very beautiful trees with bright pink-lavender blooms later in spring and heart shaped leaves. They also "fix nitrogen," take nitrogen gas from the air and ground it in the soil thereby increasing soil fertility.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">We are using some of these many trees and shrubs to create a new hedgerow which will extend along a fence that separates our fenced in Conucos (deer proof Conucos!) from the driveway. The hedgerow will feed multiple birds, as well as the ducks, guinea hens and chickens who will eventually be allowed to clean up any fallen fruit or stray bugs below it. It will provide bee food, increasing the pollination rate of our Conuco crops. It will separate the vehicle exhaust from our growing area. It will be a windbreak to protect the Conucos. It will also provide beauty, increase biodiversity and provide wildlife habitat. The Sweetbay Magnolia is evergreen and has beautiful, fragrant white summer flowers. These trees and shrubs will also provide spiritual baths!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">While the hedgerow looks insignificant now, within a year or two it will become apparent and in about 5 years it will be unrecognizable! Based on our experience, it is amazing how quickly bareroot trees grow. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Looking back to the original Conucos that we formed here, we can see the evolution that has taken place. This evolution has been a direct effect of the multiple Ceremonies and the multiple offerings to Mother Earth. Vital inside of this evolution has been our willingness to take Action and listen carefully to the Spirit. It has been through the sacrifice of sweat and effort and many, many hours of labor and observation. We have learned equally from those things that grew wonderfully, exceeding our expectations, and those things that shattered our expectations! Weeds turned into allies, and the plants themselves spoke to us about the importance of selection and choice. </span></div>
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<a href="http://tukuenda.blogspot.com/2011/01/conucos.html" target="_blank">The original Concuos.</a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">There is a Bantu proverb as brought forth by the late great Dr. Fu-Kiau Bunseki:</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><i>"Wampana nsengo, kunkambi kwe ngatu bwe isadila yo ko"</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">He translates this to mean: "If you give me a hoe don't tell me where or how I should use it. Don't stifle my field of activities and my normal development by pretended assistance."</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">(Fu-Kiau, K. K. Bunseki. <i>African Cosmology of the Bantu-Kongo: Principles of Life & Living</i><u>,</u> New York, Athelia Henrietta Press, 2001. p. 103.)</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">We began forming smaller rounded Conucos, and utilizing Mexican river stones to energize them, giving them offerings and so on. As time passed, following the voice of the Misterios, these Conucos evolved to long, snake like Conucos which we placed "on contour" to harvest rainwater, to increase our water table, and stabilize our water spring further down the hill. Within our Ceremonies, we continually invoked to the Spirits that we needed solutions for Earth Changes, that we wanted to enrich and vitalize our relationship with Mother Earth. We invoked that our roles of care taking this land here would be enhanced, strengthened and vitalized. We consciously connected our Ceremonies with the global crisis of Earth Changes in particular, and the multiple historical crises of our people, as well as the global crisis of injustice. The essence of Ceremony is progression. Progression must be palpable- something that manifests in a physical way, that reflects evolution of the Community- both Human and our wider Life Community! </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">There is so much taboo and also fantasy present in too many of today's so called ceremonies. On the one hand a rigidity towards, and hoarding and manipulation of, traditional wisdom. On the other hand, there is fantastical inventos created for emotional stimulation rather than spiritual progression. The quote above is a beautiful teaching that allows the Ancestral creation of a "Hoe" to dance with an individual. The "Hoe" is a magical Ancestral tool that revolutionized the lives of entire peoples and birthed cereal agricultural. It is a quote that acknowledges the sacred relationship of a person to their Spirit and to their Spiritual inheritance. We need to remember that "hoes" were placed in the graves with Bantu people because of their importance! Here we consecrate our hoes because of their Ancestral importance specifically in the Kongo Traditions! We had a hoe present at our "Day of the Dead" because of its importance. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">A ceremonially consecrated Hoe with a ceremonially empowered Conuco and a Tata or Yayi Nkisi are the ingredients that will surely lead to spiritual progression!</span></div>
tukuendahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01180192135323861481noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3821883391379676407.post-10893377801533198892015-11-03T14:21:00.000-08:002015-11-03T14:21:01.211-08:00Poison Ivy<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Poison Ivy is a very important plant to us here as it surrounds our Munanso. It is a hairy vine containing irritating substances in every part of it- root, vine, leaf, berry, which cause in many people a very itchy rash. It is not a plant to underestimate! We are fortunate to have lots of poison ivy as we consider it a blessing rather than a nuisance or something to be removed. As can be seen below, in the fall it turns extraordinary colors and is dangerously beautiful! Some people have extreme allergic reactions to poison ivy, others really are not affected by it. We find it a useful plant within our Munanso. Enjoy the photos below.</span></div>
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<br />tukuendahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01180192135323861481noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3821883391379676407.post-64176496227131854172015-11-02T17:30:00.000-08:002015-11-02T17:30:03.426-08:00Day Of The DEAD!<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><i>DIA DE LOS MUERTOS</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Signs and symbols of decay and death are all around us at this pivotal time of the year, here in the temperate regions. Trees drop their leaves, plants die back to their roots, seeds are scattering and plants are drying up, either shifting into their dormancy phase or completely dying, only to return through one of their seeds sprouting next spring. The intense shades of green are slowly shifting through a rainbow of colors to the various shades of brown that surround us in the depth of winter. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">It is a natural time of year to honor the Ancestors. Not only do the natural signs remind us of the reality of cyclical death, but also the harvest culminates at this time in the form of those plants that will store through the winter and provide for us during the cold and apparently barren months. As the life force of the plants around us recede to their roots, the internal life force of the living is more easily perceived, and the Ancestors step closer to be honored and for profound communication.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Every year our Ancestral Honoring ceremony, which occurs variously any time between the very end of October and beginning of November, is very different. Sometimes it is inside one of our Munansos or Bohios, sometimes it is outside. Sometimes it is under a tree, sometimes it is in a wide open Batey. Here we share images from our Day of the Dead</span><span style="font-size: large;"> / Ancestral Honoring Ceremony this year (2015).</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Preparations for the Day of the Dead begin weeks in advance, as the space is cleared. The very process of cleaning and preparing the space is a vital part of the Ceremony, and brings blessings and teachings. We begin here with a Batey that is between two of our Conucos. The conucos are both covered with various weeds, including magical plants such as Datura, Poke weed, Amaranth and grasses. Cleaning the Conuco allows us to look at what the plants are telling us about the condition and fertility level of the soil of the Conuco, guiding us to important decisions about how to care for the Conuco over the winter, and what to plant in them next spring. We pull up deep tap roots from the Poke Weed and the extensive gripping root system of the Datura. The upper Conuco also hides potatoes within it and further along, many perennial flowers. Before any action is taken in the clearing process, various herbs and resins are burnt, pulling the Ancestral spirits and Natural spirits closer, alerting them that we are preparing space for ceremony. A staff is placed in the Earth, along with medicine, machete and hoes are also placed centrally, as the cleaning of the space is ritual and not mundane in nature. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">With the machete all the large plants are cut to the root, and then using the hoes the roots are removed from the Conucos, symbolically removing debris, clearing away the old, recycling the dying, drying plants. It is a large Batey and this process takes days. The burning of resins and herbs continues. The plants that are cut down represent the sacrifice that removes obstacles, that clears pathways, that opens roads. Our sweat is also the sacrifice as it falls to the Earth, it is the testament of the Actions that lead to progression and positive growth. It is uplifting to see the space cleared and feel the spiritual energy building. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">As the space is cleared, the Ancestral focal points is cleared and built. This year it is in front of an Elderberry shrub, a very important plant for us here. Where the Ancestral offerings will be placed is a Cemis under the Earth, or in other words a Bilongo under the Earth. The details are not shared here. It is a space that has been spiritually worked already. As we clear it, the energy quickly builds, becoming palpable. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The hoes and other tools that we use to clear the Conucos have been spiritually consecrated, since these are tools that we use for our Sacred Conucos. Our Taino Ancestors used the Koa (Digging Stick). Although we have a digging stick present (it can be seen with a gourd on it, we are very grateful to also have metal hoes, machetes, files to sharpen them, as the work involved in clearing the space is intense.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Slowly various Ancestral Staffs, and Nkisi and Cemi are brought to the Ancestral Focal Point and placed firmly in the Earth. The burning of resins and herbs continues, especially tobacco and sage that we have grown.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The preparation of the space continues over weeks, and all the staffs, Nkisi, Cemis are given fresh adornment using not only cottons and raffia but also decorations from the many plants growing all around.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">In front of Guatauba Maquetaurie (Lord of the Dead), the many food offerings are placed. These include many things grown here, such as the corn, gourds, grapes, peppers, as well as apples, various drinks, and more. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">There is a total of nine staffs representing the many Ancestors, known and unknown. We always acknowledge all those Ancestors who lived on this land before us, including Indigenous, African and European. We acknowledge those Ancestors in the Cemetery right on our driveway. We remember our neighbor who passed a couple years ago. The Ancestral Honoring Ceremony is about ALL the Ancestors, not just direct biological ancestors. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Among the offerings is Elderberry wine that we made from last years harvest of Elderberries. We are very grateful to be able to give the Ancestors wine that we made from the land here. Also present is rum which has been soaking with the jalapeño peppers that we have grown. Of course coffee, cigars, candles and water is also offered. The corn from the Conuco is a rainbow that we are also so happy to be able to offer the Ancestors. We include a bouquet of flowers picked from the gardens, including horsetail, rattlesnake master, aconite, agastache and lavender and of course echinacea.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">This year our daughter baked a chocolate cake to be presented. It was spiced with cayenne pepper and cinnamon and adorned with cayenne peppers that we grew this year and dried. She was delighted to be given this important responsibility.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Central to our yearly Ancestral offering is the traditional roasted pig head presented with various root vegetables (yucca, jautia, batata, name) and green bananas topped with bacalao and red onion and saturated with olive oil. Many cigars are placed all over the food for the many Ancestors who are attracted to our offering. All the cigars have been brought by those whom the Munanso has helped.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Honey is also an important element of attraction that we include in this offering. Two cigars from the jungle, brought by a Yayi of the Munanso in gratitude, are placed with honey for communication. The aromas of the hot food, tobacco and sage and sweet grass (all grown here) and the many resins, fill the air as we each make invocations to the Ancestors. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The various images of the Ancestral Staffs, Cemis and Nkisi evoke the many and various expressions of the Ancestors. Every year it is different, yet every year we are blessed with the abundance.</span><br />
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<br />tukuendahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01180192135323861481noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3821883391379676407.post-85573925674873901082015-10-14T07:26:00.002-07:002015-11-14T05:34:18.792-08:00Nkisi Hut!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />tukuendahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01180192135323861481noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3821883391379676407.post-26313043831668706712015-10-12T07:06:00.002-07:002015-10-12T07:06:30.162-07:00Just Looking Around!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />tukuendahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01180192135323861481noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3821883391379676407.post-10777321562404810942015-10-12T07:01:00.002-07:002015-10-12T07:01:29.338-07:00They Love The Dead Oak Behind The House!!!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />tukuendahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01180192135323861481noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3821883391379676407.post-52653132559413677452015-10-12T06:49:00.002-07:002015-10-12T14:40:59.511-07:00Aconite Spirit Again-This Munanso Loves Aconite!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />tukuendahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01180192135323861481noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3821883391379676407.post-52559146320062906852015-09-06T13:28:00.001-07:002015-09-06T16:10:56.913-07:00The Yayi's World -By the Yayi Nkisi of the Muanso<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: large;">Over the years I have heard more than one Yayi complain to me about Palo Mayombe Tradition being 'patriarchal' and centered more on the Tata's role than the Yayi's role. From my own experience, while I understand the complaint, I could not disagree more, when it comes to the Munanso here. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">We always have to take into account, not only the impact of colonialism and slavery on the growth of theTradition, but also the structure of (white) male supremacy that we are compelled to live with. However, at their root and in their heart, our various Earth Centered Traditions are deeply rooted in the Mother, and her role of giving, and taking life. This is not to say that there is both a lot of male centered rhetoric concerning the role of Yayi out there, and <i>perhaps</i> a domination of the internet by Tatas rather than Yayis. At every turn in my trail, my Camino within Palo Mayombe, I have been strengthened and encouraged as a Yayi to take active and indeed leading roles within the Munanso. For those Tatas that insist on Yayis having nonsignificant roles in the Munanso, my guess is that they are fundamentally threatened by the powers of the Yayi because they are infected by the mental incarceration of white male supremacy. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Before I became a Mother, I was a Yayi, and both of those Initiations and Tratados strengthened the other. As a Mother, giving birth, I realized that the process of giving birth is a process of walking to the world of the Dead and bringing Life from the Dead into this world. Giving birth is a moment of standing on the Kalunga line, much like those moments in the Munanso when we draw the patipemba (firma) on the Earth and invoke the Dead to this Living Moment. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">There are many out there who complain about animal sacrifice, most of whom are also carnivores and have no problem eating inhumanely raised battery farmed chickens, hogs and cows, which are slaughtered in the most vicious and heartless of manners. It is never easy or gratifying to take a life, even when it is to sustain ones own, however it is the way of this world. It takes more responsibility, more consciousness and requires more humility to take the life of an animal that you raised yourself than leave the "dirty work" to some one else. It is only in this modern day that such a large portion of the Human Family have become so disconnected from the life that sustains them. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Here, we are going to go on a journey into a specific process that we recently did in order to address some intense spiritual energies, and to fortify, vitalize and strengthen the Nkisi and Ancestors of my Munanso. The 4 chickens that we used were 4 older chickens from our hen house. These chickens had been with us for years, arriving as day old chicks. Besides being entertainment for the family, they ate kitchen scraps and laid eggs for our table to be enjoyed by ourselves, our friends and relatives. In fact our youngest child's first solid food was egg yolk from these chickens. This year we got more chicks, and so the decision was to cull these older birds (which is typical). They are far to tough to roast (for our spoilt modern tastes) but would make good stock, however, we are Paleros and have another use, which to us is a very honorable way to "cull" the chickens. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">These chickens were specifically used for the Nkisi of my Munanso, for the Nguenges. When working with my Nkisi, I do everything, other than use the Mbele. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The aspect that I want to share here, is the gutting and cooking of these chickens. Inside the chicken I found not just mature eggs, but lines of eggs getting smaller and smaller, numbering in the hundreds. It was an awe inspiring sight and for those with Vititti, numerous spirit faces and figures can be seen.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Here the mature egg is covered in a sack, much like a placenta.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Behind the mature egg, eggs yet to be born line up getting smaller and smaller and paler as they go back. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The mature egg was removed to be given directly to the Nguenges (witches) in their tree with a particular message.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Here you can see the numerous immature eggs, almost like a reverse Ancestral Tree, stretching back or forward in time....</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The organ meats are cooked in the iron pot, and those immature eggs are included. The energy in them is potent, and can clearly be felt. Here you can see the line up of the eggs from mature getting smaller and smaller. These powerful embodiments of fertility will bring great energy to the Nkisi and Ancestors. They also remind us of the Sacredness of Life, and the importance not to make sacrifice in vain, the importance of taking responsibility for ones actions.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Here the organ meats, feet and eggs are all ready, each holding vital energies that are essential for the continuation of life. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Corn from our Conuco is added, along with palm oil and the food is ready to be cooked.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Three mature eggs (just like eggs you could buy from a farmers market or store) are ready for their journey to the Nguenges Tree.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Chickens and Organs are cooked on the open grill, and I take some moments and burn some sage and tobacco to acknowledge the sacrifice of the Trees that provide the wood and the many small insects that call this wood "home". </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The aroma of the chickens cooked in palm oil fills the air, combined with the aroma of the tree wood and fire. When the food is ready it is taken to my Munanso to be presented to the Nkisi.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">This resident spider hangs from the rafter above the Nkisis.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Inside my Munanso, the chickens, along with Coffee, Melafo, Nsunga, and Champagne are offered to the Nkisi. The various herbs around the Nkisi are very important in the Munanso, and much of the time, herbs hang from the rafters to be used for various purposes. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Another closer view of the chickens. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I take the guts along with the three mature eggs, carrying the message to an amazing tree we are blessed to live with. This is the tree of the Nguenges and many important offerings are brought to her. She is half alive, half dead, and her entrance is a powerful view into a subterranean world where the vibration of the Dead can clearly be felt. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The tree is an inspiring sight, a giant within the Nfinda, magical forest, overlooking a sacred spring, surrounded by the herb "touch me not" (jewel weed).</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Fertility is everything to life, for without it nothing grows. Even the most powerful seed cannot express itself without the rich moist earth providing it with fertility. No endeavor can come to fruition without the creative energies of fertility, and of course no Ancestor can incarnate into this world without fertility. Without fertility we cannot grow food.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Fertility is being ripped from this Sacred Earth as trees are cut, soils are eroding, and the sacred water cycles are interrupted and distorted. Quiet as it is kept, many conflicts around the world are caused by loss of the Earth's fertility, and are solved by restoring the Earth's fertility. The Yayi holds a critical role in the world of the Palero because she is the embodiment of the energies of fertility. She is the embodiment of the energies of the water cycle. These powers bring life and they take life. Having a healthy relationship to these powers is essential within any Tradition which is focused on a sustained and harmonious existence. For Paleros, Water, Soil, Air, Fire, are not "things", these are living entities, powers, Mpungus, which extend their reach in this world and into the world of the Ancestors. </span>tukuendahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01180192135323861481noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3821883391379676407.post-58398058733336213222015-09-05T16:52:00.000-07:002015-09-05T16:52:14.986-07:00A simple Munanso Moment<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/AQ5aiPvReUM" width="480"></iframe><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Here we show a glimpse of one of our techniques to refreshen the Nkisis after some heavy work. We utilize plants from our Conucos, and burn some of the Tobacco that we have grown to uplift and vitalize the Spirits.</span>tukuendahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01180192135323861481noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3821883391379676407.post-37828896262194428642015-08-30T07:12:00.001-07:002015-08-30T07:12:44.152-07:00Pungent, attractive, repulsive! Garlic!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: large;">Pungent, attractive, repulsive, garlic has an ability to to penetrate wether invited or not. We have found garlic to be one of our most easy going friends in the Conucos. Contrary to most vegetables, garlic is planted in the fall, endures the harsh winter with ease, and is harvested in the heat of summer. We have not purchased garlic from the market in years, as a little sweat and attention on our part gives us more than enough garlic to use in the kitchen, in medicinal preparations, and for spiritual purposes. The beauty of growing our own garlic is that we replant part of our harvest for next year's garlic. We replant the best of our harvest, and so every year our garlic improves and becomes more in harmony with the soil, microorganisms, fungi and climate in our unique location. In this way our garlic becomes more and more suited to our environment here! </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The main two events in the garlic year are planting (anytime from October to December) and harvesting (early July). We plant 3 varieties, hard neck, soft neck, and elephant. Each have their strengths. In the next few years we will be giving each variety their own names as they will have become selected specifically for our location here. Every year we choose the best to replant. The best being based on how well they store, the size of the garlic, and disease resistance. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">After harvest the garlic is hung to dry in our loft and later roots are trimmed off them. They must be handled gently as any bruising will destroy their ability to store.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Once garlic is dry we take it down and store it in a relatively cool and dark place (not too cool or it will sprout (40-55 degrees F)). </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Some of the added benefits of growing our own garlic is that we have access to parts that are usually thrown away such as garlic scapes (garlic flowers), and the discarded garlic roots, which we patiently wait for all year, which then takes up its magical place in our Munanso. </span></div>
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<br />tukuendahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01180192135323861481noreply@blogger.com0