Dia de los Muertos 2018

 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.

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.

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.  

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.

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.

 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!

WATER IS LIFE!

Water is the Spirit that allows Life to flow in the forms and rhythms that we know it in this Physical-Spiritual Reality!  This is a reality that Indigenous Peoples throughout the globe have always understood, and known, without a shadow of a doubt.  Of course our lives are lived in the incredible and beautiful balance of Water, Fire, Earth and Air, to simplify the elements of life.  We experience relative heat, cold, dry and wet in our lives.  All life upon the Earth requires the balance of these elements, some adapting to more cold, more heat, more moist or more dry conditions.  A wondrous array of spirits manifest in the desert adapting to its harsh heat and arid conditions, a similarly wondrous array of spirits manifest in the jungles, and in the temperate forests, and in the arctic tundras!  However all this exists within a delicate balance inside of a small window of temperature and within the amazing and spiritual water cycle that blesses the Earth.

Life evolved from the water environments upon the Earth and our personal journey to come into this experience is through the waters of our Mother's Womb!  Our Taino Ancestors (along with the multitude of Indigenous Ancestors of the Earth) understood the Sacredness of the Waters.  The World of the Dead's entry is understood to be through bodies of water such as Lakes and Lagoons.  Our practices involve many ceremonies with the waters.  Our Ancestors of the Caribbean, in particular had intense relationships with the Sea around them (Caribbean Sea) as the Sea was as vital as the land, and they were able to find great sustenance in the Ocean.  In particular the Taino fishing practices continued very much intact into modern times, as I have memories of fishing with relatives using Taino methods, including using lanterns at night to attract the fish, nets, and harpoons.  At that time the Ocean was still full of abundance.  This changed due to the industrialization of the islands, which has devastated the fish.

Indigenous understanding does NOT reduce Spirits, Cemis or Mpungos to "things".  We understand that all natural elements and forms have Spirit!  Not only do all the plants, animals and stones have Spirit, but there are even greater spiritual entities upon whom these spirits (including ourselves) rely.  These are spirits of the Waters, of the Sun, of the Storm, of the Fire, of the Air and so on.  Our Ancestors (and we continue today) had names for all these Spirits and did not feel the need to rank them, belittle them or dilute them.  Of course based on the immediate environment of the People one Spirit might take precedence.  For example in the Caribbean the Spirit of the Hurricane is very powerful, whereas in a place that does not get hurricanes this would not be so.  Again for people dwelling right next to the Ocean, the Ocean becomes principle, whereas mountain Tainos would have more intense relationships with the Mountains, Rivers and Waterfalls.  All this is common sense.

It is hard for those whose mind has become calcified within the modern rigidity and arrogance of classifying and ranking, dissecting and reducing everything to a periodic table of elements and the number of electrons, neutrons and protons everything has.   Unfortunately this stunted way of thinking has impacted our communities, with ongoing devastating results.  Sadly those who are awakening inside of their Indigenous Identity today have to turn to the internet because of lack of connection to the Earth and Elders. Here they have a great deal of ignorance and misinformation to overcome in their search for the tools to embrace that Identity. 

Our Taino people in particular have a lot of obstacles to overcome with regards our Indigenous Identity, but more particularly, our Indigenous Practices.  There are those misguided folks out there who are so insecure in their identity that they attempt to build an identity by shear might.  Professing to authorities on everything Taino, in truth the know little about anything. Meaning, rather than truly following and seeking out the Spirits, they invent so called ceremonies that are a mishmash of other Indigenous People's traditions and christianity with a large dose of pop psychology mixed in.   To truly embrace our identity we must strive to reconnect with our Ancestor's mindset regarding the Earth, the World!  Modern psychological ideas are not necessarily relevant in a traditional Indigenous world view.  

In our current moment in time, suffering as we are the culmination of 500 and more years of colonization, oppression and the utter devastation of our Natural Environment, we must look honestly and with courage at the path ahead of us.  The cry around the Earth at this time is to protect our waters, which in turn protects our water cycle, our health, our existence!  The poisoning of the soils leaches into our waters, the poisoning of our air leaches into our waters.  This poisoning is being fueled by a thirst for energy via the thirst for fossil fuels that enables men to become "supermen" via the machinery that allows the illusion of domination of the earth by "supermen" to occur.  This poisoning is being manifested through FIRE, out of control FIRE, that consumes and consumes and is never satiated.  This manifests in our bodies in the form of disease, stress, anxiety, skin disorders, and more.  The fire element is out of control because of the attempt to use it to dominate the Earth, Air, and Waters.  

This out of control fire element gives rise to the highly aggressive and competitive behavior that marks every aspect of western society, and we Tainos are not just the victims of it but have in some cases become the victimizers.  This competitiveness is easily seen on the internet as one individual attempts to surpass the next in  what they frame as "Taino wisdom and knowledge" but what is in actuality made up fantasies, nothing more! 

It is essential at this point to give some examples as a way to illustrate the distance between modern self ascribed "ceremonies and traditions" and our Ancestral Traditions.  The first example is regarding ceremonies connected to Astronomical Occurrences.  We know that our Taino Bateys were oriented in particular with regards Summer and Winter Solstices.  For the gardener and horticulturalists it is very obvious as to why these moments are important within the cycle of the year as many plant's growth is dominated by day length as well as moisture and heat.  Our Ancestors (who did not have smartphones and computers) needed to know when the days would increase and decrease in length.  These moments also mark the cycle of the Sunrise- Sunset and the journey of the Sun along the horizon.  There were practical reasons this knowledge was important, and our Ancestors understood and honored the Spiritual intelligence behind and within these rhythms.  A solstice ceremony was not about pop psychology because you must understand that our Ancestors were living in a cleaner, healthier environment and were interrelating with that environment as a living entity.  They were mentally and psychologically balanced in ways that we cannot fathom today.  

Similarly ceremonies done with various animals were connected to the relationship of those animals to the people.  Those ceremonies could be hunting ceremonies, or migration ceremonies which were timed and in tune with the natural migrations of birds and fish, or timed with the best season for hunting any given animal.  These would be done in the appropriate environment and with the appropriate legitimate materials not caricatures.  These were also fueled by the practical needs of the people.  They were doing these ceremonies because they needed to eat! The Ceremony had a direct connection to its result which would be the abundance of "harvest"!  These were not theatrical events, or psychological encounters, they were practical, realistic and grounded ceremonies that had visible results!  

Today the reality of Earth Changes  (Climate Change) is upon us.  The Earth is overheated due to the out of control fires upon her.  This is manifesting as increased forest fires, increased drought, more highly energized storms, tornados, hurricanes and cyclones who dump more water in shorter amounts of time leading to flooding and the erosion of soil, damaging of crops, destruction of homes and so on.  As the Fire element continues to be abused, the Earth responds with greater extremes in the water cycle.  All present data and future predictions as to the changes that climate change is bringing point to dramatic and devastating changes in our water cycle.  

It is our heartfelt recommendation to our Taino people that we focus on what is real and inevitable rather than on fantasies, ego trips, and psychological insecurities.  The greatest insecurity we face is our food, water and air, because too much fire has been burning.  Some of the most important ceremonies we must be doing are the water ceremonies and those ceremonies cannot exclude the personal relationship we have with water in our lives!  I encourage my Sisters and Brothers and all Relatives to seek out the Waters, give them offerings, cleanse yourself in the waters and ask the Spirit of the Waters to bring you to your senses and to bring true solutions to the critical challenges that lie ahead and that are already upon us all!

Caribbean Spirituality in the Snow

As Paleros and Tainos who come from islands that enjoy warm weather year around, and whose traditions come from lands of warm climates, our traditions have arisen in these climates, from the natural Mpungos of these lands.  Now there are so many of us scattered around the diaspora and many of us find ourselves in areas where ice and snow surround us for months of the year.  One of the beauties and realities of our Traditions are their adaptability, and certainly in the diaspora we are forced to adapt, not because of a foreign culture or society but because the natural Mpungos of where we live require that we adapt and that we interrelate in a honest and realistic way with them.

The truth is that the Nkisis, Fundamentos, Bilongos, Cemis all adapt much more easily than we do.  We spend time thinking about when the warm weather is going to return and how much time we have before the cold weather is going to arrive again.  As we travel through these photos of our Munanso in the snow storm that visited us over the past couple days, we are going to reflect on some of the differences or different perspectives that we are challenged with in the Diaspora.  

In the Caribbean life Decays into Death very quickly, just like it does here in the summer.  If an animal dies here in the summer, within a couple days it is almost totally putrified (just as in the Caribbean), a fruit that falls from the tree immediately rots and many insects and creepy crawlers come to have a feast.  In the winter all this putrefaction occurs under the earth.  We take advantage of this to enhance our Conuco's fertility by working with the purtrefaction within the soil.  Above the soil all the deciduous trees drop their leaves and under the snow these leaves quickly decay.  The trees and shrubs energies all sink to the roots and we can also take advantage of this to harvest more powerful roots at this time of year.  As Paleros who thrive on the roots and palos that we can harvest, the cycle of winter, then becomes very important to us and our Ancestral Trees.  The winter here opens up a window inside of our Traditional Practices that take us into another dimension of those practices.

From our perspective rigidly taking Traditional practices that evolved within the Caribbean and blindly superimposing them upon our environment in the Diaspora is failing to appreciate and find the wisdom within those very Traditional Practices.  Our Traditional Practices embodied adaptability and resilience and the ability to form Tratado with the Misterios and Phenomenon that our Ancestors bravely encountered.  

Palo itself holds Tratado with many, many Taino plants and animals (and bones...).  If the Africans who came to the Caribbean had been unable to do this, then we would not have Palo today, there would only be christianity and the conquerors would have destroyed the Essence of our Souls.  The photo below is a powerful vision of a Taino Cemis (Guata-uba Maquetaurie) with his head covered with snow.  This vision of this Cemis would never be seen in the Caribbean, but here the natural Mpungos of this area, including the Mpungos or Cemis of the Weather Patterns are giving us a glimpse of an aspect of Guata-uba that we would not be able to see in the Caribbean.

Although our statements here may be considered controversial by some, from our perspective being in the Diaspora adds further depth and expansion to our Traditional Caribbean Practices.  This is not a dilution or weakening of the Traditions, or an "Inventos".  What is a fantastical mistake is to think you can take a Tradition that arose in the Tropics and apply it blindly to a Temperate Region with no respect for or sensitivity to the Natural Mpungos of that region.  That is a disrespect not only of the Mpungos but also of the many Indigenous Ancestors of this area.

We understand the importance of forming a Tratado with the Land upon which we come to be in the Diaspora because we want no conflict with the rightful (Ancestral) caretakers of this land.  It was the european who bullied their way into everyone else's land and then imposed their rigid doctrines, customs, and religions upon us. We are traditional people with sensitivity and spiritual maturity who would never bring that type of arrogance to the lands we walk on.  It is vital to wholeheartedly engage a process of embracing of the Spirits of the land where we live.  

We are aware that we are "the Dead" coming to speak to "the Living" of the Land upon which we are walking.  The Living are those Mpungos who continue to be here long before our Birth and long after our Death.  We know that we can never erase the Ancestors whose bones are here, they are the Elders of this world!  

We understand that the Palero who remains rigid, will never escape from the illusion of "purity" that does not exist inside of a Tradition that arose from the conditions out of which Palo arose.  This notion of "purity" is misplaced and becomes the torments of the mind that never lead to any conclusions.  

The "purity" is in the Mpungo!  "Purity" must be redefined, not from a colonized perspective, but from a Traditional Understanding.  

 "Purity" is in the dynamic conversation between the Living and the Bakulu which enables the Living to make those adaptations that will ensure thriving and abundance.

"Purity" as "Pure Palo" is about taking all the garbage out of your ears, eyes, and mind, and putting the attention and focus on healthy progression and not on petty battles.  On focusing on the wisdom of the Bakulu and the wisdom that the Natural World, the Mpungos of Life, are constantly and vividly showing us!  

The Bakulu is focused and extremely concerned with the Earth Changes that we are undergoing and the critical condition that ALL LIFE upon Earth is facing.  The Bakulu is not obsessed with petty differences and who is playing Palo "more pure"!

The Snow brings a magical energy to the Ceremonial Land and Munanso, and reveals tracks, of birds, animals and two-leggeds.  It forces us to stop in our tracks and pause to take in the messages it brings.  We always make time to take a long walk around in the snow as it is a blessing that we truly appreciate right within our Caribbean Traditions!

Palos in Palo Mayombe

In our exploration of some of the misconceptions or myopic understandings that are promoted under the banner of "palo", we begin by looking at a fundamental "ingredient" within the Prenda, and the "ingredient" utilized to make spiritual batons and other objects of spiritual power:  The PALO!

A Palo is literally a "stick" which has been cut from a shrub or tree.  This stick embodies the Spirit of that shrub or tree, and also contains any medicinal, nutritive, or spiritual properties of the tree or shrub's bark and wood.  As Paleros, we first must understand the diversity of trees who live upon the Earth and the broader categories that they can fall into.  We are going to first look at the regenerative power of some trees, and then the decay process, and finally the making of a Baton de Muerto.

REGENERATION

With many trees, once the Palo is cut from the tree, the Palo cannot regenerate into another tree, however with some trees the Palo can become another tree, it sends new roots out and then leaves and before long a new tree is present with us.  Some trees also regenerate from any section of root left in the earth.  Many shrubs also have this ability.  In this case, when a Palo is cut, the Palo has the capacity to come to life once again as a tree.  

In the three photos below we see a Black Locust tree that regenerated from some locust root pieces left in the Earth.  This was the second time they had regenerated.  The first time they regenerated was discussed in a prior post titled "Espanta Muerto- Local Options!"  

As Paleros, it is obviously of great significance to us whether the Palo we hold in our hands is regenerative as this will have implications as to our use of it.  In this case it is a mistake to consider the Palo to be "dead".  When we fail to look beyond the name of a Palo and its narrowly prescribed ritual use, we miss out on the greater understanding that is possible when we observe the Tree the Palo is coming from in its natural cycle upon the Earth.

Another wonderful regenerative tree is the willow.  Any willow tree will root and grow into a tree.  The tree below is a cork screw willow that was grown from a palo that we placed in water in early spring.  It grew roots, leaves and as can be seen it has become a growing tree.  We can take any of its branches and again root them and grow them into trees.  We absolutely cannot consider these regenerative Palo's to be "dead".  

  

Next we can explore a phenomenon that occurs with many trees where the upper portion of the tree or shrub dies or is cut off and the tree looks dead, however after a time new growth comes forth since the root is not dead.   This shrub in the photo below appeared to be dead for many years due to the shock of transplanting.  However now, 4-5 years later it is finally regenerating.  Obviously this has spiritual implications.  Again we reiterate that it is vital that we observe the trees and shrubs in "nature"!

Then we had a wind storm which blew most of the dead part of the shrub down giving the new growth more space.  However the part we consider "dead" is not really lifeless as we will see next:

THE PROCESS OF DECAY:

Once a tree dies or a branch falls off the tree, it begins a process of decay.  The process of decay turns the tree from the familiar trunk and branch to soil which contributes to the vital layer of humus that covers our Mother Earth (Ntoto) and enables us to live upon this earth.  It is this layer of humus that allows the seed to be nourished and to become a tree.

The decay process occurs through the activity of fungi and micro-organisms that are not visible to the eye.  During this process we also see larger organisms who are taking advantage of the decay process to thrive themselves.  The tree literally turns to powder or dust.  The photos below show the decay of the tree and how it is turning to soil.  These photos are from some trees that have been stacked in a pile for about 6 years.  What you cannot see in these photos is the tiny micro-organisms that are turning the tree into dust.  We can see some white splotches especially in the third photo- that is the mycelium, which is the FUNGI which is essential in the decay process.

Along with the tiny organisms, there are very visible "bugs" of all different appearances and sizes.  These particular trees were filled with these large beetles who were eating and making tunnels under the bark.  

The tree that had appeared to be "dead" turned out to be teeming with life, as the life of the tree is being transmuted into the life of fungi, microorganisms and insects, and whose "end product", humus will contribute to the fertility of the soil and enable other trees and shrubs to grow!  

Here we can see that just below the bark, rich dark soil is forming. This is a soil that does contain great power, not only the spiritual power that the Brujo can direct, but also the power to nourish life.

If we are tracking the Spirit of the tree, we have to question our assumptions concerning a "dead tree".  We cannot assume that the Spirit of the tree is not present in the soil that the tree becomes. 

Below is a Palo which has be cut from its roots, it could be called "dead" however the white mycelium covering it tells us that it is filled with life!  We do our Ancestors an injustice when we, as Paleros, fail to observe life and death in the world around us.  The vast majority of our Ancestors were intimately connected to the world of life and death that surged all around them as they were people who worked directly with the Earth.

THE MAKING OF A BATON DE MUERTO:

By making a Baton de Muerto we are slowing the natural process of the tree's decay.  The decay is still occurring just at a much slower pace, so that we can utilize the Spirit of the Palo for our Spiritual Purposes.  Below we share aspects of a process of creating a Baton de Muerto.

We begin with a PALO, in this case it is from a cherry tree which grows in our land.  This tree grows with the blessing of several Mpungo; the Sun (fire, warmth), the Air (wind), the Waters (rain, ocean, river), and the Earth (soil and minerals).  Its form and properties are directed by the Spirit within it, represented through out its "body" (roots, trunk, leaves, flowers, fruit) through its DNA which directs its growth and expression.  Its texture, aroma, height, density, flowering, fruiting, shape of leaves, branches and root, and its potential to regenerate, are all expressions of its innate Spirit.  When the Palo is cut from the tree, it retains its shape, texture, medicinal properties, aroma and so on, and these all indicate the Spirit that is present.  When we look at the Palo, we need to also "see" the fire of the Sun, the storms bringing the rains, the seasons, the cool and warm winds, all the things that enabled the Spirit of the tree to express itself in its physical body.  We also need to see the Ancestors of that tree, the tree that dropped a fruit that germinated and became that tree.  We need to see the community of trees that it belongs to, all the other cherry trees that are growing and also embodying that Spirit.  

First the Palo is carved with hand tools, which are both wooden and metal.  It is given the blessing of the Mpungo represented by the metal, and also represented by the Ancestral wisdom that gave birth to carving tools.  The Spirit and Ancestors of the brujo who is envisioning the carvings and the individual who is actually carving the Baton are also present.

In this process the Ceremonial Fire is essential.  Just as the fire of the Sun is essential in the tree's Life, so is the fire essential in the tree's Rebirth into its Spiritual Role within the Munanso.  

Many ingredients are utilized in this process, pulling energy from many sources, plant, mineral, life and death.  The ashes of the fire represent death.  The Ceremonial Fire itself is burning additional trees, plus the fungi, micro-organisms and insects that are in the wood.

The ingredients are pulverized in the mortar, which contains its own Spirit.  Ingredients are mixed in jicaras which again represent another Spirit, plus the Ancestral wisdom that brought their use forward to the present time.

Various plants are added to the Ceremonial Paste that is being created.

Additionally different elements are added and waters from a variety of different sources.  

At another point  a concoction is made from black walnuts, from trees that grow within the boundaries of  the Munanso.  This creates a strong brown dye (which is why we use gloves to handle it), this dye has its own distinct aroma.  

Plants are pulverized into a paste.  The wide variety of Spiritual energies that are being utilized in the creating of the Baton all enhance the natural Spirit that is already present in the Palo itself.

A Ceremonial paste is created with the many ingredients. This is a potent mixture which will empower the Baton.

The Ceremonial paste is rubbed all over the Baton with the Nkisi of the Munanso, the Sacred Fire, and the Mpungos of the Sun, Air and Earth as witnesses.

Below you can see the transformation that the Ceremonial paste brings to the Baton.  The expression significantly changes.

This Ceremonial paste can be handled without gloves as there is nothing dangerous or toxic in it, however the black walnut will stain skin for a couple weeks, so gloves were worn.

At a certain point the Baton was able to stand on its own, unsupported, outside one of the Munansos.

At the base of the Baton a small area is hollowed out for the Bilongo that will be put in.

The Ceremonial paste is rubbed into the Baton so that the Palo itself absorbs the Spiritual Energies.

The  Baton is Sprayed with Melafo and Nsunga.  Meanwhile the Ceremonial Fire continues to bring its blessings and power to the process.

During this process various insects fly onto the baton, some becoming absorbed into it.

This process is repeated several times.

More ingredients are then prepared for the Baton, these are very aromatic plants and flowers.

And, we note carefully any insects or animals that make themselves know.  Here a spider appears on a plant from the Spiritual Bath.

Plants from the Spiritual Bath are also pulverized in the mortar.

We also do not want to ignore what time of year the Baton is being created.  This Baton is being created in the summer, and all the trees are in full leaf.

Here the Baton stands by itself as various Nkisi and Cemis observe it.

The Baton receives its Spiritual Bath, again note its changing expression.

Finally walnuts are made into a dye that is brushed onto the Baton.  Again, this dye could be applied without gloves directly by hand, but the result would be stained hands.

The Spirit of the Baton comes more and more into focus as the process continues.   The Baton is placed at various different points in the Munanso.  Here it spends time with the Central Ceremonial Tree.

Here the Baton stands by a Living Tree within the Munanso right by the intersection of two pathways into the Munanso clearing.

The chivo patiently waits...

At night a ceremonial fire is made in one of the Bateys.  The Baton is placed within the Fire Circle and is empowered by the energies of the night.

We watch the fire closely to see the various Spirits that manifest within its smoke and flames.  The fire is telling us about the energies of the Baton and the Sprits that are present.

Right within the Fire's flames, Spirits manifest.  Let us consider that the flames and heat are the expression of the Sun's energy that had become embodied within the trees that became the logs that we used to make the fire- the same Sun that empowered the Palo to grow in the first place.

Again the expression of the Baton shifts....

The Baton is absorbing the Spirit of the Fire, the Energies of the night, the smoke of the fire, the heat of the fire.  Look closely at the flames to see the Spirit that is present.  It is a powerful Ceremonial moment.

The fire itself goes through its transformations, slowly becoming a mature fire, and showing the transformation of the logs from tree to ash.

Here the ash on the logs is reminiscent of the white mycelium that covers the decaying logs.  Both the natural decay process, and the natural process of decay through fire, are fascinating processes to observe.

This is a powerful night for the Baton to be empowered by the Sacred Fire as it is a Full Moon Night and it is a bright full moon because the sky is very clear.

Just as the Baton takes in the Lunar Energy and the Energy of the Night, it also takes in the full Rays of the Sun and the Energies of the Day.

In the day we look at the ashes of the fire, as they themselves tell us story and give us a divination concerning the Baton.

  In our Munanso we strive to always come to a greater appreciation and understanding for the Spiritual Energies and Ancestors that we are working with.  Within this process, observation is essential.  Every day we observe a new phenomenon in the land around us, and every season brings greater insight.  As Paleros we must never become complacent in our knowledge, but always seek to deepen it.  These are just some of our insights and thoughts on Palos in Palo Mayombe!