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!

Flower Spiritual Baths

 

In the late spring the wild roses begin to flower here.  The wild roses are very different than the cultivated roses that are grown in gardens.  These wild roses climb up the trees, flow over the shrubs and along the ground.  They have simple white and yellow flowers which have a powerful aroma!  

As those Paleros and Bohitus know who have worked with the wild climbing roses, these are powerful plant spirits that can be used in a diversity of ways!  In this article we are discussing their use in spiritual baths, however we have many other ways we use this wonderful plant.  

The wild roses have a lot of thorns and inevitably in the harvesting process, various insects are also added to the bath, adding to the bath's magic and potency.  

We are blessed to have well water, which means that there is no chlorine or other "treatment chemicals or residues" in the water.  The water is very mineral rich and these minerals also become a spiritual component of the baths.

After we leave the bath over night, the essential oils of the roses is extracted and rises to the top of the bath.  Below in the photo you can clearly see this essential oil.  It is extremely aromatic!

Since this bath has thorns we use a Beech Tree Palo to mix it and pound the roses to release their essences into the water.

The bath rests outside day and night within the energies of the Witch Doctor's garden.  

We also do a mixed flower bath using all the flowers that grow here.  As any gardener knows, the flowers that grow naturally in the garden have abundant spirit, compared to the chemically grown green house flowers that wind up on the supermarket shelf.  Not only are these market flowers toxic and make the people growing them sick, but they also are spiritless and depleted and represent the exploitation of Mother Earth.

Flowers are that part of the plant that ensures its reproduction, in other words, ensures its future generations.  The flowers developed aroma to entice insects to pollenate them.  Flowers naturally uplift energy, and attract blessings.  They are about progression and the processes that bring about the "fruits" of life.  It is the flower that later turns into the seed or fruit of the plant!  

In this bath we use any flower we see growing.  The first one here is the peony, which is a popular Chinese medicine plant, with great spiritual value.  The peony is intensely fragrant and always has Ants on it!  Ants are tireless workers who know the value of community and cooperation.  

Lilac are also extremely fragrant spring flowers that become a dominant scent within the bath.

Irises come in multiple colors, these grow all around our Ceremonial Grounds.

Phlox, another spring time beauty!

This is a spiritual bath that children appreciate participating in, both in the process of gathering the flowers and making the bath, making the invocations, and taking the bath!  It is never too soon for the children to learn the Medicine and the Magic!  This strengthens them so that they are not entrapped by fantasies!

We use a quartz crystal in this bath here to further pull the cosmic energies into the bath!

In these temperate zones, we have a number of months of the year where the only spiritual baths we can make are from our indoor tropical plants, or from tree roots and bark or evergreens, or from herbs that we have dried and stored.  When the season of growth arrives, we strive to make and take numerous spiritual baths from the abundance that grows here since we know that all too soon, the frost comes and we are looking at the world of the leafless palos.  This way we stay in harmony with the seasons!

Tree Flower Spiritual Baths

Typically when we think of flower baths, we visualize bouquets of perennial or annual flowers made into spiritual baths.  Perhaps we have these flowers growing in the garden, perhaps we go to the market for them.  However trees also have flowers, although they tend to come and go much more quickly than some of the longer flowering annuals and perennials.  Tree flowers are often a primary honey bee nectar source, and they vary from very small easily missed flowers to large showy and fragrant flowers.  

We find the tree flowers make powerful spiritual baths for many reasons.  Significantly they require that we are alert and attentive to the cycle of the year because they only appear for maybe a week or two, and can be easily overlooked.  For this reason they are timely within the cycle of the year and give us the "medicine" that is appropriate for the precise time and place we are living.  They cannot be bought from the market as they are overlooked as a bouquet addition and do not have the long lasting blooms preferred by florists.  They grow on tall, strong trees that sometimes are hundreds of years old, embodying the strength of the tree.  If we use blossoms from species that are native to the region we live in, we are strengthening the resonance of our Ancestral Tree with the particular place we are living, which is especially important in these times of major displacement of people away from their Ancestral Roots.  

We begin here with the Tulip Poplar Tree (Liriodendron tulipifera).  The Tulip Poplar flower is a major bee nectar source in our region.  The tree grows very big, and the flowers are gently fragrant.  The flowers, as can be seen in the photos, are green-yellow and orange and open wide like cups.  The Tulip Poplar tree grows well in the open field and in the forest.  The tree can grow up to 200 feet tall and live up to 300-400 years.  

Traditionally Indigenous People of this area used the Tulip Poplar to make Canoes (also known as "Canoe Wood").  Historically it was used for treating worms, jaundice, fever, bruises and swelling, as well as for inflammation and infection.  At the current time, it is not used medicinally (as far as we know).  

By using a ladder we harvested the leaves and blossoms of the tree.  In this case the tree leafs out and blossoms at the same time, unlike some of the earlier flowering trees, who flower first and then leaf out.  The flowers had many insects and bees on them, which we removed and then added water.

Many times it is appropriate to make complex spiritual baths with many ingredients.  This season with the tree flower baths, we wanted to keep the baths simple and have the flowers be the dominant ingredient to continue to study the spiritual properties of the trees.

The Black Locust Tree (Robinia pseudoacacia) is a member of the large Fabaceae family (Pea Family) and like other members of this family, this tree fixes nitrogen in the soil, increasing soil fertility.  For this reason it is a powerful "emergency medicine" for Mother Earth.  The Locust grows not only by seed but also by spreading under the ground, quickly stabilizing disturbed soils.  If the tree is cut down, its roots continue to thrive and it sends up many other new shoots all around.  The grove of Locust in the photo below appeared out of some small roots left from some locust we grew in a tree nursery.  Locust is an incredibly strong wood, lasting 50 years in the ground, long after most wood would rot away!  Locust is an excellent firewood and building wood with a beautiful yellow wood.  Significantly those locust trees who grow among the competition of the forest have stronger wood than those who grow in the field were little tree competition exists.

This particular locust grove has been a profound teacher for us, as it has revealed many secrets to us concerning the locust.  We have used these thorny trees for many things, including ceremonial purposes and also to feed our goats its highly nutritious leaves.  For those Tatas who like to talk about having the proper procedure to successfully enliven the spirit of the Palo they are harvesting, it will be of interest to understand something vital about this Black Locust.  The Black Locust can grow back from a rootlet, so even if the whole tree is dug out to use to make an Nkisi, if a root is left, then a whole new tree will arise.  This is a powerful regenerative quality held by the locust tree, but also by certain other trees.  It is important for those Paleros who are serious about working with the Plants and Palos to invest time and energy into seeing beyond the cut Palo to the Living Entity that it comes from!  

This particular grove is the one we are speaking about in a previous post:  (Espanta Muerto- Local Options).

The thorns on the Black Locust are sharp, short and prolific.  Historically Indigenous People used Locust to make bows due to its great strength.  Most parts of the tree are toxic, however the flowers are edible and we make a point to eat the flowers which have a sweet taste with a little bit of bitter pea flavor.

The flowers are extremely fragrant and heavily scent the air, especially if there are many Black Locust trees growing together.  We have many of these beautiful trees growing, and for the week they are blooming, they are one of the most attractive trees with their drooping clusters of white blossoms.  All to quickly the flowers fall off and the growth process of the seeds takes precedence.  

The Locust flowers in the Spiritual Bath are extremely intense, and while they are fragrant they are also strengthening.  Knowing that there is a difference between the field grown Locust and the forest grown Locust emphasizes that the Palero needs to know not just what Palo she or he is using, but what tree grew that Palo.  Was the tree in the forest, or in a field?  This question is vitally important when we are speaking about using a Palo from Black Locust as the very quality and durability of the Palo will be radically different depending on the answer to that question.  This is an example of the subtleties that we completely miss out on if we are forced to depend on others to harvest our Palos for us.

Black Locust flowers are some of our most anticipated tree flowers here, and again this tree (although it grows almost everywhere it is planted world wide) is native to our region, making it an extra special tree for us here!

Again we made a simple spiritual bath allowing the locust flowers to be dominant.  

For all these flower baths, we allow the bath to sit outside over night and through the day to absorb the energies of sun, moon and stars, the heat of the day, the coolness of night and any rain that happens to come.  We make our baths right in our garden on a little patio surrounded by the lush vegetation of our garden.

At the same time we took the spiritual bath, we also infused water with the locust flowers and drank the water, so we took this spiritual bath internally as well through the infused water.  We use the black locust flower infused water to unmask deceit within the dream time, and it often brings forth dreams which illuminate the hidden negativities of those who are posing as having genuine, friendly and benevolent intentions.  

Black locust flower infused water.

Finally here we have a privet hedge flower bath.  The privet (Ligustrum vulgare) hedge (photo above) is a popular garden shrub grown as a hedge between spaces.  We allow our privet to grow untrimmed and so it flowers naturally with its clusters of sweet smelling flowers.  This particular privet flower harvest had many many lightning bugs on it, some of which ended up in the bath, despite our efforts to remove them from the privet.  Privet itself is toxic, and is not native to our region, often considered an invasive weed. However it is a popular privacy hedge, and can be found all over from urban to suburban and rural areas due to its popularity as a hedge and also to its invasive tendencies.

The Ancestors indisputably had a much more profound relationship with Nature and the Mpungos that we do today for the simple reason that the Ancestors lived more intimately with the Natural World and without all the high tech distractions and conveniences we thrive on today.  The practices of Palo, and the practices of Taino tradition that we witness and engage today have become far more narrowed in scope than the Ancestral Roots they arose from through the damaging processes of slavery and colonialism.  For this reason we will continue to emphasize the importance of "returning" to these primary relationships (direct experience of the Natural forces, the Plants, the Mpungos, the forests, the River, and so on) as the way to bring more health, and profundity into our Traditions.