Taino Origins and Roots

Taino Origins

The Andean Culture of the Collas
From: "The Eagle and The Jaguar"
By Antonio Blasini



The precedence of the Taino culture is reaffirmed when we examine the following customs acquired from the Colla tribe. Any theory stating that the Taino is a descendant of the Arawaks is completely discarded with these findings, and other revelations.

1. When a child was born, the Tainos tied a wooden piece to the baby`s head to deform his skull. This ritual, inherited from the Incas, was also performed by the peoples of Tenochtitlan and Copan. The Arawaks never performed this ritual.

2. Ceremonial Burial: This ritual consisted of burying their dead in a fetal position, together with some of his possessions, which the deceased would carry into the better life. The Arawaks cremated their dead, and made a beverage from their ashes, which they drank.

3. The Tainos majestic agricultural and surveying skills inherited from the Collas, as fray Bartolome de las Casas quoted: "To see them working the land, is a wonder". The Arawaks never farmed their lands, even when the missionary priests tried to teach them, they hardly developed any farming skills at all.

4. The Taino ceremonial sport, The game of the Batey, was also part of the Taino rituals. Played in rectangular courts surrounded by monoliths, aligned with the solar equinoxes. The Arawaks had a lesser version of this game.

5. The handcrafting of stone, wood, bones, and shells, was never developed by the Arawaks, with such majesty as the Tainos did. For example: the Taino`s travelling canoes, 90 feet long, accommodating 150 people, crafted with "unsurpassed beauty", as Fray Bartolome de las Casas described.


6. Another example are the Taino percussion instruments, one of them called the Mayohuacan, sacred tambour. If we compare it with the Aztec`s drum, the Teponzatle, both have the same acoustic design. For both cultures, it meant "the voice of the gods".

7. The majestic ceremonial dance, the Areyto Taino, with it`s choreographies (dances), and *bleep*logephies (chants), had distinctive names which gave these tribal rituals a regional definition, like the "Areyto of the Magua", and the "Areyto Anacaona". The Arawaks never celebrated these rituals with such majestuosity.


8. There was a ceremony celebrated by the Colla tribe, where the single males dressed with the female dress, the nagua. In this ritual, they asked the moon for a wife. The Tainos also celebrated this ritual. It is to be noted that the Spaniards, when seeing an Indian dressed with nagua, thinking that they were homosexuals, released their pack of dogs and killed them.

9. The cohoba ritual, where the Tainos inhaled an hallucinogenic dust from the cohoba tree, was used to communicate with the gods. This ritual was also inherited from the ancient Andean tribes of the Collas. The Arawaks never performed this ritual.

10. The Taino wedding ceremonies, by tying a knot among their wedding clothes, symbolizing the myth of the marriage among the two moons of Venus (as the myth states), was also celebrated by the Andean tribes, not so with the Arawak people.

11. Finally, Juan C. Zamora`s linguistic research: Indigenisms of the Conquistadore`s Language, totally discards any Arawak influence in the Taino tribe. In this study, it was found that the Taino language was influenced by:

Words of Origin %

Nahuatl 41%
Taino 30%
Other 13%
Undetermined 4%



All these are just a few indications to convince us that the Taino was a direct descendant of the Collas and not the Arawaks (Tribe from the Amazon`s Orinoco River).

 

 

 

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Taino Roots

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Tainos are symbolically descended from a spiritual set of four male ancestors and a female spirit. Her name was TURTLE WOMAN and the four male forebears were led by a being called DEMINAN CARACARACOL, as told in our ancient legends (click this link to read the sixteenth and seventeeth verses of the Taino Chronicles, the story of Deminan Caracaracol)

Wherever you live on this Earth you have the responsibility to live up to the promise that the GREAT SPIRIT YAYA-GUATUREY meant for you to enbody. You must learn to respect and honor your body and your soul, to try to keep both of them as clean, pure and healthy as you can so that they may be fitting to stand before the sight of your ancestors, the HUPIAS.

Once you have learned to truly respect yourself you will be able to learn how to respect the rest of Creation and the Great Spirit. There are six fundamental sacred ceremonial connections that link you to your spiritual forebears and through them to the GREAT SPIRIT YAYA-GUATUREY:

 

 

 

 

 

These six elements of our culture are the most important links between you and the CEMIES (say-mees), the powerful spiritual entities that control our Universe. They are also the necessary connection between you and the HUPIAS (hoo-pih-ahs), the ancestors. This is the connection that allows you to access the wisdom of those who came before you and who now dwell in COA BAY (koah-bye) the sacred dwelling place of the departed ones. Making these connections with the Cemies and the Hupias is your first step to personal self-respect and spiritual purity.

 

RITUAL WATER
In an era when Europeans believed that excessive bathing was bad for one's health our ancient ancestors maintained a strict regimen of water purification which kept them pure physically and spiritually. Much in the same way that contemporary Amazon Rainforest natives still bathe regularly at a nearby stream first thing in the morning, our Taino ancestors had a complex of ritual bathing and water clensings that went far beyond simple physical hygene. You are called by your ancestors and by the spirits of the Taino Universe to go back to these sacred rituals, which if followed correctly will help re-align and balance your relationship with the forces of Nature and the spirits of your ancestors, the Hupias.

The first and most important step in maintaining a strong personal water purification ritual cycle is to establish a regular bathing or shower time each day which you can initiate with a brief ceremony and prayer. Before stepping into the shower or sitting in your bath water focus on the act that you are about to perform as a sacred thing, a thing that will bring you closer to the realm of the spirits. Make sure that before you start the ceremony you have found out the placement of the four directions in your region. Know in advance where the North South East and West are.
Then enter the water and use a cup or bowl to scoop up of catch a cup-full of water.

Lift the cup to the direction of the South first and focus briefly on the quality of Open Mindedness. Pray to ACHIANO (Ah-Chiah-Noh), the spirit of the South that it may endow you with that quality. Pour the water upon your body as if pouring the Open Mindedness over yourself and annointing yourself with that quality. Then scoop up a second cupfull of water and raise it briefly to the direction of the West. Focus on the quality of Inner Vision (the ability to look within your own self and understand what you see there). Pray to KOROMO (Koh-Roh-Moh), the spirit of the West that it may endow you with that quality. Pour the water over your body as if pouring the Inner Vision over yourself and annointing yourself with that quality.

Then scoop up a third cupfull of water and raise it briefly to the direction of the North. Focus on the quality of Wisdom and Experience. Pray to RAKUNO (Rah-Ku-Noh), the spirit of the North that it may endow you with that quality. Pour the water over your body as if pouring the Wisdom over yourself and annointing yourself with that quality. Finally scoop up a fourth and final cupfull of water and raise it briefly to the direction of the East. Focus on the quality of Illumination or Enlightenment (clarity of outward vision). Pray to SOBAIKO (Soh-Bye-Koh), the spirit of the East that it may endow you with that quality. Pour the water over your body as if pouring the Illumination over yourself and annointing yourself with that quality.

The ceremony is to be performed at the beginning of your day, no matter at what time of the day that may occur. A person who starts his or her workday at 8:00 A.M. can perform this ceremony at 6:30 A.M. before leaving for work. However a person who works night-shift and starts at 6:00 P.M. might find it appropriate to perform the ceremony at 4:00 P. M. after sleeping all day. You may enhance the symbolism of this ceremony by burning tabonuko incense (copal) in a large bivalve shell or a separate bowl on a low table next to the bath tub or shower and smudging the water-bowl you are to use in the ceremony before beginning.

It is also advisble, if you have the time before going to the bathroom for the water ritual, to burn some tabonuko in your bedroon or a special meditation room. Sit quietly in meditation, raise your hands to shoulder high with your palms facing foward, away from you, fingers curled in, and request that your ancestors cleanse you and purify you of your misdeeds, your wrong-doings. Follow that request with another request to the male fatherly spirit of LIFE, Yoka Hu (Yoh-Kah-Hooh), and the female motherly spirit of BIRTHING and NURTURING, Ata Bey(Ah-Tah-Bay). These are the two entities that united together make up YAYA-GUATUREY (the Great Spirit). Ask that this mother spirit and this father spirit may endow you with the strength and vitality to accomplish all that you need to accomplish that day. You may also ask for anything else that you feel you need from these supreme beings. You may also pray for other people that you feel need the prayers. Once you are done you can go to the bathroom and perform the ritual I described above.

Performing at least the basic water purification will guarantee that you start your day on the right foot and will give you the strength and confidence that you need to accomplish all that you must accomplish that day.

 

SACRED TOBACCO
One of the first things reported by the Spanish conquistadores when they made contact with the Taino Indians of the Caribbean in 1492 was the tradition of smoking tobacco, then unknown in Europe, Asia or Africa. Today we the leaders of the Caney, teach reverence and respect for the powerful and dangerous spirit of this sacred herb which still carries the name given it by the Taino thousands of years ago, "TABAKO". We teach that tobacco is to be respected. Like all sacred natural substances, this plant is imbued with a powerful spirit who has the capacity to endow the smoker with magical and even healing properties. However, tobacco is not to be trifled with. Tobacco does not tolerate disrespect.

The sacred tobacco spirit has suffered centuries of insult at the hands of commercial cigarette manufacturers and the smokers who support this sacrilegious industry. The tobacco spirit does not tolerate this indignity and has reacted in a terrible manner. Today millions of people on the Earth are hopelessly addicted to inappropriately used tobacco products. hundreds die every day of smoking-related illnesses. Cigarette smoking is by far one of the most health-destroying habits on this planet and in the meantime, cigarette manufacturers enrich themselves with a wanton disregard to all sense of ethics and moral consciousness.

An appropriate reconciliation with the spirit of tobacco by a modern-day Taino begins with the giving up of habitual use of all commercial cigarette products, and regular performance of the tobacco ceremony. The tobacco ceremony should be performed by all Tainos during the celebration of the monthly Full Moon rituals, during the quarterly celebrations of Sostices and Equinoxes and during the ceremony honoring the ancestors in the late Autumn (November 1). Tobacco ceremonies can also be performed at any other significant ceremony or ritual during which the celebrant feels a need to communicate with the spirits through the sacred smoke of tobacco.

The ceremony begins with the burning of tabonuko (copal). A cigar or a tobacco-filled pipe is passed over the smoke of the tabonuko four times to honor the four sacred directions. Then the celebrant takes a puff of the smoke in his or her mouth and blows it in the direction of the South saying "I offer this smoke to Achiano the Spirit of the South, the spirit of OPEN MINDEDNESS. Raise the cigar or pipe toward the South.

Next the celebrant takes another puff of smoke and blows it in the direction of the West saying "I offer this smoke to Koromo the Spirit of the West, the spirit of INNER SIGHT. Raise the cigar or pipe toward the West. Next the celebrant takes another puff of smoke and blows it in the direction of the North saying "I offer this smoke to Rakuno the Spirit of the North, the spirit of WISDOM. Raise the cigar or pipe toward the North.

Next the celebrant takes another puff of smoke and blows it in the direction of the East saying "I offer this smoke to Sobaiko the Spirit of the East, the spirit of ENLIGHTENMENT. Raise the cigar or pipe toward the East. Next the celebrant takes another puff of smoke and blows it down in the direction of the Earth beneath saying "I offer this smoke to Ata Bey our mother and grandmother". Lower the cigar or pipe toward the ground. Next the celebrant takes another puff of smoke and blows it in the direction of the sky saying "I offer this smoke to Yoka Hu our father and brother". Raise the cigar or pipe toward the sky.

After all this has been done the celebrant smokes as much of the cigar or pipe as he or she feels necessary and uses the puffs of smoke to send prayers to the spirits in the puffs. It is advisable not to inhale the smoke, but simply to take each puff into the mouth and then blow it right out with the prayer. Tobacco is a conduit for prayer, a vehicle through which prayer can more effectively travel to the realm of the spirits. When the celebrant is finished the cigar is placed in front of an image of a spirit or ancestor. Alternately it can be taken out and buried in the ground. Pipes should be emptied outside and the tobacco should be scattered on the soil.

 

 

BREATH OF LIFE



A group of contemporary Arawakan tribespeople assemble for a song ceremony to the rythm of the maraka rattle

Since very ancient times the Taino people have recognized the sacred nature of the breath of living things. As humans we understand that the human ability to inhale and exhale is at the very center of the living process. The breath "hu" is so intimately associated with the concept of life that the Taino word "hu" is also the word for the sacred animating force that allows a human being to move and to be active.

In ancient times our Taino shamans (boitius) used their powerful spirit breath to inhale inpure and malignant forces out of a person who was afflicted by Negativity. The shaman would then turn and cough or gag these negative forces into a gourd or other container and carry it out of the healing lodge. The modern boitius of contemporary Caney Spiritual Circle still use this method for extracting Negativity out of a person.

The ancient Taino ancestors recognized another powerful use for the spiritual force of the human breath. That use was the expression of sacred song. Singing is the expression of the soul in audible form. It is the way in which any human being can manifest spiritual power by simply exhaling in a very special way. Anybody can express themselves in sacred song. A person does not need to be a professional singer to create a genuine manifestation of spiritual music with his or her voice. A person does not have to have a "nice" voice in order to raise a powerful prayer up to the Great Spirit using the sacred breath of his or her soul.

And so this particular element of Taino Spirituality BREATH OF LIFE is most effectively manifested in the form of song and we in the Caney Circle urge all Tainos to learn the songs of the many groups and organizations that have arisen in the Taino REVIVAL. Most of these songs are beautiful and inspiring, They allow us Tainos to fulfill the promise of our spirit in audible form.

 

MOON-PATH CYCLE
Our ancestors recognized a sacred twentyeight-day cycle which followed the phases of the moon. In the tradition of our Caney Spiritual Circle this spirit is called Maroya and it is recognized as the visible celestial representative of our Cosmic Mother Ata-Bey. Maroya is important because she symbolizes the link between humans and the Divine, the Great Spirit. Our Cosmic Mother Ata-Bey forms part of the Great Spirit whom we call Yaya Guaturey. She is represented in the sky by Maroya the moon because Maroya marks out a monthly cycle very similar to the monthly cycle which manifests itself in human women every month called the "period". Because of the fact that through Maroya's waxing and waning she manifests a monthly "period" we consider Ata Bey to be eternally fertile and capable of giving birth. Because of Maroya's monthly cycles, Ata Bey is a permanent mother.

It is also through Maroya's cycles that we recognize the link between humans and the Divine. If the Cosmic Mother Ata-Bey has periods and human women also have periods then there is a sacred link between the two and it is important to celebrate that link. We know for a fact that the ancient Tainos celebrated the cycles of the moon and you also can do it. Even though it is preferable that this celebration be done always with the participation of at least one woman there is no reason why a man or men who may not have access to the presence of a woman can't still celebrate this ceremony.

The celebration of the moon cycle is performed on or close to the day of the full moon. The most important objects to be used in such a ceremony are two candles and something to smoke (a cigar or a pipe). Ideally the ceremony should start with the burning of tabonuko, the smoke of which should be offered to the directions by being fanned first to the South, then to the West, then to the North, then to the East, then down to the Earth and finally up to the sky with a feather.

Once the cigar or pipe has been smudged over the tabonuko smoke the celebrant does the tobacco ceremony. After the tobacco ceremony the celebrant lights the two candles and prays over them saying "This light represents the double light of the Full Moon". Finally the candles are put out and the celebrant prays again saying: "Our women have within them the rhythm of the Universe". The lighting of the candles and the saying of these words should be left to a woman if one is present but can be said by a man if there are no women present.

After the prayers are said the celebrant is advised to sing the chant of the sacred words in the Caney Circle dialect of the Taino language: "Guariche guakia ba areyto Gua Turey". Guariche ( women), guakia (ours), ba (have), areyto (ritual communal chant or song or rhythm), Gua Turey (Cosmic All, The Universe).

 

SUN-PATH CYCLE
The way in which the earth orbits around the sun causes our seasons to behave the way they do. Although the sharp demarcation of Fall and Spring and the difference in temperatures that separate Winter and Summer are not the same in the tropics are they are in more northern areas, there still is such a thing as a Winter and a Summer Solstice as well as a Spring and Fall Equinox everywhere on the face of the Earth. The ancient Tainos recognized the powerful symbolism that lay in these four sacred stations of the sun's cycle through the course of the year.

In our Caney Circle tradition we observe the cycle marked by the sun here in the northern hemisphere as its daily East to West path accross the sky arches and leans ever further toward the south throughout the Fall season and into the Winter, and then returns from the South again throughout the Spring season and into the Summer. We call this sequence the SUN PATH CYCLE. Since the Caribbean region which is the birth-place of our traditions is in the northern hemisphere, there is a link between the way in which this cycle manifested itself to our tropical ancestors and the way it manifests itself in the more northern regions to which many of us contemporary Tainos have migrated.


In the Caney Circle we recognized a sacred diagram that maps out the course of this solar cycle. This diagram is overlaid on top of our Medicine Wheel of the Four Directions. Each direction represents a seasonal station and the journey from seasonal station to seasonal station is a circuitous figure-eight route that runs from the South/SPRING to the East/SUMMER, then accross the middle of the circle to the West/FALL and finally to the North/WINTER. From there the journey travels again right through accross the circle from North to South to again begin in the SPRING.




In the diagram for the Sun Path cycle one can discern the four sacred bohios (dwelling lodges) of the four sacred spirits of the four directions and the four seasons. The South/ Spring (the beginning place, the place of birth) has a green lodge with a yellow roof. The East/ Summer has a yellow lodge with a red roof. The West (the place of Death) has a black lodge with a blue roof and the North/Winter has a white lodge with a white roof.

 

 

 

The dance of the Sun's Path is celebrated by observing the four seasonal stations of the year: Spring Equinox (considered the birth time of Lord Yoka Hu the Spirit of Life), Summer Solstice (considered the moment when Lord Yoka Hu reaches maximum power and glory), Fall Equinox (considered the end-moment in Yoka Hu's life at the climax of the deadly hurricane season when he dies and begins his journey to the land of the departed ones, the abode of the ancestors, Coa Bay at the very womb of his mother, the spirit Ata Bey), and finally Winter Solstice (considered the moment when Yoka Hu finally reaches the warm nurturing place of re-conception, the place in which he will then gestate in fetal form for about three months until he is again re-born at Spring Equinox just to start the cycle all over again).


It is strongly advised that modern day Tainos get together and celebrate these four sacred seasonal events within the context of community. We suggest that Tainos follow the Caney Circle ceremony for Equinoxes and the Caney Circle ceremony for Solstices as outlined in the ceremonies section of our website. It is also suggested that a Caney Circle beike (spiritual leader) be located and petitioned to lead these ceremonies in your community. If it is impossible or very difficult to celebrate these ceremonies in community, a family or individual can celebrate them within the family home and thereby maintain that sacred link with the ancestors. A simplified version of the celebration can be observed by doing the following.

1. Spring Equinox:
On the closest weekend to the Spring Equinox lay a 4' by 4' square sheet of cotton cloth in the middle of a room. set aside three lengths of cotton clothes-line rope about three feet long each and lay them on the cotton sheet. Set a white tapered candle in a candle holder and place it unlit next to the ropes on the cotton sheet. Either make a copy of a typical Yoka- Hu three-pointed cemi figure out of clay (no need to fire it) or substitute it with the cut-off pointed tip of a yuca tuber.

If there is a woman available she should braid the three ropes into one. and create an oval or egg-shaped loop around the base of the candle.
The oval will represent a coa hoop (traditional Taino stone collar). It also represents the pear-shaped uterus of Ata Bey the Cosmic Mother.
Place the Yaka-Hu image on the cotton sheet inside the oval away from the candle base. The Yaoka Hu image should touch the braided rope loop.
Begin the ceremony with a tobacco smoking ritual. Then have a participant take the Yoka Hu image and bring it out respectfully and slowly from inside the hoop as if it is being born. At the moment that the image is taken out a participant should light the candle to symbolize the beginning of a life. All participants should cheer and celebrate at the moment the rebirth of Yoka Hu.

After the ceremony is over and the participants have dispersed the candle flame should be put out. Keep the ropes for future ceremony. Unbraid them to put them away. The ceremony should end with a dinner. We suggest that the dinner include some yuca product, preferably casabe.


2. Summer Solstice
On the closest weekend to the Summer Solstice lay a 4' by 4' square sheet of cotton cloth on the floor in the the middle of a room. Create a 2 foot long soft modeling clay image of a fish to represent the shark spirit Kahaya and lay it in the middle of the sheet. Each participant should arm himself or herself with a wooden dowel about the thickness of a pencil about a foot long (a wooden shish kebab skewer will do also). If is is possible a turkey feather may be tied to the end of each dowel with string.

The ceremony begins with a tobacco smoking ritual. After the tobacco ritual each celebrant takes a turn the sticking his or her "arrow" (the wooden dowel. In this way the shark of dispair and hoplessness is defeated and the way is opened for Life and Hope of Summer Solstice.
The occasion is capped off with a dinner which could include casabe or yuka.


3. Fall Equinox:
On the closest weekend to the Fall Equinox lay a 4' by 4' square sheet of cotton cloth in the middle of a room. set aside three lengths of cotton clothes-line rope about three feet long each and lay them on the cotton sheet. Set a white tapered candle in a candle holder and place it next to the ropes on the cotton sheet. Light the candle.

If there is a woman available she should braid the three ropes into one. and create an oval or egg-shaped loop around the base of the candle.
The oval will represent a coa hoop (traditional Taino stone collar). It also represents the pear-shaped uterus of Ata Bey the Cosmic Mother.
Begin the ceremony with a tobacco smoking ritual. Then all participants should meditate and focus on the end of Yoka hu's life cycle. It is a time of endings. It is also the begining of some of the crop harvests, a time when the plant spirits give up their lives to feed the hungry people. Ceremonially douse the candle flame to represent the end of life. Keep the ropes for future ceremony. Unbraid them to put them away.
The ceremony should end with a dinner. We suggest that the dinner include some yuca product, preferably casabe.


4. Winter Solstice
On the closest weekend to the Winter Solstice lay a 4' by 4' square sheet of cotton cloth on the floor in the the middle of a room. Create a 2 foot long soft modeling clay image of a fish to represent the shark spirit Kahaya and lay it in the middle of the sheet. Each participant should arm himself or herself with a wooden dowel about the thickness of a pencil about a foot long (a wooden shish kebab skewer will do also). If is is possible a turkey feather may be tied to the end of each dowel with string.

Have a woman braid three lengths of cotton clothesline rope about three feet long into one. create an egg-shaped loop on the cotton sheet next to the fish. Either make a copy of a typical Yoka- Hu three-pointed cemi figure out of clay (no need to fire it) or substitute it with the cut-off pointed tip of a yuca tuber.

The ceremony begins with a tobacco smoking ritual. After the tobacco ritual each celebrant takes a turn the sticking his or her "arrow" (the wooden dowel. In this way the shark of dispair and hoplessness is defeated and the way is opened for Life and Hope of re-conception and eventual re-birth of Lord Yoka Hu.
Have a man (if one is available) place the Yoka Hu image inside the rope loop touching it to represent the moment of conception of Lord Yoka Hu when he begins to gestate inside the womb of his mother. The occasion is capped off with a dinner which could include casabe or yuka.

 

KANSI

Steam-driven purification ceremonies or "sweats" have
always been a well-documented common tradition
among the native peoples of ancient Mexico and Central
America. We in the Caney know that the Tainos
participated in this form of ritual healing tradition which
they may have brought from South America when they
first migrated into the Caribbean, or they may have
learned it from the Central American peoples whom they
came into contact with when they arrived there.

 

The kansi (sweat lodge) of the Caney Spiritual Circle is patterned after the construction design of the round bohios used by our Taino ancestors. It doubles as a non-sweat healing lodge (a "guanara") when it is not being used as a kansi. As a result of this fact the structure serves two different but related purposes. Every Taino who truly desires to connect thoroughly with his or her ancestral spirits needs to experience a kansi at least once a year, and preferably more frequently.

The kansi ceremony is similar in some ways to that followed by certain North American peoples. The strictures are different because our Taino perception of certain aspects of human physical process and human relationships are perceived differently. To begin with there is no stricture on men and women sweating tegether in the same lodge as occurs in some other traditions and there is no prohibition on the participation of a woman as a result of her being on her "moon" (time of menstruation). These are uniquely North American and particularly Plains (Lakota) strictures that have become very widespread among folks who follow Native American traditions in the United States and elsewhere.

Although there is no prohibition on the use of sage, sweetgrass and cedar in the Caney Spiritual Circle kansi, it is not required since the most important smudging substances in our tradition are tobacco and tabonuko (copal). The structure itself is oriented with the entrance facing the East, since this is the the direction from which the sun rises and the fire upon which the cibas orokoel (hot grandfather stones) are heated is just beyond that also in the East.

The conducting of a Caney Spiritual Circle kansi is a complicated procedure that needs to be taught person to person and usually should be led by a beike. However if taught by a competent teacher anybody can conduct a Caney Circle tradition sweat lodge for himself or herself and/or for friends. The most important aspect of the ceremony is that it is divided into four cycles or rounds. Each round is dedicated to one of the four directions following the order of South. West North and East. Each round begins with the communal singing of a chant dedicated to the spirit of the hurricane, called HURAKAN. The chant asks the spirit of storms to sweep away all impurities and to cleanse the body and the soul.

Time is alotted during each round for quiet personal meditation and then afterwards for personal sharing out loud.

 

YAYA GUATUREY is the GREAT SPIRIT of Taino tradition. Yaya GuaTurey is both Father and Mother.

Yoca Hu - Father

Ata Bey Mother

Yaya Gua-Turey (yah-yah) (gwah-too-ray)

Yaya Gua-Turey is the Mother/ Father of all creation, the very heart of the Cosmos. Yaya Gua-Turey's name means
SPIRIT OF ALL SPIRITS SACRED HEAVEN.

Yaya Guaturey is the complete and sacred unity of the ancestral female Earth Mother spirit Ata-Bey, and the ancestral SkyFather spirit Yoka Hu

Ata Bey (Ah-tah Bay) is the Source-Mother. You are a child of her womb.

Yoca Hu (Yoh-kah Hoo) is the Spirit of Life. Within your body you carry the incandecent fire of his Life-Force.

Yaya GuaTurey is neither all male nor all female.

This Great Spirit has aspects of both the Father and the Mother and so is a perfectly balanced UNITY of ALL.

 

Links to continue your research on Taino History and Culture

• El Gobierno del Pueblo Jatibonicu Taino
• The Jatibonicu Taino Tribal Nation
• Official Website of the Aymaco Taino Tribe
• PresenciaTaina TV
• Spoken Taino Language - Dictionary
• Taino Cyber Culture Center
• United Confederation Of Taino People
• La Voz del Pueblo Taino