Indigenous Caribbean Network

I was honored this last weekend August 31st to Sept 3rd 2013 by being invited to return for a second time to offer Taino ceremony, and workshops on aspects of Taino spirituality at this year's celebration of the MIDWEST SHAMANIC GATHERING. I was invited by my friends and organizers of the event, Marylou Swogger and Allen Brown.

At the event I was joined by a collection of some of the most gifted spiritual leaders and elders from all over the world and from many different Indigenous nations.

The event is sponsored annually by the Eagle and Condor Foundation whose spiritual guide is my friend, a Peruvian elder who works within both the Andean highland tradition of his Inca ancestors and the Amazon rainforest tradition of the Shipibo Indigenous people. His name is Chief Valerio Cohaila (also known as Freddy), and it is my honor to have known him for about four years now.

Here Don Valerio stands by Hopi elder Jerry Honawa who was one of the spiritual teachers that also offered ceremony and workshop at the gathering.

The event began on Saturday morning with a DESPACHO, a powerful opening ceremony from the Inca tradition of the South American highlands, led by Chief Valerio.

I was asked to call in the four directions with a Taino chant from the CANEY INDIGENOUS SPIRITUAL CIRCLE.

I took this opportunity to offer special prayers both on Saturday and Sunday in behalf of the unity of my beautiful Taino people.

The opening ceremony also included a spectacular performance by the wonderful Mexica (Aztec) dance ensemble Ketzal Coatlicue based out of Minnesota.

Chief Valerio actually carried out parts of the opening ceremony right through the Aztec dance performance, which is in itself a sacred procedure,

The opening proceedings were also graced by the beautiful drumming and singing of Anishinabe elder Dan Hull and his helpers.

After the opening ceremony the gathering continued with workshops and presentations by the various elders and spiritual leaders who had been invited.

In keeping with this year's theme of the sacred balance between the divine male and the divine female, I offered a presentation on the sacred relationship of complementary opposites epitomized by our Taino cemi spirits Mother Ata Bey and Father Yoka Hu,

and also the relationship of complementary opposites found in the Taino Medicine Wheel, the South compared to the North and the West compared to the East.

Among the other presenters at this event were:

Chief Valerio himself, Dan Hull, Hopi elder Jerry Honawa, Coahuiltecan/Apache elder Nayoka,

Kanza tribal elder from Oklahoma, Curtis Kekahbah,

Tahnahga, an Elder of both Mohawk ancestry and also the ancestry of our own Taino people.

Odawa/Ojibwe teacher Roxane Gould

Dakota teacher James Rock

teacher Gabriele Kushi

Film maker Shannon Kring Buset who produced the piece "2012 THE BEGINNING" also offered a presentation. Later she interviewed me and several others of the presenters for an upcoming documentary project about spiritual tradition keepers.

Also presenting were Misha Dancing Waters, Brenda Tilson, Nancy Nielsen, Timothy Cope, and Elle Allen:

In addition to these skilled wisdom-keepers I was thrilled again this year to be in the company of my good Maya friends from Guatemala, the elder Tata Pedro Cruz Garcia and his wife the teacher Shuni Giron.

They offered their teachings of the Maya Calendar and the place that each human being holds within that sacred system.

Along with the sharing of sacred wisdom there was time during the three-day event for fun and sharing of food and music including the enjoyment of wonderful old tunes by Buffy Saint Marie and the Arawak singer-songwriter David Campbell.