As part of our retreat on Silence and Indigenous Spirituality, we also participated in a Limpia, a tradition which we learned about from an indigenous man named Ignacio, or Nacho.
Literally, the word, Limpia, means cleaning or cleansing. In this experience, a limpia was a spiritual cleansing. Even with my intuitive ways, I was skeptical of this practice. The more I learn, the more I realize the grounding power of logic in connection with a free and open intuition. My logic tells me that there was value in this experience, that it was indeed, a health creating practice, in the way that I experienced it. Using an uncracked raw egg, some herbs, and a pinch of intuition, Nacho cleansed each YAGM volunteer's spiritual aura, and then explained what issues we might be having in our lives by cracking the egg into water and "reading" the yoke's pattern. Its important to be a little skeptical when encountering practices like this in Mexico, or anywhere, because there are lots of people who want to take advantage of gringos' fascination with indigenous spirituality to do scams. Yet, there is also a rooted tradition of healing using herbs, rituals, and faith to cure. This contrasts western medicine, where it seems that everything must be scientifically proven by professional studies to be valid. I believe that both western knowledge and indigenous and ancient practices - even while handed down through centuries - have value, and that we need both. In Mexico, the indigenous traditions of healing, combined with less economic resources, and less access to state of the art health care, creates more openness to more grounded and more spiritual ways of healing. The Limpia that Nacho did was a ritualized set of movements, passing the egg over the head, shoulders, arms, solar plexus, lower calf, and feet, pressing the egg into our skin at certain points. After Nacho "read the egg", he asked us questions, that invited us to reflect on our lives, for example: "Have you ever been to a place that you haven't asked (or given yourself) permission to be in?" If we had, he suggested putting flowers out as an offering of humility to ask forgiveness.
He explained how some of us absorb sadness and anger from those around us, but that we can help ourselves heal through seeing the big picture of the suns' rise and set, and trying to let emotions flow instead of holding on to them. He asked us to reflect on people that may be trying to harm us or people we are trying to harm, and to make peace with those around us. He encouraged us to pay attention to our dreams, waking and sleeping ones. These reflections are a way to be more aware and awake to life, cleansing our spirits and growing in health.
Monday, May 23, 2011
Temazcal: Tradition of Rebirth
A temazcal is an indigenous MesoAmerican tradition of rebirth that continues today. We participated in this tradition as part of our YAGM retreat on silence and indigenous spirituality. A temazcal is a spiritual ritual that involves a herbal steam bath which we participated in a dark lodge. We crawled in to the igloo-like space backwards, and soaked in the warm, sweet, strong, steamy herb-filled air. The small space is meant to be like returning to a womb: a dark, safe space of gathering. After about twenty minutes of silence and sweating, we re-entered into the light, the bright surprise of life once again greeting us. We were wrapped in a sheet, and then we rested. I also participated in this tradition at a birthday party with a blend of Mexican and international friends to at the beginning of spring. At this party, there was a temazcal at the house we went to. While we didn't participate in the steam bath, we did go in. A woman who had studied the spirituality of the temazcal led us in a chant to honor and create sacred space. This tradition reminded me to reflect on each moment as an opportunity for rebirth, each breath as an opportunity for renewal. There are many places throughout Mexico City and Mexico in general where one can go for a temazcal. Sometimes, one has to pay for these services, and many times, people do a temazcal with the intention to heal or improve a certain health condition. The health benefits of a temazcal are similar to those of a sauna: they help with circulation and cleanse the body through sweat. The spiritual, historical, and sacred elements are all intertwined into this health-creating ritual of renewal.
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Books I have been reading this year...
Sky Burial, by Xinran
Breath, Eyes, Memory, by Edwidge Danticat
The Devil's Highway, by Luis Alberto Urrea
The Red Tent, by Anita Diamant
Weaving the Past, A History of Latin America's Indigenous Women from the Prehispanic Period to the Present, by Susan Kellogg
Anam Cara, by John O Donohue
Night of Many Dreams, by Gail Tsukiyama
Crossing Over, by Ruben Martinez
Peace Pilgrim, compiled by some of her friends
Performance y arte acciOn en AmErica Latina, by Josefina AlcAzar y Fernando Fuentes
Breath, Eyes, Memory, by Edwidge Danticat
The Devil's Highway, by Luis Alberto Urrea
The Red Tent, by Anita Diamant
Weaving the Past, A History of Latin America's Indigenous Women from the Prehispanic Period to the Present, by Susan Kellogg
Anam Cara, by John O Donohue
Night of Many Dreams, by Gail Tsukiyama
Crossing Over, by Ruben Martinez
Peace Pilgrim, compiled by some of her friends
Performance y arte acciOn en AmErica Latina, by Josefina AlcAzar y Fernando Fuentes
"We belong to the Land and Not the Reverse"
As part of our YAGM retreat on silence and indigenous spirituality, we listened to an indigenous man named Ignacio, "Nacho," who explained the history of oppression that indigenous people have resisted for hundreds of years.
Early in his talk, he told a story about one of the conquerors who tortured an indigenous leader and demanded to know, "Where is the treasure?" The indigenous leader responded, "How sad that you do not have eyes to see? You have already killed it. The treasure is in the knowledge, wisdom, discipline, and life of my people."
After the conquista, 10 % of the indigenous population remained. Though marginalized, the knowledge, wisdom, discipline, and lives of many indigenous people still inform and form Mexican cultures.
Nacho explained that the indigenous had a circular lunar calendar, with cycles marking the time of light and the other half marking the time of dark. In contrast to Western culture's views, the time of darkness is not seen as negative, but as a time of regeneration. When the Spaniards came, many indigenous interpreted it as a change from the time of dark to the time of light and hoped for positive transformation, but what followed was horrible destruction and loss of culture and life.
Since the conquista, indigenous have struggled for rights to land. Many indigenous worked havesting sugar cane and coffee, living basically as slaves in extreme poverty. He explained how debts were not forgiven when a family member died, and so for 300 years, this injustice grew, and poverty worsened.
When Mexico gained independence on September 15, 1810, the Legislation of Land was not dealt with, and indigenous were oppressed for 100 more years. In 1910, another social movement began to fix this land conflict. Emiliano Zapata called out, "It's better to die on your feet than to live on your knees!" There began the Zapatista Movement, whose theme was, "For Everyone, Everything! For us, Nothing!" Although many indigenous didn't believe in violence, because "we reap what we sow," they recognized that sometimes it is necessary. Guns force others to listen. A bloody revolution began in 1910 and ended in one sense in 1919. In 1911, Emiliano Zapata drafted the "Plan de Ayala," which said, "This land will return to those who work it with their hands." Yet the revolution for land in Mexico still continues today. "The government is not listening," Nacho said.
In 1917, Article 27 of the Mexican constitution was created and said, "Communal Land, or Ejido Land is the property of the people who work it with their hands." From 1917 to 1919, after the assasination of Emiliano Zapata, agrarian reform began, but only in the state of Morelos (in Cuernavaca, Morelos, one of the street names is Plan de Ayala).
Nacho explained how many indigenous people see land very differently than people from Western cultures. The land we are on connects us to the present. The land is the time and space we inhabit in the here and now. For this reason, the land is not something we can own; we can't carry the land with us. Many indigenous are against the definition of private property, and see it as an "invention of oppresion." Private property prevents access, even to basic needs of life, like water. "In privatizing everything," he explained, "we are thinking more with our wallets than with our hearts." "We belong to the land and not the reverse," he explained.
In the 1990s, President Carlos Salinas changed Article 27 without asking permission from the indigenous. Communal Ejido Indigenous Lands could be sold for profit. So, many multinational companies showed up. NAFTA was about to go into effect. Nacho explained that NAFTA works in theory, but not in practice. In 1994, the Zapatista Army for National Liberation protested NAFTA. With NAFTA, Mexico was considered "first world." But Mexico can't compete with the U.S. because of differences in agricultural machinery, agricultural subsidies, access to education, and healthcare. In that time, 33% of the Mexican indigenous were living in extreme poverty, on one dollar a day, eating salt and tortillas, especially in the states of Guerrero, Chiapas, Oaxaca, and Hidalgo.
"The Zapatista movement is about dignity," Nacho explained, since so many indigenous have lived through so much suffering and indignity. Zapatista movement is about indigenous rights to land, natural resources, and autonomy.
"Many indigenous have much mistrust of multinational companies because they have arrived and mined, and taken advantage of us," he said. He said its frustrating that many students come to "study the indigenous," and they leave after a time, and advance in their professions, but "what about the indigenous people?" The studies done by students may educate others, but do not have a direct and immediate impact on the indigenous communities. He said its frustrating to feel that his culture is valued in museum pieces and exhibits, but that human beings who form his culture are not valued. He said, "As indigenous, we want to be included in a nation-project. We want to be included and valued because all of us are children of the Land." This makes me think of the indigenous perspective that God lives in the earth. In Christian traditions, the phrase, "We are all children of God," is so common. If we see from the eyes of the indigenous, being children of God means being children of the earth, and ALL of us belong to the earth, not the reverse.
Early in his talk, he told a story about one of the conquerors who tortured an indigenous leader and demanded to know, "Where is the treasure?" The indigenous leader responded, "How sad that you do not have eyes to see? You have already killed it. The treasure is in the knowledge, wisdom, discipline, and life of my people."
After the conquista, 10 % of the indigenous population remained. Though marginalized, the knowledge, wisdom, discipline, and lives of many indigenous people still inform and form Mexican cultures.
Nacho explained that the indigenous had a circular lunar calendar, with cycles marking the time of light and the other half marking the time of dark. In contrast to Western culture's views, the time of darkness is not seen as negative, but as a time of regeneration. When the Spaniards came, many indigenous interpreted it as a change from the time of dark to the time of light and hoped for positive transformation, but what followed was horrible destruction and loss of culture and life.
Since the conquista, indigenous have struggled for rights to land. Many indigenous worked havesting sugar cane and coffee, living basically as slaves in extreme poverty. He explained how debts were not forgiven when a family member died, and so for 300 years, this injustice grew, and poverty worsened.
When Mexico gained independence on September 15, 1810, the Legislation of Land was not dealt with, and indigenous were oppressed for 100 more years. In 1910, another social movement began to fix this land conflict. Emiliano Zapata called out, "It's better to die on your feet than to live on your knees!" There began the Zapatista Movement, whose theme was, "For Everyone, Everything! For us, Nothing!" Although many indigenous didn't believe in violence, because "we reap what we sow," they recognized that sometimes it is necessary. Guns force others to listen. A bloody revolution began in 1910 and ended in one sense in 1919. In 1911, Emiliano Zapata drafted the "Plan de Ayala," which said, "This land will return to those who work it with their hands." Yet the revolution for land in Mexico still continues today. "The government is not listening," Nacho said.
In 1917, Article 27 of the Mexican constitution was created and said, "Communal Land, or Ejido Land is the property of the people who work it with their hands." From 1917 to 1919, after the assasination of Emiliano Zapata, agrarian reform began, but only in the state of Morelos (in Cuernavaca, Morelos, one of the street names is Plan de Ayala).
Nacho explained how many indigenous people see land very differently than people from Western cultures. The land we are on connects us to the present. The land is the time and space we inhabit in the here and now. For this reason, the land is not something we can own; we can't carry the land with us. Many indigenous are against the definition of private property, and see it as an "invention of oppresion." Private property prevents access, even to basic needs of life, like water. "In privatizing everything," he explained, "we are thinking more with our wallets than with our hearts." "We belong to the land and not the reverse," he explained.
In the 1990s, President Carlos Salinas changed Article 27 without asking permission from the indigenous. Communal Ejido Indigenous Lands could be sold for profit. So, many multinational companies showed up. NAFTA was about to go into effect. Nacho explained that NAFTA works in theory, but not in practice. In 1994, the Zapatista Army for National Liberation protested NAFTA. With NAFTA, Mexico was considered "first world." But Mexico can't compete with the U.S. because of differences in agricultural machinery, agricultural subsidies, access to education, and healthcare. In that time, 33% of the Mexican indigenous were living in extreme poverty, on one dollar a day, eating salt and tortillas, especially in the states of Guerrero, Chiapas, Oaxaca, and Hidalgo.
"The Zapatista movement is about dignity," Nacho explained, since so many indigenous have lived through so much suffering and indignity. Zapatista movement is about indigenous rights to land, natural resources, and autonomy.
"Many indigenous have much mistrust of multinational companies because they have arrived and mined, and taken advantage of us," he said. He said its frustrating that many students come to "study the indigenous," and they leave after a time, and advance in their professions, but "what about the indigenous people?" The studies done by students may educate others, but do not have a direct and immediate impact on the indigenous communities. He said its frustrating to feel that his culture is valued in museum pieces and exhibits, but that human beings who form his culture are not valued. He said, "As indigenous, we want to be included in a nation-project. We want to be included and valued because all of us are children of the Land." This makes me think of the indigenous perspective that God lives in the earth. In Christian traditions, the phrase, "We are all children of God," is so common. If we see from the eyes of the indigenous, being children of God means being children of the earth, and ALL of us belong to the earth, not the reverse.
Sunday, May 1, 2011
Lizards and Snakes: Sacred Creatures
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| This is one of the church door handles at Southside Presbyterian Church. The church modeled some of their structure to connect their beliefs with indigenous traditions. Many indigenous believe(d) God lives in the earth, and so lizards and snakes are sacred, since they live between us and God! |
In D.F., most days I see tiny agile lizards scrambling into crevices in the hardened lava that forms the rocky landscape where I live. I haven't seen as many live snakes, but the snake is present in lots of art, including the Mexican flag, which pictures an eagle on a nopal (cactus) eating a snake. The ancient Aztecs received a message from their gods that when they saw this image, they should build a great city. They built Technotitlan, (the original name for Mexico City) in the middle of a huge lake! I recently walked on top on a winding snake sculpture garden at UNAM, one of the largest universities in the world. When our YAGM group traveled to the border, we visited the Southside Presbyterian Church in Tucson, Arizona. There, John Fife, one of the founders of the Sanctuary Movement (learn more about the New Sanctuary Movement here: (http://www.newsanctuarymovement.org/), is pastor. He explained how the church design reflects how indigenous spirituality has and can inform other religious traditions. For example, the altar is in the center, reflecting the importance of community, so that everyone can see one another's faces. The handles of the church made an impression on me, as the handles are sculptures of lizards and snakes. He explained to us that many indigenous peoples believe God lives in the earth. And so snakes and lizards are sacred creatures, because they live between us and God. How interesting that this sacred snake and lizard link to God in the earth can help us live in community: When we care for the earth, we care for one another, and the reverse. When we love the earth and one another, we love God.
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| The outer entrance to Southside Presbyterian Church in Tucson. |
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| Our Group with John Fife, one of the founders of the Sanctuary Movement, inside the church. The congregation sits in a circle with the altar in the center, which reflects an indigenous practice of community. |
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| This small colorful art piece was outside the church, making me think of the abundance that the earth gives, when we care and honor for the God who lives in the Earth. |
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