We Heralded In The New Cycle Dec 2012

Takaji My Relatives
A group of Tainos and other friends gathered at the sacred site of the ancient Tekesta Indigenous people, relatives of our Taino ancestors in the heart of the city of Miami, Florida, this past Friday, on the Maya calendar date 4 AHAU (December 21st 2012) to celebrate the grand SHIFT OF WORLD AGES. We bid goodby to the fifth and final sun-epoch of the former era and welcomed in the first sun-epoch of the new era.
The event was jointly sponsored by the UNITED CONFEDERATION OF TAINO PEOPLE and the CANEY INDIGENOUS SPIRITUAL CIRLE through its special division, the Maya-Taino Prophecy Initiative.

According to the ancient Maya sages, an enormous period of 260 centuries of human consciousnes evolution divided into five distinct 52-century long sun ages of transition ended on Friday and a new cycle of 260 centuries was initiated with the opening of a brand new 52-century sun epoch, the first in five which we trust will carry humanity through a glorious period of consciousness regeneration.

Our celebration was attended by Tainos and other friends from all over the state of Florida and from places as far away as the Cree Native reserve of Kehewin in Aberta Canada.




It was for me an honor to officiate this event in the unusually chilly 40 degree weather that swept down on the region on that day. In spite of the cold wind-chill factor breeze that blew in through the high-rise buildings of down-town Miami from Biscayne Bay, we were warmed by the message of hope and joy that our Maya relatives have shared with us in regard to this date.
I made full use of the great gift of art and symbolic media to convey the powerful message of this moment, explaining first to my friends gathered there the intricate mechanics of the Maya Calendar Long Count with its system of 360-day tuns (which I like to call "near-years") and its twenty-tun long katuns, and its twenty-katun long baktuns and its thirteen-baktun long SUN AGES.






This message, as I have shared on a number of previous occasions, is all about we as human beings recovering our ancient power of expressing the true yearnings of the human soul in the form of our art, through media of all sorts, visual communication, poetry, music, etc. Media and Art was the great gift to humankind that was born at the beginning of the old era 260 ceturies ago as Ice-age humans began to paint on cave walls and began to express their soul in spiritally rich dance, music and poetry. My Maya teachers have shared with me that this was the way that early spiritual expression and shamanism arose. This prescious gift was stolen from us by the manipulators of propaganda 52 centuries ago at the beginning of the fifth and final world age, what is now known as the Fifth Sun. It was used by them to further their agenda of self-agrandizement, selfish appropriation of wealth and armed violence.  We have at long last taken it back away from them now in this the beginning of a new era of change. The reality of this truth was evident all around us at the event as some of us recorded the celebration on digital media to share the wonderful news with friends and relatives, as we discussed subjects of great political, historical and spiritual importance to us humans that have been publicized in the alternative media free from the asphyxiating control of the mainstream propaganda manipulators who have had a strangle-hold on the flow of symbolic communication for so many centuries. Our celebration was indeed a celebration of feedom, rebirth and renewal, held at a site which represents the presence of ancient Taino-related Aarawks right here in the North American continent. The Tekesta people built a beautiful ceremonial structure here centuries ago and sank post-holes into the solid rock beneath the top soil to support their wooden ediffice.


It is appropriate that we Tainos now celebrate this great World Age Shift here at this perfectly circular archeological site which has been converted into a beautiful park by the city of Miami.


We were pleasantly surprised in the midst of our celebration when our own Kasike Mukaro telephoned us unexpectedly to share the support of New York-based Tainos and the leadership of the UCTP, and the fact that our celebration was shared by them up north.
As part of our celebration we were joined by a brother, Kendal Ray Morgan, who is a resident of Miami and who participated in the mystical event right here at Miami Circle last Wednesday 12-12-12,  on the sacred Kiche Maya celebratory day known as Wajxakib Batz.

This brother shared with us the message of last week's event here, which among other things featured the participation of world-famous member of the Thirteen Indigenous Grandmother's Council, Grandmother Flordemayo, with whom I have worked several times when she visited my city of residence, Pittsburgh, PA.
  

This brother also shared with us one of the many Mexican and Guatemalan crystal skulls that were honored at that 12-12-12 event.


At the end of our event my sister Rosa (Sague) John, who is married to a Canadian Cree, Melvin John, brought us the last word on a topic that our spiritual sister the Canadian Cree Blue Sky Woman and our leader Kasike Roberto Mukaro Borrero had already made us aware of. It is the evil law that the present prime minister of Canada is attempting to pass in his country which would pactically invalidate all of the Native land rights in Canada. The news of this injustice was shared with us by Blue Sky Woman and Kasike Mukaro some weeks ago when they informed us of the hunger strike that tribal leader Chief Spence of Cree reserve Attawapiskat has maintained for 15 days now. The movemnt to stop this outrage in Canada is called "IDLE NO MORE". We were honored in behalf of the UCTP and the Caney Circle to demonstrate our support for the IDLE NO MORE movement that my sister and her family smbolize via a media flash-mob style demonstration at the end of our gathering.


 
As part of this important demonstration which has become part of a greater world-wide alternative-media-driven movement we were treated to the beauty and artistry of hoop dancer Crystal (Beanie) John, my niece, and fancy-dancer Stryder Tailfeathers, my grand-nephew and son of my niece Monique Diabo.


 I want to thank my spiritual relatives, both Tainos a non-Tainos, all of those blessed souls that braved the cold Biscyne Bay weather at Miami Circle for joining us and helping make this event the beautiful thing that it was. I especially want to thank my brother Perrito Del Mar and his lady, who brought us some deliscious sandwiches that were shared at the end of the event.  Another special Bo Matun to Rosa and her wonderful family for sharing the power of Canadian Indigenous determination through the beauty, color and grace of Native dance and music. Last but not least a big Hahom to our leader, Kasike Roberto Mukaro Borrero as well as the whole leadership and membership of the United Confederation of Taino People for adding their valuable support to the success of our event in Miami.
Seneko Kakona
Taino Ti
Miguel

Takaji My Relatives
I was honored this year to be invited to offer ceremonial presentations at the 2012 celebration of the MIDWEST SHAMANIC GATHERING September 1, 2 and 3.
The invitation came from Ohio-based wise woman Mary Lou Swogger of the Eagle Condor Foundation of Minneapolis, Minn which sponsored the event.

I had met her while attending a traditional Shipibo Indigenous ritual with her near Erie, PA, officiated by Peruvian elder Don Valerio (Freddy) Cohaila several years ago. Freddy has worked for years with the Shipibo Indigenous people who live in the Amazonian rainforest region of his native Peru and he shares that tradition as well as the tradition of the Andean mountain Inca descendants who also live in his country. I have always had a singular interest in the Shipibo people since they are from the South American rainforest region which gave rise to my own Arawakan-Taino culture and since they produce an enigmatic artwork which is mezmerising and beautiful.

I attended the three-day event at the Beaver Creek state-administered campground near the town of Eau Claire, Wisconsin over the Labor-Day weekend which was blessed with the most beautiful weather all three days and nights allowing us to enjoy, on each night, the blessing of the incredibly bright Full (Blue) Moon that had been shining since the last day of August.
I arrived on Friday evening and almost immediately was treated to a wonderfully healing Anishinabe-style sweatlodge ceremony near the sacred tipi of the encampment. The ceremony was led by holy man Dan who is one of the elders of the Eagle Condor Foundation.


note the beautiful hand-crafted Shipibo fabric brought by Elder Freddy from the Amazon and utilized as tipi lodge door cover.

That same evening I had the pleasure of meeting Guatemalan Tzutujil Maya elder Tata Pedro Cruz of the UNIFICACION MAYAsacred community, and his wife the wise woman Shuni.

The opening ceremony on Saturday morning was moving and evokative including songs by a traditional drum group led by Anishinabe elder Dan and a powerful Andean-style Inca Indigenous ceremony by Elder Don Valerio (Freddy) called a "despacho".


Don Valerio's Despacho ceremony
Saturday morning's Opening Ceremony was followed by lunch and then afterwards a wonderful variety of workshops and demonstrations by elders and guides from many traditions of the world. I was fortunate that Shuni, Tata Pedro's wife and I agreed to present our two demonstrations jointly so I had the opportunity to present my demonstration on the ancient Maya 2012 Long Count to a large group of people. I began my presentation by relating the Taino sacred narration of Guaguyona, the women of Cacibajagua cave and Guabonito. It demonstrated an element of how the negative energy of a power-hungry authoritative male who causes the loss of balance by disrupting the energy of the female in the human community can throw the whole community out of balance. This, of course is one of the central themes of our 2012 message from a Taino perspective, and the lesson that the energy of the human female with its healing capacities (symbolized by the healer-woman Guabonito) must now during this era of transition again be brought to balance with the energy of the male in the global community.

My presentation was immediately followed by Shuni's demonstration on the Maya Tzolkin day-countand how to follow one's unique spirit path using this sacred treasure. That evening we all participated in an overwhelming Maya fire ceremony led by Tata Pedro.

The evening was filled with wonderful exchange and informal interaction among both presenters and participants. I had an opportunity to get to know Hilda, a marvelous Taina from Boriken who now lives in Maine and who demonstated interest in the tradition of our Caney Indigenous Spiritual Circle and our United Confederation of Taino People tribal community.

The following day, Sunday we began the day with morning and sunrise ceremonies of different types, followed by a great deal of warm interaction and sharing through breakfast and lunch. In the afternoon I offered my second presentation, a demonstration of the Taino shamanic tradition which began with a group guaitiao dance in which pretty much all the attendees participated either as drummers or as dancers..."Guaitiao guariko aruaka guakia!!!".

The dance was followed by a relating of the Taino sacred narration of Deminan Caracaracol and the shaman Bayamanako. This introduced the attendees to the Taino perception of the power of the shaman to draw out of a person his hidden qualities like Bayamanako drew out of Deminan the sacred hidden turtle of compassion that had always dwelled within him all along repressed by the youth's arrogance.
It was wonderful to see how well received these messages from the sacred Taino narrative tradition were by people from all walks of life and from all ethnic backgrounds.

On Sunday evening I had the pleasure to experience a screening of the new documentary by Shannon Kring Buset, 2012: The Beginning which coincidentally features no less than five important chroniclers and teachers of the 2012 meme all of whom I have worked closely with: The noted author of the epochal book MAYA COSMOGENESIS 2012 John Major Jenkins, the accomplished archeologist, epihrapher and Mayanist Ed Barnhart. the Yucatec Maya teacher and spiritual guide Ac Tah, The K'iche Maya elder who was one of the officiators at the ceremony for our group in K'umark'aj Guatemala during our 2011 pilgrimage to the sacred sites in the Maya highlands, Tata Jose Soc, and of course Tata Pedro Cruz, with whom I collaborated during this Midwest Shamanic Conference and with whom I established a powerful connection this past weekend.

Shannon's film is, in my opinion one of the most concise and accurate documentary expositions of the 2012 phenomenon and merits the praise of anyone who is seriously interested in this prophecy. I had the unique pleasure of meeting the film-maker after the screening of her movie and was touched by her genuineness and approachability.

On Monday after sunrise ceremonies and meals we all participated in a round-table discussion and group exposition of ideas and opinions concerning the gathering and its 2012 theme in the main classroom of the campground.



It has been an unique pleasure and honor for me to have participated in this endeavor and I loook forward to many future collaborations between myself, along with our CANEY INDIGENOUS SPIRITUAL CIRCLE and the enlightened organizers of the EAGLE CONDOR FOUNDATION which was responsible for sponsoring it.
Taino Ti
Miguel Sobaoko Koromo Sague

Venus Transit celebration in western Pennsylvania June 5 2012 at the Mesa

Takaji (greetings) My Relatives
A wonderful group of about 40 peaceful brothers and sisters gathered at the MESA CREATIVE ARTS CENTER in western Pennsylvania approximately 30 miles from Pittsburgh this past Tuesday, June 5, 2012 to observe and celebrate a once-in-a-lifetime event called the VENUS TRANSIT OF THE SUN. We gathered there in front of a symbolic altar that contained powerful elements of millenial Maya tradition, including our very own sacred green stone community skull and replicas of the bust of ancient Maya mystic ruler, Pacal and the Maya temple-pyramid in Tikal, Guatemala.

The astronomical event we were celebrating, as viewed from the Earth, consisted of the slow passage of the planet Venus accross the face of the sun as it passed between us and our solar lord, a phenomenon that occurs in pairs every century. I was able to observe the first one of this particular pair through the telescope of a friendly astronomer, perched on the heights of Mount Washington commanding the city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in June of 2004 and was looking forward to this particular one for the past eight years.
Although the skies over our area were heavily overcast all evening long on Tuesday, rendering my carefully prepared eye-safe rear-projection telescope rig totally irrelevant, we were able to watch the astronomical phenomenon online on the NASA webcast from the observatory on the Mauna Kea volcano in Hawaii. And it was nothing short of IMPRESSIVE!

Our gathering was a joint effort of the MECG Caney Indigenous Spiritual Circle through our MAYA-TAINO PROPHECY INITIATIVE, and the MESA CREATIVE ARTS CENTER, a mystical place of magic and healing right here in our western Pennyslvania region.
We were blessed to have been welcomed warmly by the founders and loving caretakers of the Mesa, Kate and Brad Silberberg.

We began our event with an introduction and brief explanation of the Mesa by Brad and Kate.
After that I took the time to explain the actual astronomical phenomenon of the transit using a large beach ball to represent the Sun, a smaller ball to represent Venus and an inflatable globe to represent the earth. I also discussed the significance of the Venus Cycle within ancient Maya tradition.



Our sister Vikki Hanchin, who is one of the most important people responsible for sparking the most recent wave of interest in the Maya prophetic tradition here in western Pennsylvania, shared with all of us her personal perspective on the meaning of Venus-associated phenomena as they relate to the visit here several years ago by Guatemala Maya teachers Don Alejandro and Grandmother Flordemayo which she was instrumental in organizing. She also shared with us important global spiritual understandings of this sister planet such as her symbolic representation of the Goddess Venus in Greco-Roman tradition and other vital elements of the femenine in the current stage of the evolution of human consciousness.

Both my talk and Vikki's were received with lively discussion and questions from the participants gathered in the main meeting area of the Mesa.


Eventually we transitioned into the ceremonial portion of the gathering with two songs by members of the White Buffalo women's drum group led here in Peaceburgh by our sister Susan Ferraro. Although Susan herself was not able to make it to the event our sister the Caney Circle beike (spiritual leader) Tenanche Cemi-Ata Rose Golden led those women members of the group who did make it to the gathering in several of the group's best loved songs and chants playing the beautiful buffalo-skin drum that resides at the Mesa Center. The women were accompanied by the rest of us chanting and playing our own drums and rattles to the rythm of their powerful music


The songs of the women helped all of us transition from the indoor activities to the outdoor portion of our ceremony. We all exited the building and gathered before the beautiful new tipi that Brad and Kate have erected in front of the main structure at the center.

Once inside the tipi the ceremony continued with the burning of copal and sage and the chants and songs of the participants many of whom brought their own sacred music to share with us.







The event culminated appropriately enough just outside the tipi with the traditional lighting of the two ceremonial torches that in the Taino culture celebrated by our MECG Caney Indigenous Spiritual Circle, represent the double light of the full moon. We did this since the Venus Transit of 2012 coincided with the June full moon occurrence. We honored the femenine element of the cosmos in two different ways on Tuesday evening. Our sister the Boriken Taino beike (spiritual guide) of the Caney Circle, Allia Tureygua Rahe Martinez honored us by taking the role of Ata Bey the Cosmic Matriarch in the lighting of the torches, led by our sister, the Powhatan-Taino beike, Tenanche Cemi-Ata Rose Golden.

I want to say Bo Matun and Hahom (Many Thanks) to all of the beautiful humans that joined us this past Tuesday at the Mesa for this historic event. I also want to thank the Great Spirit Yaya Guaturey for allowing us to celebrate this ceremony in such a blessed space and with such wonderful people.
Taino Ti
Miguel Sobaoko Koromo Sague
Caney Indigenous Spiritual Circle