The Journey of Being Alive

A Living Testimony of Being to the Sacredness of the Ancestry of a People who were and are present in the Eternal Now
Margarita Nogueras-Vidal, MA Panelist Jayuya, Puerto Rico

Annual Meeting of the American Studies Assn. San Juan , PR Nov. 15-18th, 2012 Puerto Rican Convention Center

Indigeneity Conference

Panel Director: Dr. Antonio Castanha University of Hawaii Panelists: Dr. Reniel Rodrguez, UPR Sra. Margarita Nogueras Vidal, MA (Native Artisan)

The Journey of Being Alive by Margarita NoguerasVidal

The Journey of Being Alive is suggesting that life in general, our lives as Native (Descendents) of the lineage of Yukahu - Guabanse and the lives of all peoples is in a process of transformation and that the Universe to which we all belong is seeking Equilibrium.

What is presented before you is but a brief perusal into the experiences of the Living Spirit of Borik that dwells within every fiber of our being and creation and is ever present... This is a Living Testimonial of Being to the Sacredness of the Ancestry of a People who were and are present in the Eternal Now. The Journey of Being Alive speaks about Presence, giving credibility to the discovery of this Truth, thus unveiling many untruths of recorded history. Over 500 years of recorded history pervades Academia and still the enigmatic question as to the existence and the survival of the Native Descendent (Borikua, Jibaro, Tano, Carib) continues to elude many a Scholar. The illusion of control, separation, scarcity and lies is quickly loosening its grip on human awareness thereby pulsating humanity onward and into a New Awakening. The children of the Earth are awakening and are realizing that the future is unwritten. We can create a life of happiness and abundance for all from within ourselves and each other. This same journey is making us aware that we can also choose to remain in the slavery of illusion, scarcity and separation. The Journey of Being Alive speaks about the essence of the soul of the People of Borike, the continuity of a heritage that we interpret as being present in a society where the people, who have been part of the processes of assimilation in the dominant society and have maintained their essence of being, lay claim to their identity and to the legacy of their Ancestral Stronghold.

HISTORY and the HUMANITIES of Academia, including but not limited to: anthropology, archaeology, psychology, ethno-history, sociology, etc and Government have defined and argued about the native peoples of this and other native cultures and traditions. Thus identifying, categorizing, labeling and interpreting the unknown of who we were and are. Thereby also creating and being witness to the plaque of stereotypes, prejudice and discrimination that have been a result of subjective and misunderstood translations and interpretations. Native Peoples have been and continue to be a major concern to groups of Non-native people who have laid down the ground rules to decipher and interpret the familiar concerns of: the how, the what, the when, the where and the why in and of Native Culture and Tradition. The Historian has by circumstance or purpose been instrumental in the perpetuation of some truth, partial truths and untruth, sometimes utilizing subjective interpretation and/or social and religious prejudice and fear.

The Historian narrates and writes history. Henceforth, the making of History or history in the making. . History has perpetuated the illusion of a dead Native Peoples, romanticizing the existence of what was or may have been. Nonetheless, we recreate our history through literature, drama, movies, dance, song and other media. We bring to life our culture and our tradition. Here in Borike, the Native Peoples are alive. We are honoring our Ancestral Heritage through the arts, music, dance, celebration and ceremony. In Borik (Puerto Rico) we are ever present amidst the dominant culture. Life and our surroundings are showing us that the time to speak the Truth has come. The native root of our essence cannot be denied when the Society in which we live and thrive nurtures the idioscincrasy (from whence we have come). According to Dr. Martinez Cruzado the Mitochondrial gene (Maternal Bloodline) is present in more than 61% of the people of Borik. We are also present in the Educational Classroom of our schools. The Company of Tourism, The Institute of Puerto Rican Culture, and The PRIDCO Company of Economic Development and other existent Cultural and Traditional Organizations and Educational Institutions of the Land. In Borik (Puerto Rico) the Native Spirit lives on.

In spite of the multiple attempts made by Dominant Society to divert our attention from our Culture and our Traditions; through entertainment, ridicule, alienation, separation and apathy, we, the Native People of Borik thrive on who we have been and who we are, I believe, this to be a trait of our Indigeneity. We are the way we have been meant to be. The Indigenous Peoples of Borik are being sort after by many community people to recreate, dress, act out, sing, dance, speak, honor, and to replicate or create Sacred Artifacts of the Ancestors and to celebrate Ancestral Ceremony. The visitors from other lands also come to see, to learn and to honor the Native Tradition of Borik. We are a living Culture celebrating life with all creation in our homes, schools, communities and towns. We live throughout the island. There are many groups on the island that are called upon to enact and/or recreate Ancestral practices as part of a cultural event. There are elders who guide and teach the young and others and there are members of the Indigenous /community that come together for special situations. One of those special situations was announced one evening on june 24th 2005 when we, members of the Native Community of the Island were advised that the Native Community had been given permission

from the State and local Institutions of Borike to ceremonially bury the human remains of an Indigenous female ancestor (Aracoel) of over 700 years, that had laid exposed under a stairwell in the Cemi Museum of Jayuya, PR since the year 1990. With the consent and approval of the Mayor of Jayuya, the Honorable Georgie L. Gonzlez Otero, and the Director of the local Office of Tourism of Jayuya Town, Gladys Rivera, and with the authorization of the Office of Historical Preservation of Ancestral Sanctuary in Jayuya, Borike has been created. This is the first of many other Ancestral Sanctuaries that we trust will continue to flourish on the Island in honor of our Native Ancestors. Every year since the year 1997, the Native Community has celebrated a Native Gathering which takes place in Jayuya on August 12th, of every year. In the year 2005, the Cooperative of Artisans of Jayuya Town joined this celebration with the support of the Municipal Government. This gathering is a Community Life Celebration event that honors the Ancestral presence in our lives. There the Cemi is presented and honored as our sacred Icon, the morning sun in the manifestation of Boinael (the Heart of the Sun) is honored and gratitude is expressed in the name of all of the people and for all life. The womb and Heart of the Earth is blessed and strengthened and we cuddle our Mother with our love and our gratitude. We teach by example the language of fire and the language of stones are taught to those that want to learn. The Language of the Drums and the maraca are shared and played,

songs are sung, dance and music are felt and most importantly the flame of love is ignited and maintained throughout the Universe during this celebration. The young are taught about responsibility, also by example. Going beyond the apparent expectations is also part of the processes of initiation. The Ancestral Spirit teaches us that when we enter Ceremony, we are all Children. To be in a state of innocence is to be empty enough to learn. So we enter the Batey (place of reunion) through the South Door which is a safe place to be; ready to receive the wisdom of the Ancestors. The sacred foods are prepared and shared and the ancestral presence is felt. This is our way of expressing our gratitude and appreciation to the Spirits of Nature and Creation. Artisan workshops are taught to the young and to people of all ages, artistic enactments are presented and other artisan products are also made available to the visitors that want to purchase specific authentic artifacts. We are fulfilling the prophecy of Aura Surey (Morning Star).that claims that the Native People of Borike will rise again. The Ancestors who were and the Elders who are able to read the signs of nature and to hear the voice from within, know that the time of Awakening is already here. The Ancestors are providing us with the tools that are needed to build anew our Bohio. Everything starts from within. As we think so it is. Many Native

peoples of Borike are in the dream of the awakening. We are cleansing and healing as are all people. But we have a choice to walk this path laid out by the Ancestral Spirit within our heart. This is so because we belong to this lineage. In our teachings the Heart is where the Key lies. It is where the Creator comes when you need or desire to feel love. This is where Yukahu-Guabanse lives. Our Heart is the home of the Cemi. The Cemi is our parent. Although Attempts have even been made by the Smithsonian Institute of the United States to discover the secret of the Cemi (Our Most Sacred Icon) by Shamans of other Nations it has been fruitless. We, are The People of The Cemi. Perhaps some may not remember, but most do and intuitively know that this Icon is Sacred. The mystery of the Cem can only be revealed through LOVE. To know the mystery of The Cemi is to know ourselves and to know the Legacy of this Land. This is our inheritance. The indigenous population of the world prevails and recognizes that we are but a spoke of the Great Wheel of Creation and we make this wheel turn with all of the other populations of the world. As the Great Wheel turns, so do we all. An abyss forged with intent by the powers of oppression filled the hearts of many of the subjugated peoples of the Amerikas. Their aim: to eradicate and to deny the existence of Native People

and thereby prevent the Native People of the World from pursuing their right to live and to prosper. Every generation of Indigenous Peoples since, have been the unwilling and perhaps unsuspecting subjects of colonial and post colonial trauma. . The Mirage of powerlessness has been a dominant factor in controlling the mind set of the people.

The arrival of the the Invaders lead to the incessant malace of a possessed and defused of love and respect for life throughout the Amerikas, creating the seed of malevolence which spawned throughout the Continent, aligning with others of like mind and purpose. To destroy, to control, to dominate, to seek out and to possess the Gold and the Sacred Artifacts of Indigenous and (other) Nations has been the goal, including the continued attempt to assimilate native peoples into the dominant structure, called SOCIETY. Today, The People of the Amerikan continent are still here. We, their descendents live on and have survived the invader mentality; the cruelty and the process of controlled assimilation and we have and are learning our lessons as well. Today we are stronger because of this. Our Spirit was never broken. We were and are Indigenous, in the NOW which is ever present. We carry within ourselves our

Ancestors, as we carry each other and the unborn seeds of the future. Today marks a new beginning for all of us. For it has been written in the hearts, minds and spirit of the native people all over the world that we rise again as the phoenix, from the ashes, as the firebirds that we are, into the sun, empowered by the Great Spirit of Creation, in our tradition: (YukahuGuabanse). We call in this power to ourselves as we create with our minds and hearts the life that we want for ourselves, our children, our families and for all creation. We know that what we do to each other we do to ourselves. To the many Nations of the World including: Rome, Italy, Spain, Portugal, England, France, Holland, Germany and the United States, to site a few that were motivated by conquest and control, we are in the 21st Century and your Nations still retain and claim ownership to the Human Remains of our Ancestors and to the Sacred Artifacts of our Culture and our Tradition. We respectfully request that you awaken and see that it is time for your Land to return the remains of our Ancestors and the Sacred Artifacts taken. This way you can receive the benefits of peace, and we can honor our Ancestors and inter their remains in a Depository of the Earth Mother in Borike. Finally, Members of the Indigenous communities of Borike and of the diaspora, are coming together. We are being summoned by the Ancestral Spirit to walk within and to express our Areytos, our celebrations and prayers. We are also now creating and writing our own History. It is also our

responsibility to come together and to use these experiences as tools to examine, to better, to change and to enlighten our lives. This way, we can better understand the flow of life and our intentions in it. The Creator Energy has given us Love always and also has faith in us all. How we decide to participate in this Ancestral Plan is entirely up to us. We all come from one source, a center of totality and being. . This impulse is leading the Peoples of the World into ourselves and helping us to take conscious responsibility for our own lives and the lives of others. The Continuity of Life is for all Beings who choose to live in harmony with each other and with Creation. We are a part of each other. This is what the Invader Mentality did not comprehend and did not accept. The Invader Mentality is nameless and colorless. It can manifest in anyone and at anytime. Its source of power is our fear, our lack of love and our lack of respect for each other and life. It only takes form when it is nurtured. If you do not allow it within then it does not exist. We must always remember that what we do to each other, we do to ourselves and to all. We are indeed servant and master of our own destiny. As we sow, so do we reap. Jan Jan Katu. Tiobo Guatukan.

Email: nativa24@yahoo.com

The Taino, Borikua, Jibaro, Carib People Live On!