Tiempo De Siembra: A Traditional Connection To Our Brothers & Sisters Of All Nations
"It is through the plants and from nature that we are guided to the Infinite, to Chamahua. Nature is the 'good spirit' that guides us and shows us the harmony and balance to follow in order to enter the path of the infinite."
Tata (Grandfather) Cachora
AS STUDENTS AT THE EARTH CENTER, we had the honour to come to the Kumeyaay reservation, Aguaje de la Tuna in Tecate, Baja California, Mexico for a four day ceremony for the spring equinox, thanks to an invitation from a much respected elder and spiritual medicine man called Tata (Grandfather) Tezkalci Matorral Cachora, a Yaqui Elder. He is an elder who, through his simplicity and humour, is able to expose you through his simple conversations and animal stories. He is a lineage holder of ancient and sacred Toltec traditions. Through the years, The Earth Center has built a strong relationship with Tata Cachora to enhance our relationship as keepers of ancient knowledge and to expose and share the traditions of the old ones, "the ancestors". It is through returning to the way the ancestors lived that we can know our relationships with the Earth and our destinies. Perhaps most importantly, we must learn about the Neteru, (Gods) who are responsible for our concept of time keeping, the ones that govern all our existence and everything we are exposed to do; our learning, growing, and transforming in becoming Divine Beings too.
The ceremony began March 18, 2011 to honour the coming of spring. Many indigenous communities in Mexico, Central America, and South America call this "Tiempo de Siembra", meaning time of sowing. The equinox reveals the season for sowing and planting; without it, they would be lost as a people, not knowing the appropriate time to prepare the Earth, feed it seeds so the rain can come and flourish the harvest to come in the later months. The sowing represents the cleansing and purification of the Earth. Celebrations are made for the spring equinox and fall equinox, to bring offerings to Mother Earth, in appreciation of what she provided to the community, and in supplications of the community for the coming season. In Tecate, the celebrations that we participated in were dances, offerings, and contributions by all the cultures represented in the celebration. It has become a multicultural, international ceremony open to all people, tribes, and religions; many teachers, ceremonial leaders, spiritual guides, body healers, dancers, drummers, and conscious spirited people who had traveled from close and from afar. They offered their teachings and healings to the people. It was our first visit as a school to the spring celebration. We were greeted with joy, blessings, hugs and honour. The first thing we did when we arrived and before we left was to greet the elders of the community and the families that hosted the ceremony. As expressions of our appreciation and respect, we gave tobacco and whatever we could to support the community. We were not different: we were all family. We were all there celebrating and honouring life, all life forms, spirits, and the Ancestors. During this four-day ceremony, indigenous people of Canada and the United States conducted a Temazcal, a Nahuati word meaning "bathing house". It is also known as "Inipi" or sweat lodge.
The morning sunrise started with a 'campfire greeting' by the spiritual leaders, and the calling of the four directions. It was then followed by a Temazcal, offered both at sunrise and sunset for the purification of the body and spirit. Throughout the whole day, there were core dancers who were committed to sacrifice and dance all four days, joined by all those who came to the ceremony and danced 'danza de la primavera, "dancing of spring". There are beautiful dances offered by indigenous communities, songs and dances to welcome and call upon different spirits, animals, elements, plants, and all life forms, all led by the elders. These songs were callings, offering songs and prayers for a good harvest, rain, a good season.
Through this ceremony, we were reminded how intelligent and advanced our Ancestors are in reading the sky and knowing when to plant, to harvest, to hunt, to do gathering, to do rituals, to make offerings, to perform ceremonies, and to receive sacred directions about where the migrations have taken place. Our Ancestors were so sophisticated that they were able to tell the seasons by watching the horizon as the sun rose or set.
They would observe the sun by sitting in one location for a period of time and mark it as a petro glyph. They would also orient themselves by seeing how the sun hit the peaks and valleys. This allowed them to tell the time of the year. The sun would always sit in the exact spot that they marked. They had different methods of reading the sky. Another tool/instrument our Ancestors used to read the sky was a vertical stick to cast a shadow, marking it with a rock to help track the time of day. Using this same method, they were able to build pyramids that aligned with the stars, moon and sun. Many indigenous tribes were masters in surviving by reading the sky. Many ancient people tracked equinoxes and star formations and built structures to have lighting effects on the skies. At Chichen-It-za, a Mayan temple in Mexico, in the afternoon during the vernal equinox, you can see the shadow of the serpent God Kulkulcan coming down the Kulkulcan pyramid. The Hopi (of the Southwestern United States) and other tribes would watch only from the spring equinox to the fall equinox; and during the winter, they didn't do anything. They watched only from planting to harvest. Their survival depended on their relationship to the Earth, the sky, and all their relations. Without knowledge of these relationships, there is no way to survive, only self-destruction.
This gathering of the many different indigenous people brought us together as one. We all honoured each other with humility and respect. Interactions between students from The Earth Centers of San Diego and Los Angeles let us see the simplicity of a brother and sister walking on the same path. Through this journey, we were able to see the similarities among the traditional teachings of M'TAM and the teachings and ceremonies of all the other indigenous people represented at the ceremony. These ceremonies, like many other ceremonies, are traditions that have been passed down through our Ancestors. These ceremonies are in relationship to the harmony of the Earth and the universe, but most importantly, to the Neteru and our Ancestors. The Neteru, "Gods", are the reason for our entire existence as human beings; they set the structure and foundation of life. It is they who established the Divine Model for how to live our lives in order to become God-like. This is our purpose and destiny, to become like them. The balance of the natural world and the destiny of humanity depend on our relationship to the Neteru.
”It's like picking up a piece of dirt and saying This is where I started; and this is where I'll go. The land is our food, our culture, our spirit, and identity."
Aboriginal wisdom
These words state the essence of all people. However, they remain central to those who continue to keep the traditions and to respect and live their culture. These words also remain central to those who know their relationship to the Earth and to the uni-verse. For many of us, this is a return to the wisdom of our Ancestors.
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