Tuesday, November 14, in the evening
We have arrived at a very special place in Medellín, about 2,200 meters high. Our hosts are friendly and want to support us in every way. There is even a jacuzzi and a Turkish bath, but since we have little time to tune in as a community body, it is only used to a limited extent in the late evening.
We have the morning to ourselves. Unfortunately it rains a lot, so there is not much time to explore the area. For me, the essence of water is very present here and I hear the small streams flowing down the hillside. I suspect that we will be working much more intimately with the theme of water in the near future.
Our first group meeting will take place in the afternoon. The vibrations that want to form a common group body are very diverse. I am delighted that Cheryl Angel Sicangu Lakota is among us, together with Eleanor Ferguson, a young woman who, together with three other young people, including her friend Tocata, who was also in Tamera, inspired the huge action of “Standing Rock” when she was 13 years old. This is how Cheryl, a warm-hearted woman who is very committed to the young indigenous forces, tells us the story.
Through her presence, I feel the presence of Ladonna Brave Bull Allard, who died of a brain tumor a few years ago. She said at our original “Defend the Sacred” alliance meetings years ago:
“One of the things I tell people is that Standing Rock was just a seed, and that seed has spread internationally.”
Cheryl is now with us and, together with Eleanor, she continues to carry this seed. When we named the Defend the Sacred Alliance, many people reacted by saying that the sacred does not need to be defended. For me, the impact of Standing Rock was so groundbreaking because their commitment brought the “sacred” back into the leftist movement, beyond religions. Even the word “sacred” has been misused and needs to be cleansed. The sacred does not need to be defended, but we as humans are called to bring it back into our consciousness. Only with the alliance of the sacred forces of life will we be able to bring a peace movement to success.
Cheryl founded the Sacred Activism in Sacred Stone camp and led the largest women’s march at Standing Rock. She combines women, art and activism to protect water and inspires SHE, a collective of musicians, artists and activists that supports communities protecting their drinking water from pollution. Her compassion for others gives her the courage to raise her voice, and she focuses her work on protecting water, reconnecting people with nature and honoring her ancestral roots.
In one session, she talks about how she keeps traveling to Europe to remind people of their origins there as well. “There are indigenous roots everywhere, and it is our job to remember them.” These words touch my heart, because I have often witnessed views from Turtle Island that also practice separation and believe that there are no indigenous roots in Europe. The genocide that took and is still taking place in many places around the world also happened in Europe thousands of years ago. The original community knowledge was destroyed, and we have to do deep reconciliation work among ourselves to remember our true roots.
It is a rather unusual step for me to travel with a group of people I hardly know, and who are travelling in the name of the alliance. A whole group from Mexico is among us.
I am familiar with Miguel Ángel Pimentel from Peru and I know the commitment with which he works with the tradition of Peru’s indigenous culture. His specialty is making offerings, a way of connecting deeply with the earth body, the mountains, the waters and all beings in the region. His teacher was Taita Matin, who was killed in an accident in front of his house in Cusco a few years ago. Some people from Tamera still knew him personally and we often connect with his soul at our altar.
Since I am traveling without a computer, writing will be somewhat complicated in the coming days. My heartfelt thanks go to Elisa, who continues to revise, supplement and correct the diaries.
The other fellow travelers on this journey are:
Ati Quigua, the hostess and a leader of the Iku tribe of the Arhuaco; Gabriel Meyer, who was also already part of the Comunidad de Paz; Miguel Humblet, architect, artist, ecological consultant from Portugal; Carmen Jedinger from Austria and Portugal, a spiritual mentor and founder of Antara Atelier; Ivan S. García, a cultural entrepreneur, media producer and activist for the rights of indigenous peoples in North and South America; Rajendra Singh and Indra Shekhar Singh from India, who have also been with us in the peace community of San José; Helena Manrique, who has also been with us since our time in the Comunidad de Paz; Alfredo Eduardo Chavez Guzman, guardian of the Wirikuta desert and ally of the Huicholes – we call him Lalo – and his partner Amelie; and of course Nevaith and Luis Miguel from the Comunidad de Paz, who are also joining us for the second part of the journey.
In addition, two translators, Alexander and Alexandra, who see themselves as planetary pilgrims, are traveling with us. Tracy, a peace journalist, and Alheri Perez, a young Colombian man born in Norway and now living in one of the largest ecovillages in Colombia, joined us at the last minute. It is good to have some young people among us who are heading towards a new future with a lot of courage and strength. Alheri has always stood out for his beautiful songs and his comprehensive view of things. You can tell that he has been trained in solidarity. In addition, people invited by Ati keep coming.
Thursday, November 14
After a long day in various, sometimes delayed airplanes from Medellín via Bogotá to Valledupar, we arrive very late at night at the Arhuaco. So we spend the first night in a wonderful hostel.
View from my room.
I only slept for about three hours, because we are meeting at 7 o’clock in the morning. The question is whether we go to a ceremony immediately or “rest” first. The rest consists of further rounds of talks to get to know each other better and to find the intention for our trip as a “Defend the Sacred” alliance to this place. There are 20 of us. Many are here for the first time.
I am here primarily to get to know the Arhuaco way of life and, of course, to receive new ideas for combining prayer and action!
We set out on our pilgrimage in the afternoon and it turns out that we will be spending the night somewhere else. Our “arrival” was brief. They first take us to the place of their “government”. There is an old stone circle here.
We have our lunch at a sacred place. I am touched by the magic of this place and have often dreamt of a similar place in Tamera. We continue our pilgrimage to another of their sacred places, which they call Kaduku, the place where they communicate with the earth.
In the evening, we light the sacred fire in a small building specially erected for this purpose. The Mamo, as they call their priests here, lights the sacred fire with a small stone. Miguel Ángel has prepared a small offering. We are here to align ourselves in our intention. We also have the opportunity to embed the first part of our journey well. I report on the peace community of San José and each of us talks about the profound experiences we had there. Nevaith and Luis Miguel talk quite intimately for the first time about how they found the two victims who were murdered in the spring.
Now I have the feeling that we have really arrived.
Friday, November 15
Today is the saint’s day. We gather for morning prayer as early as 6 a.m. It’s a full moon.
We meet at another stone circle. I got up at 5 a.m. to experience the magic of the place in silence for a moment. The Arhuaco explain to us the deep meaning of the stones, which store the information of the destiny of this place.
We come into contact with an ancient indigenous cosmology. For the Arhuaco, all life arises from a father-motherhood. All living beings have a mother and a father. For them, the sun carries both forces, but the sun was also born. We as human beings are connected to all elements, plants, animals, stars, visible and invisible forces.
Today they have introduced us to a deep form of communication with the earth. Every word is sacred here and carries more spiritual power than our normal spoken words. During all prayers, they hold cotton or cotton threads in their hands, and we put all our thoughts and strength into them.
First, we connect with the place where we were conceived and born. We go back in spirit to where it was dark and we did not yet know light. It is about the purification and honor of this sacred source. Then we connect with our placenta. For the Arhuaco, it is the holiest place, where heaven and earth meet, the source of our lives. They say that at the hour of our birth, all the information that shapes our life path is already stored. If we keep this information pure, we receive guidance from the earth.
They explain to us that the cotton threads are used like paper on which we write. There we put all our thoughts in such a way that the earth can absorb them. They describe the stone circle as acupuncture because it is networked with many other places. The Arhuaco speak of 36 sacred rivers in their area and nine lagoons. Together they form something like the heart of the earth and have the task of keeping the forces in balance.
I am very familiar with these core formations, because I am connected to a very similar cosmology through the stone circle of Evora. The goal of these days is for us to make a declaration that is connected to the intelligence of the earth. For the Arhuaco it is self-evident that in addition to human rights, there are water, fire and earth rights. Plants, elements, we all together form the alliance of life. From this connection arises the connection between sacred power and social power.
Saturday, November 16
Today is dedicated to water. Water carries an enormous amount of pain because it is mistreated everywhere.
Originally, they wanted to travel with us to the sacred water place, but the road is closed due to heavy rains. Besides, it was clear that we still had to do human work among ourselves in order to really perceive where the waters come from, to purify them and then mix them together.
We go to a small stone circle near the place where we are all staying. Now the ceremonial work begins. The mamo, who is very quiet and only speaks when necessary, first explains to us in their native language how we should pray. It is very important to him that we do our work well and precisely. Many have no water with them, so he asks that we start by working with the water we have with us. This is the first time that Mamo has worked with internationals, and it is quite an art to conduct a ceremony where so many different languages are represented in one circle and everything has to be translated into Spanish and English. They keep emphasizing that their language has a kind of inner logic that we cannot translate.
Once again we have our cotton threads in our hands and we make small spirals with our hands to purify our waters. We go to their source. From there we make spirals and go through all the areas.
Due to the somewhat bumpy moderation, it is not easy to remain in prayer. Again and again, questions arise in the circle that do not come from the prayer space but need intellectual explanations. Or individuals begin to tell long stories of what they have experienced, all things that actually do not belong in a prayer circle. Ati tries to moderate with great patience, but you can also feel here that this experience is new to her.
Nevertheless, I manage quite well to connect with our oracle source, the drinking water source and with the Sado, the river into which our waters flow all the way to the ocean, where the Sado flows into the sea. Before my closed eyes, I see the dolphins in the sea, how they greeted us when we finally reached the estuary after a pilgrimage of several weeks. For the Arhuaco, these are sacred places where the rivers touch the sea, and it is our responsibility to keep them clean at all levels.
We connect our prayers with the nine lagoons, the mothers of their waters here, and with the 36 rivers. Then we are asked to visit the sacred places of the country. They emphasize that originally there was a “mamo” in every country – what we would call a “priest” in our language, if it were not so religiously distorted – who had the task of communicating with the waters. This knowledge is passed down from generation to generation. They have a staff that connects them to the waters, and in addition, all countries have sacred places where communication with the waters is practiced.
I see our stone circle in Evora, the many sacred places and ancient dolmens near Monsaraz.
My mind wanders to the west coast, where there is a lot of abuse due to the greenhouses that affect the climate in such a way that the clouds cannot follow their natural cycles. I go in spirit to our sacred mountains, where there is also abuse due to the mining of lithium. I imagine the cleansing, mountains that are reforested. I see the natural biodiversity before me. My heart is filled with gratitude that we at Tamera have already been able to contribute so much to the healing of water and the growing network around water. “Tamera” means ‘at the source of the spring.’ I greet our altar in spirit, where we have gathered so much sacred water and ask for help and support so that we as a community can hear the voice of our land and take on the task that has been given to us.
What I can’t see are the mamos who carry the responsibility for the water and for the land, so I ask that they may reappear in the future.
At some point, a visitor begins to tell a rather long story, where I realize that I can no longer maintain my prayerful vibration. I kindly ask that we learn to distinguish where the social stories are and where we devote ourselves to prayer. In my view, prayer research is also a kind of science that we can use to learn to be very conscientious.
Ati agrees, the clouds above us are thickening and it is time to invite our waters into the center. It begins to rain lightly, which we feel is a living response to our prayer. Now, unfortunately, clear instructions are missing. Rajendra from India stands up and speaks powerfully in his own way about the sacred waters from India that he has brought with him. His water comes from an altitude of over 7,000 meters. His greatest wish is that we put our personal concerns aside and truly connect with the waters. He does these things in his very own way and they may go a little beyond the tradition of prayers here.
A somewhat bumpy communication causes injuries that almost led to individuals leaving the circle. Building trust between different cultures is an enormous task.
Lalo from Mexico presents his water beautifully, but the others are distracted and unable to concentrate. Again, someone is about to leave the circle. “I can’t stand this energy,” she says quietly. I step into the center and express that I can’t continue like this, that our waters need a different presence, and that the most sacred waters won’t help if we’re not willing to establish human coherence.
The rain is approaching. We all give our little threads, with which we had prayed, to the mamo. The greatest work for peace takes place among us humans, there is no way around it. Now I am in great demand to mediate in my art. The mamo, Ati and her mother also come with a small delegation to calm the offended people. They agree to stay. In the afternoon we decide to present all the water we have brought.
Now reconciliation takes place in our group. Gabriel begins to sing. Nevaith stands up, embraces Ati and Mamo. Now a round of hugs begins. There is indeed a great opening of hearts among us all and we are ready to continue the circle.
Healing water has a lot to do with cleansing our feelings, our words and our thoughts. Perhaps at this moment a part of the cleansing of our waters has taken place.
In the evening we are invited to a dance evening. The music of the indigenous people is powerful, combining joy and revolutionary power.
Saturday, November 16, and Sunday, November 17
To better understand the work here, it is important to understand something of the cosmology of the Arhuaco. From their perspective, this area is the heart of the world. They have felt that they have not been seen or heard for many years, and therefore they have great hopes for this meeting, because they expect that through this alliance a decentralized power will be activated that, in resonance with the earth, will allow a new force to arise that will enable us to reorganize our life systems in resonance with the earth.
It was very important to them that we performed our prayer with the Earth’s body exactly at the full moon and that we performed the cleansing with our origin and the places of our birth.
After the prayer at Kaduku, the place where we communicate with the Earth, we come together again in a circle around the fire. We sit together for four hours and each of us is called upon to find words for what is sacred to us. Moving words come into our midst and again we bear witness to the pain that humanity has lost its wisdom to cooperate with life and the earth.
I take the opportunity to talk about the importance of us humans and the enormous violation of the sexual source. As long as we do not heal this, new violence between us humans arises again and again and we live in separation from the matrix of life. We bear a great responsibility with this source of creation. As long as we do not recognize that the sexual source reflects creation and goes far beyond our personal needs, we cannot truly heal and listen to the voice of the elements within us.
Nevaith, who was very shy until recently, speaks movingly about the sacredness of life and how much she is searching for the undisguised sources of truth. The Mexican group brings us the soul of Mexico and Eleanor finds words of hope for the youth.
Ati closes the circle with a passionate speech. I will paraphrase it in free words: The Earth is our mother, she creates the laws and the order. We harmonize with her. If we do a good job, she will help us to find our common declaration. We represent many qualities. We rarely have the opportunity to come together with so many cultures. These are sacred places that hear us. They recognize us. We have a right to be here, but we always ask for permission for all our essential activities. This way we can achieve our goal in cooperation with the Earth. Ka means Earth, Ta means truth.
It is clear that we need power, but the power that is currently being used is a sick power. From our point of view, “Defend the Sacred” has the task of building a school where we learn about the fundamental laws of the Earth. Either we raise our consciousness or we perish. We live in a time of dawn, a time of awakening. To do our work, we have to work with our fear. We have to recognize it and let it go.
For this, the knowledge of women is of great importance at the moment. Kumuku – that is what the Arhuaco call the knowledge of women. We have to find a collective guidance that resonates with the whole.
Final thoughts:
I keep thinking of Andrea, Katja and Elisa, who are still in the peace community of San José to protect them from attacks with their presence and to exchange ideas with them about further possibilities of protection in the future. Katja has cleaned the cosmograms in the stone circle there and sent me pictures, which I was very happy about. Andrea has many conversations with her long-standing friends there and makes people laugh with her manner. And Elisa is now also getting to know the everyday life of the Comunidad de Paz. We write to each other regularly to find out how we are doing.