From the Secoya nation in the Amazon I learned that if you get bit by a snake, you will have to talk to the Boss of Snakes and thereafter track down the clan, family, and individual snake responsible for the bite. This way the matter can be resolved, and the wound healed in an amicable manner.
Amongst the Zulu Swazi and Shangaan peoples of South Africa, traditional healers called sangomas undergo training to correspond with their ancestors, and ask them for assistance in times of need. This training is sometimes precipitated by a period of illness whereby the apprentice is physically or metaphorically submerged in a river, and encounters the Master of the Water Snakes. Thereafter, knowledge is transmitted to the healer-to-be in a fluid and flowing fashion.
On a trip to New Orleans, I was waiting at the dock to go on an airboat tour of the swamp cypress canals and bayou. I wanted to say hi to the alligators and snapping turtles. Bored of just sitting there, I wandered off to go and explore the dense undergrowth and forest nearby. Did not get very far before a hectic man yelled, “Get the hell out of there! You are going to get bit by a water moccasin!”. And so that was the end of beating around the bush…
Well on the island of Taiwan aka Formosa, before the coming of the Portuguese, Dutch, Japanese and Chinese peoples, there lived and continue to live a number of indigenous aboriginal southeast asian malay polynesian tribal peoples. In one of their stories, a Bunun tribe woman named Hossu married a man named Li Ta Ko from the Rukai tribe. They were happy for a while, but things did not work out. Basically it came down to this: she liked to eat snakes – specifically, Chinese moccasins – and the in laws did not. Hossu left the Rukai, and ended up alone in the misty mountains. She kept waiting for a husband who did not come for her. In sadness, anger, and bitterness, she etched the rocks with her fingertip, and kept eating snake meat. And when she spat out the bones, they would turn into more snakes! The land was filled with pit vipers. This rock where she sat and traversed is called the great carved rock of Oponohu, and it is in the Maolin district of Kaohsiung County, in the southwestern mountains of the island.
Guess that is what I try to do too when I am angry or frustrated, channel that destructive energy into something a little bit positive and productive like art. Here she is, my Queen of the Hundred Paces.
For Alheli Yirama and Abuela Teresa Rivas Chicahuaxochitl
This night happened last week but perhaps it is grounded in mythic time long long ago not sure
it was a healing ceremony for all participants the stars were out the fire (grandfather) in the middle kept us warm and lit we prayed to the noble spirits that guide us in planetary motion in the milky way of lactating voices and overflowing consciousness from dusk to dawn
There was a blue deer bright luminescent and a soaring multi colored eagle with talons and eyes wow power wow by the flames was a rabbit playing a harmonica with steady cadence a lil fence lizard, blue belly, kept running in and out of the fire best of all was song birds chanting and singing hearts bout beating outa their chests edge of lips curled upwards just so, smiling and radiant
Rattlesnake’s rattle kept the time while stick pounded an eight sided drum with the beat hikuri the globose cactus came from the faraway chihuahuan desert for a visit with long lost relatives blooming pink petals – elder, gramps, ancient brother, old time friend – granting good visions of people gathered together with thankfulness and joy
Five was the sacred and special number four directions four points of the cross the four square corners set at right angles from one another north east south west four directions, plus the fifth 4 + 1 = 5
Pray to the north for the star of direction, the pole of navigation pray to the white light blinding of the sun and twinkling of the stars pray to the cold snow covered north pray to the north for the white folks whites of the fair skin and light eyes throw in the olive hued, date colored, and sandy toned whites too pray for their families pray for grounding in the earth pray for contemplation pray to see the eye of God and the white light within each person prayer for my white brothers and sisters prayer for the north all my family all my relations aho
Pray to the east for the rising sun yellow orange rays of warmth and happiness another day of no way this is happening another day of dang sheer magic place a gift that is sick nuts, throttle awesome our spinning earth ball, web of life full of unusual beings warm glow busting over the hills… a curtain of color linens drawn over the backdrop of stars pray to the east for the folks we call yellow for lack of a better word you know, asians that range from porcelain white to dark brown guess just lump and average em, and you get ?yellow? funny pray for courage and bravery pray for freedom and liberty pray for the pursuit of happiness prayer for my yellow grandmas and grandpas with white hair and wrinkles prayer for the east all my family all my relations aho
Pray to south for the southern cross pray to cape horn, cape leeuwin, cape of good hope pray to the roaring forties and the gondwanan south pray for my favorite direction the very hot, very wet, very black south african black, indian black, melanesian black, aboriginal black pray for the blacks pray for kindness and compassion pray for presence and focus pray for dignity and honor prayer for my black uncles and aunts with the white and yellow sclera in their eyes prayer for the south all my family all my relations aho
Pray to the west pray to the sea pacific the west full of natives the west full of infinite possibilities because beyond the sierras beyond the edge of the sea beyond the horizon anything might happen you don’t know we are here now walking on red land, belonging to red territory, saluting and bowing down towards the red setting sun falling into the sea what part of red people is red?? funny is it the skin? the blood in the arteries? or that brown ochre iron red earth, mixed with limestone and copper, embedded in their hands and nails, flesh and sweat? red pray to the red police officer pray to the red teacher pray to the red hunter and weaver pray to the red rancher and farmer prayer for the red medicine woman on the road pray for abundance and fertility pray for the rains, pray for oceanic swells, pray for mussels and eels at low tide prayer for my red nephews and nieces prayer for my red cousin working on a basket that is woven of white willow roots, white skunk bush bark, white bear grass stems yellow tule, yellow sedge root, yellow porcupine quills black maiden hair fern, black devils claw, black sumac splints colored by elderberry and red redbud bark, red yucca root, red woodwardia fronds dyed by alder bark plus bits of abalone shells and quail top knots prayer for the west all my family all my relations aho
Four directions could be peoples could be geography could be the plants and animals too north for mammals east for reptiles and amphibians south for birds west for bugs and crustaceans and the like or, could be plant communities and biomes north for tundra east for grasslands and plains south for deserts west for forests and so on four is just a number, it is a tangible, not too big not too small number simple and easy not so big like six or seven not so little like two to three
Lastly Pray to the center thats you, yes that is YOU pray to yourself pray within yourself pray inside out of yourself breathe in and out pray with love for yourself be generous with that love immerse in a meadow of flowers tuck yourself in with a blanket of petals listen to a bird song lullaby connect your tendrils to that of others spiraling colored grabbers on a dew dropped web of light the center, your center, is also the center of the universe, the core what it all revolves around you are the fifth of five the 1 of the 4+1 you are the axle in the wheel the eye of the storm the nucleus of the atom the sun in the solar system
And so, that is the path, it goes inwards your roots down and out your molecular vibrations, and your electro magnetic wave resonance, transcend and beam up to the sky, as they mesh and bathe in the radiation of the sun acknowledge the four directions and look up to the heavens, while we pray for anchorage pray for understanding pray for harmony pray for forgiveness pray from the stillness inside
Pray for the all the little kids pray that they grow strong and respected fierce and independent bonded and embedded in good community pray they make the cross of four directions white yellow black and red and bring the wobbly clay ball back to center on the spinning wheel of a steady boom boom boom boom beat prayer for all my family prayer for all my relations aho
Pray to the land and rocks and crystals pray to the plants and animals pray to the waters salty and fresh, water in the sky and water at the poles pray to the sky dark and light, rainbow strewn and thundering clouds pray to the fire in the molten core and the flames dancing within thats five that magic number again aho
Perhaps one day the butterfly might emerge from the chrysalis seems we’ve been meta morpho sizing for a long time now… you have dreamt this story poem, or something like it, before? well then we are sharing a thought and an emotion and a vision together, repeated in an infinite cycle there is a joke element to it, as well as a justice angle, and confusing as all heck too once you realize this, it is… endless hahaha laughter and thus grant us strength and endurance and patience so that we can work together enjoy each other’s being and pray in a circle around a fire for all my family for all my relations breathe out sigh hard let it go the bitterness and anger regret and sadness its not worth it we have just this moment in time treasure it aho
PS Prayer is that something denominational or religious? is it designed to keep some people in, some people out? does whoever pray the hardest, win? is the christian god different from the islamic god different from the communist god different from the black hole of exploding expanding universes god different from the stockmarket god? is praying to mother nature pagan and absolutely ‘the wrong god’? do you pray to statues and figurines, or pray to mountains and rivers? maybe you think you are God and act like it too LOL does it show weakness to pray? does it mean i am an irrational insecure and unreasonable person who believes in things unseen and difficult to observe? is there a right way to do it? a set routine you gotta follow? what does praying even mean? funny not sure
What I mean by prayer here is that you send your positive hopeful energy reciting, singing, playing, greeting, walking, cheering, laughing full bore open into the universe not judging, denigrating, putting down, talkin sh t, badmouthing, polarizing not poisoning the well, so to speak when you pray, you are not by yourself, you are not stuck in and on and within your own mind, ego, thoughts, riff raff, ding dong and so on we make a conscious effort to acknowledge, befriend, and give thanks to the planetary and cosmic forces that bind all of this together its all conscious, it is all sentient, it is a reflection of us thats all its one of them, simple, ‘duh’ and ‘oh’ things hahaha aho!
What is the dominant gas of our planetary atmosphere? Who makes the oxygen we and most of the creatures breathe?
Where is this person in a funny suit going? How will they breathe? What happens with regards to pressure, the deeper you go….?
What is decompression sickness commonly known as? Why does it happen? How can you prevent it from happening?
What happened here? Why is this person so swollen?
How does atmospheric gaseous nitrogen get ‘fixed’ and enter the soil? Who changes the ions of nitrogen between Ammonia NH3 to nitrate NO3 to nitrite NO2?
If we are talking about excreting nitrogenous waste as a liquid, what are the body parts involved in making this happen?
A solid form of nitrogenous waste is called a?
What is the difference between a steer and a bull? What nutrient is in green grass and alfalfa hay?
What kind of fertilizer is this? In English.
What is the active ingredient in this stump remover product?
What substance exploded at this harbor in Beirut Lebanon?
What important ingredient in gunpowder are they mining here?
Why does the military no longer fire rifles with black powder like in Civil War days?
BLACK POWDER INGREDIENTS
Early Gunpowder
An explosive mixture of 75% Potassium Nitrate, 10% Sulfur and 15% Powdered Charcoal. The first explosive known.
What do they put in sandwich meats to help them be preserved longer?
Are nitrates or nitrites ‘bad’ for you?
Are nitrates in vegetables natural? Where did they get the nitrates from?
Why do they put nitrogen in gasoline?
What are the basic elements in every single amino acid? Name four.
If you fold tuck and twist enough amino acids together, what do you get?
What is a good plant based source of tasty protein?
What are the funny nodules on these roots? What grows on the roots of leguminous bean type plants? What do they do? Why are they there? What do farmers call these kinds of crops?
In Mesoamerican agriculture, what are the three sisters? Why were they planted together? What do they do for each other? What is at the top of the corn plant (the dotted thing)? What is the stringy stuff coming out of the top of the corn cob?
What is your favorite high protein food? Which come from animals, and which come from plants? And which comes from a bacteria?
Which of these alkaloids have you met in person? What is the atom common to all these alkaloids that is colored in blue?
What is this man carrying on his back and head? What is being picked here? Is it a fruit or a seed? Does it grow in warmer climate countries or in colder countries? The main alkaloid it contains is?
Do you drink these liquids? Do you know somebody that does? What are these drinks? Do you like to drink bitter, sweet, or salty things?
What kind of plant is this? What are the round pods with a crown thing at the top? What part of this plant produces a alkaloid rich white latex? Do you know somebody in the hospital who was in pain and had to have a morphine drip or take oxycodone? Do you like to eat poppy seed bagels?
What is this plant? Where does it come from? What plant alkaloid comes from its leaves?
What is being manufactured here in the jungle?
Why do people snort white powder through their nose? Do you think this contributes to a healthy and happy society? Who should go to jail – the farmers, the processors, the dealers, the consumers, or?
What is this plant? Does it look a little bit like a tomato or an eggplant? How do you think the leaves smell?
In the middle ages, why do you think they thought a woman with dull dilated spaced out eyeballs was attractive? Do models of today have the same look?
What is wrong with this person? Why does their eyeball look like this?
What is this plant from the rainforests of south America that they called Jesuit bark or cargua cargua?
Who is this epic botanist? Where is he from? Where did he explore? What seeds did he collect?
What is in the tonic water of a gin and tonic that is beneficial to human health? Why is it advertised as ‘pleasant medicine’? What are you trying to prevent or cure by drinking this?
Which alkaloid has the nitrogen in a tertiary amino group? What plant has this alkaloid?
What plant is made into a stimulating tea in the desert? Why is it also called Mormon Tea? Why can Mormons drink it but not drink coffee or tea?
What is the primary active ingredient in some cough syrups and decongestants? Hint: it has a similar name as the scientific name of the plant picture above.
Have you seen people like this laid out on the streets? What happened to them? What did they smoke or inject into themselves?
What was the number one cash crop of colonial America?
How do some native tribes in the Amazon take their tobacco? Why do they use tobacco? What does it do for them?
If you are hunting monkeys with a blow gun and not a shotgun, what would you tip the darts with so that you can have monkey for dinner?
What might be another use for the poison used in darts, in modern day society?
If you have an aquarium, what particular nutrient do you have to be careful of such that it does not become excessive? From where does this nutrient come from?
If you have too much of this nutrient, what might grow in the tank? Where did it come from?
What makes green leaves grow? (Aside from the sun and water), what is the main plant nutrient? How do you make a yellowy lawn turn green real fast?
At twenty degrees Celsius, Nitrogen is in what form as a physical state (solid, liquid, or gas)? What is nitrogen’s crystal structure? What shape?
How many electrons does Nitrogen have? How many protons?
Thank you to all the photographers and artists who captured and made these images, and put them online for everyone to use and learn from.
Mission Azul 