The Pilgrim Path

The Pilgrim Path

After meeting the spirit of the Hikuri flower in the year 2012, my journey took an unexpected turn towards the sacred sites of the Wixaritari people in Mexico.

a little window into the path of the Pilgrim.

As I approach the end of my first commitment cycle of 5 years in Autumn 2023, I realize that my journey has only just begun, and there is much more magic, self-discovery, and knowledge awaiting me.  And the constant reminder that it is all about the “journey and not the destination”.  

“To honour the medicine that was healing me and teaching me, I have to walk behind the medicine and the elders. To walk the path becomes a life purpose. ”

— Quote Source

The Wixaritari people are an ancient nation of farmers and hunters living in the Sierra Madre, Occidental range in Mexico. They are known for their knowledge of medicinal plants and their artisan crafts are considered very high quality. They are also known as the guardians of the Hikuri the “flower of the desert”, and their culture is intrinsically linked to this flower and its history that expands all the way to the North part of the American continent.

Their visits to sacred sites or pilgrimages are an important part of their culture and their survival. It is an essential part of the Wixarika cosmic dance with nature and the spirit realm.

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The Wirikuta desert is one of the most important and sacred places for the Wixaritari people, and they visit it every year as pilgrims, taking offerings as a show of gratitude and building a relationship with these places of power.

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During my first visit to the desert in 2019, after 7 years from my first encounter with the Hikuri, I was fortunate enough to be accompanied by a renowned Marakame ( * ) and his family with whom I have been working with for quite a while. It is of paramount importance that the visits to the desert should be done with an authority from the Wixarika community.   

( *) Marakates are the Medicine Men/Women of the Wixarika people. They are renowned healers with a gift of communicating with the spirits of the earth, the "Kakauyaris".

Our teacher and friend Marakame Don Emilio. Rest in peace.

Before entering the desert, we were part of a ritual in order to stablish an honest and coherent relationship with the desert. We had to confess, to clear past negative experiences and reclaim our sexual energy.

This ritual takes place every year the night before we go hunting for the flower.  As  the years passed I realised that this moment of confession is the first time I faced the “Obsidian mirror” the “Shadow” during the pilgrimage. 

It is a moment with the “Great Mystery” between Tatewari -grandfather fire- and you.   

This yearly ritual elevates your awareness and understanding of the flow of your own energies. 

A good confession before hunting makes things easier in the desert!

“Deep gratitude to our elders and teachers as their heart is pure and authentic. They speak of the the way of the heart. ”

— Quote Source

Hunting for medicine demands purity and sacrifice. In the morning after the “confession” we walk into the desert searching for the beautiful flower. During  the time of the hunt we are not allowed to eat or drink water until the hunt has ended.

The desert pilgrim is an special kind of hunter, one that becomes the hunted once he/she has  consumed the flower, the flower will eat him/her from inside taking the pilgrim into a journey of self discovery and flow with nature.   

After hunting for medicine we carry our offerings to the Kayumary mountain, the sacred site of the Wixarika people. This place is a powerful vortex of energy, a unique place on earth. The Kayumary is the first place where we leave coins and offerings collected during the year in our ceremonies.   

On my first visit to the Kayumari mountain, I made my commitment to the Hikuri and the desert. That day I received a crystal from this sacred place gifted to me by the Marakame.

Since then, I have been travelling to the desert and other sacred sites, in Mexico & Colombia carrying prayers and caressing the earth with our intentions and love. 

As a pilgrim, I strive to walk life with integrity and respect. In the hope of leaving a legacy for future generations just as the Marakame and the desert do and have done for so many years and for many people.

Overnight Sweat Lodge Ceremony. What it is? What for?

Overnight Sweat Lodge Ceremony

A ritual into the silence and darkness 

with the five elements.   

The Olmecs say: “That silence doesn't distract you”. Silence is an essential part of establishing a relation/communication with the elements and nature.To quiet our mind so we can be one with nature and the universe. Silence is often the origin of great ideas; it is an encounter with our truth selfs. 

The Overnight Sweat Lodge is a ceremony that allows a deeper and more profound work with the unconscious and release/transmutation of energies or traumas. It is a powerful physical and energetic detox. It is a ceremony that brings together the 5 elements in harmony and intention.     

The night invites darkness, the complete absence of light… The beginning of everything, the opportunity to go back to the “womb” and seek an opportunity to be born again. The elements of darkness and silence are complemented by the Sweat Lodge that is often referred to as the womb of Mother earth. The combination of the above plus the water, fire, the songs and prayers creates a healing and transmutation space that allows participants to experience a feeling of rebirth and clarity as they come out of the Sweat Lodge into the daylight. 

As the light progressively makes its way back into nature and the seeds are ready to sprout, we should prepare ourselves to do the same. Our elders always talk about the importance of aligning with nature and its cycles. 

“We are children of the Earth and the Sun and as we walk this earth we should do in harmony and respect nature and all forms of life.” 

This Overnight Ceremony is also intended to help participants to prepare the “their Seeds” for the new year and set their clear intentions. Thus we step into the cosmic dance of the universe and into the concept of “Constant movement”. By aligning to nature we are bringing ourselves into nature's frequency and energy. Thus All our intentions/seeds will sprout beautifully and we will collect our harvest when it is ready. 

“It is all about learning to work with nature and not against it.”

After the sweat Lodge we will gather around the fire for food and to bring “Integration” into what we experienced. It is important to work as a group to support each other

“ If you heal.. I heal. “ 

Second Week ( preparing the communal space)

During the second and third week we focus in getting a communal for volunteers build. A place to have lunch, change clothes and take a break during their time at the farm.

Permaculture Volunteer Project

Our Frits day at the farm. The yamas came to greet us.

First Week

Keep the water flowing

During thew first week we worked in getting the water flowing around and across the farm. Avoiding the flooding of certain areas and creating spaces to catch water, always following the flow of the water and making the most of our landscape.

Getting our space ready to build our communal space.

More info coming soon

Werjayo Berito Kuwaru'wa and the Seeds Alliance in the UK.

In January 2019 with the financial help of my community in the UK, I embarked on a journey to my home country, Colombia with the intention of connecting back to some indigenous communities known as the U’wa (1) and the Wirajo community (meaning: ‘Wise man’) Led by Berito Kuwaruwa.

Berito is a Human rights activist, a warrior who has fought and won big battles against multinationals in his territory.

Berito and Uwa Leader in the USA exposing their case.

Berito and Uwa Leader in the USA exposing their case.

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My visit to Berito was long overdue and to be honest I wanted to find out more about who, in the words of Jose Ismael, is known to have a “deep and profound word” connected to mother and about his people that have defeated the multinationals and successfully removed them from their territory.

I met Berito in the summer of 1994,

I was 14 years old at the time.

A delegation of community leaders from back home paid a visit to London hosted by another grass roots organisation. Among the leaders there was a representative of the Afro-Colombian communities Naka Mandinga, also with them came a leader of the peasant movement: Pacho and two indigenous leaders; among the last group of people was Berito Kuwara'wa. 

Berito was and still is the spokesman and traditional authority for the U’wa indigenous community.

The U'wa, known as the "people who know how to think and speak,"

The troubles:

It all started in 1991, during the time the U'wa people were fighting against an initial oil exploration by a multinational called Occidental Petroleum Corp (OXY). 

In 1992 the Colombian government issued a license to Occidental Petroleum to begin drilling the sacred territory of the U’wa. The issuing of this license violated a 1991 Agreement, ruling that oil exploration in indigenous territories required community consent. The U’wa continued their fight despite ongoing death threats that were issued against the community and their leaders.

The journey

Cubara, Arauca, Colombia.

Berito’s community is located in Cubara (2), a small area in the remote Andes of northeastern Colombia, along the border with Venezuela. 

To get to know Colombia’s geography, I travelled across the country from The Cauca region known as Bota Caucana - I was visiting the Inga people, but that is another story- to Duitama in the Boyaca province, up north. I made Duitama city my first stop staying at Jose Ismael’s expenses, Jose Ismael is an artist and community leader who has been instrumental in keeping in touch with Berito, Jose is has also been an inspiration using art as a method of the struggle and his knowledge in farming is quite vast. 

I will come back to Jose later, as his work is amazing and deserves a space of his own.

Once in Duitama I had the choice of going to Saravena, then Cubara in Arauca two ways, the short or the longer route. Duitama to Saravena in Arauca, is a Journey of about 8 hours, 400kms. Before getting on the bus there were rumours that the insurgency and the army were in confrontation in that area, thus it was a matter of choice of taking the longer route and hoping that the fighting would not spread to the route I was taking.

This trip to Saravena in Arauca was somehow surreal, I couldn't believe that I was finally going to visit a part of a country unknown to me if it weren't for all the history books. The Arauca region was the land of the independence and freedom, a region full of magical and heroic tales, as well as death, violence, oil and poverty. As people say "Don't visit Arauca, especially Saravena if you don't have any business there". It (Saravena) has been a region of conflict and war for many years.

Yes, I was a bit scared but I was fulfilling an old dream of visiting Los Llanos, the extraordinary plains of Colombia.

The U'wa are a peaceful nation of more than 6,200 people. Both the U'wa and the Cloud Forest they inhabit are among the last of their kind in the world, but sadly, the U'wa way of life has been jeopardised by oil, gas, and mining concessions condemned by Environmental and Human Rights Organisations around the world. The extraction of the natural resources and the construction of mega-projects in the U'wa territory has already contributed highly to a climate of violence leading to human rights and environmental disasters.

These communities consider themselves guardians of the forest including the species therein. For centuries, they have protected large tracts of forest by prohibiting all human access - including their own. These tracts now function as de facto biological reserves for such species as jaguars, spectacled bears, and toucans. 

In 1995 Shell, Oxy’s Partners, left the project and in 2002 OXY left the project. This was a victory for the U’wa people, they won a huge battle, however, not the war. 

In 2014 nearly 20 years after I first met Berito, our paths crossed again in a ceremony known as Kiva, “Raices de la Tierra”- "Roots of the Earth".

Berito is one of the leaders of this very important ceremony in Colombia. When I first saw Berito I was not 100% sure he was the person I thought he was. So I approached him to ask him if he had been to London in the past. To my surprise he remembered me. Not only did he remember me but he also underlined the importance of building bridges of solidarity with our brothers and sisters in the UK and around the world.

Berito kuwaru’wa  was Goldman Environmental Prize in 1998 for his role as spokesperson in conflicts between the U'wa people and the petroleum industry. KuwarU’wa, on behalf of his tribe, the U’wa, has waged an international campaign imploring multinational oil companies not to drill in the tribe’s remote homeland high in the cloud forests of Colombia. The U’wa believe that oil is the blood of the earth and that to extract it is equivalent to committing matricide. Choosing suicide over what they see as genocide, Kuwaru’wa and 5,000 others have pledged to jump off a cliff if oil development takes place. "The U’wa territory is sacred," says Kuwaruwa. "The U’wa culture has no price."

I arrived in Saravena very early in the morning and as expected there was lots of tension in the town due to the clashes between the army and the insurgency. After waiting for over 2 hours, Berito arrived with his wife and on the way to Cubara we passed the army control point and a few meters after, Berito asked the driver to stop the car and pull over. He wanted to show me the place where 2 days before, the insurgency had planted a bomb to attack the army. Fortunately the bomb was discovered on time and was deactivated. All that was left was a big hole next to the road.

Suddenly, the fact that I was in a war zone hit me. I had been in different war zones in Colombia in the past and witnessed its devastating effects but still, coming face to face with the reality, first hand, does shake you to the core. I guess living in the comfort and safety of London does soften you a bit. 

This is where the bomb was.

This is where the bomb was.

This is where the bomb was.

In our final stop to reach the community we were greeted by a group of young "indigenous guardians" and  I was asked about the purpose of my visit and for how long I was going to stay in their land. 

The Uwas are known as to be very well organized and effective when it comes to protecting their territory. 

Once in Beritos’ house the man in charge of the overall safety of the Uwa community visited us and introduced himself, he wanted to know more about me and the purpose of my visit.

After all the questioning and free pass, he informed me that they would assign a person to be with me all the time as a safety measure for my protection and Berito’s. They fear the insurgency or paramilitaries may try to kidnap me and the community leader.

Uwa Territory

On our way to Berito’s house

My first impression:

Berito’s home is very humble and his family live under very difficult conditions of poverty and health problems due to a lack of basic resources. I asked him if he received any money from the Goldman Environmental Prize - I had to ask him- and he said he had and it was quite a big sum, but he did not keep it for himself and used the money to buy back the land that belonged to his people from the white farmer colonisers and thus extending their territory and to further strengthen their community. He also mentioned the abundance of oil in their territory and especially in his community. I thought to myself, how ironic, this man is probably one of the richest men I have ever known and he lives under appalling conditions. because he has chosen to benefit his community above his own personal interest.

To be continued…..

Berito’s House

My sleeping place.

This was my bodyguard assigned by Great Spirit to look after me.

Cofan Christmas Appeal

DEAR BEAUTIFUL FAMILIA, 
IN THE NAME OF THE RESGUARDO QUERUBIN QUETa WE WANT TO THANK YOU FOR THE SUPPORT AND HELP. THANKS TO YOU THE COFAN TRIBE AND THEIR CHILDREN HAD A CHRISTMAS CELEBRATION. 

VISIT OUR PAGE FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT OUR PROJECT WITH THE COFAN TRIBE:
HTTP://WWW.HEALINGTHELANDPROJECT.COM/

Dear beautiful Family,
As you may be aware we are currently working with the Cofan Tribe in Putumayo, south region of Colombia in the Amazon. The governor of the Resguardo Jardines de Sucumbios, Lorenzo Morales, recently contacted me. He was asking for help and assistance for the children of his community.

Due to the current political and social situation they are facing in the region, this year they will not received any assistance from the government this Christmas, thus the children and their families will not have a Christmas celebration this year. 

Their Christmas celebration is not just about buying presents for the children that of course is a good enough cause, but is also an opportunity for all the families to be together including the non indigenous families that share the territory with the Cofanes. Taking into account what this community is going through at the moment, any opportunity to celebrate and be together is a great opportunity. 

Thus, we are asking for donations to buy the children presents and also to buy food so that they can have a communal dinner and celebrate. 

For more information about the Cofan tribe and their struggle to defend their territory, their land… Our Land.
Please follow this link: http://www.healingthelandproject.com/news/2015/7/8/lorenzo-moralez

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________

DONATIONS CAN BE MAKE TO OUR PAYPAL CCOUNT: healingthelandproject@gmail.com
***Donations will be send to the community on the 21st of December 2015***
For any more information:
Email: healingthelandproject@gmail.com
Mobil: 07757946219
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
Clothes to donate are also welcome; please get in touch before the 1st of December 2015 to arrange collection.
Thank you
Ometeotl
For all my relations,
Rafa

Support Relmu Ñamku - Mapuche Indigenous leader

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"Relmu Ñamku, mother of 3, is a Mapuche Indigenous leader from Argentina. She is currently facing trial, after being prosecuted for defending her territory against oil & gas extraction. This Changes Everything UK, Movimiento Jaguar Despierto and Argentina Solidarity Campaign are working together in the UK to raise funds to support Relmu in her trial. All funds will passed on directly to Relmu and will be used to cover costs associated with the trial and her defense."

For more information about Relmu and the case, you can read this excerpt from an Amnesty International briefing below: 

"An Indigenous leader, Relmu Ñamku, [is being charged] with attempted homicide on 26 October for hurting a policewoman in 2012, when her community resisted eviction from their ancestral land, in Argentina’s Neuquén Province. She had first been charged with ‘causing harm’. She may face an unfair trial, and risks 15 years in prison.

Relmu Ñamku, an Indigenous leader from the Mapuche Winkul Newen community, [began her] trial on 26 October, charged with attempted homicide. She had been one of three members of the community prosecuted in 2012 after they resisted an oil company’s trucks preparing to drill on their land, and a police officer was injured.

On 28 December 2012, while members of the Winkul Newen community were attending a Mapuche funeral (Eluwvn) the police came to their ancestral land in Paraje Portezuelo Chico, Neuquén Province, with an eviction order. A large number of trucks and bulldozers from the oil company Empresa Apache arrived at about 3pm and were ordered to enter Winkul Newen territory. Members of the community threw stones at the bulldozers, and a police woman was injured.

After this, three members of the Indigenous community, Relmu Ñamku, Martín Maliqueo and Mauricio Raín, were charged with «causing harm». The charge against community leader Relmu Ñamku was later changed to «aggravated attempted homicide». The prosecution provided no additional evidence to justify this change. If convicted she will face up to 15 years in prison."

For further resources, see: www.amnistia.org.ar/relmu.

You can also sign a petition to support Relmu here: http://accionesbiodiversidad.org/?p=85

http://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/solidarity-funds-to-support-relmu-amku

Freedom for Feliciano Valencia

FELICIANO VALENCIA is an indigenous leader       

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For the the defence of the territory, self determination and self governance !freedom to mother earth and to our people!

FELICIANO VALENCIA is an indigenous leader from the Asociacion de Cabildos Indigenas del Norte del Cauca (ACIN), and was a councillor of the Consejo Regional Indigena del Cauca between 2007 and 2009. He was spokesperson of the social movement Alliance la Minga de Resistencia Social y Comunitaria, and also it’s successor the Congreso de los Pueblos. He is recognised as a ‘master of traditional knowledge’ by UNESCO, and is one of the most distinguished social movement leaders of the 21st century in Colombia. He is recognised nationally and internationally for his extensive knowledge of ethnic rights, his important contribution to advances in indigenous legislation, and his protagonist role in regional and national debates between social movements and Colombian ex-presidents Andres Pastrana and Alvaro Uribe Velez, and current president Juan Manuel Santos.

In recent years Feliciano has led countless public protests and campaign actions, which gave rise to negotiations and agreements with the government. Feliciano has been vociferous in demonstrating how the government has not complied with these agreements, and arguing that the Colombian state has a historic debt towards the social movements, communities and peoples. He has been invited to conferences, forums and to universities around the country to present the vision of peace of the indigenous movement and social movements, where he has outlined the proposal of construction of community-led, transformative peace which is inclusive and participative. Because of his frank and uncompromising attitude in demanding respect for the collective rights of communities, he has suffered serious security threats against him, which have increased with his leadership in social protests against genocide and state abandonment of communities. In his role as representative of indigenous authorities, Feliciano has exposed the responsibility of state and other armed groups’ in violations of human rights and international humanitarian law in indigenous territories.

For more information: 

http://movjaguar.blogspot.co.uk/

Defending life, resisting destruction: communities and coal mining in Colombia

"Your operations generate displacement, they dispossess us of our territory, and they result in a loss of our culture and of our cultural identity. It generates internal community divisions such as is the case with the internal divisions caused to the organisations of my community of Tabaco." Samuel Arregoces

BHP Billiton part-owns the massive Cerrejon opencast coal mine in Colombia. It also has opencast coal operations in Australia, Indonesia, and South Africa. And it produces oil and gas and is involved in fracking in the USA. 

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Danilo Urrea of CENSAT Agua Viva (Friends of the Earth Colombia) and Friends of the Earth International said that CENSAT had been accompanying the communities in La Guajira in the north of Colombia, where the El Cerrejón mine operates. He continued:

“Throughout these years we have witnessed the irresponsible behaviour of the Colombian state in the face of conflicts related to coal mining, generated by the Cerrejón mine. We have also witnessed systematic, repeated and irreparable damages that your company has generated, and the inadequate way in which Cerrejón has responded to these impacts.

“We are also aware of the abuses of corporate power which can be seen in the following ways:

Negotiations which have resulted in the subjugation of communities
Processes of community division
Not respecting signed agreements
A pretence of corporate social responsibility
Privatisation of Water

“These elements have generated the dispossession of ethnic communities from their territory.

“These situations lead us to believe that shareholders of the Cerrejón should profoundly consider what is currently happening with their company in Colombia.

For more information visit: 

http://londonminingnetwork.org/2015/10/the-two-degrees-yet-another-bhp-billiton-agm/

UMATURKA The Call of the Water Documentary

The documentary UMATURKA - The Call of the Water follows the Aymara community of Quillacas, who continue to challenge the encroaching modern world and culture by performing the annual Umaturka ritual to call the clouds and rains following the dry season. UMATURKA serves as a memory of the Quillacas’ customs, culture and traditions that form part of the present, reality and life in the contemporary Andes. Giovanna Miralles and Dr. Peter Wilkin completed the different stages of production for the documentary with their own resources and are seeking support to cover the costs of image post-production. Luzmila Carpio, a North Potosi artist, singer, composer, former Bolivian Ambassador to France, contributed one of her songs for the documentary. 

This film is an important record of cultural heritage and memory of an ancient Andean ritual of the South American plateau; performed to keep the delicate balance between the life of the community and the harsh environment. 

This is your opportunity to help to finish this documentary to show one of the facets of Latin American culture, enabling Andean culture and tradition to reach a wider audience.

Support our campaign: 

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/umaturka-the-call-of-the-water-documentary#/

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Next opportunity to watch the trailer will be at the event organised by the Anglo-Bolivian Society on the 11th of November 2015. Please follow the link for more information:

https://www.facebook.com/events/726555630822533/