Return of the Ancestors Gathering-the Kumbh Mela of the Indigenous

Return of the Ancestors

The Kumbh Mela of the Indigenous

My first day at the Return of the Ancestor’s gathering in beautiful, vortextual Sedona,AZ, was beyond expectations and filled with healing for the Earth and all who attended. The only issue I had was that photographing the ceremony was allowed for the indigenous but not for us white folk. How's that for old paradigm? Words will have to do. Actually, it was kind of nice not having cameras popping every milli-second.
The day began with music from many traditions, all impromptu. Spiritual reggae, hula sung and danced by the Japanese contingent, and a raconteur from El Salvador warmed up the crowd until the Master of Ceremonies, Mayan Elder Don Alejandro Cirilo Perez Oxlaj from Guatemala, arrived. I’ve nick named him the "Barack Obama of the indigenous" because he catalyzes change and much needed healing among the very badly wounded Native peoples across the world. Dressed in white pants, traditional Mayan woven shirt and white Panama hat, he quickly brought out his hand-carved staff from an ornately embroidered cloth case. Cradling it in his arm and he spoke as eloquently as ever. Standing about 4 1/2 feet tall, he and his wife Elizabeth, are both larger than life characters.

Setting the Tone
The first issue that Mayan daykeepers always address is what day it is on the sacred calendar, which sets the tone for the consciousness of the day. It was:

4/ imox (crocodile), the day of the hypnotist, therapist, the midwife, the scientist, the doctors, and all men and women who can see and feel a connection beyond the stars. He says that everyone gathered this day has this connection, otherwise they wouldn’t be here. Because of this, we are united, nourished by one sun which shines on us equally. Then, he offers one of his (and mine) favorite prophecies, “We are the ones of yesterday, the ones of today and the ones of tomorrow” which speaks to the eternal nature of our souls.

Seguing to the Long Count calendar, he reminds us that we are living in the last of the 13 katuns on the Mayan era-based calendar. We are finalizing this 5,2000 year cycle of the 5th sun. He says we must pray to nourish the authorities so that they have the heart and strength to think of their children and grandchildren as they make their decisions.

Mayan Fire Ceremony Spontaneously Shifts to Multi-cultural
I was flabbergasted when Mayan shaman Don Juan, who led a sunrise ceremony and divination for us at our Yogadventure in Guatemala last year (photo left), stepped into the sacred circle. Dressed in the traditional garb of the men of Santiago Atitlan, he orchestrated the many Maya who were fixing the ingredients for the ceremonial recipe. Candles of all shapes and sizes and incense from every continent were neatly taken out of the sacred bundles and arranged for strategic and efficient use.

Meanwhile, Don Alejandro had stepped away from the microphone so that he could make eye contact with the Elders seated in the front rows. They were from many nations and decked-out in full regalia according to their traditional styles. The 500+ onlookers, also from all four corners of the Earth were spellbound (and pretty colorful characters also).

Don Alejandro asked specific Elders to step into the four cardinal direction of the circle as follows:
white spiritual leader, North
red Apache from Texas, East
yellow Shinto priest from Japan, South
black man and woman from Ghana, West
Note that these colors are also the colors of corn. One of the indigenous prophecies is that when all these colors blend together, a new world age will come to pass.

Each person offers prayers and a few words about their culture, the common threads being duly noted by the audience. The African contingent asked us to remember those who died in slavery, the trail of tears and the great wars. You could have heard a pin drop when the white man of the North says there is a change in the atmosphere from the previous commission. He said that white people have not done a good job and with help from the ancestors, we can do a better job in the future. We need to find our way back to our ancestors, our roots, and remember them so we can all heal. Someone in the back of the crowd interrupted him, saying that we whites should ask, here and now, for forgiveness. Don Alejandro responded by stating that all people make mistakes and it is a part of our cultural programming. We moved on and the point was well-taken.

Soaring Eagles
At the peak of the ceremony, lots of whooping and hollering was going on as we were all invited to be nourished by the fire, walk around it and make our offerings. We looked up to see three bald eagles soaring above, which, you may imagine, is very good feedback from the animal kingdom and the deities. Don Alejandro emphasized the eagle's importance, as there is one day on the Tzolkin of this energy.

Ancestral Healing

I have not been dry-eyed for days now as I confront the atrocities of my own ancestry and know that this is a huge piece that I need to heal. (see en route to AZ posts) My Mother's people were settlers, and I've read letters about their land deals, fights with the Natives and, even though they were ignorant victims of their version of cultural programming, their collective self-righteous energy still needs to be healed. Aluna Joy calls this the great healing. I just know that I have had such difficulty choking down these white supremist attitudes lately and they need to clear. Learn more about ancestral healing...

In the middle of the afternoon, Larry Running Turtle, the Apache from Texas, came over to me for a chat. I told him about my journey across the US and how hard it has been to acknowledge and make peace with the wrath we whites have wrought, especially in my own family. I teared up again and he pulled out his rattle, a precious tool adorned with feathers and a turtle shell at the end. He touched me with it on my shoulders, arms, knees and head. He took a tear from my eye and kissed it. He said that this is what these gatherings are all about and it is good that we do them. What grace, power and forgiveness he offered me.

The ceremony lasted at least three hours, with no dull moments.

Mixed Marriage
A wedding between a Native woman and white man took place after siesta. Don Alejandro presided, taking 30 minutes to list out all the possible challenges that a married couple could (and would) face. His humor is so low-key, yet entirely infectious. Grandmother Margarita Numez Garcia offered the couple a sacred pipe, explaining it as an instrument of merged duality.
And then, the dance. Inca flutes, Zapoteca guitars and African love song carried us until sun down.

Sweating It Out
By the end of the day, there were two sweat lodges going, one for men and one for women, but things were operating pretty loosely that day, and we ended up with a full lodge with mostly women and several men. The white woman that poured for us had learned the Lakota Sioux tradition, spending time sun dancing and sweating at Pine Ridge, SD. A young Lakota also from Pine Ridge (they didn’t know eachother) assisted her and adorned her work with Lakota language mixed with English.
After three rounds, she asked that we go around the circle and each say what we are thankful for, which, of course, turned into full-blown life-story stuff. Many had been on the "red road" for years with 200-300 sweats under their belt. For me (pita dosha, you know), it was getting ferociously hot (is it cheating to use yogic sitali breath to cool down in a sweat?) and the last person speaker was very pressured to get it over and out. It felt great when the flap opened, we crawled out and met the cool air and a sky full of stars.We sealed the experience outside the lodge with a smoke. Ahau. And how!

Post Script: Mysteriously, I found out in passing just before I left that the program for the next day had been cancelled. Stay tuned for the next installment. I'll send it from the res. if they have wi-fi in Tuba City.