Taino Woods Update – August 2021
Bo Matum Family!
We had a beautiful and successful sweat lodge on July 17th. Our prayers for family, unity, and healing were heard. We celebrated birthdays; and we paid respect to our relatives who have crossed over into the light. Led by our youth Cuyo Areito, an amazing facilitator and water pourer, assisted us in tremendous healing. Bo Matum! And a special Bo Matum to our community for coming together in prayer and love.
Sweat Lodge Ceremonies:
On Sunday August 22nd, Taino Woods will be hosting a full moon sweat lodge: Prayer Sweat for Family to receive our prayers and intentions from our July 17th sweat. This sweat is currently filled to capacity. How exciting! With that being said, we are not accepting any walk-ins. Please do not come to participate in the sweat lodge on this day as we do not have the room to accommodate you in this ceremony. We do have availability for campers, so please feel free and invited to spend time on the land! For those already registered to attend, please arrive promptly by 10:00 am sharp, to help with the prep. Fire is lit at 11:00 am.
But do not fear, we have more sweat lodges for you! On Saturday September 11th and Saturday October 30th, we will be hosting a sweat lodge ceremony. For more information and to reserve your spot, please email us at: tainowoodsny@gmail.com
If you want to learn more about our sweat lodges, here is a participant’s testimonial about a Taino Woods sweat lodge experience:
Looking Ahead:
We are looking to further develop Taino Woods by building a Guanara Kansi, a seclusion hut, and a Kansi, a Taino sweat lodge. We have been in communication with our Taino elders, relatives, and ancestors for guidance on the proper ways to build this purification guanara through prayer songs, medicine, and the preparation for building the structures. With the intention of listening to Creator and creating spaces of healing for others, we humbly ask for your help in creating this dream.
Volunteers:
A special and humble call to our community, we ask for your assistance in supporting Taino Woods by making a donation to our GoFundMe page: Taino Woods Rising. We have reached the half-way marker of our $7,000 goal; thanks to you! Your contributions will continue to significantly help us in hiring contractors as Taino Woods demands much heavy labor. Your help will allow these contractors to bring and cut wood; and collect and install 12 tons of stones to fill holes in our pathways across the land, to the River, underneath the Maloca, and across the parking area for our community members and campers. Your donations will help us to sustain the land by building a trench too! We have experienced some erosion due to water runoff from the heavy rains and snow from the mountain above us; and it is extremely important to create a system that will allow for both Taino Woods and Mother Earth to live harmoniously. We would greatly appreciate your generosity. Han hankatu!
Apprenticeship:
Taino Woods has created an apprenticeship program for those seeking to improve their skills and knowledge in prayer and ceremony. The Seven Water Purifications, also known as seven sweat lodges, are designed to bring deep healing, connecting with Nature (Mother Earth) and your inner world, to find your purpose, and to learn how to be of service to yourself and others. You will develop skills and knowledge in fire keeping, catching stones, assisting in ceremony, opening of the directions, tobacco prayer, dressing the lodge, prayer with stone, and wood and kindling gathering. This apprenticeship has been created for those with a calling to ceremony, and to prepare you for participating in future medicinal ceremonies like Vision Quest, Sun Dance, or Moon Dance.
The Seven Water Purifications apprenticeship requires a commitment from September 2021 until March 2022. It will run through Fall and Winter. As an apprentice, you will be required to choose four weekends during this time. Each weekend will consist of two sweats in which you will learn the skills and knowledge mentioned above. Our starting available weekends are:
- Saturday September 4th and Sunday September 5th
- Saturday September 11th and Sunday September 12th
- Saturday October 2nd and Sunday October 3rd
For more information about the Seven Waters Purifications, to reserve your spot, and to learn about the suggested donation for the sweat, please email us at: tainowoodsny@gmail.com.
If you are seeking a deeper commitment to the art of ceremony, but are uncertain about making this type of commitment, we encourage you to attend our September 11th sweat lodge as this will give you the opportunity to participate in a sweat lodge ceremony and get a better idea of what to expect from this program. In the meantime, check out this video that explains and describes a turtle lodge: The Turtle Lodge with Elder Dave Courchene