Skip to main content

Prayer and Travel through New Eyes

Satellite view of the Amazon Rainforest,
the destiny of Jordan's jornada today.
Source: Wikipedia Commons, created by NASA,
with modifications by the World Wildlife Fund.
Today, a young man, Jordan, the son of a friend, travels on his evangelical mission to Manaus, Brazil, and twice, since learning of his endeavor, we have sung after speaking his name in the temazcales of Durango, in the Valle Guadiana of Mexico. I accompanied my brothers and sisters, including el Oso Hector, Oso Margarita, Goyito, Antonio, Martin, and others in the steamy heat of two ceremonies, during the waxing moon of mid-June.

In the temazcales of Durango we speak of “todas nuestras relaciones,” or, “all our relationships,” or, sensu lato, “all of my relatives.” The “guia,” or, “guide,” during each of four doorways may ask the “caminantes,” or, literally, “those who walk,” to speak, pray, or reflect. Caminantes generally focus prayers often focus on those with whom each caminante has relationships of any sort: family members, friends, co-workers, classmates, extended family, and even remotely connected beings of whom they only know names and hearsay. Following prayer, the guide generally suggests song,...another form of prayer in the temazcal..., reflection, rest, or conclusion of the doorway, or gateway.

Through prayer in the temazcal, caminantes practice self-control, loving kindness, forgiveness, trust, and stress mitigation. That which we practice in the temazcal helps us once we leave the “matriz,” or womb, of the temazcal circle and continue the circle of life. These same disciplines, Jordan practices through his church.

Marcel Proust (1895),
from original by Otto Wegener (1849-1924),
as posted in Wikipedia Commons.





As my jornada comes to an end, Jordan travels from the Midwestern United States to the Heart of the Amazon: the City of the Forest, the City on the Banks of the Black River (Cidade da Barra do Rio Negro),... Manaus, Brazil. For both travelers, as Marcel Proust wrote, ...“The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.”

Traveling and praying, we see the world with “new eyes” on our “voyages of discovery.” We develop new eyes toward these disciplines on the paths we travel.

Looking back on my own jornada and temazcales of the waxing moon of mid-June, I have pondered, daily, the relationship between a young man, Jordan...distant and little known to me...and and my own travel and life. With our “new eyes,” we may know each other a bit more.

... con todas mis relaciones.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Most Popular Posts InTheTemazcal.

The Element Chant - Tierra Mi Cuerpo

The first time I heard the temazcaleros sing, "Tierra mi Cuerpo," in the Temazcal , I knew that I had heard the song long ago ... somewhere in my childhood. There, though, it bore a name from my native tongue, English. I later remembered that I had learned it as "The Element Song," also known as "The Element Chant." The harmony took me back to a circle around a campfire, and, as it drifted through my mind, I heard its echo from a classroom in the Midwest, ... maybe in Greenwood Elementary School . I know that I have heard a number of versions and interpretations by different artists, in several languages. The song, or chant, ... simple and direct ... verbalizes a very basic relationship between the temazcalero, the human participant in the temazcal ceremony, and the elements of the temazcal: earth, water, air, and fire. In the temazcal, or Mexican steam bath ,  recall, ... in its most basic form, the temazcalero sits on an earthen floor, exposed ...
2 comments
Read more

What is a Temazcal?

Saunas, steam baths, sweat lodges, and sweat houses have been around for thousands of years. Modern versions of these ancient structures varies with their place of origin, with native Mexicans referring to a traditional sauna as a "temazcal ," native cultures north of Mexico cultures calling it an "inipi " or "kiva," Europeans calling it a "savusauna" or "sudatory," the Chinese calling it "桑拿浴," and the Russians naming it "banya" or "banja." The Mesoamerican Temazcal Many PreColombian Mesoamericans celebrated at least a portion of their spiritual belief system in the steam bath, or "temazcal"  (sometimes anglicized to read, "temascal"). The word comes from Nahuatl, a language family of the ancient Mesoamericans. They called it, "temāzcalli,"  which translates loosely to the "house of heat." Some sources, like Aaland (1997) attribute its origin to the Aztec ...
2 comments
Read more

El Morralito: My Medicine Bag

My medicine bag   from Rufina of Oaxaca, Oaxaca, Mexico "In the everyday life of the inhabitants of rural communities, one cannot miss an article that is totally linked to the native traditions ... the pouch. ...It is destined to be used to transport seeds to sow, to store food, and, in some cases, for beer or other spirits." --  Juan Manuel Aguirre (2013) Some time ago, Rufina, a good friend from Oaxaca, Oaxaca, Mexico, gave me a morralito   made by a Oaxacan artisan . The word, "morralito," comes from the diminutive of  morral ,  or pouch. It's one of the few venerable items adorning my home, and I appreciate it so much from this special person that I rarely take it outside my home. It contains symbolic items from dear friends and other items that the universe has loaned me. For use in the field I have another morralito,  made of leather. It's a little sturdier, and because it's not linked to anyone I know, I use it in the f...
11 comments
Read more