Concilio Taíno Guatu-Ma-cu A Borikén
(Español)
We are the descendants of the native people that Christopher Columbus
encountered on his first voyage to the Americas. Martin D. Veguilla,
our Cacike Ca Ciba Opil (Chief Sacred Rock of the Spirit) executed his test
of Mitochondrial DNA with Dr. Juan Carlos Martinez Cruzado of the
University of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez.
The results reported a Mitochondrial DNA of native origin belonging
to Type (haplogroup) C whose origins are from the border of the Orinoco River
in Venezuela, or the Amazons. This Type (haplogroup) C covers 35.7% of all the Mitochondrial DNA of native origin of Boriken. It is the women who have the
opportunity to elect our Cacike and our council elected Martin D. Veguilla,
Cacike Ca Ciba Opil.
Our Council has a membership of approximately 300 person, and growing,
across the island and in the United States. We include people from
Arecibo, Vega Alta, Vega Baja, Sabana Grande, Arroyo, Aibonito, Añasco, Caguas, Comerio, Maricao, Guánica,
Utuado, San Juan, Bayamón, Guaynabo, Morovis, Mayagüez, New York, Texas, Santo Domingo and more.
Our corporation was founded in 1992 and incorporated as The Concilio Guatu-ma-cu A Boriken, Inc. in the year 2000. Our nonprofit (501C3) corporation is
dedicated to promote Taino culture throughout the island of Puerto Rico and
abroad. This entity is registered in the Department of State of Puerto Rico
and is an official consultant to the Institute of Puerto Rican Culture (I.C.P.).
Furthermore, it is supported by the Institute of Puerto Rican Culture, Fomento,
and the Puerto Rican Tourism Company.
Our mission is to bring awareness and increase the public knowlege
of the Taino people through education, and by keeping our history alive
through areytos (ceremonial dances) and estampas (reenactments) of the life
of our ancestors. We promote Puerto Rican Taino image, our history,
way of life, customs, language, ceremonies, music, songs
and craftwork.
All our members are educated regarding Taino life (our music, way of life,
traditional clothing, ceremonial dances, language, etc), and are motivated to
observe and transmit this culture. As part of the promotion of Taino culture,
our council stimulates Taino art in all our members. Furthermore,
socially, we have rescued people of diverse communities who were living a
way of life that was not healthy for society nor for themselves.
In this way, we raise a new consciousness in new members, and give new artists
cultural direction. We also promote and support the creation of
cultural events, national and international, that benefit
intercultural and educational enrichment.
Thanks to the efforts of each member of our council, and our
Cacike Ca Ciba Opil (Martín D. Veguilla), the achievements we describe
will continue.
- We have helped raise groups in communities, awakening Taino cultural
consciousness.
- A variety of people have become artisans, people who have the talent but
never had channeled it in this cultural direction.
- We have rescued people, the majority youth and young adults, who
had taken a way of life harmful for society and for themselves.
- We have triumphed in the sharing of knowledge about the life of the
Tainos and our culture in the diverse towns of Puerto Rico, as well as outside
of Island.
- The self-management in different communities have resulted in distinct
educational programs. We have offered workshops in ancestral pottery
where we extract the mud-clay from Mother Earth. This mud-clay
is processed extracting all the impurities and one-step processing to
mold the clay into what you want to achieve. After the piece is made it
is fired in an open flame (not an oven). Other workshops are the
making of maracas de higuera (dried native fruit), the common maraca
as well as the ceremonial maraca, and workshops on how to create the
amaraca (maraca monóxida) used by men in the ceremony of the buhity
(medicine man/priest).
- Furthermore, we have also offered workshops to children and adults
on how to paint petroglyphs on their naguas (part of the traditional clothing)
and how to create accessories to the traditional clothing. Through this we
have achieved the pledge and interest to use the traditional clothing
and accessories in every presentation or cultural ceremony.
- We have achieved a united group by means of ceremonies and
presentations. To strengthen this union and our teachings we have
campouts and day outings during different times established by the council.
We teach about the customs of our ancestors, our history and
our idiosyncrasies.
- Our children and young students have been transformed into valuarte
who enjoy their knowledge and take it to school. Through this milestone
reached by student participants of the council, their knowledge
is enjoyed by teachers and other students. In various
classrooms they have created ceremonial plazas
or places dedicated to our Taino ancestors, and have completed
projects related to this theme.
- Thanks to the interest that has arisen in different places, like schools,
we have brought demonstrations of the native traditional instruments of our
ancestors, from the teaching of what are the instruments to creating
instruments with resources that we bring. Furthermore, we give
presentations and ceremonies that we carry out with great
dedication, the way our Taino ancestors have always practiced in the past.
Para mas información comuníquese con:
El Concilio Taíno Guatu-Ma-cu A Borikén, Inc.
Correo: Reparto Teresita Calle 20 - T1, Bayamón, PR 00961
Email: conciliotainopr@hotmail.com
Website: conciliotainopr.org
Copyright ©2008 El Concilio Taíno Guatu-Ma-cu A Borikén. Derechos reservados. All rights reserved.
