This article (with the details in the photo captions included) alone is the greatest information resource ever published in existence on Lokono-Arawak Puberty Rituals. SAVE IT FOR POSTERITY. However, please note that you may only share this article - as no part of the exclusively provided information on this page may be reproduced in another audio or visual, or print media publication under any other author's name - without the permission of the legitimate author - Damon Gerard Corrie, as your intellectual property theft will be obvious and easily exposed - since this is the ONLY published article in existence about Lokono-Arawak traditional 9-day long puberty rituals that provide the details contained herein.
LALIWA HADALI CORRIE HAS MADE HISTORY She is now the first Guyana-born Lokono-Arawak to have a traditional 9-day long puberty rite of passage in the Caribbean island of Barbados - or anywhere in the entire Caribbean for that matter, in all of recorded history. Why is this the case though? Because the Churches had beaten and forbid Amerindians from doing any traditional spiritual things such as puberty rituals and body tattooing (calling them 'heathen practices') over 100 years ago in the Lokono-Arawak tribe, so much so that there are Lokono so brainwashed by the Churches that they think their ancestors never tattooed their bodies at all (because no one in living memory could remember doing it), so I began doing it again in 2007 (after learning it from closely related tribes in Brazil, just using our long-forgotten designs, not theirs) - because I found an old book from the Smithsonian Museum that proved what my grandmother said about us actually temporarily tattooing our bodies more than other Guyana tribes was true), and the pro-assimilation indigenous people no longer think the puberty ritual is important or relevant to their thoroughly colonized minds.
Her ritual lasted from 9 pm on the 14th of April to 9 pm on the 23rd of April 2020 (counting 9 24-hour periods from 9 pm on the 14th). Laliwa Hadali (meaning 'Yellow Butterfly Sun' in literal exact translation, but understood by traditionalists to mean 'Yellow Butterfly of the Sun' or 'The Suns Yellow Butterfly') Corrie, was born on the 240 square mile Autonomous Pakuri Lokono-Arawak Tribal Territory in Guyana, South America, northeastern Amazonia, on the 28th of January 2007.
I decided to give all my children traditional indigenous names from the birth of our firstborn son Hatuey (named after the most famous Taino-Arawak War Chief in the Caribbean), this was in 1993, no child on Pakuri before him had an official indigenous name on their birth certificate, our kids were the first, and at that time most other Lokono thought my idea was 'silly' to give native children native names as a cornerstone for their FOUNDATION of pride in their indigenous identity, nevertheless I ignored them and did it anyway, and since then I have seen many others come to me asking me to suggest indigenous names for their own new-born babies, mostly Lokono on Pakuri territory in Guyana, but also Makushi in St Ignatius in the Rupununi, and even Kalinagos in Dominica.
We all have our different political opinions and worldviews, but there are petty people who only focus on the fact that I am mixed race (as if I am to blame for my DNA) and was not myself born in Guyana in a Tribal village (as my wife and children and grandparents were), to try to say I should not be doing the things I do, but there are enough intelligent neutral and open-minded people in this modern world today, who appreciate and support my humble efforts at trying to preserve - promote - and protect a genuine sense of Indigenous pride throughout our region, it is no use if you claim to be 'proud to be indigenous' yet you only see fit to 'dress up' once a year in Heritage month, but the rest of the year you do nothing that demonstrates your 'pride' in your indigenous identity or roots.
We must stop this and each of us MUST become the change we want to see in this world, so I applaud and support all full or mixed-race indigenous people who are continuing this 500-year struggle to emancipate ourselves from the mental slavery of Colonialism - that has made many of us ashamed of our ancient and honorable indigenous heritage, I shall not allow it in my own family as long as there is life in me I never heard of Europeans or Jews giving their children Indigenous African or Amerindian names, so why are most Africans and Amerindians parents still giving their children European or Jewish names out of the Bible, or Hindu names or Arabic names? That only demonstrates that subconsciously you believe other races' names to be superior to your own race's names.
These are the lingering effects of mental slavery caused by centuries of Colonialism - that needs to be conquered within ourselves first before we can truly consider ourselves to be on the road to the Decolonisation of our own minds. My parents did not know any better as they never thought deeply about these things as I do so I would not hurt their feelings to change the Eurocentric names they gave me (because the names they chose for me were special and meaningful to them and they were very loving parents to me in every way), but I decided to NOT repeat their action when I looked for an indigenous wife from my own tribe and had children of my own, so that is why I made sure to give my own children indigenous names, and God-willing - they shall repeat the example I set for them when they become parents of their own one day.
On the 28th of January 2020 Laliwa celebrated her 13th birthday, on the 28th of February 2020 - Laliwa's 88-year-old beloved paternal grandfather, Geddes Francis Corrie, died....and at 9 pm on the 14th of April 2020, Laliwa saw her first menstruation, and at that sacred instant - her ancient and holy 9-day long puberty rite of passage, which spiritually and culturally transitions a traditionalist Lokono-Arawak girl from 'childhood' to 'womanhood' - officially began. In terms of greatest significance, after a traditionalist Lokono-Arawak girl's birth celebration (9 days after birth - for both girls and boys), comes her 4th-year celebration, then her 9th-year celebration, then her 4th and MOST important milestone is her 9-day-long puberty rite. The mental, emotional, and spiritual pressure on a traditionalist Lokono-Arawak girl to pass this 'life test' is far greater than any non-traditionalist person or non-indigenous could possibly imagine comprehensively, and to bear every burden, trial, or tribulation with stoicism is one of the 4 highest virtues.
This is because if a traditionalist Lokono-Arawak girl passes this 'life test' she EARNS the praise and respect of all the traditionalists of her people for eternity, and conversely if she fails...she has brought ever-lasting shame and disgrace upon herself, her family, and her Clan - for all eternity. How can a girl fail this you may ask? By NOT obediently following all the protocols, instructions, and taboos that are explained to her during this sacred time. Thankfully, our daughter passed with great honor, just as her older sister Sabantho Aderi did 9 years before her, and her mother did before them both, as it was her mother, father, and an older sister who were here to guide her through this process.
One should also note that the numbers 4 and 9 are sacred numbers to Lokono-Arawak traditionalists, and note too how often these numbers play a role in this article. Laliwa (like her sister Sabantho Aderi before her) has now EARNED the right to enjoy the respect accorded to a lady of high morals and standing in the tribe, she has now EARNED the right to participate as an equal - with the other older ladies of high standing in the tribe, in all traditional cultural and spiritual ceremonies and rituals, she has now EARNED the right to learn esoteric knowledge and wisdom on all things important to the preservation, and inter-generational transmission of both tangible and intangible essential components of her ancient Lokono-Arawak culture, and she has EARNED the right to receive ancient spiritual blessings and abilities that females in the tribe who fail the test (or never undergo it) will never have nor ever receive...because these are rights that can only be EARNED, they cannot be given.
As Photo captions I have added synopsis text of 9 of the aspects of her rite of passage that I am permitted to share, now that her most important life test is over, and she has proven worthy of her bloodline. However, as you can see in some of the photos, I gave her significant things from several different indigenous Nations to add spiritual significance to her experience AND INSTILL IN HER A PAN-TRIBAL SENSE OF UNITY, the Ida she ate and drank out of daily were gifts made by a Kalinago Chief Faustulus Frederick in Dominica, the traditional cotton skirts she wore daily for the first 8 days were gifts from the Embera Tribe of Panama, the Towel she dried in daily was a gift from the Kuna tribe in Panama, the beaded Eagle was a gift from the late Lakota Holy Man Marvin Helper on Pine Ridge - Red Shirt settlement, one of the necklaces was a gift from Taino Chief Roberto Roberto Mukaro Borrero, the traditional Lokono-Arawak Palm straw skirt and top were made by her own people on Pakuri Territory in Guyana, the wristbands, red beaded necklace and feather headdress were gifts from other Amazonian tribes, and some of the feathers in my hand were gifts from my Aboriginal sister Mikaela Jade in Australia, just for example.
To be totally traditional in attire would require Laliwa to wear only a cotton Weraka (loincloth/trapezoidal apron) which we do have, and be topless, but I would not post such photos of my 13-year-old daughter in this modern world of rampant Pedophiles. So these are the 'Social media acceptable' pics you will see publicly visible instead. I have added some of our other more traditional photos at the end.
She understands better now why I always tell her that we Eagle Clan Lokono-Arawaks (and this includes those Lokono with the Simon surname in Guyana) are the keepers of our ancient traditions (In Art including Woodsculpting, basketry, pottery, traditional weapon making, temporary body tattooing, cassava beer/wine making, Cassava bread making, palm fiber hammock making, dug-out canoe making, traditional spiritual rites preserving, etc) - and generally speaking, we have preserved more of our ancient culture than any others in our tribe anywhere on the continent, and we must continue to do so forever because it is the sacred duty of our bloodline.
Photographs of 3 generations of respected and honorable women ancestors of high moral standing were at her bedside throughout her 9-day-long ritual, so every time she went to sleep, and every time she woke up, she would see the kinds of women not present that she should aspire to be like...her grandmother, great grandmother, and great great grandmother, as her mother was with her in person every day.
During these 9 days, her face and body were decorated with tattoos, ensuring that her body was traditionally adorned 24 hours a day each of her 9 days. She also learned to do these tattoos herself, and she learned the hidden meaning and spiritual significance of every tattoo shape and design so that she can teach her future children how to do them also.
During these 9 days, she had to stay in seclusion in her home, and not lay her eyes upon any male except those in her own family who live in the same house as she does.
As one pro-traditionalist family whos every member (myself, my wife, and all 4 of our children) knows how to use traditional natural energy to help other peoples bodies to regain a healthy state of being in mind, body, and spirit, we sometimes get accused by the pro-assimilation religious fanatic kinds of people (you can easily spot them as they always insultingly refer to our own ancestral spirituality as 'pagan' or 'heathen') , as doing 'evil' to heal people, just because we can help others without using a Bible or Koran or Torah, if these biased people took the time to ask us about our ways instead of condemning us in advance, they would know that our elders tell us when you have the gift of being able to transmit the natural love and light energy of the Creator Great Holy Spirit/God, you CANNOT use it to do any negative or harmful thing whatsoever, it can only be used to do good, unlike these major religions - our God is only of pure love, there is no jealousy or vengeance in it, if someone is doing supernatural evil to you and you come to someone like us for help, we can only stop the harm that is being done to you, we cannot and will not retaliate to the person doing the evil in any way, we can only pray for them and try to keep sending love and light to them in the hopes that one day, they will turn from their evil ways and become good beings once again, as ALL human beings are originally before we enter this physical school for the soul we call 'Earthly life'. There are many tribal members who belong to Churches but end up coming to us privately to have their spiritual problems solved because we do not dabble in fear and control or wrath as your religious books do, only in love, light, and forgiveness.
I am NOT saying there are no indigenous people who are practitioners of spiritual negativity, on the contrary, just as there are non-indigenous people who serve the unholy - there are also indigenous people who serve the unholy. However what I will tell you is that in our Lokono-Arawak tribe (and all others) it was far rarer to find such people BEFORE Colonisation than it is now, I am continuously having to block and break negativity send on our own tribal members by other tribal members, they know who they are - and I know who they are, but they are still my own tribal members so I feel sorry for them, because anyone who prefers to serve the unholy instead of the holy - has already proven that they are lacking wisdom, for no truly intelligent person would serve the unholy, for what? All you get is short-term material gains and hurt other people....that is not real 'power'...that is only a temporary power - that you will regret when you assuredly die, for it cannot keep you alive forever, whereas the person who serves holy powers will never have any shame or regrets throughout eternity...so who is wiser?
The people of lower thinking and understanding are always jealous and envious of other people having things they do not have or doing things they did not do, or 'showing-off' when they get things others do not have, and because they feel so powerless and insignificant - and because they have become so materialistic (knowing only the value of material THINGS not the things of true spiritual value) and so covetous of others, they turn to the unholy to give them the fortune and power they so desperately desire....a wise and holy person desires not these things.
It is only after Colonisation that greater disparity began to creep into indigenous societies (someone was taken off to school away from the tribe and when they returned they felt and acted as if they were now 'better' than the rest...this created animosity, when someone was favored by an outsider like a government colonial official or a religious missionary, and that person received gifts - and then 'showed-off' that he or she had something the others did not...that created animosity....as before everyone in the tribe basically had the same things and they shared with each other equally more, so animosity was low.
So even the rise in selfishness and increased resort to unholy means of attack or retaliation - can ALSO be traced back to Colonialism and the social destruction it unleashed on traditional indigenous spiritually rich societies. When from cradle to grave you are taught that 'God is a jealous God who smites his enemies' it is a logical and natural consequence that one who believes such unholy nonsense would begin to ACT like the jealous and vengeful God he or she believes in. Christianity can only become a perfect religion when Christians reject and discard everything in their Bible that was not spoken by Jesus himself because Jesus's teachings are the only perfect teachings in the entire Bible. We have no problems or issues with Jesus and his wise and perfect teachings - because we see, know, understand and accept - that Jesus was HIMSELF a brown-skinned dark long-haired indigenous man who belonged to the Hebrew tribe, he was not some non-indigenous missionary using doctrines and dogmas fabricated and added in Europe (that altered and twisted much of Jesus teachings) at the Council of Nicea in the year 325 AD to create a Eurocentric religion that would be a perfect TOOL to subjugate and control the hearts, minds and souls of the masses of humanity (Paul - who was NOT chosen by Jesus as a Disciple even went so far as to tell slaves 'to accept their beatings and be obedient to their masters' and white European slave owners made sure to preach this to their black African slaves every Sunday of their miserable lives)....to such an extent that 99% of most devout Christians alive today do not even know that the OLDEST Christian Church is the Ethiopian Orthodox Church and it is the only Church that still has ALL the books of the Bible, the European version of the Bible most people have has removed 25 of these ancient Hebrew books because if people read them they would realise they have been deceived by the European version (because among other things in the books hidden from you - Jesus said that 'God does not need or have any appointed representative on Earth that can claim to be representing God, each human is to pray directly to God in PRIVATE not via any 'religious leader' or in any public place). Traditionalist indigenous people do NOT have a problem with any true Christians, it is the many false Christians who have made our lives miserable...we do not blame Jesus for anything dishonest people have done in his name, and neither should you.
There are some people who think we must adhere strictly to all ancestral ways, but I say we should adhere strictly to all the good ancestral ways...not every habit of our ancestors was good, just like not every modern invention is good. ALL our indigenous ancestors of EVERY race on Earth once thought it was ok and good for every girl to be allowed to marry a man and get pregnant once she started to menstruate, so if this occurred when the girl was 11, 12, or 13 - the girl was married off at 11, 12 or 13...in my opinion, this was NOT good, and almost every people of every race on Earth has realized this was not a good thing to do, because the hips of most girls are NOT developed enough to allow a baby to pass through in an 11, 12 or 13-year-old girl, and that is why so many young indigenous girls DIED in childbirth.
All of our ancestors only looked at the biological fact that her body was now producing eggs and assumed it meant that 'God is showing us she can now get pregnant so let her marry' ...but today we are more medically educated to realize that a girl so young still has growing bones and she is NOT finished growing yet into her adult body...so, therefore, this is one ancient practice that I do NOT support, because on our family land on Pakuri there are 2 graves of young Lokono-Arawak girls who died that young in childbirth over 100 years ago, so I would never follow THAT particular tradition, and I work to change it for the health and safety of our girls today, even though in the 1990s on Pakuri I know a 13-year-old girl who was married to a 16-year-old boy, thank God she was physically big for her age so she gave birth and lived when she was 14.....but I would not support or encourage any other girls to be allowed to marry at such a young age ever again.
So one must be HONEST enough to examine all the traditions of one's ancestors, and where you see that certain practices require re-examination - then re-examine them, if they no longer are appropriate for the times we are now living in because they jeopardize the lives of our people, stop doing them. Only a fool thinks everything the ancestors did was either all bad - or all good. Use your common sense and currently known facts to make an informed opinion on them - as regards whether they should be continued as always without any modification, or altered to reflect current knowledge and understanding of acceptable social behavior.
My wife and I continued the puberty ritual and all its teachings, but we reject the old practice of allowing our young daughters to be married at such tender ages. Furthermore, some people think no articles from other tribes should be incorporated because it was never done so before, but up until just 25 years ago distrust between Tribes in Guyana was still rampant, so I decided that it would be better to promote pan-tribal UNITY in all I do, to ensure that this 'old time' way of thinking that this other tribe is bad and our tribe is good - biased nonsense thinking - needs to end. We must love every other Amerindian from every other tribe as if they were part of our own tribal family...UNITY strengthens and DIVISION weakens! So I make no apologies for changing one aspect of traditional Lokono-Arawak puberty rituals to encourage a love for ALL tribes in my daughters, not only love for their own tribe.
During these 9 days she had to learn to make and feather arrows, completely on her own she thought of adding cloth near the tips so that if need be - the arrows could be dipped at the last minute prior to firing in combustible liquid so that they can become flaming arrows as well. Because every Lokono-Arawak girl must learn that the defense of the tribe is the responsibility of all members, and she must learn that women get killed as often as men in war, so women must also learn how to defend themselves.
During these 9 days she had to learn to make and feather arrows, completely on her own she thought of adding cloth near the tips so that if need be - the arrows could be dipped at the last minute prior to firing in combustible liquid so that they can become flaming arrows as well. Because every Lokono-Arawak girl must learn that the defense of the tribe is the responsibility of all members, and she must learn that women get killed as often as men in war, so women must also learn how to defend themselves.
On the 4th night as I began to teach her about her noble ancestors who were watching her with love and wanting her to succeed in this test, we both saw this sign in the room behind us, so I took a photo of it without flash as with flash it cannot be seen
Another example of why ALL ancient traditions should not or cannot still be practiced today is the tradition of multiple wives, my ancestor Lokono-Arawak hereditary Semechichi (Shaman/Medicine man) Chief ancestors all had more than one wife, and they were the only men in the tribe (Chiefs( permitted in our culture to have more than one wife - as long as they could equally provide for them) ...but I GUARANTEE you that no Lokono-Arawak woman alive today would allow or accept that anymore, I tried to be slick and tell my wife it was an ancient right in my ancestral bloodline - but she said she will kill me before she shares me with another woman so I better forget about it LOL And she is right, in all seriousness I would NOT want my daughters to have to share their future husbands with anyone else either. So this is another ancient tradition that must remain in the past (multiple wives for Lokono-Arawak Chiefs I mean).
During her 9 days she had to learn how our ancient ancestors farmed in the jungle BEFORE the current 'slash and burn' method that is still being used to this day by most tribes, but which is an inferior way of farming as it depletes and exhausts the soil twice as fast. Few Lokono alive even knows that the slash and burn method is NOT our original traditional way to farm plots of land in the jungle.
During her 9 days she had to learn the creation legend of our Eagle Clan, from our founder Shaman Chief Wiwakaleme (Light from the stars) over 500 years ago (as prior to him we were Jaguar Clan people), to our last Hereditary Shaman Chief Amorotahe Haubariria (Flying Harpy Eagle) just over 100 years ago....and ALL the family history significant persons and events in the 4 generations between him and her today - in detail, because she must be able to tell her own children and grandchildren all the facts and details faithfully, not subtracting from or adding to any of this information.
For these 9 days, Laliwa was only permitted to drink one small Ida (Calabash) of water (Oniabo) daily and only permitted to eat the total daily equivalent of a handful of pieces of dry Bitter-Cassava 'biscuit bread' (Kali) or a handful of dry bitter cassava granules (Farine) each day, and even this meager amount of daily food she HAD to share with others because this is to teach this future honorable mother and grandmother - that she must be prepared to experience food adversity in her life, and even in such times of hunger - she must never abandon the virtue of generosity, food adversity she must always share whatever little amount of food she can obtain with her family, and above all accept adversity with stoicism and a happy countenance because things could always be worse.
During her 9 days, she had to wake up and bathe just after sunrise and bathe again just before sunset every day, and she was reminded daily of the importance of always looking, feeling, and smelling clean - like a beautiful flower, which is what every woman in our tribe is to our traditionalist men.
The pets that came to her on her 9th day, in this case one of our female cats. were hugged and while hugging them she asked them to take from her anything that was in her, on her, or attached to her that was not of the Love and light of the Creator. Then thanked the pets for helping her this way.
The pets that came to her on her 9th day, in this case, one of our female dogs. were hugged and while hugging them she asked them to take from her anything that was in her, on her, or attached to her that was not of the Love and light of the Creator. Then thanked the pets for helping her this way.
She hugs her favorite tree, and asked the plant spirits to take from her anything that is in her, on her, or attached to her - that is not from the love and light of the Creator, and for the plant spirits to help and protect her for the rest of her life (for example every traditionalist knows that if you love and respect plants and do not harm them for personal gain, you can ask the forest to hide you if you needed to escape from enemies, and they can pass very near to us and never see us).
Lighting the sage from the sacred Yuri (Tobacco)
Some people are asking where they can find more Lokono-Arawak traditional myths and legends info online, so here is the compilation of info we know in our Clan, not all Lokono still know all these myths and legends, a few have been lost
Another important FACT many outsiders do not realize or understand is that in every indigenous community there exists today a DIVISION, there is the majority who are mentally assimilated (they look down on indigenous ways and look up to non-indigenous ways) by Colonial-era education systems AND Eurocentric religions, and there is the minority of traditionalist people who are like me, proud of the indigenous ways and fighting to re-assert and preserve them for future generations. So if you think because you 'spoke to an elder' and they told you what is 'authentic'..check again, if the elder that gave you the information is NOT a traditionalist (a follower of ancestral spirituality) but is instead an assimilationist (a devoted follower of some Church or other foreign religion) - their info is not actually going to be as 'authentic' as you think', what they will tell you is going to have a personal bias that comes from their own self-contempt of their indigenous ancestors' spirituality (because the Churches convinced them it was 'evil') so they will leave out any details that their Church does not approve of (as the Lokono Anglican priest's Bennet's dictionary does) .....it is easy to recognize who is who if you just ask a few simple questions...ask them 'Do you follow your ancestors' spirituality? In what way? Did you give your own children OFFICIAL indigenous names on their birth certificates? What plants do you know and use to heal health issues for yourself and your family - and what kinds of conditions do you heal with plants? What aspects of your indigenous culture do you personally practice and teach your children? .....Not a single assimilation-minded indigenous person will be able to give you all 4 answers, not even 3 out of 4, most not even 2 unfortunately. So please do not judge a book by its cover, many who look physically pure have very impure information in them from years of brainwashing from European-style Colonial origin education systems. and Eurocentric religions and many who look physically impure actually have very pure ancient knowledge to share with you.
I speak to MY elders continuously, but my elders are traditionalists - NOT pro-assimilation indigenous persons. So be careful which category of person is giving YOU your 'authentic' information
There are a few sad facts of reality that I feel I must mention here, firstly - if you feel that because a person is of mixed race indigenous descent they 'cannot have authentic traditional knowledge' you are exhibiting the kind of Eurocentric racist Colonial type of thinking that we are trying to overcome. I know MANY pure indigenous peoples who know little to nothing of traditional authenticity, but they are experts on the Bible and various different religious denominations and the doctrines those religions teach...so your point that a 'pure' person automatically knows more is totally false.
Furthermore, there are many people who say racist things such as 'oh that person is wearing something not of their own culture in that ceremony so they cannot be authentic' ....if you truly knew of indigenous spirituality it is the ancient wisdom TEACHINGS/LESSONS you must learn that is most important, not whether you are as naked as your ancestors or wearing things they never wore...Indigenous peoples are not animals in a Zoo or statues frozen in time, all human cultures adapt and ramify and grow....would you say that the King of the Zulu tribe in Africa is no longer 'authentic' because he wears a wristwatch or drives in a car, because his ancestors never wore watches or drove in cars, or would you say the Queen of England is not 'authentic' because she uses cell phones, the internet, and wears clothes made from materials her ancestors never wore? Of course not, so why would you talk foolishness about indigenous peoples exhibiting non-indigenous things as being 'not authentic'?
You should therefore also condemn YOURSELF as also being 'not authentic' - because you are using social media in the internet age to read my words - something none of your (or my) ancestors even imagined could even exist one day! It is a very racist attitude to think indigenous peoples should be held to a different standard than other human beings trying to survive and thrive in the 21st century. ...you should always remember that before your words reveal your ignorance.
I have friends in the Xingu Tribal territory in Brazil, and in their traditional ceremonies their women literally still dance totally naked as they were born, with temporary tattoos all over their bodies (you can see plenty of their videos on Youtube), HOWEVER these same authentic tribal women and men in Brazil wear western-style clothes now AFTER their ceremonies are over, and some of them even have solar panels on their leaf roof traditional houses, that powers the electrical needs for inside their homes - which includes laptop computers (like my friend Chief Cipasse of the Xavante tribe), that is how they communicate with me daily...so you see, you are very wrong to assume that unless indigenous peoples are frozen in time and have nothing from the outside world - that they are no longer 'authentic'...educate yourself more so that you can understand things better in a bigger picture, and not speak like a small-minded ignorant person who lacks understanding. In my over ten years as a registered participant and co-mentor trainer of Indigenous students from around the world for the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues/UNPFII we talk about these same kinds of colonialist era biases, miseducated prejudices, and false perspectives every year.
During these 9 days she had to learn the secrets of Tobacco (Yuri) and plant her first Tobacco seeds, as well as learn how to use Tobacco properly (only for the praying for or healing of - others, NEVER for personal pleasure. and also the principal TABOO is never to mix sacred Tobacco with any other substance (as every factory-made cigarette is) or one brings a curse of ill health upon oneself (no one who uses tobacco the correct way ever died of lung cancer). She also learned the correct protocol for a Tobacco praying gathering, including the order of who smokes first and in which direction the Tobacco must be passed from person to person.
She was also made aware of the little-known fact that it was we the Eagle Clan Lokono-Arawaks - who gave wild Tobacco back to the Great Lakota Nation of the Great Plains of North America, when I gifted my brother Chase Iron Eyes with a few thousand wild Tobacco seeds several years ago, after I met the late Lakota Holy Man Marvin Helper in Red Shirt, on Pine Ridge, and after we paid our respects at the grave of Chief Sitting Bull thanks to Chase inviting us and hosting us at his home, and giving us the spiritual tour we needed to experience among these legendary people and mighty cousins of the North.
The last thing that occurred on the 9th day before sunset, was a parrot landing in a tree in our garden (as there are no Hawks or Eagles in Barbados) and it watched her, a sign that the Creator/Great Holy Spirit has accepted her demonstration of dedication to her people and she has received the blessing of the Great Mystery.
Laliwa's maternal grandfather Joseph Simon and some of her cousins on Pakuri Territory in Guyana during a traditional celebration many years ago, a little Laliwa can be seen in front of her mother in this photo wearing her Weraka.
WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU KNOW ABOUT 'TRIBALISM'?
'TRIBALISM' has become a 'bad word' to most who do not research the subject themselves deeply enough (like 'Tobacco' and 'Coca') or to people who only recall the inter-tribal Genocide in Rwanda...but let me give you some insight into what 'Tribalism' means to traditionalists in OUR tribe....we understand the ESSENCE of TRIBALISM to mean:
1 - When an elder has no family members left alive to help take care of them...the TRIBE does.
2 - When a child has no family members left to take care of him/her...the TRIBE does.
3 - When one of our people is in danger the TRIBE rallies around them to protect & defend them - even if the danger is from illegal arrest & detention by the Police or Government Soldiers if necessary.
4 - When a hunter or farmer or fisherman has more than his own family members need - he shares the excess within the TRIBE.
5 - When a relative or tribal member wants help to clear a field for farming, we volunteer to help them - just as they would volunteer to help US if we needed them to.
6 - When a relative or tribal member wants to build a house, we volunteer to help them - just as they would volunteer to help US if we needed them to.
7 - When a relative or Tribal member has a death in their family - WE come together to comfort the victim for nine consecutive nights of the official mourning period (even the Chief comes) - and help with the funeral, even to the digging of the grave.
8 - It was 'Tribalism' that made men from our village in Guyana cross the border and go to Suriname to VOLUNTEER to fight the enemies of our tribe in Suriname's Civil War who were raping and killing our people in that country - my brother-in-law Ernest 'Rami' Simon was one of them...(Orville 'Squabbie' Dundas too) - and for his numerous acts of valor on the battlefield there - he is remembered as one of our greatest Lokono-Arawak warriors of the 20th century.
9 - To US - every elder is an AUTHORITY, even the pro-assimilation ones have valuable non-traditional life experiences to share, not just because someone has a 'big job' or lofty title is he/she seen as an 'authority'.....our elders are living libraries of knowledge and information that no younger person could ever equal....for one must live as long as them to know as much as they know.
Any young person who exhibits a 'know-it-all' attitude is considered to be a 'great fool' in the tribe - and is viewed warily for they inevitably make one grievous error in judgment after another - ALL through their lives.
When a younger member of the tribe sees an elder member of the tribe - he gives that elder the same love and RESPECT he/she would to his own grandparents, furthermore he addresses that elder RESPECTFULLY as 'Grandfather' this... or 'Grandmother' that...this used to bewilder the poop out of my children as they would ask me 'how come we have so many grandfathers and grandmothers?' LOL
Go look up the dictionary definition of 'Tribalism' now for yourself...you will see that it is mainly considered to be a 'derogatory' word/connotation by the non-indigenous people who wrote your biased dictionary definitions
Examine your own life....and what you do or do NOT do freely for your own people ....and see for yourself if you were correctly educated or MISeducated that 'Tribalism' is derogatory.
As for us traditionalists, we know for a FACT that is quite the opposite in meaning. I am proud to be a devoted practitioner of Tribalism - and will encourage my children and others to do so as well as long as there is blood flowing through my veins. To us Lokono-Arawaks - TRIBALISM = LOVE
Laliwa's older sister Sabantho Aderi Corrie, had her puberty ritual on Pakuri Territory in Guyana in August of 2001, as luckily she was there when her menstruation started, for Laliwa it came when she was in Barbados so, therefore, she had to have her ritual in Barbados, as it starts immediately as the first blood comes - wherever you are in the world, it does not come when you want it to for your convenience, it comes on Gods time, not ours.
Laliwa's Lokono-Arawak Eagle Clan mother Shirling Simon Corrie, was born and raised in Pakuri Lokono-Arawak Tribal Territory in Guyana until I married her there when I was 19 and she was 17, and the next year our first child (our son Hatuey) was born there on Pakuri.
Laliwa's mixed-race Guyanese Lokono-Arawak descendant father Damon Gerard Corrie, who was born in Barbados
Laliwa's Lokono-Arawak paternal grandmother (father Damon's mother) Audrey Corrie, and Laliwa's Guyana-born Lokono-Arawak great grandmother Hannah DeWever Corbin in the green dress, with Audrey's older sister Daphne in black and older brother Cecil in blue shirt, the photo was taken several years ago in Barbados.
Laliwa in happier times when her Guyana-born Lokono-Arawak great grandmother Hannah DeWever Corbin was alive, this was Laliwa's father's grandmother, Granny Corbin emigrated to Barbados when she was only 13 with her parents and 5 other siblings in 1925..and she died just after her 99th birthday in Barbados...and can you believe it - she was living in a house on 'Arawak Road' in Chancery Lane in Barbados - talk about a coincidence! So there were actual Arawaks living on Arawak road in Barbados lol.
NB - To people who do not know or understand Indigenous traditional cosmovision, EVERY sibling of your grandparent is ALSO called your Grandparent (so I called my grandmothers sisters 'Granny' and her brother David whom I knew 'Grandad' (as well as Granny's husband of course), additionally - EVERY elder in the tribe that you meet you are supposed to show them the same respect and love you would show your own grandparent AND ALSO address them as 'Grandmother' or 'Grandfather'.
My grandmother told me that her mother whom we call today 'Princess Marian' told her (because Great Grandmother Marian was the last surviving child of our last traditional Hereditary Shaman Chief, and Marian's first traditional Lokono-Arawak name was 'Shoko-Laliwa' - which means 'Little Yellow Butterfly' - before the Anglican Bishop of Guyana informally adopted her and renamed her 'Marian') did not wear clothes or become westernized and attend school until after her puberty ritual, prior to that she lived totally naked like every other Lokono-Arawak child in our village up until the early 1880s in Guyana) - that in the traditional Chiefdom of her father that she grew up in, the children of your brothers and sisters were not called your 'cousins' - but were in fact called and treated as 'your other brothers and sisters'...many Lokono-Arawaks alive today no longer know this before this is how it was BEFORE we were Christianised and westernized. This is why we truly lived and loved each other as one big close family
Some of us 116 Eagle Clan Lokono-Arawaks in Barbados, we are all relatives of each other, paying our respects to our exile family founder Matriarch Marian - the last surviving daughter of the last Hereditary Shaman Chief of our Clan in Guyana, who was the mother of our 3 tribal grandmothers and 3 tribal grandfathers, who were the 6 Guyana born Lokono-Arawak children she brought with her to Barbados in 1925. Great granny Maria died and was buried in Barbados in Westbury Cemetery in 1928. Her 3 daughters stayed in Barbados and we 116 Lokono-Arawak descendants alive who were born in Barbados are descended from these 3 daughters of Marian, Marian's eldest son Vidi went to Cuba in 1927 - and we have over 80 Lokono-Arawak and Taino-Arawak descendant cousins in Guantanamo province alive today descended from that union, as he married a Cuban Taino-Arawak descendant in Baracoa. Then we have another 100 Lokono-Arawak descendant cousins born in the UK and Canada who mostly descend from the second eldest son David, and Marian's youngest son Joshua. We call our Great grandmother Marian a Princess because that is what British Colonial society in 'Guiana' called her prior to 1925 - because her father was a Lokono-Arawak Hereditary Chief...as we know there is no word for 'Princess' or 'Prince' in 'Toh Loko Ajianiwa' (the Arawak language). So there are 300 of us in the Diaspora today who ALL descend from Marian our Princess
This is the tombstone in Westbury Cemetary in Barbados of our Great grandmother the Lokono-Arawak Princess, it is the only known burial place of a descendant of traditional Lokono-Arawak nobility in the entire Caribbean, and it is the ONLY tombstone in the entire world that is written in both the English and Lokono-Arawak language.
Laliwa's great-great-grandmother, the ancestress of all the 300 Lokono-Arawaks in the diaspora who are all cousins and are descendants of our last Hereditary Clan Shaman Chief Amorotahe Haubariria (Flying Harpy Eagle) in Guyana.
Laliwa took her first drink of sweet Cassava beer/wine (as it had not fermented yet), since she and the other children in the family had helped to chew the Cassava to help speed up the fermentation process that the adults who will enjoy it a week later when it is strong will have.
On Laliwa's 4th birthday praying for herself with a Harpy Eagle feather, and seated on her Jaguar-headed Hala (stool) carved by her well-known traditional wood sculptor artist uncle Foster Simon on Pakuri Lokono-Arawak Territory.
On her 4th birthday before the sunset
Laliwa helps her older sister Sabantho to scrape the bitter Cassava tubers for their grandparents on Pakuri Lokono-Arawak territory in Guyana.
Laliwa in Barbados on another special occasion
Laliwa on her 9th birthday
Above - some of Laliwa's beautiful Lokono-Arawak cousins on Pakuri Territory in Guyana, with her maternal grandad seated in headdress, on another special day that we were privately honoring the ancestors. And below are two other photos of her cousins and 2 siblings
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