September 2006
Peace Belt Caretakers Dan and Jeannie Nocera
The International Peace Belt spent a day with Kogui Mamo José Gabriel Alimako from the Sierra Nevadas of Santa Marta, Columbia. Mamo José Gabriel is an Elder spiritual representative from one of the oldest indigenous tribes of Columbia. He comes from the Sierra Nevada Mountains where members of four different tribes, the Koguis, Arhuacos, Wiwas, Kankuamos have been living in balance and preserving their spiritual traditions for thousands of years. This was the first time elders from their culture had ever left the mountain and traveled North to Washington D.C. They were invited to speak at a forum sponsored by The Inter-American Development Bank, the United Nations Development Program and the Consejo Territorial de Cabildos. At the forum they presented an urgent appeal on environment, land and culture.
They believe the mountain where they live is “The Heart of the World” and they call themselves the Elder Brothers, and see themselves as the caretakers of the earth. They call us the younger brothers because our modern ways are out of balance and this is threatening the health of the Mother (Mother Earth). For them the health of the mountain where they live directly correlates with the health of the planet and things have been rapidly deteriorating in La Sierra.
In their tradition the Mamos spend their lives in constant prayer for the benefit of the planet, but the outside world has been slowly encroaching on their traditional sacred territories. This is making it harder and harder for them to do their work.
When we handed Mamo José Gabriel the peace belt and told him about it’s journey around the world, he held it and said, “You see, the younger brother still knows.”
I had an interesting experience upon returning from Washington while waiting in my backyard for Wendy Black-Nasta to come pick up The International Peace Belt. A morning dove flew out of a nearby pine tree and landed on the hammock several feet in front of me. The dove stood very still and stared at me. I happened to be holding The Peace Belt in its pouch, so I moved closer to the dove and stopped within touching distance. It didn’t move. We stared at one another for a few moments and the dove turned and flew off to the South. To me, the encounter felt like a final blessing and acknowledgment of The Peace Belt’s Washington Journey.
For more information about the indigenous tribes La Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta:
http://www.eremite.demon.co.uk/Tairona/index.html
http://www.eremite.demon.co.uk/Tairona/1pages/secc/Feb2007_files/Feb2007x.html
