Overview

COA - Counsel of Ata-Bey of the Caney Indian Spiritual Circle chooses to gather for the purpose of celebrating our lives and expressing gratitude for all relationships, seen and unseen. Our celebrations are open to all who come to pray in sacred space around themes of reconciliation, respect, and unity among all beings. We honor the many traditions and paths which provide connection to Creator, each other, and the sense of wholeness within ourselves. For our purpose as COA, we celebrate and share through the Caney tradition, one of the spiritual heritages of the Taino people of the Islands of the Caribbean.

The name "Counsel of Ata-Bey" expresses our understanding of what is needed to reconcile, evolve, and balance in unity, according to the fulfillment of the 24 Generation Prophecy. We come together in respect and honor, being supported by our Guiding Principles, which are rooted in compassion, understanding, wisdom, intention, and love and peace. We gather purposefully to create time to sit in counsel with Ata-Bey (Mother Earth, Cosmic Mother) and each other, to listen; to share the wisdom and insights gained from the ancient stories and rituals; and to model compassionate action in our lives, thereby extending this sense of being into the global village.

Ata-Bey embodies the feminine qualities and aspects of Gua-Turey (Creator, God, Great Spirit, the One/the All). These aspects (regardless of gender) are required for the balance and healing in our personal lives, communities, nation, and world. When we sit in counsel, we connect in the loving compassion and peace with all our relations. This receptive presence opens us safely in the ways of nurturing, co-operation, and healing that dissolve the barriers of separateness and misunderstanding, forging the connections of Oneness with all creation.

The word, "COA," reminds us that the balance of feminine and masculine energy is essential. Since the Taino people were predominately agrarian, the coa stick was an important implement in providing sustenance. The stick opened the earth, creating a nurturing space in which seeds were planted; the mature growth would be harvested for sustenance and the remainder returned to seed. In this way, the people continuously participated in the creative cycle of life, death, and new life. To represent the sacred union of female and male, the coa stick (male aspect) is ceremonially shaped into the circular uterine form of Ata-Bey (female aspect) to represent conception, birth, new creation, creative force, and continual cycles of life. The life cycles of nature are represented and embodied in the Sacred Circle of Caney.


Taino History and Caney Prophecy

The traditions, as exemplified by the coa stick, come from the culture of the Taino people, who settled in structured, stable communities both inland, supported by agrarian lifestyle, and along the coastal shores, being sustained by the sea and its resources. The pre-Columbian Taino, drawing on their cultural and historical Central and South American ancestry, creatively distinguished themselves as a recognized people by fusing aspects of their heritage into a new and unique culture. This creative spirit was evident in their lifestyle from adaptive farming methods – to unique artistry in pottery and weaving – to complex social structures. Tainos were also recognized for their collaborative, co-operative, generous, and welcoming nature.

The Taino were the people who Columbus met in 1492. During Columbus’ "discovery" and settling of the Islands, the majority of Taino were enslaved, captured and/or killed by the Spanish, or died from the diseases brought by the foreign explorers and settlers. The remaining people hid in remote areas or dispersed to other islands and main lands of North, Central, and South America. For years they had been fragmented as a people, with many of the traditions of culture, language, art, and history seemingly lost.

However, as foretold in the 24 Generation Prophecy, the Taino people would re-emerge after 500 years of death and separation caused by the conquering philosophy and actions of the Spaniards. Commencing in 1992 as the people initiated this re-unification, the traditions, artistry, language, and wisdom began to resurface. Stories and rituals, which had been sustained and passed on through families, were now being shared more openly. In this way, the Taino themselves began to experience the birthing of a new cycle taking them into the future, once again united regardless of geographic location. This movement, according to the prophecy, indicated that all the people of the world were also ready to unite.

In the process of re-unification, the aspects of co-operation, nurturance, collaboration, hospitality, and creative spirit are coming forward again – reminding humanity that it is a time to heal, to explore, and to live ways of compassion and peace. We give thanks and honor to the Taino people for the traditions and the wisdom stories being "reclaimed", which will guide us in our present choice to live compassionately, so that the future of all may be one of peace.

For this brief twenty year cycle, from 1992 to 2012, the prophecy poses the question – are we actively and consciously ready to heal and reclaim harmonious and peaceful living, as we embark on and usher in a new Great Cycle of peace?

The COA circle presents regular opportunities to answer the question prompted by the Prophecy with a resounding "yes." We gather together with the attitude of co-operation, respect, and hospitality to nurture and sustain peace in our lives.


COA Leadership

COA is led by Beike Guaraguao Rakuno, or "White Eagle." She was ordained by Beike Bo Sobaoko Koromo, or "Black Ribs," who was personally called by the Ancestors to birth the Caney here in the United States.

A beike within the Caney tradition is a ceremonial leader and teacher, who builds on the foundation of peace, reconciliation, dignity, and compassion – within ceremonies and everyday activities. Typical services offered by a Caney beike to the community at-large include various ceremonies, such as full moon and solar celebrations, blessings of homes and land; lodges for prayer and healing; sacred rites of passage, such as namings, vision quests, weddings, and memorials; and spiritual guidance and prayers for individuals and community (inclusive of the global community). A beike, steeped in the ancient traditions, honors the heart of the wisdom stories and creates rituals appropriate for the specific community. Times of celebration and ceremony are necessary to maintain the balance and connection between the people and the Divine Consciousness of Gua-Turey (Creator, Great Spirit).

In Caney tradition, a beike may also be a boitiu, or shaman. Briefly stated, a beike – who is taught the ritual leadership – serves with "eyes open," teaching and offering ritual generally with the outward focus to the community. The boitiu – who is born with this gift and typically fostered through years of apprenticeship – serves with "eyes closed," generally serving individuals in prayers and healing rituals. The boitiu is also an explorer, "journeying" into the three Cosmic Levels of the Universe, in order to receive spiritual power and wisdom from the Ancestors and Sacred Ones. S/he brings this guidance and power to individuals and community for healing and practical application in daily living.


Prayer Rituals

Prayers for individuals and community are offered during sacred tobacco rituals. The tobacco may be used loosely, as a cigar, or in a People’s Pipe (carried by a beike). The tobacco, natural without additives or chemicals, offers the "body" to our prayers, thus making our prayers visible. As we breathe into the tobacco, we become co-creators by adding the sacred breath (or life force) of Creator to the form of the tobacco, thus creating the sacred union of Ata-Bey (Earth Mother) and Yoka-Hu (Sky Father) – which is Gua-Turey, the Creator. The smoke reminds us that the messages and requests of our hearts go to all directions of the universe.

In COA, we recognize that the presence of smoke may be inappropriate or uncomfortable for some participants. When requested, we will pray with unlit tobacco to welcome everyone’s prayers and complete the ritual by burning the tobacco and releasing the prayers to Creator later in the ceremony, when the smoke may be readily vented or the prayers released outside.


Celebration Format

A full moon or solar celebration (equinox or solstice) will typically follow the format below and last approximately 2 hours.

• Opening:                       Time of Reflection in blessing/prayer
• Create Sacred Space:   Call in the Directions
• Welcome to COA:          Greetings
• Ata-Bey Prayer:             Prayer/Message of Ata-Bey (represented by female participant)
• Music:                            Appropriate selection
• Teaching:                      Current moon energies
• Prayers:                         Traditional prayers with sacred tobacco (natural, no additives)
• Teaching:                      Specific Caney story appropriate to celebration
• Sharing:                        Sharing comments, experiences, and wisdom
• Journey:                        Group meditation activity to focus intentions
• Closing:                         Closing rituals

   Note:                            Chants and music are interspersed throughout, as appropriate.
                                       Tobacco may be employed in various ways demonstrating
                                       several techniques, as well as to honor sensitivities of participants.