This video documents a cultural exchange ceremony between Jamaican Maroon communities and Hawaiian indigenous peoples, where participants perform traditional rituals including calling ancestors from the four cardinal directions, exchanging meaningful gifts with cultural significance, and sharing traditional knowledge about ocean and land connections. The ceremony emphasizes the importance of preserving cultural heritage, honoring ancestors, and maintaining the sacred relationship between people and their ancestral lands.
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Hawaiian Indigenous Cultural Exchange / Jamaican Maroon And The Tainos Community
Added:You want that one?
You can't really expensive.
>> [clears throat] >> Yes.
>> This is it.
I'm tell you what, baby. [laughter] [clears throat] We have cut.
What do you do?
All right. So after the blessing, we are now in the sacred cycle. I want to again say a welcome everyone here today. I want us to also be aware that our fathers and sisters from and are on their way. So while we do the best in this world, we ask for ancestral guidance on their journey.
A home.
What I shared in our language is that with me today to offer this blessing is Chief Dennis Ronaldo, my daughter and I'm chief of the Jamaican hungry people.
We start with calling and inviting the ancestors of this space, the ancestors of this land. So I invite you to face the east with me and starting off and then translate to English.
We're calling we're welcoming them to this gathering by introducing to them our relatives here.
From the winds of the east, we call upon the medicine that comes from the path of the rising sun. You grant us vision connected to the totem of the red hawk and [music] we turn to the right facing the song.
From the winds of the south, we call upon the healing medicine of a great spirit of waters. A strong part of why we are here today. This healing spirit to be a part of our gathering. She is connected to the aura, the turkey vulture which cleanses our land.
connected to the maha, the serpent, which teaches us to shed our past the way the serpent sheds his skin. And so it is.
[music] [music] Turn to the right facing the west.
From the winds of the west where the ancestors rest, we call you into this space. You who dwell in the space where the sun rest. We call upon the medicine of understanding.
Ini the word for understanding is okina.
The root for it is okama. May we listen to each other to the spirit as to what it is required to do here today and anchor anchor [music] [music] turn to the right in the north.
We call upon the the wisdom and the medicine from the direction of the north. The wisdom of our elders, those who have climbed these high mountains.
If our elders, of your elders, we are connected through them. The stone kind, the clank kind, the animal kingdom. We call upon that medicine of wisdom and anchor.
>> [music] >> facing the center of the circle.
Invite you if you can to touch the earth. We are mother earth.
We give thanks for the earth for this gathering. We call upon your medicine to guide our relatives that are on their way. For those who are coming and those who are not able to be here, those who will be joining us virtually. We give thanks for opportunities to connect with you and hanker to [music] Please stand. Your hands raised to the sky.
by many names, by many cultures. We give thanks for an opportunity to gather. We give thanks for an opportunity to share in medicine, music, enjoy, and hank.
That's what it is.
[music] We place our hand over our hearts honoring the medicine that is within you. The ancestral spirits that have allowed you to be here. We honor the ancestral spirits and leaders of this land. Colonial Douglas, Colonial Lson, we give thanks for your work that will be continued and hankered. So it is >> [music] >> So at this moment we will start from the doorway of our circle. My friend here in red just ask for each person to introduce themselves.
>> My name is Around.
I am driver.
So yeah.
>> Yeah. Greetings.
I have many names. Mom call me Lloyd. I name myself Aim and some call me Bush.
Blessings.
I'm >> greetings about who you are.
[laughter] >> I'm trying to I visualize my my work talks a lot about preserving cultural.
Thank you.
>> Good afternoon. My name is Joe and I'm a fashion designer on >> Good afternoon everyone. My name is Admir Charles. I'm a tour guide and artisan and aware of any.
>> Good afternoon. My name is Adri Ree, mathematics teacher.
Richard dancer and I'm also a farmer.
I'm an Thank you for being here.
>> Hello everyone. Good afternoon. I'm from TV and a researcher and a program.
My name is a research driver from Morton community that is greetings everyone. My name is Valentine and I'm a son of the school.
Greetings. My name is Jacine Phillips and I'm the secret.
>> Good afternoon everyone. My name is Captain Miller. I'm a student at the University of >> Good afternoon everyone. Justin Solos.
I'm the president of Bird Life Jamaica and also a conservationist.
>> Good afternoon everyone. I'm Jeff. I'm here and writing.
My name is and my name is from specific.
I am Gloria Gloria Mama Mama G.
>> Yes. Yes. I am Mu a student practitioner of all things cultural Jamaican African traditional culture and also a vessel of my ancestors to good afternoon everyone um my name is Marcus Brandon I'm the director of TVA21 which is a contemporary art foundation and the chair of the board of the alligator head foundation and marine conservation organization.
Thank you for having me.
>> Good afternoon or afternoon. Good afternoon everybody. I'm um I would say long time friend of the maroons and communities.
um a doctor of the earth and um I'm very happy that everybody is here today coming together and appreciate you all being here.
>> Good afternoon everyone from [laughter] Good afternoon everyone.
and one of the captain to the transport maroon and also operation manager head of washer >> everything rose.
>> Hi, my name is Da.
Jesus wind your teeth.
>> Yes, mom.
>> [laughter] >> I achieved it.
[laughter] >> [laughter] >> I've got your moment. [laughter] >> Well, you know what? I cannot complain as he ran through seven countries to bring her story back. So technically speaking, I am chief tennis.
It's an honor to be here and it's an honor to have our ancestors with us.
When we talk about mother earth, we need to take it a little bit further because we're going back to our mothers at at our at the end of our cycle.
And so we have to go back with grace.
We have to empty what we came here with, our learnings, our experiences into the future, our children.
and we have to do so with the grace, the joy, the strength, the determination that our ancestors had walked this land, created pathways for us to step into, to learn and to grow and to add our own, to make a new.
No matter what anyone else will come and say, those who do not understand their own relationship, their connection to the land, we do. And it is our responsibility to educate, empower, preserve.
And lastly, I am Nigos Redlocks defense.
>> Creative part creative. Yeah, that's it.
>> That's not it.
He provides visuals of our ancestors work. He provides opportunities like now for the world to see the work that we're doing. One more.
Okay. So, my name is No. I'm the admin here. And that's basically it.
I want to welcome you all to this space.
My brothers and sisters from across the sea. My brothers and sisters from across the land and my ancestors that are in here we want to say mant.
It's an honor and a privilege to have in this space our sacred space and that is their yard. Let whatever we do today will be a catalyst for the future empowering everyone that we come in contact with and also ultimately empowering the next generation pivoting the seven generations ahead.
>> So greetings again as I shared before the Jamaican home people.
One last thing, water is life and life is water. Let us play our part in preserving.
>> All right. So part of our custom welcoming relatives and trying to give eyes to the people that is not here.
and food is live. So, I'd like to call it Annette.
>> Annette, I just checking over from the kitchen. One minute.
>> Yes. Please, please get her.
>> And you need to understand that this lady is the manager of our taste buds for the day. And so we have to give honor to her and her team that's going to provide us with good afternoon. Welcome to the town and museum. I am Claudia Brown, manager for the food department and also the egg chef. Also with me today preparing your meal is Julie Murray and Miss Thson today as we prepare your meals. We do it from our heart and I do hope that I cleanse you, you will enjoy.
[applause] >> And so we move to songs.
>> So in our tradition when wcoming guests and doing ceremonies like this, we invite everyone to join in a call and respond. This song is thanking mother earth for opportunities to celebrate.
So Chief can start the drum.
You start off the song.
>> Yes. Okay. It is call response. Invite you to sing.
[music] Hallelujah. [music] [music] >> Hallelujah.
Oh my [music] god.
[music] [music] I love you. [music] [music] Oh my >> [music] >> Oh my god.
[music] [music] Heat. Heat.
[music] >> [music] >> I [music] love [music] me.
>> [music] >> Oh my god.
[music] [music] [music] >> [music] >> All right. Thank you everyone. And we will now move into the portion that is very resonating with spirit is the giving of gifts, the gift exchange. So we'll be calling our relatives from Hawaii up to the center calling uncle.
So Tanama we always and so our homeschooling such an amazing craft work. So, Tanal created her special artwork and the way she created it, she said she wanted to give it as a gift to somebody. And so this so last night she came and she prepared it, worked right up on it and I said to her, we need a gift. We have to say what the gift means and why it's important as a gift. So I don't know who she's going to present it to. So even my mom and so here's our opportunity.
You see me?
anymore.
[applause] As you can see, they're very good animal.
Um we're going to handle these gifts.
So for indigenous relatives we have here some feathers and some we call it ka the cedar plant that we use in cleansing represent one of those birds of community and the blue represents the sky somehow as birds island That's close to the sun. And we hope that after we continue that good work to cleanse the pot behind ensuring that we're cleansed everywhere that we Uh, we have also for Uncle Saul um one of the leaders and elders of this delegation a gift of uh by call and this was crafted by one of custodians of the tradition. It is being received with a certificate of authenticity there that he's created. Uh his name is Aawu. his kind name they call him in Georgia one time he still holds his father's axe which he uses and this type of wood we use to charge or medicine to cleanse them to clean them so again to support them on their journey in a good way for Britney we have carved from the same tree uh comb or earpiece and in our tradition this was used to cleanse those heavy thoughts those heavy feels You have to keep your mind clear as you come to this.
It's very relaxing as you come here. You have a mother or a Mark in my left receiving something for his post as well.
So for Mark, what we have here is a Vakon box, medicine box can be used as a jewelry box as well. And we're asking you to sure that it reaches to her sister so that you know she knows that we really do honor the work that she's doing and she carries some of this medicine with her.
And then for as well we have some more carvings from the wan that hold to carry with you. You can put your medicines on, your necklaces on, whatever you get. There may be moments where things feel heavy and this will help to lighten the Louise.
So Louis um this was a new creation from Abu or Artisan from the same and it was something that he created recently. He went through a situation where his leg was amputated medicine into his work and we felt it fitting that he received this one. He's very affectionately deceived and this is his interpretation of the secret will be in good hands with the work that you have to do because to help you with your work through the hard times that you have to go through all these meetings, all these clients Um, though we as humans aren't equipped to move through these strong currents, we're gifting you with one of the recent creations of Abi as well, which is a tail to help you navigate the strong waters, grant you some of that good medicine as well.
Mark for you as well to help you guys.
Thank you to the So I know that Charleston has some gift.
Listen, my friend from Charles coming.
I have one of the gates to help you along the way. The AB is the first telephone.
We use it to communicate with ourselves and also our ancestors.
This ABN will help you to talk to your ancestors when you're on the seas. When you're praying, you don't have to blow the aben. Just pray and our ancestors will hear they will help you along the way.
Don't feel afraid. We are listening and there will be assist you along the way.
Thank you very much.
All right.
Um, from our hearts to yours, we want to say in the back seat, thank you for coming. Thank you for honoring us with your presence. Now, at this time, we are going to move into the next item on the program, which is which is the gift exchange and I'll hand it over to >> Hello everybody. Um, so I'll hand over to Marcus to present, but I'll just announce I'd like to call um the leaders from each of the um room communities over here Um, where's Jackie?
Come in. Come in.
>> [clears throat] >> Come home just arrive.
And then so we just wanted to put together or leaders.
Whatever this one side and one on this side.
So firstly for the maroons and for the ancestors and for the traditions we'd like for the ceremony white room. So you [laughter] for Thank you so much for having us. And this is for an um so here we have some handcrafted things. So they're handcrafted by here who only the only person in Jama and and very well known in a lot of communities for his traditional style craftsmanship. Um and here he's created of LA audience from the same. So we as guest space and and respect we want to hand this over. I think it's a profound that's a profound meaning that we come from the same as the beginning of whether it's to come but I hope that is going to continue growing from there and thank you very much for me personally this is immensely meaningful shape my way in the world and the way that I want to So thank you very much.
I love you, mama.
Captain Roy offering for offer you our chance.
Morning.
First of all, I want to say we appreciate very much um this gathering that uh we've called together mic.
We need a mic.
I I'll very thankful for being here and being hosted by um it's been uh a few years since I first arrived here in Jamaica. But I have to say on the very first day I arrived coming from a boat to the land um I was greeted on the shore by the people with your chants and dances and so I felt very very uh um welcome in a traditional way and but it's been a while it's been almost 5 years so but this gathering I think is is timely because it is not only of us coming together but it's also a reaffir information of the things that we have in common and that is our ocean. Our ocean is connected to our lands. Our lands are are connected to the people who care for both land and the city. And it is time for us to begin to share the things that we have in common even though we're oceans apart that in in our traditions there are similarities. And so that brings us closer together than we realize. So, so I would like to begin with a with a chant. Um, and this chant is written um for a welcome.
Uh people have from far far away places and they come from many distances and and for us here today uh we've traveled from many distances to come together.
But in our Hawaiian tradition, when people come as our guests, we try to um liken their arrival like the the morning sunrise that is colored in the sky to to indicate that the your visitors and your guests have arrived. And then what we would do is that in our holly in our house, we would fashion a place for them to rest. And so we gather all of the ferns of the land and we will place them in their boots so that when they put their head down, the scent of the land is there for them. And in that comfort, we hope that they will be welcome enough to feel a part of this place that they're visiting. And so um it is important for us to make sure that we take care of our guests. So I am very thankful that um you are preparing a place for us, you know, and that you are preparing a place that will be remembered. And so we thank you for that. And so I'd like to offer this check as a way of expressing to you our appreciation for your welcome.
>> All right.
No, >> [singing] >> like whoever Yeah. Yeah.
my so this next is about the gene each canoe is born it has its own descendants each different and the land in which it was born on the elk was rewired um and reaping the ways in which we travel our continents of the Pacific Ocean. And so these are the descendants, her children and her grandchild who are driving this uh effort to ensure that we remember and continue our knowledge moving forward. So these are our connections as people within this.
for my Hello. [clears throat] This next chap and it discusses our four different islands within but it uses the net of fishing net that binds these communities together. It takes you on a journey across the different channels that exist between the islands and that binds people together as well as their practices.
More importantly, it retains the energy of that family.
by Lord.
Hallelujah.
Your Love Allah.
And then lastly, what we want to do is um inspire you with one of the chants that have been written by our kukuna, our elder. And in this, it's uh about a rally calling it together. And so we hope our presence here that we can call together the hands that are going to be needed to passion in the canoe. So in this chant it is to call to call out to many places as far as your voice can be heard and it is a call because we need to go to the mountain and there in the mountain we've selected a tree [clears throat] and that tree needs to be felt but it needs help to lift it and so we call out for all to hear for help and when we come together we will lift the tree from the mountain and we will carry it all the way down to the shore. And once it's there under the halle the house, the log will be fashioned by the canoe carvers. And once that is finished, these logs will be tied together with lashing to give it integrity, to give it strength, and to give it purpose. And this bucka, the canoe, is intended to go across new horizons, places that perhaps we know nothing about, places of which we will discover new things. But to accomplish that, we have to all do this together. So with this, I want to offer you this chant is called Mau.
I mow mow inch.
I moore.
Wow.
[laughter] >> I love that shot.
>> All right.
Maybe you can help us.
>> So I know you How much >> I know Immediately before you get to I mean, obviously So we have also that we want to share.
So all [cough and clears throat] so we have a copy of our this is our gen and this talks about where we come from which is in the deep ocean and that the first of our ancestors are created in the ocean as the 12 and from there all other things in nature were created. This was created for us by our ancestors and it is now in a in a volume that was translated by the last queen of Hawaii and her name was Queen and she said that by putting this chant in the Hawaiian language to English. She hoped that it would be available to more people. But she also asked that scientists look at this genealogy and understand the Hawaiian science in here.
She also asks that genealogologists look at this so that we understand how we are all created and how we are all related. And it is her hope that that this would be used at some time in the future to help to bring solutions to times of need. And I cannot help but think that we are here assembled in Jamaica because of the time that's calling uh for help for the ocean. And I hope that this will be one of the the guiding foundations to help us to find a way forward. So I would like to offer this to you as a gift.
And then one of the things that she was very well known in saying, she says, "Never cease to act because you fear you may fail."
>> So I think we understand what that means. So um my daughter made these and so I would give that to you and a little keychain in there.
We also brought some um oil tree that you have here is for enlightenment. Um so we receive that. So this oil is the right.
>> Walnut. Yes.
>> Yeah.
is one where um we call it kui. So this is the oil and the kui actually. Um this is also um soap made from um our our lands and different people who create these uh indigenous soaps of the land.
This shell is from our waters um gifted to me to give to you um from our oceans in Hawaii.
And a friend of mine had made this less for Is it okay to put it on? Yes. So this leo, she made it to share our connections. She's her ancestor is from many many islands across the Pacific and so she wo that in to bring it here.
gifts. Everything is so timely. I just love how everything is just falling into sequence. I am so grateful. I know these gifts go beyond us. It is from our ancestors. It is through divine will and powers that these gifts are offered today and I do not take them anyway for granted. I hold them dearly into my heart because for you to bring the oil from the tree and you didn't know we have four tree in front of our place here. that is very deeply significant spiritually divine to me. So effects.
>> We also have things for you. Um we also will give you um our wall and and a beautiful bag that has correspond to this and um out of the books that was gifted to me to bring here the sage um stuck out the most for the wisdom that all of you are bringing forth from our ancestors.
And in the same way you gave me the perfect gift, I'm going to give this back to you. It is made out of mal halo and so it's a woven um little pin. my friend's daughter. She made this to give to someone that I find very special on my journey. And I think it's very fitting to give this to you.
And this way was given um to me from one of my dear friends who we danced together to Asian dance and she she made it. Um as she was thinking about it, she thought of a important leader that I would meet along the way that it was meant for. So it's very much for you in our languages and and in reciprocity. May you create invite now representative from each of the member villages to receive on behalf.
Captain Captain Shear on your journey. able to come in.
So on behalf of we thank you very much inspirational to us. It's across the ocean but as you rightly say the ocean joins everywhere and in that connectivity we are all connected and we are from the same one.
So may Thank you.
>> All right.
So we have our I have one of my favorite jellies that I brought from lava jelly.
I love this.
Um, and once again, this is from Saul's daughter. She made this as well as the this is the Hawaii teaching Hawaiian flag.
And Britney also gave another one of these pins on the hollow tree. This is used to make our mats or sails, a lot of different things that we found very of course. to eat with chopsticks. We use this.
>> Thank you very much for coming in.
Almighty God.
And one thing I want to say about those chopsticks is that the the print on them is um the traditional ways we would mark our clothing. So it's only um traditionally made out of bamboo. Um and so the the design, this design, the design that is on here, you carve different ways to um printing or mark anything. So any we have um is a beautiful um flower and then also um and so we are also making sure Thank you.
>> I just want to welcome a who is joining us today.
So I'll have them introduce themselves but they come with the Hong Kong youth culture group and we're very happy to this connection and coming together all of our indigenous Pacific Island people and here we have uncle Britney we have and Good afternoon. My name is Sria and I'm from President Chair of the Marine Council and also the sign for the Marine.
Nice to be here. I'm happy to meet all of you.
>> [applause] >> Greetings on behalf of our ancestors and most welcome here to be here to be on this right now.
It was so much here that we're grateful for their presence.
Thank you for making it exactly where you're meant to be here. So, all of that was part of what we're doing. Um, this leg is from one of our Cian sisters. Um, this is our flag.
And then this is my absolute favorite um from our flower. Um, really we also have I don't know if you heard I don't know. Um but this is of um kumu is the source is the teacher and lio is the deep dark parts of the ocean and so our origin story is in this creation that our king translated into English.
So it's very impressive.
So that is what this um book is along with um one of her um this Uncle Saul's daughter had made these um beautiful bags ready for carry everything in and the tea leaf which you guys also have these plants around here um very important for like medicinal purpose as well is on here. Thank you. Thank you.
All right. Wonderful. All right. So, I want to say thank you.
The presentations just now were well appreciated from your hearts. Um at this time I would invite you all to have a seat.
Presentation we'll get some refreshments as well and after that we will be museum and also if you feel the urge to come and sing with us we would love that.
Okay then I'll say there you go. All right my dancers are here. All right.
So, it's joining and dancing time. The child room drummers and dancers, we are inviting you to make your way to the stage.
>> [music] >> that.
No, no, no.
>> [laughter] >> live I hope comes.
>> Yeah, I know.
5,000 here.
You want to put Nice Right side camera.
>> We can't talk to you live, you know.
Note up to you, girl.
What time?
No.
When I reach for the day.
>> Yeah. So 435 There you go.
always [laughter] want you want. Come downstairs one time.
Check it out.
>> Hi. You all right?
Please come down.
program day after day after coming up.
>> [music] >> If you come back, you want to sit down. All right. [music] Everybody Yeah.
Everybody.
[music] [music] [music] [music] Everybody check.
>> [music] >> Hallelujah.
[music] [music] Heat.
[music] [music] [music] Heat.
[music] Heat.
[music] [music] Heat. [music] Heat.
[music] [music] Heat.
[music] Heat. Heat.
[music] [music] [music] >> [music] [music] >> Heat. Heat.
[music] Heat. Heat.
[music] Here [music] I go. [music] Here I go.
[music] Heat. Heat.
[music] [music] Heat. Heat.
[music] Heat. Heat.
[music] Yeah.
Heat.
[music] [music] Oh yeah. [music] Heat.
[music] >> [music] >> Heat. Heat.
[music] [music] Heat. Heat.
[music] Heat. Heat.
[music] [music] Heat. Heat.
[music] >> [music] >> Heat. Heat.
[music] Heat. Heat.
[music] [music] Heat. Heat.
[music] Yeah. [music] Heat.
[music] Heat. Heat. [music] [music] Heat. Heat.
[music] Hey, [music] [music] I am [music] Heat. Heat. [music] [music] >> [music] >> Heat. [music] Heat.
[music] Yeah.
Heat. [music] [music] Heat. Heat.
[music] [music] Heat. Heat. Heat.
Heat. Heat.
[music] [music] [music] Heat.
[music] Heat.
So many [music] [music] [music] heat.
[music] Heat. Heat.
Heat.
[music] Heat.
[music] Heat. Heat.
[music] Heat.
[music] Heat.
[music] [music] >> [applause] >> Thank you.
So you can't be afraid.
Jesus.
So there you have it.
What you guys see my Yo yo hey.
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