Voices from the ancestors : Xicanx and Latinx spiritual expressions and healing practices

Voices from the Ancestors brings together the reflective writings and spiritual practices of Xicanx, Latinx, and Afro-Latinx womxn and male allies in the United States who seek to heal from the historical traumas of colonization by returning to ancestral traditions and knowledge. This wisdom is based on the authors' oral traditions, research, intuitions, and lived experiences--wisdom inspired by, and created from, personal trajectories on the path to spiritual conocimiento, or inner spiritual inquiry. This conocimiento has reemerged over the last fifty years as efforts to decolonize lives, minds, spirits, and bodies have advanced. Yet this knowledge goes back many generations to the time when the ancestors understood their interconnectedness with each other, with nature, and with the sacred cosmic forces--a time when the human body was a microcosm of the universe. Reclaiming and reconstructing spirituality based on non-Western epistemologies is central to the process of decolonization, particularly in these fraught times. The wisdom offered here appears in a variety of forms--in reflective essays, poetry, prayers, specific guidelines for healing practices, communal rituals, and visual art, all meant to address life transitions and how to live holistically and with a spiritual consciousness for the challenges of the twenty-first century Cover 1 Title Page 4 Copyright 5 Dedication 6 Contents 8 Acknowledgments 18 Introduction / Lara Medina and Martha R. Gonzales 22 1. MORNING PRAYERS 40 Sunrise Prayer / Inés Hernández-Ávila 41 . . . Keeping It Real . . . / Gloria Enedina Alvarez 47 Prayer to the Orishas / Martha R. Gonzales 48 2. HONORING THE SACRED DIRECTIONS 50 As the Ceremony Begins . . . / Sara H. Salazar 52 Honoring the Sacred Directions / Lara Medina 53 3. CREATING SACRED SPACE 56 The Curandera Prepares for Healing . . . / Sara H. Salazar 59 My Home Altar / Ofelia Esparza 60 Shrine of Self-Realization / Rosanna Esparza Ahrens and Ofelia Esparza 63 Reclaiming Our Mother, Reclaiming Ourselves / Alba Onofrio 66 Creating an Altar for the Healing of Our Younger Self / Susy Zepeda 69 Little Altars / Martha R. Gonzales 72 Bendiciones de casa (House Blessings): Life and Spirit in Living Spaces / Marta López-Garza 74 4. BLESSINGS FOR BABIES AND YOUNG CHILDREN 78 Life Arrives / Gloria Enedina Alvarez 82 A Home Baptism / Lara Medina 83 A Little Baby Prayer / Patrisia Gonzales, Traditional Baby Catcher 85 The Mujeres Circle / Mónica Russel y Rodríguez 87 Planting the Umbilical Cord / Jennie Luna 90 5. CREATING ART AS SPIRITUAL PRACTICE 92 On Creating Art / Flor y canto / Yreina D. Cervántez 95 Bordar y tejer es medicina / Dora Xochitl Lopez-Mata and Maria Eva Mata 97 Aprender bordando: Embroidery as Meditation and Knowledge Making / Esther Díaz Martín 99 Luz de luz / Gloria Enedina Alvarez 102 The Gift of Art / Margaret “Quica” Alarcón 104 Joto Rituals for Healing, Self-Love, and Social Justice / Eddy Francisco Alvarez Jr. 107 6. CREATING ART THROUGH PROSE AND POETRY 110 Mujer Jaguar PRESENTE! / Gloria Enedina Alvarez 113 Fuerza ancestral / Xánath Caraza 114 Writing Is as Necessary as Air to Me / Xánath Caraza 117 Canto Ocelotl / Jaguar Incantations / Yreina D. Cervántez 119 On My Relative’s Skin / Claudia A. Mercado 121 Latinx Liberation: A Meditation on Writing / Lauren Frances Guerra 123 7. CREATING ART THROUGH DANZA 126 Queering Mi Palabra / Luis Salinas 129 Prayer in Motion / Issa Linda Arroyo 132 Wearable Prayers: Danza Ceremonial Trajes / Patricia Juárez / Chicueyi Coatl 136 8. COMMUNING WITH OUR DYING AND BELOVED DECEASED 138 Ofrenda / Gloria Enedina Alvarez 141 Nana’s Hands / Sybil Venegas 143 Death as a Peaceful, Loving Teacher / Alan Hicks 146 Ancestral Ties / Maritza Alvarez 150 The Rose in My Heart / Patricia Rodriguez 151 Showing Me the Path Home: A Poz, Third-Gender Xicanx Constructs a Triad of the Divine Feminine / Omar Gonzalez 152 Teachings from Mami / Norma Elia Cantú 156 What My Abuelita Taught Me About Prayer and Memory . . . / Theresa Torres 161 Conjuros / Rossy Evelin Lima; Translated by Don Chellini 163 Life Embracing Death / Jocelyn Vargas 166 Día de todos los santos: Xicanx Healing Ritual After the Death of a Child / Aida Salazar 169 Lamento Cihuateteo / Llanto de Juárez (The Lament of the Cihuateteo / The Cry of Juárez) / Yreina D. Cervántez 172 9. DREAMING 174 Cultivating a Healing Dream Practice / Atava Garcia Swiecicki 176 On Dreaming / Maritza Alvarez in conversation with Lara Medina 182 After the Limpia . . . / Sara H. Salazar 184 10. HOLISTIC HEALTH CARE 186 The Curandera Begins . . . / Sara H. Salazar 190 Womxn Caring for Womxn Is Ceremony / Grace Alvarez Sesma 191 Baños de limpia espiritual / Sandra M. Pacheco 196 The Thirteen Aires and Self-Limpias / Atava Garcia Swiecicki 201 El Temazkal, a Place for Rest and Purification / Estela Román 207 Wellness Ways for Beginning Self- and Community Care / Felicia “Fe” Montes 210 A Poppet for Mental Health / Jessica Lozano Rodriguez 212 La oración / Pedro Alvarado 216 11. LIFE CHANGES 218 A Rite of Passage for a Young Woman / Linda Villanueva 221 Fiesta de maíz: A Ceremony for Our Young Adults / Lara Medina 224 Transceñera: A Transformative Ceremony / Jacqueline Garza Lawrence 227 Luna Mia: A Xicanx Guide for a First-Moon Ceremony / Aida Salazar 229 Leaving Home / Lara Medina 236 Querida Tierra-Sol-Mar-y- Viento / María Elena Fernández 238 Mynopause: From “Change of Life” to a Nepantla State of Enlightenment / Elisa Facio 240 12. MEDITATION 244 The Warrior Womxn Envisions . . . / Sara H. Salazar 246 Connecting with the Elements / Lara Medina 247 Following My Breath / Brenda Romero 249 A Meditation on Beauty for Releasing Pain and Trauma / Linda Vallejo 251 Learning to Breathe: Ancestral Healing, Spiritual Activism, and the Medicine Wheel / Heidi M. Coronado 252 13. MEDICINAL FOODS 262 Remedios y rituales / Berenice Dimas 264 Atole / Neomi De Anda 265 Nourish Your Body and Soul / Gloria Quesada 267 Cultivando semillas y culturas en la Madre Tierra (Cultivating Seeds and Cultures on Mother Earth) / Melissa Moreno 269 Spirit Plates / Claudia Serrato 271 14. MOTHER-CHILD BONDING 274 Radical Mami Love: Chicana Consejos del Corazón / Brenda M. Sendejo 277 Be Stewards of the Earth / Karen Mary Davalos 279 Find Your Truth / Elvira Prieto 280 Live in the Present / Maria Elena Cruz 281 Receta for Radical Wholeness / TÍa Naya / Naya Armendarez Jones 282 “We Are Not a Conquered People” / Jackie Cuevas 283 My Relations / MarÍa Elena MartÍnez 284 Consejos of Remembrance / Alicia Enciso Litschi 286 Petra’s Gift / Modesta Barbina Trevino 287 Why Being Truly Popular Is Hard to Do / Martha P. Cotera 289 Huitzin de mi alma: A Meditation on Healing in Adoption / Corina Benavides López 292 Welcome, Nova: Consejos for Surviving Pregnancy Loss / Patricia Marina Trujillo 294 Chalchiuhtlicue—The Passing of One’s Child / Aida Salazar 300 Post-Cesarean Ceremony / Baby’s First Journey to the Heart / Jennie Luna 303 Fortifying Our Spirits: A Talking Circle for Our Daughters / Irene Lara 306 Shaking It All Up / Laura Pérez 310 15. MOON MEDITATIONS 312 Coyolxauhqui Canto / Cristina Gorocica 315 Full Moon Coyolxauhqui Circle / Felicia “Fe” Montes 317 Patzin: Abuela Luna and the Cycles of la Mujer / Patrisia Gonzales 320 Moon Gazing / Lara Medina 322 16. SACRED SEXUALITIES 324 The Incarnate God and Embodied Desire / Lauren Frances Guerra 326 In Gratitude / Martha R. Gonzales 329 prayer to my Lover // Ofrenda a mi amante / yaz mendez nuñez 330 Healing from Sexual Trauma / María Elena Fernández 333 17. PRAYER AND SONG 338 The Wounded Warrior / Sara H. Salazar 341 On Prayer / Laura Pérez 342 Cántico de mujer / Rosa Martha Zárate Macías 343 Woman Song / Cristina Gorocica 345 Woman Nation / Marisol Lydia Torres 347 I Pray: Un Rezo of Healing pa’ lxs Mariconxs / Eddy Francisco Alvarez Jr. 349 18. RELATIONSHIP WITH LAND AND PLANTS 352 The Earth Moves / Laura Pérez 354 Encontrándome / Berenice Dimas 355 Letter to Eva / Theresa Yugar 360 Growing Maíz / Maritza Alvarez 362 19. SPIRITUAL ACTIVISM 364 The Scriptures of Lydia Lopez / Jacqueline M. Hidalgo 366 The Peace Walks of Dolores Mission Parish: How One Community Moves Toward Healing from Violence / As Rita Chairez and Raquel Roman of Dolores Mission Parish have shared with Jennifer Owens Jofré 368 The Day After the Election: Protecting Body, Mind, and Spirit / Sandra M. Pacheco 370 The Dharma and the Dragon Girl / Patrisia Gonzales 373 Misa Mujer / Mujerista Mass / Patricia Pedroza González 377 20. SPIRITUAL PEDAGOGY 384 A Pedagogy of Ofrendas: The Altar as a Tool for Integrating Social Justice in the Classroom / Norell Martínez 386 A Spiritual Pedagogy / Lara Medina 389 Decolonizing Spirit in the Classroom con Anzaldúa / Susy Zepeda 391 21. TALKING CIRCLES 394 The Curandera Listens . . . / Sara H. Salazar 396 From Past to Present: The Power of Healing Circles / Trini Tlazohteotl Rodriguez 397 En este círculo / Ann Hidalgo 400 Circles of Women / Naomi H. Quiñonez 406 22. EVENING PRAYERS 410 Ángel de mi guardia . . . / María Figueroa 413 Descansando en paz / Jerry Tello 415 Tlazocahmati Tatita Sol / Grace Alvarez Sesma 416 References 418 Contributors 426 Index 442