Symbols & Tradition I: The Caquetio Ball Game, 1st Ed.
Interpretations:
There are various interpretations regarding many symbols left by our ancestors. Some interpretations stem from personal speculation by visitors and locals, to historians that presume a cosmological meaning, or organizations that claim heritage however provide misinformation while committing gentrification. The latter two is where we continue to face more risk of loss of culture.
On the matter of speculation by locals is it of no harm, as these speculation do not reach into the sweatshops of colonialism which produce marble items stolen from indigenous culture and heritage, they are not the generators of false narratives, although as people curious of heritage or culture, they may be co-opted into false narratives. Descendants have every right to speculate or ruminate on the meanings of symbols rooted in their somewhat unknown ancestral culture, danger comes when we do not hold autonomy to fulfill our own road. Where interpretations rooted in a process originating from Western knowledge systems take dominance upon the meaning, wherein descendants are unable to develop their own relationship with cultural remains and resurrections, we see the imposition take effect in the same way the colonist superimposed religious institutes or economic ports on sacred sites.
Author and Historian, Evert Bongers, often refers to the nature and figure as a depiction relative to cosmological observation of comets ("De 'kometen' van Arikok"), with the figure labeled as a shaman. Or, as duality, with the lines connecting the two circles, one regarded as the sun, and the other the moon.
In search of shedding light on this background have institutions been erected in the name of preserving and continuing culture, however actions speaks louder than words. Aruba Etnia Nativa, an organization that utilizes culture through a touristic medium have published the following statement in a column article: "this drawing [fig. 1] is referred to as a portal design, a doorway, a hole into the sky in which you can be transported in to the spiritual world."
The archeological assertion state the following in regards to the symbol; "But certainly with two so similar, parallel pictographs we have to consider a dualistic concept. Dualistic concepts were also noted in the Fontein site. It is obvious, in Fontein, that there are no two exact copies. we see similar pictographs but not copies - there is always some difference. that is also true for these dualistic concepts at Arikok." Furthermore are the symbols consider by Wagenaar as a "double or twin suns."
Additionally, "It should be interpreted as a transformed human, such as a shaman or a god-like creature, manipulating a sun and other items, normally out of reach for normal humans." writes MANA. "De Haseth interprets this drawing and the items connected to the arms-hands as "a human figure with sun and rain" and connects it with stories of the sun and the moon, documented by Pané in 1498 (De Haseth, 1981:7)."
Publications such as these, which are promoted by the department of culture and recognized by notable members of society in our current social context perpetuate misinformation and commit neo-colonization. What seals the deal is our investment due to having no background knowledge of our own. The self-appointed authority of European disciplines upon indigenous cultural heritage is evident in proclaiming dualistic concepts with no relative background knowledge in the nature of the symbol. One can consider this an imposition, and by process of centralizing Eurocentric disciplines, an ethnocide of the Caquetio way of life.
While there is knowledge and depictions of cosmology, historical cosmological events, and spiritual circumstances, as well as dynamism of duality, the interpretation of this symbol having to do with celestial observation (i.e comets), seasonal sun & rain, spiritual portals or dualistic natures (i.e sun-moon) is incorrect and should not only be reformed, but should the reformation as such be led and cultural heritage preserved by descendants, and misinformation held accountable. Today academic scholars, be it local or non-local, are involved in preservation of history and heritage, before this confusing time, were medicine people and community members wisdom keepers and traditional knowledge holders. Medicine people have long been members of the community that provide healing, story, guidance, music and many things, but without a doubt, Wisdom. In medicine people's practices are dreams and visions common and regarded in many ways sacred, it is where the wisdom comes from. Wisdom with insight of pragmatic nature and their meanings echo the meaning in music of the Creator's musical body, as it can be said in one way. Often doubted due to their verifiability by modern approaches, the ways of medicine people brings us the following.
A Caquetio vision:
A vision invoked through reflection upon the symbol spoke of an importance to ancestors, in revering and honoring connection with the ancestors and their memory, that it was a practice. Further reflection led to a whisper that alluded to an item in the hand of the standing figure, as a sort of pipe, however, through which one exhales, blowing the heat. An image of an open field appeared in the vision, and seen was the movement of a sphere of light, as usually witnessed by locals as a ball of fire, or ball of light.
Traditional Knowledge:
In conversation subsequently 2 months after the vision, an elder spoke about playing ball games in their youth. It was mentioned that it was often in groups and everyone played together. Where there was no open field they cleared one up. It was then asked what ball they used, they mention that they played with regular soccer balls, or balls made from home items, or a ball from the resin of the watapana tree. It was collected and blown through a ‘pipe'. To prevent it from cooling too fast, heat was used to keep the resin soft long enough to blow and shape it. They described the ball as hardening over time. This was 70 years ago in Oruba as of 2023. Oral tradition transmits practices prevalent during those times, equally do practices transmit Oral traditions and stories of those times and before. It was not asked how they played the game, if there were rules, or how long the games lasted. The conversation continued on about women that weaved.
Coalescence:
The image and figures surrounding both the symbols left by our ancestors on rocks at sacred sites, with stories aforementioned here, help us remember a piece of ourselves forgotten. The ball of light, resembling the known ball of fire in our local legends, echoes stories of The Feathered Serpent with a ball of fire on its head, all the way to the beginnings of the Sun’s first emergence. It regards more than one archetype, more than one meaningful symbol, that is Caquetio. The prevalent figures from both vision and oral tradition allude to a ball (of fire) in an open field, similar to an open field cleared by players to play with a ball made from the resin of the watapana through heat and a 'pipe'.
Meaningful Coincidences:
In the secondary phase we allow for a period of silence, during which we gradually encountered meaningful coincidences through different mediums. We rarely initiate the secondary phase, we allow it to constellate. On social media was encountered a video of the Enawenênawê tribe in the Southern Amazon making a ball out of tree resin, sharing in their words the meaning of the game, and the ball belonging to the ancestors. A day afterwards, an indigenous writer based in the Caribbean indicated to me an archeological site in St. Croix and what was found there. It was a courtyard to a ball game, skeletal remains, and on the stones are drawn the relative symbols to those on Aruba. In volume 4 of Indians of South America, in which a rubber ball game is attributed to Arawakan and Carib groups. It is additionally mentioned that women would also form part of the game. In Cuba, Varadero inside the Cueva Ambrosia is seen on petroglyphs in similar styling; two concentric circles with dots in the middle, attached by a line (in this case). Remains found in the Caribbean indicate Elites were buried under the Batay (court). In Florida the game was also present with the ball sometimes made of scalp, and it was good to bury a scalp or skull of an ancestor in the ball court. The theme of a ball game is consistent across these aforementioned areas, with a notable few sharing similar cultural symbols regarding the ball game.
The Meaning:
The symbol regards the ball game played by Caquetios, and other tribes or nations such as Enawenênawê, Taino, Maya, and respective inheritors. The figure present is a medicine person that blows and forms the ball. The lines inside the ball symbol indicate it is forming, and the motion of the breath. Simultaneously is a similar symbol seen above the medicine person, at the zenith of the sky, on the solstice, and this is the Sun, with similar spirals, as the Sun is connected with breath and Wind. Wind blew in from the South with the emergence of the Sun. Raising the ball to the Sun, first ancestor, indicating the value of kinship, reciprocal relation, in remembering the ancestors, and thus honoring them on indigenous new year. The court, or courts, are the two symbols labeled as 'dumbbells', however here it is depicting two games, or the procession of games. The full spectrum of meaning is yet to be discussed as a whole, however we begin clarifying misconceptions through traditional knowledge. In a 2nd edition, we will discuss details regarding the story of creation, traditional practices relative to, and its connection with, the meaning of our Ball Game. Meaning: It is a ball game played by members of k'Aketio, on the longest day of the year (in this symbol) under the zenith of the Sun, marking the new year, harvesting (i.e shimarucu, maize, yuca, bijia (bixa), calabas (to make tocumas; small containers for red and black paint)) and planting season to come, along with the fishing season to come.
Acknowledgement:
By such knowledge being known, the site(s) where the ball game is indicated on Aruba should be preserved from destruction by state, state sanctioned institutions, or independent third parties. By declarations of UNDRIP, should stewardship be acknowledged as in the hands of indigenous inhabitants. Contemporary scholars and authors should acknowledge the primary work of Caquetios towards culture revitalization and auto-determination. Wisdom keepers and knowledge holders who know the meaning through traditional ways. It is of no interest to be included into the Archeological Record nor for verification through peer review, as those processes are derived from colonial knowledge systems. It follows no logical conclusion that non-indigenous taught and foreign practitioners verify the meaning born from our cultural ways and led by indigenous peoples. What background of reference would exist within a Eurocentric framework to verify this assertion as false or correct? It does implore an important question of validity, reliability and truth, however it should not mean that verifying those truths can only be done through the contemporary means of eurocentric disciplines that are not rooted in the continuity of that which it proposes to be studying. There are epistemological barriers which regard one's outlook and root of it, not in the shameful way either, but as a fact of the matter. The scientific method, and furthermore archeological and anthropological methods, face epistemological barriers in their process. They are dealing with their interpretations of what they are observing. One reconsiders then the accusation of pareidolia upon indigenous peoples, ascribing from the background of Eurocentric knowledge. A few may be aware of this. It does not devalue other details which the process can document, however, there is a problem of trespassing sites, burial grounds, and bias regarding symbols at sacred sites or of artifacts. Aside from this, much can not be done with the sensationalism of archeology independent of the process. Anyone can take from any existing research and co-opt that information. It should be noted that this [article] is an act of revealing and clarifying the meaning of the symbols from an independent source with subsequent research coinciding with, rather than backing up, the initial process which provides a string of meaning that relates with knowledge inherited in Oral traditions, and revelations through practices by Medicine people.
Decolonization:
In an effort to make traditional knowledge and cultural material accessible, we shall provide a comprehensible text with sources along with images as a download. It means direct access to what otherwise would require payment that goes towards institutions not representing us yet hold cultural material. This download will change irregularly. be pending.
*archived and updated regularly
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