Tribal Gathering Panama
26-02-19
 |
| remote beachfront site for TG2019 |
 |
| Playa Chiquita |
11:11 am
Sat now at a beautiful resort in Portobelo (together with Cosmic Kim from back home who connected with us a few days ago ! ) a coastal town en route back to Panama City from Playa Chiquita where the festival is continuing until 4 March. The resort is called ElOtroLado - the Other Side - an apt theme for the past week, and getting here was like a scene from I'm a Celebrity Get me Outta Here, but thats another story
Tribal Gathering is an ambitious 18 day festival that has many faces , originating i think as a Psy-Trance Rave, and still in large part catering to that scene. This was the only pre-booked event of our Heart-trip as it hit my inbox back in November and felt like a right place right time moment, providing an anchor in central america for our travels. We were attracted to the Indigenous Immersive experience on offer for the first 10 days of the festival and signed up to that, not knowing much except 60 tribes were invited to teach workshops and offer medicines in a music festival environment which sounded promising - set and setting for adventure, enlightenment, fun, education?
I think it will fall on each participant to decide what this festival means to them - as the full spectrum from the sacred to the profane was on offer. I will keep this post on the positive, but am planning a constructive critique letter to the organisers about the treatment of the land and the visiting elders and a set up that was unable to meet its eco or ceremonial initiatives, although i'm sure the events of this year will result in a soul searching debrief anyway.
While it left a 'positive' trace on me and Joshua as we got what was divinely planned for us , there was plenty of negative trace left on the land and on the hearts of many of the soul seekers I engaged with .
We sat in many ceremonies, teaching circles, workshops, and performances as well as lots of interesting encounters with fellow travellers ... was great to see Joshua fully embody the experience and be present in heart and mind the entire time. We decided to let go of all stress about school work or further trip planning - and this made a big difference - i saw an ease, grace and confidence in him as he responded to his own desires and initiatives throughout the week.
I think it will fall on each participant to decide what this festival means to them - as the full spectrum from the sacred to the profane was on offer. I will keep this post on the positive, but am planning a constructive critique letter to the organisers about the treatment of the land and the visiting elders and a set up that was unable to meet its eco or ceremonial initiatives, although i'm sure the events of this year will result in a soul searching debrief anyway.
While it left a 'positive' trace on me and Joshua as we got what was divinely planned for us , there was plenty of negative trace left on the land and on the hearts of many of the soul seekers I engaged with .
We sat in many ceremonies, teaching circles, workshops, and performances as well as lots of interesting encounters with fellow travellers ... was great to see Joshua fully embody the experience and be present in heart and mind the entire time. We decided to let go of all stress about school work or further trip planning - and this made a big difference - i saw an ease, grace and confidence in him as he responded to his own desires and initiatives throughout the week.
Joshua was 'adopted' by 3 tribes - the South Africans from Table Mountain , the Garifuna from Belize, and the GuataMayans from Guatemala . He also befriended Little Thunder from the Lakota, Valerio from Apache, and at least 2 Joshuas from amongst fellow travelers
 |
| Joshua with sacred object on loan to him for a day by Uprize (Table Mountain, SA) |
A Guatemalan Abuela blessed him and saw a great destiny , Dr Nativa a guatamayan shaman told him he was a Feathered serpent according to his birthday and gifted him his ceremonial staff
other elders from various tribes including Aboriginal , complimented me on my son and his intelligence and focus
Then Cosmic Kim my dear friend from Ibiza, arrives like a magik fairy on the thursday , fresh from the moon dance - i see her just as im finishing a chat with another cosmic being from El Salvador who inspires me with his take on tribal remembering and bringing that consicousness into daily life and dress...
Some detail on these encounters and the talks will fill a future post as they also tie in so well to the curriculum I am developing for a mystery school geared for teens and young adults , watch this space :)
Im glad we made the effort to go as so much was witnessed and experienced... and then we escaped in a hurry as the energy began to change and we were unable to get any rest at night ... for us 9 days was enough.
Overall,
there were competing energies and agendas and the full on party side to contend with - for me anyway this was part of the ascending spiral of the healing process - revisiting old wound in fresh environs. Although i worked as a VJ in the festival and club scene globally and identified so much with the world of dance music and dancing and underground parties and freedom of expression , all good stuff but for me it always held a dark energy , seductive in the early days but in later years a drain on my creative expression, a dilution of it, a submission to the shadow rather than a release of it
And so here i was again , but this time older wiser and setting the intention to transmute the dark energy and not to judge - to see it all as a microcosm of the macro and hold space for those starting to wake up to their higher potentials ,
it was challenging and draining but it worked , and it wasn't so much giving up on day 8 as being given a clear message from Spirit that it was time to move on, that the work for us was done
heard later from Brett, my lovely new friend from LA (homoriot) , someone i'm grateful for being a friendly anchor point for me and Joshua through the week, he said we were right to leave when we did and it became very intense as the last of the tribes left and it was a full on Rave
what pierced my heart was the damage to the earth and the misuse of frequency/ sound ... it led me to really think about how we use music - how certain frequencies affect the earth and the creatures in it, the noise pollution caused by agressive volume - where its about showing off and pushing it to piercing limits , what is being reflected when that happens, rather than letting the music rest in its natural resonance.
@muthabored
Then Cosmic Kim my dear friend from Ibiza, arrives like a magik fairy on the thursday , fresh from the moon dance - i see her just as im finishing a chat with another cosmic being from El Salvador who inspires me with his take on tribal remembering and bringing that consicousness into daily life and dress...
 |
| Uprize and Paulo from Table Mountain share their medicines and rituals |
 |
| With Elder from Guatamalan Mayan tribe, Valerio |
Im glad we made the effort to go as so much was witnessed and experienced... and then we escaped in a hurry as the energy began to change and we were unable to get any rest at night ... for us 9 days was enough.
 |
| Joshua invited on stage with Columbians and Belizeans |
To me the main takeaway from the talks and circles was our need to reconnect to our lands , to know who they belong to and to honour them. That to really feel our land and our waters will help us to connect to our own ancestors and to bring about unity consiousness, belonging, identity, peace. We have forgot how to truly listen, perhaps we dont have elders to listen to , but we can listen to mamma earth , and listen to those indigenous elders that do come out of their homes to speak to us , and in doing so remember who we really are and then begin to act in accordance with those memories
Overall,
there were competing energies and agendas and the full on party side to contend with - for me anyway this was part of the ascending spiral of the healing process - revisiting old wound in fresh environs. Although i worked as a VJ in the festival and club scene globally and identified so much with the world of dance music and dancing and underground parties and freedom of expression , all good stuff but for me it always held a dark energy , seductive in the early days but in later years a drain on my creative expression, a dilution of it, a submission to the shadow rather than a release of it
And so here i was again , but this time older wiser and setting the intention to transmute the dark energy and not to judge - to see it all as a microcosm of the macro and hold space for those starting to wake up to their higher potentials ,
it was challenging and draining but it worked , and it wasn't so much giving up on day 8 as being given a clear message from Spirit that it was time to move on, that the work for us was done
 |
| Brazilian body art and ceremonial staff from Dr Nativo, at the place where the river meets the sea |
heard later from Brett, my lovely new friend from LA (homoriot) , someone i'm grateful for being a friendly anchor point for me and Joshua through the week, he said we were right to leave when we did and it became very intense as the last of the tribes left and it was a full on Rave
what pierced my heart was the damage to the earth and the misuse of frequency/ sound ... it led me to really think about how we use music - how certain frequencies affect the earth and the creatures in it, the noise pollution caused by agressive volume - where its about showing off and pushing it to piercing limits , what is being reflected when that happens, rather than letting the music rest in its natural resonance.
@muthabored
Comments
Post a Comment