Grandmothers: The Words of The

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the words of the

grandmothers
‘When the Grandmothers from the four
directions speak, the earth will heal.’
Hopi Prophecy
Suzanne Duce
The Council of 13 Grandmothers in Assisi Italy 2008

Back Row (from left to right): Margaret Behan (Cheyenne-Arapaho : USA) X Agnes Baker Pilgrim (Takelma-Siletz : USA)
Bernadette Rebienot (Omyene : Gabon, Africa)
Middle Row (from left to right): Flordemayo (Mayan : USA) X Beatrice Long-Visitor Holy Dance (Oglala Lakota : USA)
Rita Pikta Blumenstein (Yupik : USA) X Tsering Dolma Gyaltong (Tibetan : Canada)
Clara Shinobu Iura (Mapia : Brazil) X Aama Bompo (Tamang : Nepal) X Julieta Casimiro (Mazatec : Mexico)
Front Row (from left to right): Maria Alice Campos Freire (Mapia : Brazil) X Rita Long-Visitor Holy Dance
(Oglala Lakota : USA) X Mona Polacca (Hopi-Havasupai : USA)
THIS IS A FREE ARTICLE FROM SACRED HOOP MAGAZINE. Sacred Hoop is an independent magazine
It took me many years before I The coming together of 13 indigenous
realised that these experiences with
my own grandparents are all grandmothers was foreseen in visions,
aspects of shamanic practice.
Communing with spirits, working dreams, and prophecies, heralding a
with healing plants, singing (in
ceremonies, prayers, and to the time of transformation. A time of
invisible world of spirits), and holding
the intention of love for all that is.
cataclysmic change not only for the
The thirteen indigenous earth, but for human consciousness
grandmothers incorporate all these
healing practices, and more. My
journey to them, my awareness of
being compelled by something I In the Hudson River valley of
couldn’t name, has been lifelong. New York State, only three hours
It was only after my parents and from bustling New York City, is a
I emigrated to Canada in 1966, gem called The Omega Institute for
that I began to connect with native Holistic Studies. It was here, in
people and to understand my October 2010, that my dream of
affinity for spiritual beliefs and meeting the Thirteen Grandmothers
practices that were aligned with the came true.
natural world. I didn’t know that hundreds of
others have felt this call to meet
Propelled by an inner knowing that them, it is a worldwide
‘this is not all there is,’ in the 1990’s I phenomenon of being called to
met grandmother Sarah Smith, a serve and not knowing why or how.
Mohawk elder of the Turtle Clan, and Just by being in their presence
keeper of the dreamtime spirituality. people are changed positively,
Since my childhood I have enjoyed I participated in a ceremonial becoming more conscious. That is Top left: Yupik
being in the presence of elders, circle she held to honour a woman what the Grandmothers do, they grandmother
listening to them. who had died in prison. After the facilitate change and transformation Rita Pikta
In the easy company of my outdoor ceremony, she came around on every level. They work in a non- Blumenstein
grandfather Harry, I would sit to hug each one of us. It was when I linear experiential way that drums and sings
dreaming by the fire, listening to his looked into her eyes that a new confounds the skeptic and the and (below)
stories of the days when foxes ran world opened up for me and I was believer alike. Their appearance as kisses a young
through nearby fields. He was a drawn into it, knowing that it would innocuous amiable grannies is the Tibetan girl
down-to-earth man, typical of the lead me to what I needed. perfect disguise for shamanic during a visit
no-nonsense stalwart North, not I began to dream of grandmother practitioners of the highest degree. to Dharamsala
given to fanciful esoteric teachers, and to find my way to
explanations. Yet he could reclaiming creativity as a healing
communicate with the spirit world practice, and to an understanding of
and had a spirit guide. It was simply the healing aspects of shamanism. I
an ability he had, along with his discovered intuitive painting, five-
carpentry skill, and we never thought rhythms dance, and the art of
it remarkable. I learned from him dreaming awake.
that this reality is not the only one. Inspiring teachers came into my
My other grandfather Charles life, and one of them spoke of a
had knowledge of healing plants circle of powerful women who were
and would point them out to me as teachers and guides for dreamers,
we walked by a hedgerow. He was and those who walked the ‘good
sought out by neighbours to heal red road’ to power. The heart of
physical ailments with herbal their teachings was, she said,
medicines, often dispensing his unconditional love.
insightful wisdom as well.
Listening to grandmother Caroline, Dreams began to manifest,
singing as she worked, is one of my culminating in 2010 with a dream of
earliest memories, linked forever to meeting the Tibetan grandmother,
the scent of lavender polish. Tsering Dolma Gyaltong. I picked up
My earliest memory is of being in a newspaper I didn’t usually read,
the arms of grandmother Lily before seeing an announcement that she
she died; with a pervasive feeling of was coming to a local Tibetan
her unconditional love. I was told Buddhist meeting.
that I could not possibly have I met her and saw part of the
remembered this as I was only a few film about the Thirteen
weeks old. But I’ve learned, since Grandmothers. I knew that these
following a path to the Thirteen were the teachers I had been
Grandmothers, that many things are searching for and I prayed to meet
possible that we can’t explain. them in this reality, face to face.
Right: smudge THE GRANDMOTHERS SPEAK
smoke swirls ‘When the Grandmothers from the
around the four directions speak, the earth will
hands of a heal.’ These words from a Hopi
grandmother prophecy foretell a time when a
as she performs council of wise women elders would
a ceremony be vital to the world’s continuance.
That time is here.
The coming together of thirteen
indigenous grandmothers was
foreseen in visions, dreams, and
prophecies, heralding a time of
transformation. A time of
cataclysmic change not only for the
earth, but for human consciousness.
According to the Grandmothers, They do not advocate violent A MISTY WALK TO BREAKFAST
the changes are not only planetary, revolution, but peaceful awakening, A Mohawk woman I walked with
but cosmic. They are not an awareness of where our choices one morning had come to, as she
doomsayers, nor fear-mongers, have led and will lead, if we refuse put it, “release all the pain and
they are truth-tellers who enlighten. to change. They bring hope in dark anger I’ve carried for years.”
Each draws upon her lineage, the times. The vision of a new dream of She had been in the residential
wisdom of the ancestors; oral the world, and the luminous being school system, not allowed to speak
teachings that have been passed that is being birthed within human her language, and subject to the many
down only within that culture, until consciousness. abuses of spirit, mind and body, that
now. These chaotic and uncertain frequently occurred in that setting.
times are a prelude to a new way of The Thirteen Grandmothers are “Good morning,” I said. “Skona,”
living with all of Creation, that is not what one typically associates she replied, “that is my language
focussed on unity, not division. It is with elderhood. They are vibrant and it means peace.”
referred to by the elders as a birthing presences, alert, powerful, and I spoke of meeting Mohawk
process, with a difficult labour, which respected in their communities for grandmother Sarah Smith, and how
is our resistance to change. their wisdom and gifts of healing. much I respected her, and as we
As we bear witness to massive There is a mystique around talked, we realised that each of us
losses of species, forests and clean these women, a sense of being in had carried a great weight to this
water, it is imperative that we stop, the presence of almost archetypal gathering, and that we were united,
look, listen, and change course. energies. Face to face, they rather than different, in our sense
Some say that it is already too late, emanate a deep calm, like ancient of grief at past personal histories.
that we’ve gone far beyond any hope mountains. Their eyes probe “The Grandmothers help us to
of reclaiming earth-centred values intensely, and you know that they release all that no longer serves us,” I
Below: the and reverence for nature, but into see who you are, flaws and all. said, saying how I had felt my heart
dining hall this discord of chaos and fear comes Nothing escapes their attention, open on seeing them all enter the
at the Omega the bell-like clarity of the voices of they become mirrors of learning for gathering around the fire, and the
Institute in NY the Thirteen Grandmothers. all who go to meet them. Mohawk woman I walked with agreed.
The ‘grannies,’ as they call

themselves, are from many different
cultures, each with its own
language. They have all suffered in
various ways, some through the
ignorance of the dominant culture,
some through exile from their
homeland, some through torture,
attempted genocide, the anguish of
loss and the abyss of addictions.
Yet they are filled with loving
compassion, it flows out of them
like a river - everyone is touched by
it; and, it was working on the two
of us, the Mohawk woman and I as
we walked to breakfast that day.
We all barricade ourselves
against being hurt, and add to the
larger wars ‘out there’ by keeping
the small ones active within. That
morning, as we walked, we both
agreed that we were in some small
way, changing that, and when we
parted, something had shifted
within us and we each put a hand
SH
8 ISSUE 72 2011
over our heart, no words necessary. only in the northwest US but
Later on when we reconnected, Canada’s west coast as well, was
she thanked me for my friendship. I one of the most prolific ever. Agnes asked us all to
realised that she had gifted me with Scientists had predicted a decline
a new concept of friendship. That it in the annual catch and a
thank the water, to
can mean simply walking with commission had been convened to pray for it, for water
someone in the same direction, for look into that, and yet fishermen
a few minutes on a misty October were reporting a record number of wars may come.
morning, each opening their heart fish. According to the Vancouver
to the other, knowing that their Sun newspaper (August 25, 2010), Clean water is more
paths may not cross again. ‘the huge salmon run, ironically,
comes during the $15 million Cohen precious than oil
Commission of Inquiry into the because we can’t
WOMEN OF POWER
That is the gift that the disappearance of Fraser river sockeye.’
Grandmothers bring to all who gather We all laughed when grandma live without it
around them. A feeling of unity in our Agnes told us of receiving a visit
shared humanity, not separation, to from representatives of the U.S.
be in their presence is enough to Fish and Wildlife Service asking,
“what have you been doing?” and how to positively interact with Above: Diné
heal the deepest divisions. it, is also vital to our well-being and (Navaho) man
Their message is simple, ‘love She told them that she had
spoken to the salmon people and that of the planet. Shamanic Rex Bizahaloni
one another,’ put aside self- cultures - and we all came from a stands in the
importance and be of service; step asked them to come back, and that
cleaning up the river system was shamanic culture originally - have waters of the
out of self-pity and into the power always understood these Colorado river
of your dream, your unique gifts. what had been asked in return.
All things in nature have spirit, connections. Each of the which passes
The Thirteen Grandmothers are Grandmothers represents ancient down the
all wounded healers, who have we were told, so everything listens.
When we speak truth, and the teachings that they are now willing Grand Canyon -
walked through their pain and to share with everyone. a sacred place
emerged as powerfully gifted intent behind our words is love and
Agnes asked us all to thank the to many Native
teachers, elders who know how to appreciation, the water, the earth,
water, to pray for it, for water wars American people
shift others out of victimhood, stones, trees, plants, animals, birds,
receive that communication. may come. Clean water is more
disease, and apathy. The precious than oil because we can’t
Grandmothers belie that title, with its We live in relation to all other
lifeforms, and to the spirit beings live without it. She said: “Know
connotation of fragile little old ladies, where your water comes from and
they have more stamina (even who live alongside us, say the
Grandmothers. Elders of the what’s in it. It’s easy to go to a
though some of the women are in water source, a river, lake, ocean,
their 80’s) than I had in my twenties. indigenous peoples around the
world have not lost touch with that and say a prayer of thanks. It’s a
Takelma elder Agnes Baker- way of giving back to the earth.”
Pilgrim zoomed around on her view. Communication through
prayer, singing, drumming, and Reciprocity, balance, is the way
motorised scooter. She is 86, a of creating a viable future for all,
bear-like presence, humourous and blessing of the natural world, keeps
us in right relationship with it. understanding how everything is
kind. She told us of the sacred connected. All the Grandmothers
salmon ceremony which she Awareness of the spirit world
encourage prayer and gratitude,
performed at Ti’lomikh, on the communication with the world
Rogue River in Oregon, near to around us, and as Agnes told us a
where she lives. story of how her tribal
The salmon season in 2010, not ancestors had transformed into
dragonflies, suddenly many
dragonflies flew among the
gathering, landing on people,
like blessings.
Flordemayo, a Mayan
curandera, describing her origin
as being “from Central America
and the Pleiades,” shared her
vision of the shift in human
consciousness. Her intensity and
eloquence riveted the audience.
She is a passionate speaker,
Takelma elder Agnes Baker-Pilgrim

zoomed around on her motorised
scooter. She is 86, a bear-like
presence, humourous and kind
SH ISSUE 72 2011 9
Grandmother Tsering, often emotional, as are all working in a sacred way with all deities who work through her, blessing
the Grandmothers when plant medicines; not treating them all present with water. Grandmother
humble, graceful, they are moved. She as recreational drugs, but Maria works with the powerful
showed us that it’s alright approaching them with respect, as healing plant, Santo Daime, also
without a shred of to express our feelings as one would approach a great teacher. known as ayahuasca, and provides
they occur, helping us to Tibetan grandmother Tsering other plant medicines and her
self-pity, encouraged understand the power of Dolma Gyaltong, prayed indoors at healing abilities, to her community
us all to recite the emotion when it moves an altar dedicated to the Buddhist deep in the Amazon rain forest.
into the words we speak goddess Tara (called Dolma in She told us of her experience of
Tara mantra as an and the prayers we make. Tibet), and we recited the Tara torture when she was a young
Words have power, mantra along with her. woman, and how it had broken her
effective protection the Grandmothers told Grandmother Tsering is humble, open not in hatred, but into an
against all harm us, adding we should be graceful, without a shred of self- awareness of compassion.
careful how we use
them, as the intent behind words Mexican Mazatec
can harm, or bless. grandmother Julieta Casimiro
sang her prayers,
Right: Tibetan TENDING THE SACRED FIRE then walked around
grandmother During the time I spent with the blessing everyone
Tsering Dolma Thirteen Grandmothers, each with water on a spray
Gyaltong morning, noon, and evening, we of leaves.
Inset: a Tibetan would gather around the sacred Grandmother
statue of Green fire which was tended twenty- Julieta is the
Tara (Dolma) the four hours a day by John, the personification of
Saviouress firekeeper, and his helpers. humility, with a
At these times, one of the poignant child-like
Grandmothers would pray in her pity. She encouraged innocence in her
traditional way. Margaret Behan, Red us all to recite the singing, that breaks
Spider Woman, (Arapaho- Tara mantra as an through any
Cheyenne), prayed while standing on effective residual cynicism
a bearskin, asking us to join with her protection against and doubt.
Below: Yupik chanting. She spoke of her all harm. She laughed
grandmother awareness of the web of energetic Brazilian grandmother Maria Alice readily, even when standing in line
Rita Pikta connection between us all. Campos Freire, created an altar of at the ladies! I opened the door and
Blumenstein Grandmother Margaret works flowers and plants by the lake, singing there she was, this little
prays by a with the peyote plant and with her exquisitely beautiful daughter powerhouse who is a respected
sacred fire emphasised the importance of songs of invocation and thanks to the curandera and works with the niños
SH
10 ISSUE 72 2011
When Nepalese grandmother Aama Bombo

prayed, she spontaneously shifted into channeling
the healing deities who work through her
santos, the holy children, which is struck unconscious, and Aama
what she calls the psilocybin spoke to him in what sounded like
(magic) mushrooms which help her English words saying, “heart! heart!
in her healing work. open heart!” She usually speaks
only in Nepalese and requires a
What was remarkable at this translator. A murmur of
gathering is how approachable the apprehension moved down the line,
Grandmothers were, even
though no photographs or
recording devices were
permitted - as we were asked
to respect the oral traditions
through which the
Grandmothers received their
teachings, and to really listen,
instead of writing it all down.
We were asked to become
aware of deep listening, not
only to words, but to nuances
of meaning within them.
but no-one left. When I sat with
When Nepalese grandmother her, I felt a surrendering of any fear
Aama Bombo (whose name means, and a trust of her, as she held me Holy Dance, received news of the Above and
‘Mother shaman’), prayed, she with her gaze. The hair fan felt death of a young relative. They left: Tamang
spontaneously shifted into heavy, almost like being physically allowed us all to witness their grief grandmother
channeling the healing deities who struck, as if I was being and how they honour the dead Aamo Bombo
work through her. Kali, and admonished to let go of all my through prayer and ceremony, with from Nepal
Hanumanji, the monkey god, are egocentric self-importance. their personal chanupa (sacred pipe),
significant deities in her healing A purring sound came from her. while seated on a buffalo hide.
work, as is the spirit of her father, She pulled me into her and I felt Rita’s son sang a mourning chant,
who was a Nepalese shaman. her working at the assemblage and as we all focussed on the passing
Resplendent in her peacock point at my back. My friend who of the young man, a large hawk flew
feather headdress and wearing was watching said that she had low over our heads, so everyone saw
ancient bells on leather straps removed something from my back. it. It flew into the West, which is
around her body, she sat and and I had to admit that I felt lighter, considered by some native elders, to Below: His
played her shaman’s drum and as if a weight had gone. be the direction of death, Holiness the
chanted. Deep in trance, she began Each Grandmother shared her transformation, and the sacred dream, Dalai Lama
to move, to shake. Watching as she ways of healing, her wisdom, and signalling that our prayers had been meets the
morphed into a tiger-like big cat, answered all questions. taken to the spirit of the departed. Grandmothers
stretching, rolling, growling as a The two Lakota grandmothers, Such occurrences were common, on their visit
huge tiger would, was spellbinding. sisters Rita and Beatrice Long Visitor during the five-day gathering. to Dharamsala
As she worked, two vultures
circled overhead. Kali, like the
vulture, devours darker energies,
the dead places within, and
protects her devotees. Kali is a
beloved goddess, reflecting the
complexity of the life-death-life
cycle, dismembering all that is of
the ego-identity, so that the true
self shines through.
When the energy settled within
her, and she became calm,
grandmother Aama offered all
present the healing ability that was
coursing through her right then.
Fifty or more stood in line. She
used a fan which appeared to be
made of hair, fanning it over people,
and spoke in her own language.
One man who arched backwards
in the chair, appeared to have been
SH ISSUE 72 2011 11
I heard many people recount
how moved they had been; how
many there had experienced life-
altering moments. The Mohawk
woman I had talked to on the way
to breakfast that misty morning a
few days earlier, said how thankful
she was to all the Grandmothers,
and to all the people who had
shown kindness to her and had
said, “I’m sorry,” when they had
heard about her experiences.
We all returned home from that

gathering with a sense that the
message of peace that the
Grandmothers are carrying around
the world reaches deeply into
everyone who meets them.
And I still marvel at the sheer
physical energy of these ‘grannies,’
as after they had been with us
some of them were travelling to
Above: Across Hopi-Havasupai-Tewa how the Grandmothers interact with Japan, to visit the ancestral home
the generations grandmother Mona Polacca spoke one another, is how much they of another of the Grandmothers,
- grandmother of her Havasupai heritage, of the revere and love each other, across Clara Shinobu Iura; while
Rita greets and people of the blue-green waters the divides of culture and language. Grandmother Tsering was returning
blesses a who live in the Grand Canyon, and Near the end of the gathering we home to Toronto, to host the visit of
grandmother shared stories of her ancestors. were each led to one of the the Dalai Llama there.
of the future In a spontaneous very emotional Grandmothers to receive their blessing. Their commitment to their calling
talk, she spoke about Tibetan We didn’t know which grandmother it to be messengers of hope, was,
Grandmother Tsering, about how she would be, and I found I had been led and still is humbling. Those
had been forced to leave Tibet and to Lakota grandmother Rita Long fortunate enough to look into their
walk at night through treacherous Visitor Holy Dance. Her home is in eyes, see the possibility of a new
mountains with her young children the Black Hills in South Dakota, the world that is taking shape, where
and mother, leaving behind one of home of the Lakota. It is one of the harmony is the key word.
her children for fear of arousing the poorest areas in the US, and the When the Grandmothers speak,
suspicion of the Chinese. location of one of the most those who listen become
“Do you know who is standing horrendous mass killings in history, messengers for them and their
here before you,” grandmother Wounded Knee. Yet here I stood, a work, and it is an ever-widening
Mona asked, inspiring us to see the white person, receiving the blessing circle of light.
courage and tenacity of her sister of a woman whose ancestors had
grandmother. been slaughtered by whites. Further Reading: ‘Grandmothers Counsel
the World: Women Elders Offer Their
Even in their recent grief over Vision For Our Planet,’ by Carol Schaefer
LOVE AND UNITY the death of a family member, she (Trumpeter Books, Boston, 2006)
What is so evident when watching and her sister Beatrice had made www.grandmotherscouncil.org
us all laugh whenever an infusion of Most of the photos in this article are by
energy was needed to lift us all - Marisol Villanueva, courtesy of The
As I felt the feathers of grandmother’s such was their generosity of spirit. International Council of Thirteen Indigenous
Grandmothers. Sacred Hoop Magazine
The Grandmothers do not wishes to thank Laura Jackson for her
fan gently move over me, I knew discriminate about who receives help in obtaining them.
their teachings, their blessings, or
what a blessing I was receiving. their powerful healings. Their
Suzanne Duce was born in Sheffield,
England, but now lives in lives in
I felt humble and thankful example teaches us to work with Burlington, Ontario, Canada. She paints,
writes, and facilitates workshops on
whoever is in front of us, without
creativity and shamanic healing practices.
prejudice and without blaming. After meeting Mohawk grandmother Sarah
As I stood there, looking into the Smith in the 1990’s, Suzanne began to
eyes of this dignified elder, all I dream of native grandmother teachers,
could do was cry, not in sadness, which has led her to focus on the wisdom
of the Thirteen Grandmothers.
but with great joy, as if she had Suzanne practices the art of dreaming, and
unlocked that early memory of the participates in the ‘Circle of Dreamers’
unconditional love I had felt from founded by the UK writer and dreamer
Manda Scott. azensun@sympatico.ca
my own grandmother, when I was
just a newborn. As I felt the eagle For details of the Omega Institute for
Holistic Studies www.eomega.org
feathers of grandmother’s fan
gently move over me, I knew what See the review of the film ‘For The
Next Seven Generations’ about the
a blessing I was receiving. I felt work of the Thirteen Grandmothers in
humble and thankful. this issue of Sacred Hoop.
SH
12 ISSUE 72 2011

Grandmothers: The Words of The

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Grandmothers: The Words of The

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THIS IS A FREE ARTICLE FROM SACRED HOOP MAGAZINE.

Sacred Hoop is an independent magazine

the words of the

The Council of 13 Grandmothers in Assisi Italy 2008

The ‘grannies,’ as they call

Takelma elder Agnes Baker-Pilgrim

When Nepalese grandmother Aama Bombo

We all returned home from that

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