Help Pass On Taino Culture! Support the 6th Annual Yamaye Guani Areito Celebration
Join us in making history!
The Yamaye Guani Taino People are hosting our Sixth Annual
Areito Celebration, a vital event celebrating our vibrant culture and
heritage in Jamaica. This year holds special significance as we focus
on "Language as Life: Revitalizing the Taino
Language." For us, this theme means much more than just
words – it represents the living process of conveying our
entire culture, traditional knowledge, identity, and way of being to
the next generation, aligning with the global United
Nations Decade of Indigenous Languages.
Our Areito is a powerful expression of who we are, and this year's event is designed as a key moment for cultural transmission. It takes place over two meaningful days:
-
Sunday, May 25th, 2025: We kick off with virtual
events and online activities from 11:00 am to 3:00 pm, connecting
our community and supporters worldwide and sharing elements of our
culture digitally.
- Monday, May 26th, 2025: We gather for our in-person celebration from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm at the beautiful Ancestral Gardens in Woodside, St. Mary, creating a vibrant space for direct cultural exchange and learning.
Why Your Support Matters - Passing On Our Legacy!
The continuity of our culture is essential. For too long, the
mechanisms for passing on our traditions, stories, practices, and yes,
our language, have been disrupted. This year's Areito is a critical
step in rebuilding those pathways. By focusing on "Language as
Life" in its fullest sense – as the conveyance of our living
heritage – we are safeguarding our identity, our history, and ensuring
our future generations walk with the strength of their ancestors' knowledge.
Your contribution will directly help us create an environment where:
- Our traditional knowledge, stories, and practices are actively taught and shared.
- New generations can learn and embody our cultural ways.
- Our valuable cultural bearers – the keepers of our traditions, ceremonies, and language – are supported.
- We can share the richness of Taino culture with everyone in a tangible, engaging way.
What Your Donation Will Fund - Investing in Cultural Transmission: Every single dollar directly supports our efforts to make this celebration a powerful engine for cultural transmission. Your generous support will cover:
- Essential Event Logistics: Providing necessary infrastructure like tents, chairs, and equipment for both our online connections and the in-person gathering at Ancestral Gardens, creating the physical space needed for cultural exchange.
- Cultural Immersion Experiences: Funding engaging and effective educational materials, workshops, demonstrations of traditional practices, storytelling sessions, and other immersive activities specifically designed to pass on our cultural knowledge and identity, including opportunities to learn our language within this context.
- Vibrant Cultural Presentations: Supporting presentations, ceremonies, and performances that serve as living examples of our culture in practice and demonstrate its vitality to all attendees.
Be a Partner in the Living Legacy!
By
contributing today, you become a vital part of ensuring the Yamaye
Guani Taino culture continues to thrive and is successfully
transmitted to our children and grandchildren. You are helping to
rebuild the bridge between past and future generations.
Join our family, colleagues, and friends in supporting this crucial celebration of cultural continuity. Your belief in our cause makes this vital work possible.
Please also share this campaign with your network! Let's make the Sixth Annual Areito Celebration a powerful moment for cultural revitalization!
Thank you for investing in the living legacy of the Yamaye Taino People !
Highlights
See all activity23Yamaye Guani
Celebrating and Revitalizing Yamaye Taino Heritage
The Yamaye Guani Taino People have been actively re-establishing and growing our community both locally and internationally since the enstoolment of our Kasike (Chief) Kalaan Nibonrix Kaiman (Robert Pairman) in 2019. Our annual Areito celebrations have become cornerstones of this journey, providing vital spaces for cultural expression, connection, and transmission.
A Look Back at Our Celebrations:
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2021: Our first celebration, held virtually via Zoom on May 26th, was a powerful gathering that showcased the growing support for our community. We received heartwarming greetings from diverse allies locally, including Maroon Communities, Hope Zoo, the Archaeological Society of Jamaica (A.S.J.), U.W.I. Language Unit, and Source Farm, as well as internationally from the Garifuna Nation, Wakapoa Lokono, Wawa Aba Akan Shrine House, Puerto Rican Taino Communities, Maisiti Taino Community, the Council of Indigenous Healers of the Americas, and Peace and Dignity Journeys Texas. This virtual event allowed us to connect with supporters across the globe.
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2022: We held our first in-person Areito at the Ancestral Gardens in Woodside, St. Mary. This milestone gathering brought together supporters from local Windward Maroon communities, the A.S.J., the University of Edinburgh, Wakapoa Lokono of Guyana, Wawa Aba Akan Shrine House, Source Farm Eco-village, and the Council of Indigenous Healers of the Americas. A deeply touching moment was a tribute by a Boricua (Puerto Rican) Taino to one of our community Elders, a testament to the bonds being rebuilt across the Diaspora.
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2023: Our celebration began with "Read and Reasoning," a wonderful collaboration with Source Farm Eco-village. Students from Carron Hall Primary joined us for engaging activities, free books, games, and an enchanting reading by Adziko Simba Gegele. We also received greetings from the Smithsonian Museum regarding their traveling exhibition on Taino culture across the United States, and from Abuelo Mazatzkin. These activities took place at the former Woodside Primary School building, which received an outstanding facelift thanks to generous past donations – a direct impact of your support!
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2024: Our Third in-person Areito was a significant event themed "Areito - Celebrating 1424 years in Yamayeka." The celebration began with a virtual launch on May 25th, featuring insightful presentations by Indigenous relatives from across the Americas (Argentina to North America) and even Scotland. Highlights included presentations on the UWI Indigenous Research Cluster by Prof. Diana Fox, preliminary findings from the Harvard DNA study of Jamaican Ancestral remains by Dr. Kendra Sirak, and a powerful presentation from our own Council Member, Tekina Erei-Hinaru, on the importance of celebrating our Indigeneity. The in-person gathering on May 26th brought much-needed attention to the Woodside Community, home to three National Heritage sites, including two sacred Taino sites: the Taino Steps/Daddy Rock and the Atabey Petroglyph (formerly known as One Bubby Susan). Thanks to donor support, a new space was cleared and used for our Children's Village, where children of all ages enjoyed craftwork facilitated by Campus Vitali and interacted with animal relatives courtesy of Dre- Exotics.
This Year: Focusing on Language as Life and Cultural Transmission
As we prepare for our Sixth Annual Areito Yamokonakun (Boina Aganeuku), our focus is on the vital theme: "Language as Life: Revitalizing the Taino Language." For the Yamaye Guani Taino People, this theme encapsulates more than just the spoken word; it is about the active and living process of conveying our culture, traditional knowledge, history, spiritual connection, and our very identity to the next generation.
The celebration will unfold over two days, providing different avenues for engagement and cultural transmission:
- Sunday, May 25th, 2025: A Virtual Launch from 11:00 am to 3:00 pm, connecting us globally.
- Monday, May 26th, 2025: The In-Person Celebration from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm at the Ancestral Gardens in Woodside, St. Mary, offering direct immersion in our living culture.
This year, your support is crucial to powering the activities and initiatives specifically designed to strengthen this cultural transmission. From interactive workshops teaching traditional practices to storytelling sessions in our language, and creating spaces for elders to share knowledge with youth, your donation will directly impact our ability to pass on our rich legacy.
Join us in celebrating our past, standing strong in the present, and investing in the future of Yamaye Taino culture through the revitalization of our language and the vibrant transmission of our heritage.
