Yet, even assuming that North America was originally populated by immigrants who crossed the Bering Strait some 20,000 years ago, common ancestry would not explain the similarities of more recent cultural artifacts. Since the publication of Waters’ books, some theories have claimed that the Tibetans and the native peoples of the Southwest both descend from common Mongolian tribes. That, however, has done little to impede the promotion of a formal link between America’s own Earth-based spirituality and the unique and mythologized shamanistic Buddhism of Tibet. Moreover, even among the Hopi, there is no single voice. In the Southwest, for example, the Hopi and Navajo have distinctly separate cultures, religions and languages, yet they are often lumped together. This could account for some similarities, such as Navajo and Tibetan sand painting, and cosmic themes found in Tibetan and traditional Pueblo dances.īut such comparisons hide the fact that there is no unified opinion among any indigenous groups, whether they are Tibetan or Native American. Many Earth-based cultures steeped in a shamanic tradition share spiritual motifs (hence the broad comparison made by Waters). “To understand meaning, we must bear in mind all that we have learned of Pueblo and Navaho eschatology and its parallels found in the Bardo Thodal, The Tibetan Book of the Dead, in The Secret of the Golden Flower, the Chinese Book of Life, and in the Egyptian Book of the Dead.” His Holiness the Dalai Lama meeting with Hopi elders in 1979, courtesy of Marcia Keegan. In The Masked Gods, a book about Pueblo and Navajo ceremonialism published in 1950, Waters observed that the Zuni Shalako dance symbolically mirrored the Tibetan journey of the dead. Waters’ analysis went below the surface, citing corresponding systems of chakras, or energy spots within the body meridians, that were used to cultivate cosmic awareness. “Tibetans and Native American Pueblo people share a fondness for chile, though Tibetans claim Pueblo chile is too mild,” says Pacheco.Įven before most Westerners knew where Tibet was, much less the extent of its people’s suffering, and almost twenty years before the advent of the Tibetan diaspora, cultural affinities between these two people were noted by Frank Waters in his landmark work Book of the Hopi (1963). When William Pacheco, a Pueblo student, visited a Tibetan refugee camp in India, people often spoke Tibetan to him, assuming that he was one of them. Beyond a common physicality and the wearing of turquoise jewelry, parallels include the abundant use of silver and coral, the colors and patterns of textiles, and long, braided hair, sometimes decorated, worn by both men and women. The perception of similarity between Native Americans of the southwest and the Tibetans is undeniably striking. A flurry of books and articles have been published, arguing that Tibetans and Native Americans may share a common ancestry. These encounters have created a context for the activities of writers and activists who are trying to bridge the two cultures. While displacement and invasion have forced Tibetans to reach out to the global community in search of allies, the Hopi and other Southwestern Native Americans have sought an audience for their message of world peace and harmony with the earth. On a recent visit to Jemez Pueblo, the Tibetan teacher Venerable Khamtul Rinpoche and his wife meet Lupe Guadalupe Chosa, courtesy of Marcia Keegan.Īs exchanges become increasingly common between Native Americans and Tibetans, a sense of kinship and solidarity has developed between the cultures. Since that initial meeting, the Dalai Lama has visited Santa Fe to meet with Pueblo leaders, Tibetan lamas have engaged in numerous dialogues with Hopis and other Southwestern Indians, and now, through a special resettlement program to bring Tibetan refugees to the United States, New Mexico has become a central home for relocated Tibetan families. He replied: “And where did you get your turquoise?” The Dalai Lama laughed, noting the striking resemblance of the turquoise around Grandfather David’s neck to that of his homeland. Delegation head Grandfather David’s first words to the Dalai Lama were: “Welcome home.” The spiritual leaders spoke in their native languages. During the Dalai Lama’s first visit to North America, he met with three Hopi elders. In the incongruous atmosphere of the Wilshire Hotel in Los Angeles, an extraordinary encounter took place in 1979. “When the iron bird flies, the dharma will come to the land of the red man.”- Eighth-century prophecy by Padmasambhava
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |