Honduras This Week Cultural

Tawahka dances reflect their rain forest environment

By WENDY GRIFFIN

Until the Tawahka dance group "Mayana Rukni" performed at the Aires de Abril in Tegucigalpa in 1993, their folk dances were unknown to most Hondurans. If tourists see them at all, it is at presentations by Mayana Rikni (Our Roots) in the Tawahka village of Krautara, Gracias a Dios on the Patuca River.

Most Tawahka dances are related to the Tawahka's traditional religion. According to Tawahka, Miskito, Pech and Tolupan beliefs, each animal has a spiritual owner. In order to obtain permission to hunt this animal, the Tawahka shaman must dream which animal could be hunted safely, where, and what number of animals could be killed, says Basilio Ordonez, a Tawahka Indian and former member of Mayana Rikni.

To help the shaman dream of certain animals, the Tawahkas would perform dances that reflected the movements of the animal to be hunted. The White-faced Monkey Dance, performed by Mayana Rikni, is an example of this kind of dance. One row of men face a row of female dancers. Each wears a length of tunu barkcloth in their hair to represent the monkey's tail.

The music is provided by the Tawahkan long 4-holed carrizo flute. As the flutists play, the dancers make the movements of the monkey. Oswaldo Munguia, director of the Organization for the Development of the Mosquitia (MOPAWI), considers this dance, called "Wa Wahainki" in Tawahka, one of the most traditional Tawahka dances.

The Tawahkas eat all three species of monkeys known in Honduras -- the spider, the white-faced and the howler monkeys. This ability to hunt and cook monkeys is shared by Amazonian rain forest Indians with whom the Tawahkas share other similarities. Other animals that have similar hunting dances are the limpkin and crabs, whose dance is "dimanyyal."

Some Tawahka musical instruments are also related to the animals around them. Ordonez identified three musical instruments used in hunting -- an instrument to call jaguars, one to call peccaries and one to call agoutis.

The reason that a dance and dreaming must be done before hunting is that, in the medicinal beliefs of the Pech, Tawahkas, Miskitos, and Tolupanes, if a person hunts against the wishes of the spirit owner, this owner can cause illness. These illnesses can manifest as stomach troubles, headaches, or fevers, says ethnobotanist Paul House.

Rain forest animals in the area cause disease in another way, known as "yumu." The Miskitos also believe in diseases caused by the yumu of certain animals, which require traditional healers to cure them. One Tawahka girl studying in Tegucigalpa reputedly became ill with one of these diseases identified by the Tawahka's shaman, but not by Western medicine. Her brother arranged to fly a Tawahka healer to Tegucigalpa to cure her, because the plants and curing techniques were not available in Tegucigalpa's cool mountain climate.

When a person has recovered from a serious illness, a ceremony used to be held led by the shaman. When asked if there are still shaman, the eyes of my Tawahka friends waver. "If there were shaman," they said, "they would be persecuted by the church." Unlike the Miskitos, who mostly belong to the Moravian Church, most Tawahkas are Catholic. Their services are led by Tawahkas trained to be "Celebrators of the Word" or lay religious leaders.

The ceremony called "Wuic Parha" is ordered to be performed by the shaman as an act of thanks for the recovery of someone who has been ill. When part of the ceremony has ended, the people enter with music, which is part of the ceremony. Then the people can dance to popular music, reports David Flores in his book "Evolucion Historica de la Danza Folklorica Hondurena."

Even dances that are social still reflect the importance of the Tawahka environment. The first dance of the house-warming ceremony is preformed by the whole community, lead by the shaman and accompanied by the flute. Afterward, people often dance.

One of the cutest Tawahka dances is known as "Getting the Girls to Fall in Love," also danced by the Miskitos. The dance begins with girls dancing in imitation of going down to the river and washing clothes. The boys come and bother the girls, but the girls ignore them. So the boys go to a shaman to get a plant to get the girls to fall in love with them. This works and during the last part of the dance, the shaman joins the new couples in a ceremony with incense. This dance does not show the Tawahka ceremony where boys are forced to do trials, to prove their worthiness as husbands, after which the Tawahkas also have dances.

Both the Miskitos and Tawahkas believe in plants that have sika or secret powers, which can be medicinal or magical. These plants, like the incense and the plant that makes the girl fall in love, grow in the Tawahka rain forest.

Tawahka dances show strongly that the Tawahka culture is rooted in the ecosystem where they live. The animals in their religious ceremonies, like the deer, tapirs, peccaries and monkeys, are in anger of extinction or are extinct in the rest of Honduras. Their whole system of health and illness is related to both the plants and the animals of their region. Around 50 plants ethnobotanist Paul House identified on the Tawahka Reserve and used by them had previously not been reported anywhere else in Honduras.

If the Patuca II dam is built, the current proposal is to move the Tawahkas, just as the United States moved tribes like the Seminoles, Cherokees and Shawnee to Oklahoma and reservations in other states. However, removing traditional peoples from their ecosystem/resource base makes it difficult or impossible for them to recreate their culture. Many of the plants and animals the Tawahkas use are not available in the pine and grass savannah that covers much of the Mosquito Coast.

So try to see these dances soon at Krautara, while the animals and birds they dance to still have a home in Honduras, while the world view in which these dances are based still exists.

The Maya Calendar
A guide to the best in Honduran culture

NATIONAL ART GALLERY -- The Pro-Art and Culture Foundation and the National Gallery of Art are making available space for cultural exhibits for the benefit of the victims of Hurricane Mitch. For more information, call 237-9884, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The Gallery will be closed for repairs until Dec.r 1, 1998.

NATIONAL SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA CONCERT -- DECEMBER 18 -- The 11th Concert of the National Symphony Orchestra will be held on Dec. 18 in the Manuel Bonilla National Theater.

CHRISTMAS CONCERT -- DECEMBER 9 -- El Arca de Honduras is giving a Christmas concert, "Navidad con el Arca," on Dec. 9, at 7 P.M. in Templo de la Juventud San Juan Bosco.

FAMILIES ANONYMOUS -- Families Anonymous (FA) meetings are held every Tuesday evening at the Union Church at 7:30 p.m. Call Eileen for more information at 239-9779 or 239-9778.

AL-ANON FAMILY GROUPS -- Al-Anon helps the relatives and friends of problem drinkers. Groups met weekly in Colonia Alameda (Saturday afternoons) and Colonia Loarque (Sunday evenings). For more information, contact Amanda at 239-2698 (Spanish) or Margaret at 226-6576 (English).

WEIGHT WATCHERS -- Weight Watchers, an international weight loss program with over 40 years of experience in helping people maintain a healthier lifestyle is offering classes in Tegucigalpa and San Pedro Sula. To join or for more information, contact Juan Cueva Membreno at 239-0161.

ENGLISH SPEAKING WOMEN'S CLUB -- The ESWC invites all English-speaking women to attend its teas held the second Thursday of each month at 2:30 p.m. at the Restaurante La Hacienda on Blvd. Morazan. There will be no lecture or tea during December, and the ESWC will not meet again until the second Thursday in January 1999. For more information, call Sara at 211-8369.

NATIONAL PUBLIC LIBRARY WILL MOVE -- January 1999 -- The National Public Library is currently being moved to the old Tipografia Building on Avenida Cervantes, two blocks from the Central Park Cathedral. The new facilities will feature a modern interior including an audio-visual department, a children's room and Internet connections with 12 other Honduran public libraries.

MUSEUM OF NATURE -- The Museum of Nature of San Pedro Sula was opened to the public last week. It has different areas of interest and learning. Located in Barrio Las Acacias, 3 Ave. 9 Calle N.O., it is open Monday to Friday from 8 to 5 p.m. and Saturday from 8 a.m. to noon. Fees are Lps. 1.50 for public school children and Lps. 10 for private school children.

ART, LEARNING & TUTORING FOR CHILDREN -- The Art and Education Center, BONAMPAK, at the Plaza Millennium, is currently offering hourly art courses for children ages 6 to 12 on Mondays and Wednesdays, as well as Tuesdays and Thursdays from 3 to 5 p.m. Hourly reading courses for children ages 7 to 12 are being held on Fridays from 4 to 6 p.m., as well as for children ages 4 to 6. Tutoring services are also available. Call 222-5487 for more information.

CHILDREN'S LIBRARY -- The Centro Cultural Infantil of San Pedro Sula currently has a program titled "The Reading Corner" offering young people a chance to read and listen to stories in a comfortable environment. The library of this center holds a "Story Hour" daily and has a study area where students may do research. For more information about CCI services, call 557-8639.

HURRICANE MITCH PRESENTATION -- Biocentro in San Pedro Sula is giving a presentation about Hurricane Mitch starting on November 30.

CHRISTMAS BAZAAR -- The Anthropology and History Museum of San Pedro Sula is currently holding a Christmas Bazaar of clay objects, porcelain, corn husk handicrafts and more. Prices are low and the event will last throughout December.

MUSEUMS AND GARDENS

TEGUCIGALPA

MUSEO DE HISTORIA REPUBLICANA

The Museum of Republican History is located at the Villa Roy building in Tegucigalpa's Barrio Buenos Aries. It is open 8:30 to 3:30, Tuesdays through Sundays and features portraits, paraphernalia, and other interesting items from past presidents. Admission is Lps. 20 for non-resident foreigners and Lps. 10 for Hondurans and Central Americans. For more information, call 222-3470 or 222-1468.

CENTRAL BANK MUSEUM

The Central Bank of Honduras located at the Comayaguela annex building is open from 9 a.m. to noon and from 1 to 4 p.m., Monday to Friday. It has a permanent coin and painting exhibit. For special presentations, call the Emision y Tesoreria department at 237-2270 (-78), ext. 2117 (-2120). [CLOSED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE.]

NATIONAL ART GALLERY

The Galeria Nacional de Arte features rock art, pre-Columbian ceramics, colonial paintings, religious art and a wide selection of 20th century Honduran painters. The gallery is located at the Plaza de la Merced in downtown Tegucigalpa. It is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10-5 p.m. and Sunday from 10-2 p.m. Admission is Lps. 10 for adults, Lps. 5 for senior citizens, Lps. 3 for students and Lps. 1 for children accompanied by adults.

IGUANA FARM

The Biosfera Ecocentro Iguana Farm in Colonia La Joya invites the public to come and learn everything about iguanas. Admission is Lps. 5 for adults, Lps. 3 for children. The facility is open every day (except Wednesday) from 9 to 5. For more information, call 230-6346.

COMAYAGUA, COMAYAGUA

COMAYAGUA COLONIAL MUSEUM

Located in the city of Comayagua, 2 hours north from Tegucigalpa, the Comayagua Colonial Museum is in the building that served as home to the government in the 19th century. It contains objects used by indigenous cultures and the Spanish during the pre-Colombian and Colonial eras.

COMAYAGUA RELIGIOUS MUSEUM

Located in the Casa Cural in front of Comayagua's cathedral, this museum features religious paintings and objects dating back to the 16th century. Hours are 8-12 and 2-4 p.m., Mondays through Fridays. For more information, contact Leonardo Letona at 772-0348.

LA PAZ, LA PAZ

LA PAZ HOUSE OF CULTURE

The La Paz Casa de la Cultura is located in downtown La Paz. It features an attractive exhibit of the Lenca handicrafts and culture. It is open Mondays through Sundays.

SAN PEDRO SULA, CORTES

SAN PEDRO SULA MUSEUM

The Museo de San Pedro Sula is located between 3rd and 4th Avenues, 4th Street N.O. in San Pedro Sula. It is open from 10 a.m. to 4:15 p.m., Tuesdays through Sundays. Admission is Lps. 5 for adults, Lps. 2 for students (must present valid ID) and Lps. 2 for children under 12 years of age. (Tel: 557-1496, Fax: 552-7091)

MUSEUM OF NATURE OF SAN PEDRO SULA

Sponsored and managed by the Fundacion Ecologista H.R. Pastor Fasquelle, this new museum was inaugurated last December in its current location at the Biocentro on 3 Avenida and 9 Calle Noroeste. It has 24 exhibits on the environment, natural resources and biology of Honduras. Hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily and 8 a.m. until noon on Saturdays. Admission is Lps 5 for students from public schools and Lps. 10.00 for everyone else.

YUSCARAN, EL PARAISO

YUSCARAN HOUSE OF CULTURE

Yuscaran's Casa de la Cultura is located at the former Casa Fortin in downtown Yuscaran, El Paraiso department, just 45 km from Tegucigalpa on the road to Danli. It is open Mondays through Saturdays.

OLANCHO

PECH CULTURAL CENTER

The Pech have built a small house in El Carbon, Olancho to display their modern handicrafts. An exhibit of archaeological finds in the area is planned. You can ask to see the collection and/or get a tour of a Post Classic era fortified site. The Pech Cultural Center also offers medicinal plant tours, nature hikes, Pech dinners, etc. There is no admission fee to the cultural center. Hours: If you ask, they will open it.

COPAN

COPAN ARCHEOLOGICAL MUSEUM

Located in the village of Copan Ruinas, Copan department, the museum exhibits a splendid assortment of Mayan pieces that have been found in the Copan Ruins Archaeological Park just 1 km away.

LA PUENTE ARCHAEOLOGICAL MUSEUM

Featuring a sizeable collection of Mayan handicrafts and photographs as well as a room with Japanese antique ceramics, this museum is located at the El Puente Archaeological Site, about an hour's drive from Copán Ruinas.

MAYAN SEPULTURAS MUSEUM

Inaugurated in 1996, this is the premier Mayan museum in the Mundo Maya, featuring the finest examples of Copán's tombs, sculptures and architecture. Located at the Copán Ruins Archaeological Park, the museum is open Monday through Sunday.

TELA, ATLANTIDA

LANCETILLA BOTANICAL GARDENS

Located 2 kilometers from Tela on the Atlantic coast highway, the gardens feature one of the largest collections of tropical and subtropical plants, shrubs and trees in all Latin America. It is open from 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., Mondays through Sundays. There is an admission charge.

GARIFUNA MUSEUM

This Garifuna-run museum in Tela, Atlantida has an almost complete collection of the different handicrafts made by the Garifunas. If you ask, they have a written guide in English available. The museum also houses the Garifuna handicraft shop and part of the Tela Artist Association's Art Gallery. The rest of the Gallery and the Garifuna restaurant have moved to the Garifuna Plaza on the beach next to the Bahia Azul Hotel. Tours of the Garifuna Museum to home/studios of Garifuna artists, medicinal plant tours, dance presentations, and tours/overnight stays in local Garifuna villages can be arranged at either the Museum or Garifuna Plaza. The museum is open 9 to 5 while Garifuna Plaza is open 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Admission is Lps. 5. The museum is located next to the river, one block up from the bridge that goes to Telamar and the local churches.

LA CEIBA, ATLANTIDA

BUTTERFLY AND INSECT MUSEUM

Thousands of butterflies and insects from Honduras and 18 other countries are on display in La Ceiba' private Butterfly and Insect Museum. It is located in Colonia El Sauce, 2nd etapa, casa G-12. Visiting hours are 8-12 and 2-5, Monday through Saturday. The museum is closed Wednesday afternoon. Fees are Lps. 15 for adults and Lps. 10 for students. Tel. 442-2874, e-mail: rlehman@ns.gbm.hn

TRUJILLO

TRUJILLO RUFINO GALAN MUSEUM

A private museum which has a memorabilia section, old chairs, anchors, silverware, beds of famous people locally. There is an industrial archaeology section on how lights, axes, stoves, sewing machines, typewriters have changed over time. They have a good collection of Garífuna handicrafts and the best collection

of NE Honduras archaeological pieces -- all unmarked. A written guide to the museum is available at the Trujillo Tourism Office in English and Spanish. The museum is open 8 to 4, closing for lunch. Adults Lps. 20, children Lps. 10. Located on Calle 18 de Mayo, next to the Crystales River and the famous "piscina" or pool, about a 15-minute walk out of town.

ROATAN, THE BAY ISLANDS

CARAMBOLA BOTANICAL GARDENS

The private Carambola Botanical Gardens and Nature Trails is located in Sandy Bay, Roatan, Bay Islands. A wide variety of exotic plants is featured here, including "Roatan's most extensive orchid collection." It is open daily from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information, call 445-1117 and ask for Bill or Irma Brady.

BAY ISLANDS MUSEUM

A private museum at Anthony's Key Resort, Sandy Bay, Roatan, Bay Islands, it mostly includes archaeological pieces, but there is a

small section on the modern Bay Islanders. Museum admission is included in the cost of the dolphin show at Anthony Key's Institute of Marine Sciences. Small buses or taxis will take you to Sandy Bay from most Roatán towns.

The Maya Calendar is a public service for our readers. If you would like to announce an event taking place in Honduras, please send the information to: Calendar Editor, Honduras This Week, Fax 232-2300, e-mail: hontweek@hondutel.hn

Cooperation sometimes hard to get in Honduras
By WENDY GRIFFIN

Solidarity (solidaridad) and helping your friends (companerismo) are strong values among Spanish-speaking Ladinos of the so-called "popular classes" or poor people. This may be why mutual help organizations like "juntas de Agua" (potable water committees), "sindicatos" (unions), "patronatos" (citizen committees) and "cooperativas (cooperatives or credit unions) are common in Honduras.

Slogans like, "Hoy para mi, manana para ti" (Today for me, tomorrow for you" and "un pueblo unido jamas sera vencido" (A people who are untied will never be defeated) are well known among Spanish speakers. Garifuna traditional tales tell a different story, such as this legend collected by a student of the La Ceiba campus of the National Teaching University (UPN) in the village of Santa Fe, west of Trujillo.

Once there were two cousins who were best friends, doing everything together. They had decided that together they would save money to buy land in a valley and build their homes near each other when they got married. (Traditionally, Garifuna parents would not let a girl leave home to get married until the groom had bought all the furniture for the house and the house was ready to be covered with clay and roofed with cohune palm fronds, which was done collectively as part of the wedding preparations.)

The cousins buried the money they saved in the valley where they wanted to build their houses, since there were no banks then. (This buried money is called "botija.")

Then one day the people of the village found one of the cousins dead and the money gone. The villagers brought the dead cousin's body back and prepared it for the wake or "velorio." During the velorio, the boy's mother was beside herself, wailing and asking who had killed her son. The people at the wake also pondered over the absence of his inseparable friend, his cousin Sebastian.

Among both Garifunas and Miskitos, there is belief in a magic plant that when burnt forces a person to feel a desperation to come home. The boy's mother begged an older woman who knew this secret to do whatever was necessary to find out who killed her son. The woman said it would be terrible, but the boy's mother insisted. Finally the woman complied.

The woman burnt "come home" herb, doing what was necessary so that it was the murderer who came. The people waited. After a while they heard the sound of a distant horse being ridden hard. Soon the horse drew closer. The people gathered as they waited to see who the herb had brought. There, jumping off the horse, his eyes wild and burning, was Sebastian.

The punta songs sung at wakes reinforce this belief among Garifunas that you cannot trust anyone. One song collected by Professor Angel Batiz Mejia of Trujillo says, "Trust no one but your mother and your father. A wife will say she loves you and then she will have you murdered. At your wake she will cry, but in her heart, she will be glad. My friend, I tell you the way of the world."

The crying and wailing referred to in this song and the previous story is not just the shedding of tears, but rather a long discourse told in a loud wailing tone that tells about the person and asks questions like, how will I live without your support? If people do not cry well enough at the wake, people comment about them. Miskitos also have this custom, which is probably of African origin among both groups. Among Miskitos there are even people who are paid to cry, and they cry quite well.

After listening to this punta song, several Garifunas commented, "Oh, you cannot even trust your parents. How many parents have killed their children to collect their inheritance?" Probably not many, but statements like this show how deep this lack of confidence goes.

In African cultures, this lack of confidence is often associated with beliefs in witchcraft and the fact that the other people can hurt you by witchcraft. There is some of this belief among Garifunas. While people count on their neighbors to help them out, there is also sometimes suspicion as another punta song shows.

"I am dying, but do not tell my neighbor. She is "ingles" (a Black English speaker) and I think she may have something to do with this illness," says a song collected by the National Garifuna Folklore Ballet. The belief that Black English speakers, particularly Belizeans, practice witchcraft was commented on by Miskitos, Ladinos, Garifunas, and the English speakers themselves.

However, Garifunas also believe in witches (called people-killers in Garifuna, who are completely distinct from shamans or buyeis) that have the power to kill through black magic. The song "Yali" (Pelican) sung by the group Lanigui Satuye to the rhythm of parranda tells of how the person would like to fly away like a pelican to a distant beach where the crabs would be his neighbors, because from La Ceiba, from Haiti death is coming for him in three nights or six days. This song appears in the song book Lanigui Garifuna prepared by the Organization for Ethnic Community Development (ODECO) for the Garifuna bicentennial.

When talking about the experiences of Garifunas with cooperatives, one hears stories of examples in which this mistrust was justified. For example, in Santa Fe someone convinced the people to start a plantain cooperative, reports Bernardo Batiz, a local Garifuna teacher. A number of people promised to work on this project.

Sometime later, however, only a few people worked to weed the plantations. But when these workers would go home, other people who did not work would harvest the plantains. When it was time to divide the profits of the cooperative, there were no plantains left to harvest. Not surprisingly, the cooperative dissolved. Garifunas often say, "Uno nunca sabe para quien trabaja" (One never knows for whom one is working.)

This often causes problems for Garifuna development projects, because the National Water and Sewage Service (SANAA), many non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and U.N. organizations require cooperative structures to fund projects and to provide support for the sale and marketing of native handicrafts.

New cultural magazine offers quality
Astrolabio, a new cultural magazine published by the private non-governmental organization, the Honduran Documentation Center (CEDOH), went to press with its first edition in August of this year.

This is a quality publication that introduces a new dimension to the Honduran cultural community. The magazine, edited by Victor Meza, features the excellent art work of the late painter Anibal Cruz throughout the magazine, and is used to support the cultural themes emphasized in its pages.

Content is diverse and interesting, including well-written interviews with prominent political figures, a literary section of poetry, short stories and narratives by such renowned writers as Roberto Sosa and Eduardo Bahr, as well as a perspective by former Minister of Culture Rodolfo Pastor Fasquelle concerning the importance of reading.

Astrolabio is a publication that has the potential to develop a new cultural standard and awareness. It introduces the concept that Hondurans might be able to generate and support a publication of the highest quality.

Astrolabio is easily obtained in local bookstores for the modest price of Lps. 20. -- Maria Fiallos