1.13.2007

Face to Face


Las matematicas de hoy son conocimiento y comprender.
Today's mathematics is knowledge understanding.


El grado en el alfabeto Supremo es "Maestro"
The degree in the Supreme Alphabet is "Master".


We live in a day and time when our culture, the way that we live has been so saturated and intermixed with the culture that was imposed on us, we often have no close of who we truly are. In contemporary society, and especially in America, thanks to the advent of marketing and capitalism those oppressive forces have found ways to make money off of the idea of 'identity'. Because of the swallowness and superficial focus of Western thought we have come to the point of valuing the 'physical' aspects of things. And thus, defining who we are and who others are simply and soley by the outwards expression of themselves. Mathematically this would make sense if truly what was outside of a person was a manifestation of what was inside that person. To the contrary, we decorate and attempt to enhance and even falsify our external reality in order to foster some esteem for ourselves internal. We do not like who we are. And they continue to teach us this daily.

Also, we were giving guidelines, European guidelines on what beauty is and how beauty should be interpreted and appreciated. By allowing someone else to define us we give up our own right to do so. We allow them to MASTER us. If they control your sense of being, your sense of SELF, then you are subservient to their will and desires because they can and will continue to change the standards and guidelines. Thus changing your mindset, instilling confusion, as you become lost in a world without a clue of who you are and where you belong in it.

One common misconception about the Original people of this area of the world is that we have no facial hair. This is both true and false elements to this statement. Let me first say that many Native American men can not grow facial hair. Let me follow up by saying that many do. Their are scientists, anthropologists and scholars who insist that Native Americans with facial hair are the result of mixing with the colonial settlers or some other ethnic group at some point. Native Americans, are viewing as this monolithic group of people. Throughout our diaspora you will see black, brown and yellow brothers and sisters. You will see tall and short, skinny and fat, straight hair to even wavy or curly hair. This idea has been used as ammunition for different arguments. Let us remind ourselves that the perspective of the the 'epitome' of 'civilization' came from their fascination with the Romans and Greeks. Travelling across sea for months to find some people who exhibit a trait that the Europeans found appealling was an attempt to pain the picture of the 'noble savage', coined in the late 1700's to early 1800's. Native Americans were painted and sketched as having very similar phenotypes as Europeans. This was done to lull the western psyche into accepting the Indigenous peoples as truly human (i.e. because they were somewhat close to Europeans). This is how Europeans attempted to resolve this in themselves in attempts to reverse the perspective of 'Indians" being 'souless' and therefore subject to slavery,death and dehumanization. After all, they weren't people, they were 'things'. Also, the idea of Pre-Columbian race 'mixing' gave way to the wildest of European notions, that they were actually here first (for an example, look into the Kennewick Man). More purported White Supremists ideology.

"The hair of the Chinese, Japanese, and Native American is straight, coarse, and almost always black; it grows from a straight follicle, is round in cross section, and has an easily distinguished medulla."
-http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761568239/Hair.html

Another factor is the specific 'entho-cultural origins' of the different Nations. By this I mean from where did they descend. By using this approach we can reasonable take into consideration some 'intermixing'. However, this intermixing wouldn't have taken place during the 514 years of colonization. I am alluding to the 'origins' before and during their migration to this continent. While the general acceptance is that Native Americans were hunter-gatherers who followed animals across the Bering Strait from Siberia/Asia some 35,000 years, research has revealed evidence that there were actually 4 migration that took place from Asia. My brother Supreme Understanding has written an article discussing these migrations, which I will post excerpts from in the future. He spoke of a migration of people across the Bering Strait, as well as one by sea (which is very possible considering Easter Island's location from Peru and it's history of inhabitance by a 'Pacific Island' people. People who populated all of the islands in the Pacific). He also discussed two others migrations which, with the first two mentioned sojourns, would have contributed greatly to the diversity amongst the Native American peoples. The cultural contribution made would have been indicative of from where in Asia the group migrated from.
If was customary for many Indigenous men to shave their facial hair off. Just as it was customary to tattoo and paint the body, wear certain hair styles, as an exhibit or expression of one's cultural right. Every Nation was very distinct yet there remained many more similarities. I have provided some knowledge (1) for you to draw up and get your own understanding (3). Below are some excerpts and references to Native or Indigenous men with facial hair.

"If you think about it for a minute, you know the answer to this question. You have probably seen many pictures of Native Americans with full mustaches. Many of the Navajo leaders of the Long Walk era had mustaches. Although many, if not most, Native American cultural groups preferred to remain clean shaven, the Dominguez-Escalante Expedition encountered a tribal subdivision of the Paiutes in Utah who wore full beards. There has been speculation that the existence of this group accounts for the rumors at the time of that expedition that there was a group of Spaniards who lived in that region because their first impression was that they were meeting Jesuit priests. "
-from http://hanksville.org/NAresources/faq2.html

"The Delaware called themselves Lenape translated either as "original people" or "true men." The Swedish form was Renape. For many Algonquin, the Lenape were the "grandfathers," a term of great respect stemming from the widespread belief that the Lenapi were the original tribe of all Algonquin-speaking peoples, and this often gave the Lenapi the authority to settle disputes between rival tribes...Men removed all facial hair and the women often colored their faces with red ocre. Tattooing was common to both sexes. Older men wore their hair long, but warriors usually had a scalp lock greased to stand erect. Although this hairstyle is often called a "Mohawk," it was common to most of the eastern tribes."
-http://www.tolatsga.org/dela.html

"The Esselen Indians are the Native American people whose homeland once encompassed about 750 square miles of the Ventana Wilderness, including the land that the Esalen Institute now sits upon....Little is actually known of the Esselen, but anthropologists and historians have drawn a number of conclusions. The Esselen presence in Central California dates back 10,000 years. Evidence suggests that they were drawn here by the hot springs, which were used for healing (the Esselen word for the springs was believed to mean "the god in the waters"). They were a short, stocky people, with dark hair and eyes. Light-skinned at birth, they were reputed to turn a dull black from so much time in the sun. The men had facial hair."
-http://www.esalen.org/air/essays/esselenhands.htm

"Hair on the face was considered unpleasant, but nature collaborated with art by endowing the men with only meager beards. Shaving was therefore unnecessary; facial hair was plucked out with tweeezers, and, as a further aid towards good looks, Aztec mothers applied hot cloths to the faces of their young sons in order to stifle the hair follicles and inhibit the growth of whiskers. Only old or distinguished men (who could afford to ignore fashion) wore beards, and these were at best thin and wispy. "
-http://www.azteca.net/aztec/nahuatl/physical.html

"Another popular misconception is that Amerindians can't grow facial hair. This is brought on by the fact that few did for reasons of hygiene. The hair was plucked or singed from the face, arms, legs, and often the head too. Examples of this are shown in the images on this page. If you doubt these facts simply go to your local library and look up the paintings by Catlin, Bodmer, Mckenney & Hall and others. and others of the day. You will see Amerindians with facial hair, wavy hair, and even curly hair. Shown below are examples of these paintings."
-http://www.fortunecity.com/victorian/memorial/68/aipics.html

Know and understand who you are, so you know who you're not, and you can stop imitating a people who have been imitating you.

PAZ!

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