Established in 1993, the Kasibahagua Taino Cultural Society is an inter-Tribal, inter-generational, community-based organization of indigenous Caribbean singers, musicians, speakers, and artists dedicated to transmitting their ancestral heritage to their present and future generations with dignity and honor.
Inwood Hill Park, NY (UCTP Taino News) – Members of the Cacibahagua Taino Cultural Society joined other Indigenous Peoples at the Drums Along the Hudson Festival this past Sunday. The festival was hosted by Sandra Bookman,the Weekend Anchor for WABC-TV News, and featured Native American Performers, the Kahurangi Maori Dance Theater from New Zealand, dancers from India and Peru, and a Pow Wow. After a blessing by local Mohawk Nation representatives, the Cacibahagua Taino Cultural Society had the honor of participating in the opening ceremony of the program presenting the song of the sea turtle. Members of Cacibahagua also exhibited and demonstrated Taino cultural items as well as distributed information related to the United Confederation of Taino People throughout the day at the Storytellers Tent. Drums Along the Hudson is a free event presented by Lotus Music and Dance, the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, JP Morgon Chase, and WABC-TV.
Photo: Members of the Cacibahagua Taino Cultural Society at the 2009 Drums Along the Hudson Festival. (Photo credit: M. Sague)
New York (UCTP Taino News) - The Seventh Annual “Drums Along the Hudson: A Native American Festival” will take place on Sunday, May 17th, 2009 in Upper Manhattan’s Inwood Hill Park from 11:00 am until 6:00 pm, rain or shine. The event is FREE to the public and presented by Lotus Music & Dance in collaboration with the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation, and is sponsored in part by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs and WABC-TV. DRUMS ALONG THE HUDSON features Manhattan’s only open air pow wow, which is a celebratory gathering of Native people. This year’s pow wow will be led by Louis Mofsie and the Thunderbird American Indian Dancers and will feature other indigenous and international artists including a special opening ceremony presentation by the Cacibajagua Taino Cultural Society.
A multi cultural family-oriented festival, Drums Along the Hudson includes exhibitions of world dance and drumming traditions as well as Native American crafts and international cuisines. The festival combines a celebration of Native American heritage, culture, and art with the diversity of New York City itself. In keeping with the underlying theme of environmental appreciation and education, DRUMS ALONG THE HUDSON will continue to feature an Environmental Tent which will include demonstrations by organizations and artists dedicated to promoting an eco-friendly lifestyle and an information and Caribbean Indigenous Exhibit table sponsored by the United Confederation of Taino People.
During the day, between the hours of 1pm and 3pm, the festival organizers will honor two individuals and or organizations for their contributions to either Humanitarian Services or the Environment. This year’s honorees are Mohawk Elder & Author Tom Porter and Laura Turner Seydel, Environmentalist & Chairman of the Captain Planet Foundation. Sandra Bookman, weekend anchor for WABC-TV, will host the event. For more information visit the Drums Along the Hudson website at http://www.drumsalongthehudson.org/ .
The KASIBAHAGUA TAINO CULTURAL SOCIETY is dedicated to the promotion of the music, song, dance, stories and art of the Indigenous Taino People of the Caribbean. The Society’s name, KASIBAHAGUA, derives from part of an ancient Taino creation story. In the language of the Taino, kasibahagua means, "The black-holed stone" and it represents the womb of ATABEIRA - the Earth Mother.
Members of the Kasibahagua Cultural Society after a successful performance at the American Museum of Natural History, August 2008 (Photo: Ananda Apfelbaum)
Next Appearance:
Indigenous Peoples Day NYC, October 11, 2021, Randalls Islands, NYC
Park Ave Armory, New York, NY, May 16, 2020
Jamaica Center for Arts and Culture, Jamaica, Queens, June 27
Bear Mountain Pow Wow, August 1-2, 2020
Indigenous Peoples Day, Randall's Island, October 11-12, 2020
Kasibahagua has performed at such notable institutions as the United Nations, American Museum of Natural History, the Institute for American Indian Studies, the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian Heye Center, NY Botanical Gardens, NY Open Center, and the Mashantucket Pequot Museum and Research Center, as well as many festivals and Native American Pow Wows, schools, and universities.
Next Kasibahagua Rehearsal
For information contact mukaro.agueibana@uctp.org
Members of Kasibahagua 2009
Kasibahagua is Oral Tradition
According to Taino oral tradition, Kasibahagua is one of two caves located in a sacred mountain of Cauta, and was the original place of emergence of the Taino People after a great flood that covered the whole earth had subsided. It is from this cave that the Taino went from living in darkness to living in the light. The other cave, called Amaiauna, represents the “place of the others”. It is from this cave that Taino people respectfully acknowledged all the other peoples who share their world.
PABLO HAGUEY ROSARIO, one of Kasibahagua’s elder representatives and advisors in Boriken (Puerto Rico), demonstrates the GUAHEY (Guiro) at a presentation at the American Museum of Natural History in October 2000. Photo: R. Mickens – Courtesy of AMNH
Kasibahagua Thanks Elba Anaca Lugo
The Kasibahagua Taino Cultural Society would like to take this opportunity to say hahom (thank you) to Elba Anaca Lugo and the members of Paseo Taino/Travesia Taina for all their inspiration over the years. Paseo Taino/Travesia Taina performed contemporaryPuerto Rican Folk Music and Taino music and dance throughout Boriken, the Caribbean, and the U.S. In the late 1980’s Elba Anaca Lugo urged a small number of Taino residing in the New York area to formally establish Taino cultural/socio/political organizations in the United States. As a result of this inspiration, Roberto Múkaro Borrero founded, along with some former members of Travesia Taina, the Kasibahagua (Cacibajagua) Taino Cultural Society in 1993.
Inwood Hill Park, NY (UCTP Taino News) – Members of the Cacibahagua Taino Cultural Society joined other Indigenous Peoples at the Drums Along the Hudson Festival this past Sunday. The festival was hosted by Sandra Bookman, the Weekend Anchor for WABC-TV News, and featured Native American Performers, the Kahurangi Maori Dance Theater from New Zealand, dancers from India and Peru, and a Pow Wow. After a blessing by local Mohawk Nation representatives, the Cacibahagua Taino Cultural Society had the honor of participating in the opening ceremony of the program presenting the song of the sea turtle. Members of Cacibahagua also exhibited and demonstrated Taino cultural items as well as distributed information related to the United Confederation of Taino People throughout the day at the Storytellers Tent. Drums Along the Hudson is a free event presented by Lotus Music and Dance, the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, JP Morgon Chase, and WABC-TV.
