Jackie Trono - Snyder On Learning From Primal People

In Turtle Island, Gary Snyder is calling for us to rediscover and reconnect with the land that houses us. Along with many moving poems, Turtle Island also contains an essay calling for environmental awareness, “Four Changes.” Here, Snyder posits many interesting thoughts and questions. What I found most interesting was his comment that we, as the “civilized,” need to learn from indigenous people. He writes,

“A line is drawn between primitive peoples and civilized peoples. I think there is a wisdom in the worldview of primitive peoples that we have to refer ourselves to, and learn from” (Gary Snyder, Turtle Island 107).

I prefer the word primal to primitive because primitive pejoratively connotes ineptitude. Primal, on the other hand, refers to that which is most fundamental. I believe primal people are more fundamentally connected with their environments than the civilized people secluded in cities who go off into nature for a respite from the bustle of their daily lives. Primal people live in nature and, as Snyder says, have done a much better job of keeping open the lines of communication with nature.

The idea of learning from indigenous, primal people is of great interest to me. I intend to spend two weeks with a group at the healing center, Mayantuyacu, of an Ashaninca shaman, Juan Flores, in the Peruvian Amazon this August for the purpose of gaining greater access to that gnosis of which Narby speaks in The Cosmic Serpent. I found out about Juan through emails with Narby, so I believe he is a reputable source for ascension. I wish to broaden my understanding of the animated aspect of the natural world. Although I can analytically think about such a concept while removed here in Virginia, I believe that only by total immersion in the environment will I be able to obtain any real understanding of that ontological perspective that insists that plants can communicate and that biomolecular information is something I can extract from my surroundings without the use of scientific instruments. Fascinating! I am really looking forward to this experience.