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What has Aztlán have to do with Bioregional Animism?
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November 20, 2009
What place might the larger bioregion called Aztlán play in Bioregional Animism for those of us living here? Am I mistaking what I consider my bioregion for what is actually a watershed? Do different disciplines call/use these names interchangeably? Either way, I think you know what I am getting at.
What issues might Aztlán bring up or/and address concerning cultural, ecological, spiritual, political, economic, and other relevant issues?
"Mexamerica is a single bioregion, and trying to cut a boregion in half takes a massive amount of energy. Such an expenditure of energy cannot be sustained forever, and when that energy begins to fail, the bioregion will quickly reassert its wholeness.
- http://tobyspeople.com/anthropik/2007/06/nine-nations-mexamerica/
What threatens the invasive culture’s dream most is the fact that a syncretic culture is already developing in the bioregion. Mexican culture had already achieved much of the bioregional syncretic ideal by mixing indigenous and Spanish elements to create a new, creative whole; that it is now so quickly absorbing the invasive culture of Phoenix, Tucson and Los Angeles testifies to the power of the Mexamerican bioregion, and the previous success of the Mexican culture as a syncretic experiment. And what better symbol could there be for the Mexamerican culture than the image of Our Lady of Guadelupe, patron saint of the Americas? . . .
. . . A binational, bilingual, bicultural region is not stable; the real problem agitating so many closeted white supremacists, lurking behind the “border fence” squabbles and the question of “immigration reform” is the understanding that the invasive culture is horrifically unsustainable. Mexican culture has already set a high bar for syncretic, adaptive culture in the Mexamerican bioregion, having incorporated Spain’s invasive culture long ago. Now, it is beginning to incorporate America’s invasive culture. What the gringos are afraid of is precisely the truth: when a sustainable, syncretic culture does eventually emerge, it’s going to have far more in common with the indigenous cultures before the invasion. They still eat the tortillas invented in ancient Teotihuacan. The Virgin of Guadelupe became a superficial mask for Tonantzin. The old gods of Mexamerica are still the Catholic saints venerated by Chicanos today; and it is not a secret continuity. It is understood, and even celebrated. The virulent racism reflects the growing awareness that the invasive gringo culture will simply become the latest palette of colors in which Mexamerica’s natives will paint the same murals they’ve always painted: the murals that express Mexamerica’s genius loci.
- http://tobyspeople.com/anthropik/2007/06/nine-nations-mexamerica/"
Comments
the term bioregion can get
— Nov 20, 2009
the term bioregion can get under peoples skin a bit i am seeing lately, way to much ascociation with the whole water shed notion ect...
transition zones in a bioregion always give one a sense of where a place begins and ends. it can be stark and obvious... however i think the ultimate expression of bioregional animism in respect to where a place begins and ends is in the sensing fo the genius loci.
genius loci
— Nov 21, 2009
Exactly.
In my experience, under that definition, bioregions seem to nestle withing each other or link up in interesting and oddly inclusive ways. One bioregion being inclusive of another. I am thinking of Aztlán with so many rivers running through it and it being kind of bowl shaped, at least my part of Aztlán is kind of bowl shaped.
Then, sometimes I think in mythologic terms to define lands and areas that could be bioregions. They seem to be slippery beings in deed!
i have been looking at is as
— Nov 21, 2009
i have been looking at is as persons composed of persons composed of persons... a great web of relational interconnectedness and co-emergence of being. awareness's splitting off, emerging from larger awareness's. If you look at say transition ecology or even island ecology for example you have these little secluded micro-regions that are unique and have an almost sort of persona of their own. the oregon dunes are an interesting example of this. in this huge coastal desert of sand dunes you have island of unique biodiversity. each small forest or lake has its own uniqueness and yet is part of a larger ecosystem we call the dunes. within each of these lakes and forests in the dunes we have little microclimates and tiney ecological systems that are unique patterns that allow for certain types of life to exist. each unique life form as well as place is its own unique persona and yet part of a large whole, a larger being we would call the coastal ecology and the transition ecological system between coastal region and inland forest ecosystems... the genius loci of each place manifests and interwoven in the many biotic systems of a place, the plants and wildlife...
you get a whole holographic universe the deeper you go with the micro-macro-cosmos of existance.
are the flora and fauna of my intesitines me? or are they their own being? am I my family?
wonder ways of thinking and exploring self and relationship here...
allies and relations
— Nov 21, 2009
each person having allies and forming groups for different reasons and depending on from what viewpoint you are looking. That is very clear.
with "are the flora and fauna of my intesitines me? or are they their own being? am I my family?
wonder ways of thinking and exploring self and relationship here..." I cant help but think of the Observer and buddhist ways of seeing. Who is asking this question?
Like asking, "what is a bioregion?"
It's alive and changing.
It depends
ultimately its the whole the
— Nov 22, 2009
ultimately its the whole the totality asking the question and nothing... but how that manifests as an individual is very amazing...
depends on your point of view
— Nov 21, 2009
it seems that a bioregion grows and morphs depending on how you are looking at it, for what reason and in what relation.
"every thing is transitory for sure..."
— Nov 22, 2009
The transitory-ness is hard to truely grasp. Intellectually it is easy enough, but to truely grasp that is difficult. I have a decent grasp I think, but I often forget and ask or think in an old, fixed kind of way. When I remember i bonk my head and say, "oh yeah, its always changing, or it's always different, like a living being." We so often think of living beings as static though, it's our language and culture I think.
you could say its partially
— Nov 23, 2009
you could say its partially how we relate to change and especially death, that causes that. Though i think there is hope in systems thinking these days...
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