Inriri

Inriri por Tanya Torres

Inriri by Tanya Torres, Oil on canvas, 20" x 16", 2012.
 

"They searched for a bird called inriri (woodpecker), and before was called  inriri cahuvayal, which lives in the trees, in our language it is called pico. Those persons without male or female sex were taken, their feet and hands tied, and the mentioned bird was tied to their body; the pico, believing that the people were tree trunks, began its accustomed work, pecking and making a hole where you can ordinarily find the nature of women."  Fray Ramón Pané

And so I found that the Taínos, the original inhabitants of the island of Puerto Rico, had spoken to tell me how the nature of women was created.

Powerful Hand of the Tree of Life

Mano Poderosa del Árbol de la Vida por Tanya Torres

Powerful Hand of the Tree of Life by Tanya Torres, Oil on canvas, 20" x 16", 2012.

I don't think I ever noticed a Mano Poderosa icon before visiting El Museo del Barrio some time after arriving in New york City in 1985. Like many other religious images, it seems for be popular depending on the region and the tendencies of the people who live there. It is in fact the type of Cristian icon that has become syncretized with the African and Indigenous religions of America. That is probably why I never saw it before.

Sacred Heart of the Earth

Sagrado Corazón de la Tierra por Tanya Torres

Sacred Heart of the Earth, 20" x 16", oil on canvas, 2012.

Religious symbols offer a sort of anchor for prayer, meditation and thought, but once you have left them behind, their meaning tends to evolve beyond recognition. New ideas take their place of holiness. New visions emerge from the depths of your soul. Only the truth that has always been remains and reemerges into a different, or not so different, vision.

Sacred Garden: Her Spirit Remains (Behind the Yuca plant with Reinita and Coquí)

Yuca grows in this garden, visited by animals, guarded by the divine ancestors who inhabit the grayer shades of life within. Made of water, leaves, roots, she might be as green as the forest itself, or as blue as the evening sky. Or she might be transparent, like a veil. She is undoubtedly humid, and life grows out of her heart.