Yoshimaru and Rica Higa
2011.7.11
Now we are praying around the mainland of Japan.
Let us continue our report on what we have done in June.
On June 8, we introduced all around our shrine in Okinawa to the invited Elders.
They seemed to be impressed to see them all. Both Elizabeth and Elder Te Porohau found the place good enough to be moved. They prayed very hard there.
As you see in the photo, after the prayer in the cave, we were surprised to see the group of people who danced the traditional dance of Okinawa. They were good enough to come to the shrine to show their dance and dedicate it to our shrine.
After this surprise and good rest, we cleaned ourselves by shower. We were full of mud then. Then we moved to the Naha International Airport.
On June 9, we met with Don Alejandro. We had our first fire ceremony at the beach of Akashi (western part of Japan close to Osaka). Don arrived there the night before. We prayed for those who died in the big earthquakes (for those souls of the dead in Kobe in 1995 and in Northern Japan in 2011).
In the afternoon, we drove to the Nojima Fault. It is where we can see the split of the land caused by the big earthquake. There is a museum but it was closed when we got there. But we were lucky enough to see the explanation of the disaster at the entrance.
All the Elders were so eager to scrutinize the pictures after the earthquake. They saw the actual split of the land and did not talk much about it. They were just gazing at it.
On June 10, we had our gathering in Kobe. Many people joined it and we were so glad about it. Elder Te Porohau was good enough to sing a good song. It was a song that tells the story that his ancestors, the Waitaha people, came from all the way from New Zealand to Okinawa and the Island of Awaji (big island in the Seto Inland Sea) by canoes. Ms. Elizabeth Araujo was good enough to talk about the Mayan Calendar and the Mayan People. Don Alejandro talked a lot about the traditional Mayan Calendar and prophecies of the ancient Mayans.
We could enjoy nice music and songs then.
Don Alejandro started dancing, and so did Elder Te Porohau. Then the people joined us. It was marvelous.
Now the below is a message from Elder Te Porohau.
I want to thank you for coming to the Kobe lecture and I want you to know that I
understand your feelings about not having heard the translation properly.
And from that we all learned a lot.
We are still traveling and will have lectures in Hokkaido, and Tokyo.
If you want you can come and hear the changes that we have made so that everyone has learned from this learning experience for all of us.
I am hoping that I will see you sometime in our journey and send love
and warmth from the bottom of my heart.
Thank you very much
Te Porohau Ruka Te Korako
The below is the speech by Elder Te Porohau in Kobe.
I send you my greeting as the representative of the Waitaha people and the council of its elders.
I am feeling deep love to you from the past, the present and the future.
My heart is satisfied.
The heart of the Waitaha is filled with joy.
First of all, let me send my gratitude to the Nakatani family in Nishi Akashi.
The father, the mother and Junko and the two grandchildren---all of them---gave me the opportunity of visiting Japan this time.
I cannot be more thankful to them.
I also thank the Golden Dragon of Japan.
I also thank the Golden Dragon that protected the people from being suppressed and controlled by someone else.
We know a lot about the Golden Dragon of Japan.
For us Waitaha people, the Golden Dragon is a senior.
The Dragon of the Waitaha is the Silver Dragon.
The people of Japan have the Golden Dragon.
This Japanese Dragon has been kept for long through the Emperors and the people of Japan. Your ancestors have kept it for long.
This Dragon made us happy.
You Japanese people are the leaders for those called the people of the Dragon.
I am so grateful for keeping your tradition. Thank you for it.
I will be talking about the wisdom of the ancient people this time. Let me tell you that there is no being that is older than the Dragons.
We Waitaha call Dragon as “Malakiho”.
The people in Europe take “Malakiho” as an evil monster of bad water.
The people in Europe did not have the chance of knowing what the Dragon is.
Now they are trying to understand what it is and I am thankful for it.
We Waitaha are carriers of water. So we are full of water inside us. The water is falling from ourselves.
We Waitaha know a lot about water. We know about the oxygen and the hydrogen.
In our words, we have those that refer to molecules and electron.
Water has the following power.
We have long believed that we can change the world when we take good care of our motherly Earth.
In Japan, there are many caves and these caves contain a lot of water in them.
We can meet with the Dragons and the spirits there.
The water is most important there.
We have a lot of water in New Zealand as well.
We have poisoned water, acidic water and alkaline water. The most important water of all is the mineral water.
Many business firms came to New Zealand to exploit this sacred water.
We Waitaha people have tried to keep this water for long.
We Waitaha are known as the guardian of water. We are also known as the people who maintain peace.
Our ancestors came to Japan and met with the Emperor then. They met with the representatives of churches. Our ancestors tried to register ourselves as one of the international churches that can protect water. We came to Japan to ask for people’s support.
In those days, it was not possible for the indigenous people to register the system of the water. So they had to establish their own church to register it. Then they were able to protect the system of the water.
In short, they needed the existence of the church to protect the water.
Our ancestors came to Japan in 1920s, 1930s and 1940s and got the support of the Japanese people.
As a result, our ancestors were successful in preserving the important water system and sacred places of the people of the Waitaha.
After we were registered as the representative of the church, four indigenous people were able to join our government. It is what happened at the time that my grandfather was young. Then many good changes have taken place for us.
People call is as the information of the ancient times.
But how many years have passed since the introduction of the modern technology?
Only 177 years.
It means that the days of the stone were replaced by those of the electricity and propellers.
And many people came into the indigenous areas.
I was born in 1940s. I have seen a lot when I was younger. I have learned a lot. Now as one of the elders, I am seeing many changes coming up.
I am one of the elders who learned from our ancestors and who try to protect our own prophecies.
Our ancestors have told us the prophecies that were related to Japan and China.
They are the people who know that the world will change some day.
Now let me sing one song for you.
This is a song made by those who travelled across the oceans from New Zealand to Okinawa and the Island of Awaji by canoes.
[about the Ratana Church]
In the old times, it was necessary to establish a church to register as the indigenous people. This trial was rejected by the Christian churches but they registered their own independent church. It is this church. The founder, Mr. Ratana, sought to find ways to save the indigenous people in New Zealnd. He joined politics afterwards.
