A Search for Spirituality

Abstract

A mixture of African, European, and Native Puerto Rican (Tahino) religions form a historical foundation for the beliefs to which Puerto Ricans adhere. This article follows the search for spirituality of a mother and daughter. Although both born in Puerto Rico, mother was raised in the rural mountains of Puerto Rico and daughter was raised among the majority culture of the United States. Their search follows different paths, but the influence of their country is apparent in the rituals they perform and in the integration of their internal processes. More and more women turn to female spirituality and to rituals that honor the power with which all women are born. These rituals honor the earth as mother, the natural cycles women experience instinctively, and reliance upon their own inner voice as guidance. The building of faith and the reclamation of inner strength helps to peel away the layers, to face the truth of the past and present, and gives courage to health and transform the pain.