Yapa

Book 1 – The Beginning

1	Before you hear our story,
2	Before you hear your story,
3	Or the writing of the language,
4	Of the country of our ancestors,
5	And the country of your ancestors,
6	Or the name of a spirit or ancestor,
7	Or their skin or an animal, or a song,
8	Or the way of ceremony and dignity,
9	Or the way of family and tribe,
10	You must be able to see properly,
11	You must be able to hear properly.
12	Above all things, you must be able to think properly.
13	A man who cannot see, is blind even with eyes.
14	A woman who cannot hear is deaf even with ears.
15	A mind that is full of precondition and ideas,
16	Yet without proper initiation,
17	Cannot think the proper way of law,
18	Nor the ways taught by the ancestors.
19	Because you have been educated to read,
20	Does not mean you are not blind.
21	To truly see, you must feel your feet on the ground,
22	Smell the air, feel the sun on your skin.
23	If you think you can hear because there is no noise,
24	Then you cannot.
25	To hear, you must hear your heartbeat,
26	Hear and feel the sound of the raindrops on earth,
27	The shifting of sand even when ants make their nest.
28	If you cannot properly see or hear,
29	Then you will not see the Right Path.
30	A man without right initiation,
31	Cannot see what is in front of him.
32	This is why the ancients sung:
33	"Cover eyes (to) see, block ears (to) hear"