The caves of Puerto Rico can be immense!
The year was 1486 and the natives on the island we now call Puerto Rico knew a storm was coming, but this was no ordinary storm, the signs were ominous, the spirit they called Ju-Ra-Kan was about to unleash terrible winds, lightning, thunder and rain. Those who had seen these signs before knew this was a very big and terrible storm…it was a category 5! Their village was called Yaguekas and it was located along the banks of a river they called Guaorabo, now known as Rio Grande de Añasco. This river is near the modern town of Añasco located on the extreme west coast of Puerto Rico. It was now time to head for the caves in the mountains; most caves had fresh water running through them, but they also had interior high areas where they could avoid the raging water. The natives of Burekén (not Borikén as was previously believed)) did this whenever they suspected the imminent arrival of Ju-Ra-Kán. The women gathered the children, they needed to move quickly before the river started rising or they would be trapped. Unfortunately, the nearest caves were almost a full day’s walk away through the thick forest paths they had carved out to get there. Then it started… much faster than they had anticipated; torrential rain, thunder, it became dark very quickly, the children were crying, roaring lightning strikes illuminated the sky. It was now a race against time to save their lives; they had no chance to take anything with them…Guabancex, the spirit of turmoil, was angry and she had unleashed Ju-ra-kán to punish and even kill those who defied her anger! The rivers began to swell immediately, there were landslides, and the mud made traveling very difficult for the elderly and the children members of the village. A young female named Abi-o-ná was pregnant with her first child and she started feeling pain and early contractions the night before, this made made it impossible for her to embark on the long trip up difficult mountain trails. It would take her a long time to get there and if she was surprised by the high winds of the storm out in the open, both her life and that of the baby would be in danger. She had no choice but to stay in her Bohio (hut). Her hysband had built their hut on stilts near the shore. later in the day, rain started falling furiously hard and sideways, powerful gusts of wind were shaking the Bohio, the river was rising fast and the danger of it floating away was real. The gusts of wind and the raging river were so powerful that large tree limbs were floating by at high speed. The Bohio kept shaking violently, it was starting to come apart at the seams, the danger of it breaking apart was now imminent!
Guabancex was very angry! The darkness that developed midday was not normal, the Bohio kept shaking in the wind and rain was now seeping through both the sides and the thatch roof. The mother was almost due, she was now in full labor and in a lot of pain, the father was called Cayigua and he was now frantic!
Several hours passed, it was now completely dark and too dangerous to attempt an escape and reach higher ground near the shore, the violent river kept rising, they were now surrounded by raging water. Suddenly, a loud crack, a violent shaking and the Bohio was floating down river…fast! Then, it hit a large rock, split in two and the father was swept away. He tried desperately to hold onto whatever he could find. It was dark now, he became disoriented and couldn’t see anything, he was a strong warrior and like all Burekén natives, also a good swimmer, but the raging water was just too strong with large waves tossing him back and forth. He eventually got very tired, and he could hardly keep his head above the water then, he hit his head on a large rock, the strong current swept him into the estuary of the river and further out to sea! The mother was floating down river also, she kept calling for the father, Cayigua!…Cayigua!…but there was no answer. She was also being tossed back and forth…”my baby” she cried out…suddenly a large rush of water, she went under…she couldn’t breathe…she swallowed a lot of water and passed out briefly. The raging current carried her near the shore, she was now semi-conscious. Then it happened…a strong push from the baby, she regained consciousness and still dazed managed to grab onto some overhanging branches with both hands, for dear life. The branches had spines which pierced her fingers, her hands were bloodied, she was breathing heavily and in deep pain. Then… a shock! the baby started to come out, it would drown! The mother let go of the branch, she was dragged down river by the torrent of rushing water. Delirious with pain, she frantically pulled the baby’s head hard…it was finally out! The pain was unbearable, she swam with one hand while barely holding her precious cargo with the other.
She struggled against the river and in a smart survival tactic, swam diagonally allowing the current to aid her in reaching the bank on the other side. She finally managed to grab onto another thorny bush along the bank with one hand and slowly, but painfully dragged herself to the base of the bush.
She was exhausted, the pain and the struggle had pushed her to the limit of her instinctive survival skills, and she could barely hold herself upright. The mother desperately touched the baby’s head and body in the dark to make sure it was alive… wait, the baby seems to be a girl; it was very dark and she… she’s not breathing!
She may have drowned, the mother was now in a race against time to revive her precious cargo; she pressed on her tiny stomach and back with both hands to force any water out of her lungs, the baby spit out some water, but she was still not breathing! She tried again, holding her baby upside down, the baby spit out some more water and started gasping for air, the mother tried again and again, getting more desperate with every passing second… nothing! Her baby had drowned, Guabancex had punished her in the most terrible way. She began crying and screaming in both anger and desperation. “Great mother Atabey…help me!” …what happened next will shock you…stay tuned and visit us again to find out!