800 ANCIENT STONES WITH HEBREW WRITING IN PUERTO RICO AUTHENTICATED?

A remnant of ancient stones - twenty of eight hundred - made its way halfway across the world, solving a 3500-year-old mystery. What did these stones whisper about the Pre-Columbian indigenous people of the island of Puerto Rico? After rigorous academic testing, anthropologist, historians, academics and millions of Puerto Ricans finally have scientific evidence that reveals the language of the stones.

Growing up in the mountains of Boriken (Puerto Rico), my grandfather told me about some very unique stones, which were part of our ancient Taino Indian history. These rare stones were in the care of one of our greatest Principal Chiefs, Cacike Agueybana, who, when Columbus stumbled across our Taino people in 1492, was the Principal Chief of my home island of Boriken (Puerto Rico).

Knowledge of these stones first came to light when a very sick Taino woman, who had tried everything from indigenous herbal remedies to ceremonies, lay on her deathbed. Compelled to tell a secret her family had carried for generations, she sent runners to find someone in the church who would listen. Why she chose the church, we’ll never know. But a monk named José María Nazario y Cancel came to her bedside. What this elder revealed to this monk changed the historical narrative of our precious island.

There, in her tiny bohio (thatched roof home) the monk interceded for the old woman’s healing. Then she told him her family secret, a secret that went back to the time of Cacike Agueybana, the Principal Chief of Boriken (the Taino Indian name for Puerto Rico, which means "The House of The Great and Valiant Lord). Her secret revealed where to find a hidden stash of stone figurines inscribed with strange symbols and carvings of an ancient people that some called the Hibaro, who had lived in the mountains of the island and still have descendants who call themselves by this name to this day.

Nazario had been educated at the University of Salamanca. His studies had included Ancient Languages, and he was amazed at what he saw. After comparing the writing on these stones to others from around the world, he came to his conclusion. This writing was a form of ancient Hebrew. Because of his religious background this fueled the possibility that a remnant of the lost tribes of Israel had settled on this island.

In 1893, Nazario wrote a short article titled “Escritura Aborigen de Carib” ("Aboriginal writing of the Carib"), in which he explained his interpretations of these carvings. After a thorough analysis of the stones and their inscriptions, he dismissed an Arawak Taino language origin, and by 1897 he concluded that the writings were more reminiscent of ancient Hebrew. Comparing this discovery with the spoken Taino language of his day, Nazario discerned words in the Taino Arawak language that were Semitic in origin and pronunciation. One example is the Taino name for the Supreme Spirit of Spirits, "Yah Yah". By comparison, the God of the monotheistic Hebrew culture is known by the abbreviated form of His Sacred Name "Yah."

Modern-day Taino people say that Cacique Agueybana kept this collection of inscribed stones safeguarded on the island and then buried them, fearing that the Spanish Conquistadors might find them. They remained hidden in the earth for over 400 years, until the dying Taino elder, Juana Morales, told Nazario about the stones and where to find them. 

It was well known on the island that Juana Morales was the last descendant of Principal Chief Agueybana. Her story is still told among the mountain people in the interior of the island who still identify as Hibaro, a word that in Taino means "People of the Mountains" but which bears a strange resemblance to the word "Hebrew". During the 19th and 20th century, Agueybana's Library had been exhibited to the public several times, and examined by expert scholars of high reputation who speculated that the writing was a form of Hebrew.

Many scholars agreed these could not be a forgery. Some even theorized that the writings predated the Mayan and Inca writing system. In 2012, interest gained traction and by 2019 it had piqued global curiosity in the Middle East. New tests were done using spectrometry and x-ray diffraction in Israel. This fascinating story came to the attention of the Zinman Institute of Archaeology at the University of Haifa. Dr. Iris Groman-Yaroslavsky did molecular analysis on twenty of these stones. The doctor’s results, based on the patina, revealed that these rocks were not forgeries. The results verified what many scholars had theorized. This added to mounting evidence about the origin of the writings.

INTERVIEW WITH PROFESSOR RAMOS ABOUT THE AGUEYBANA'S STONES

The stones are inscribed in a language script previously unknown to linguists with expertise in Phoenician and Proto-Hebrew. Expert linguists deciphered the writing to be a mixture of Hebrew, with a little bit of Phoenician and an unknown script. Using carbon14 tests on the red paint found on the stones they have been dated to approximately 900 B.C., that is time when King David's son, Solomon, sent out ships from Tarsus throughout the world to collect resources like bronze and gold. Did some of those Hebrew sailors discover this island during their travels?

Will history be rewritten to include this fascinating new evidence? Were the people who inscribed these ancient stones part of the scattered tribes of Israel as recorded in the Bible? Did Hebrews share their language, traditions, and customs with the native island people? Is that why several Native American tribes from the Southeast and Caribbean islands share much of Israel’s spirituality found in the Torah? Only time, and more testing, will tell as this enigmatic hidden history of Boriken (Puerto Rico) unfolds.

The State of Israel has acknowledged a Hebrew presence in our ancient mountains in times long past, and we, the Good and Noble People (the Taino), send our warmest regards and blessings to our long lost cousins.

Or are we the long lost ones?

"That's What the Old Ones Say"Pre-Colonial Revelations of God to Native America. A revealing book of intriguing stories told by elders from different First Nations Tribes about The Creator, His Son, Native End-Times Prophecies, Revelations & more.Many of these traditional stories have been told for generations at Ceremonial Grounds, Stomp Arbors, Powwow Grounds, and private family gatherings tucked away deep on tribal lands. I was honored and humbled to be able to sit and learn these old stories from elders hailing from many First Nations tribes.

Comanche, Dineh, Apache, Anishinaabe, Aztec, Cherokee, Creek, Cheyenne, Lakota, and Mohawk are a few of the tribes whose elders shared their beautiful stories with me. I listened eagerly to these accounts that were passed down from generation to generation while understanding filled my spirit and I was asked to pass these stories along to the next generation. These are stories that were told before missionary contact and I realized with each story that I listened to I had heard them before…not from my tribe but from another ancient tribe who has left an impacting legacy on the earth called The Bible.

The Creator planted the seed in my heart to write this book as a way to help build the bridge of reconciliation between the nations. You might laugh, cry, sing for joy or wail from the deepest parts of your soul. Betrayal, love, reconciliation, unity, sacrifice, joy, peace, history, archaeology, science, the perseverance of the human spirit and the longing for Creator to heal our land and broken hearts. A longing for our spirit to be uplifted from the only One who can give us Hope in the face of utter defeat and despair. I was humbled being entrusted with hearing these stories and was given permission to retell them so they can be shared with the world. Seneco Kakona (Many Blessings). - Chief Joseph RiverWind

Sources:

Shuster, R. (2019, July 17) .Ancient Trove May Attest to Lost Civilization in Puerto Rico. Haaretz Israel News. Retrieved from: www.haaretz.com

Leon, G. (2019, July 10). Autentican las piedras del padre Nazario. El Nuveo Dia. Retrieved from: www.ElNuevoDia.com

El Mundo (1919, September 27) Centro de Estudios Avanzados de Puerto Rico y el Caribe

Sánchez, H. (2013, June5). Guayanilla: pieza clave de nuestra historia

Powell, J. (1907). .Annual report of the Bureau of ethnology to the secretary of the Smithsonian Institution.

Chief Joseph "Amahura" RiverWind is the Peace Chief of the Arawak Taino Indians of Puerto Rico. He was born in Rio Piedras and lived in the mountains where his grandparents raised him until they moved to the States. His family are Hibaros from Jajuya, the Indigenous Capital of Puerto Rico. He also traces his lineage to the B'nei Anusim, who fled Spain and Portugal in 1492. He is the author of the thought-provoking book "Thats What The Old Ones Say: Pre-Colonial Revelations of God to Native America.

He and his wife Dr. Laralyn RiverWind are speakers and national award-winning musicians based out of the Appalachian Mountains of Tennessee. Their heart for walking with the Creator is evident; their passion for digging after the deep treasures of the Ancient Path is enlightening, and their zeal for The Creator is contagious.

Donations may be tax-deductible:

FireKeepers International PO Box 10

Mohawk, TN 37810

* Thank you to editor: Chris Egbert