NAFPS Forum

Regarding Lynda, she has identified as:

Quotepresident, Lynda Yracébûrû (Romani Gypsy) is of Romani Chovani descent.

https://web.archive.org/web/20040607134359/http://www.nohwikebagowa.org/bod.html

QuoteHi I am Lynda Yraceburu, Choppie Romani Chovani Traditional Gypsy Healer

http://www.meetup.com/Taa-naash-kaa-da/members/176640662/

As Ingeborg has pointed out, and genealogy work shows, this so called descent is very unlikely.

Back in 1999 she said she was a "transpersonal escort".

https://web.archive.org/web/19990222105837/http://home.earthlink.net/~earthwisdom/Wakizu.html

Quotepresident, Lynda Yracébûrû (Romani Gypsy) is of Romani Chovani descent.

This makes about as much sense as if I claimed I was a deutsche German - or rather: a deutsche Kraut.

'Chovani' does not seem to be one of the tribal units. Attempts to find the term in a Romanes dictionary yield funny results - the term is not known, also not in the spelling of ?ovani or ?hovani. However, the dictionary offers various words instead, like:
?ovexani - ?ovaxanî - ?oha?i - ?oxani
Although the meaning differs in various dialects, the general notion is:
witch, sorcerer, magician, spectre, vampire.
Witches, sorcerers etc are not seen in a positive way by R&S. The translation 'healer' never came up, BTW.

QuoteHi I am Lynda Yraceburu, Choppie Romani Chovani Traditional Gypsy Healer

If "choppie" did indeed come from Romanes, Ms Lynda uses a form so corrupted the dictionary cannot find any results which come even close to this spelling, and this does not get any better when the "ch" is replaced by ? or ?h.

QuoteBack in 1999 she said she was a "transpersonal escort".

https://web.archive.org/web/19990222105837/http://home.earthlink.net/~earthwisdom/Wakizu.html

And nothing there about any Roma descent. So Ms Lynda has only been a 'traditional healer' for less than 15 years as of yet - very convincing....

Gale Encyclopedia of Occultism & Parapsychology:

QuoteChov-hani

The Gypsy name for a witch.

http://www.answers.com/topic/chov-hani#ixzz3GYMStSoE

QuoteKi shan i Romani—
Adoi san' i chov'hani.

Wherever gypsies go,
There the witches are, we know.

http://www.sacred-texts.com/pag/gsft/gsft03.htm

Maria complains that locals call them witches, yet her own partner has chosen a title that means witch, from yet another culture that does not view witches positively.

QuoteCombining her massive extended family with her traditional knowledge and dedication, Yraceburu EarthWisdom originated in 1972 as the Native American Students Alliance.

QuoteNASA evolved in 1974 into the Minority Students Alliance... "We were becoming more inclusive... recognizing the Power of One."

http://www.globalgoddess.org/oracle/imbolc_2009/unwavierable

This doesn't sound right to me, I think she is trying to claim that an unnamed college Native Students Alliance was her own project. I think it is more accurate to say that she possibly started the road she is now on while being a member of a NSA. Being part of an college alliance  does not necessarily mean a person is NDN, I was a member at my own college. Just like being at a pow-wow doesn't guarantee anything about heritage.

I'm including here some stills from her videos, two of them look like from college days.

Another video still, young Maria.

Rough incomplete timeline on part of Maria's story:

Maria is of Apache, Navajo, Cherokee, Basque and French descent, carrying two tribal membership cards.

https://web.archive.org/web/20050201124746/http://www.followingancestors.net/mariabio.html


Says she was born in Downey, CA. Los Angeles county.
http://www.wisewomanradio.com/interviews/mariayraceburu.html

QuoteBorn Maria Yraceburu in Downey, California, her childhood name was Naylin 'iskinihi. Her father was a captain in the army during Viet Nam. She learned the traditional ways of her heritage from Grandfather Juan Ten Bears Yraceburu.

Born 11/1954 according to 2011 Arizona court records for MARIA NAYLIN YRACEBURU

https://apps.supremecourt.az.gov/publicaccess/

QuoteMARIA YRACEBURU is a forerunner in the field of Applied Ecopsychology, bringing traditional indigenous nature healing techniques together with clinical psychology in 1972 when she joined with former college counselor and psychologist, Meredith Kane, in an effort to heal childhood sexual abuse  in adults.

https://web.archive.org/web/20050201124746/http://www.followingancestors.net/mariabio.html

QuoteA drug addict in the 70s and again in the 80s

http://www.globalgoddess.org/book/export/html/325

QuoteYraceburu EarthWisdom originated in 1972 as the Native American Students Alliance.

http://www.globalgoddess.org/book/export/html/325

QuoteYraceburu started her first women's group, the Butterfly Clan Women's Moon Lodge, in the San Francisco Bay Area.  She also founded a spiritual community and has worked as a bartender, graphic designer, writer, as well as serving on Powwow Committees and raising money for the Gil Abeyta Scholarship Fund and various youth programs.

https://web.archive.org/web/20050128094624/http://www.followingancestors.net/mariaa.html

1977 a son Jason Gabriel Massai Tucker born
https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QJL7-LPKQ

website around 1999 https://web.archive.org/web/19990219085317/http://home.earthlink.net/~earthwisdom/Wakizu.html

QuoteLLD in Eco-psychology, University of Hawaii, 1999

https://web.archive.org/web/20080702020733/http://www.yraceburu.org/Yraceburu.html

QuoteLLD, eco-psychology from Greenwich University

http://www.linkedin.com/pub/maria-yraceburu/a2/a94/8b7

Entity Name:   NOHWIKE BAGOWA / EARTH WISDOM
Entity Number:   C2373100
Date Filed:   12/20/2001
Status:   SOS/FTB SUSPENDED
Jurisdiction:   CALIFORNIA
Entity Address:   19550 A HIDDEN GLEN RD
Entity City, State, Zip:   ALPINE CA 91910
Agent for Service of Process:   MARIA YRACEBURU
Agent Address:   19550 A HIDDEN GLEN RD
Agent City, State, Zip:   ALPINE CA 91910

http://kepler.sos.ca.gov/

On one of her  books Legends and Prophecies of the Quero Apache: Tales for Healing and Renewal: "Maria Naylin has good Medicine to dream...Good thoughts..." Sun Bear

Nohwike Bagowa
P.O. Box 248
Redwood Valley, CA 95470

Elcajon, CA

web site around 2003 https://web.archive.org/web/20040620214332/http://www.nohwikebagowa.org/sweat.html

web site around 2008 https://web.archive.org/web/20080915042038/http://www.yraceburu.org/

Yraceburu EarthWisdom
595 Grand Ave. #102-512
San Marcos, CA 92078

Name    YRACEBURU EARTHWISDOM
Type    Domestic Nonprofit
Good Standing Status:    The above corporation is not in Good Standing
Corp #    4220059
Date of Incorporation    Oct-07-2009
Corp Mailing Address
   7820 ENCHANTED HILLS BLVD. SE #A183   
   RIO RANCH0, NM - 87144

Name    TAA-NAASH-KAA-DA SANCTUARY COALITION, LLC
Type    Domestic Limited Liability Company
Date of Incorporation    Aug-26-2011
Principal Place of Business in NM
   7820 ENCHANTED HILLS BLVD   A183
   RIO RANCHO , NM - 87144

NM corporation search https://portal.sos.state.nm.us/Corps/%28S%28yomu30lkn3bfokwe30zoqluv%29%29/corplookup/Lookdn.aspx

http://www.yraceburu.org/
119 Mira Sol Dr.
Las Vegas, NM 87701

http://www.ah-kine.com/

http://www.spiraldancinglife.org/

http://www.meetup.com/Taa-naash-kaa-da

Letter written by Maria-  Taa-naash-kaa-da Sanctuary Coalition Members August 20, 2014, uploaded a copy here because there is a lot of important info in it, including:

QuoteIn January we held Phil's initiation retreat.  That was the complete take apart.  For those of you that don't know, Debbie, his girlfriend had a psychotic break and attacked four people, including Lynda, myself and Jason.  I am hearing of more now that healing is complete.  In March, Phil left the Coalition donating his membership back to the church, and cutting our family out of his life.  This was devastating for me and sent me spiraling deeper.  I called death.  I called the ThunderBeings and told them if this was life I was done.  I walked the valley and screamed my pain.  And I put my affairs in order.

Quotecarrying two tribal membership cards.

I know of NO tribes that allow you to be a member of another tribe at the same time as you are a member of theirs. A nephew wanted to enroll in his dad's tribe and had to disenroll in his mom's tribe before he could even apply to his dad's tribe. Naylin clearly has no clue. Oh, wait, maybe she's a member of one of the fraud tribes. I am sure they don't care.  ;D

QuoteThroughout it's history, Yraceburu EarthWisdom has worked toward these goals through ceremony, classes, workshops and camps rooted first in the traditions of the Apache tlish diyan and Mughar Gypsy and then world-cross-cultural exchange.

http://www.mariayraceburu.com/projects.html

QuoteI did not know my true roots growing up.

QuoteIt was not until many years later when I found out my true lineage, Hungarian Gypsy, that I started understanding what bigotry and genetic judgment was about. I read and dreamt about the atrocities put on my people and what they went through.

http://lightstoneacademy.com/2010/05/13/re-memory-ing-the-future/

Lynda Tari on her father's side has Hungarian ancestry. I don't see any evidence of Romani as I look over family records like obits, newspaper articles that detail social news, military transfers etc. Hungarian ancestry does not automatically mean Romani heritage at all. She could have distant Romani ancestry, but as she says, she was not raised Romani. And she doesn't seem to know there are thriving Romani American communities today.

The Hungarian ancestors of Lynda's I found came to USA about 1912 and settled in Pennsylvania. So they themselves were not part of the Holocaust. Yet Lynda identifies with being persecuted. I think this is all part of her brand, her marketing to Nuage customers. Claim an "exotic" heritage, claim that you are a victim, and become more in demand to Nuagers.

For those wanting factual information on Romani- Americans, Lynda Tari is not the person to go to. An excellent author to read is Dr. Ian Hancock.

Some of her Hungarian ancestry:

father Peter Joseph Tari http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=137372218
grandmother Rose M (Antal) Tari
gr grandmother Rosie (Simon) Antal, born Hungary 1884 http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=14578067
gr gr grandmother Mary (unknown maiden name) Simon, born Hungary 1862

Lynda claims:

QuoteVas Pesh means HandWalking in the Rom dialect of the Gypsy Healer.

Dr. Ian Hancock (Professor at University of Texas, Department of Linguistics, he himself is Romani) kindly answered my email questions about Lynda's claims:

Quote"Vas pesh" isn't Romani.  Vas could mean hand, but pesh is meaningless.

Lynda Tari may be influenced by authors such as Raymond Buckland who write about "Gypsy Magic". Turns out there are many books with this theme, providing lots of misinformation. I've uploaded here two clips from a Buckland book that may be a source for Tari's self invention.

Two customer reviews of this book are also helpful http://www.amazon.com/Bucklands-Book-Gypsy-Magic-Travelers-ebook/dp/B0089XLE50/ref=la_B000APCIAU_1_10?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1414684041&sr=1-10

QuoteGypsy is a racial slur
By Zola
on January 24, 2013

In addition to that slur, the Roma people do not publish their "magic".

Raymond Buckland was raised in the Anglican church, and is just having New-Agers on with this book. DO NOT BUY.

And concerning a remedy for an eyewash:

QuoteI know Raymond Buckland has to earn a living, we all do, but how desperate is he for money? Copper sulfate is a strong irritant, DANGEROUS to get in the eyes. It can cause conjunctivitis, ulceration, and even corneal opacity. It will CAUSE "red, inflamed eyes", not remedy them, and it may cause far worse! Mr. Buckland, if you ever have a chance to read this, PLEASE, PLEASE remove or rectify this entry in your book!

Concerning Buckland and others, by Dr. Ian Hancock:

QuoteThe fact that some of these invented "facts" originate with Romanies themselves—and we may add Ray Buckland, Lee Fuhler and Patronella Cooper to the list (see bibliography) is distressing, since it gives the stamp of legitimacy to such misinformation and, when exposed, only reinforces the image of untrustworthiness we must live with.  It also suggests that while these authors may indeed have one or more Romani forebears, that fact is only incidental to their real life, which clearly lacks any first-hand involvement with the day-to-day Romani world; they have accepted instead the 'magical' pop-culture stereotype created by non-Romanies.  If they are fully aware of what they are doing and are exploiting such misinformation solely for profit, then they do no credit to the people they claim to represent, and seriously hold back the Romani human rights effort.

http://www.radoc.net/radoc.php?doc=art_d_identity_the_concocters&lang=en&articles=true

This essay THE CONCOCTERS: CREATING FAKE ROMANI CULTURE is worth reading completely.

As I work on this I'm struck by how Maria and Lynda's self identifications follow similar patterns, Maria chose the flavor "Apache" and Lynda chose the flavor "Gypsy". Maria's fiction is more highly developed, maybe only because she has been at this longer.

They continue to try to raise money, please don't give them any. http://www.gofundme.com/erinlo Maria and Lynda Yraceburu are frauds, con artists, untrustworthy.

According to Maria Yraceburu:

QuoteThe original photo for this print, "Grandpa's Blessing"
was taken in the mid 1800s by acclaimed historical photographer S. Edward Curtis. It is Grandpa Ten Bears.

http://www.gofundme.com/erlnlo

So Yraceburu claims that this part of their fundraising art is a copy of a photo taken of Maria's grandfather in the mid 1800s.

The photographer, Edward S. Curtis was born in 1868. So probably he was not taking photos in the mid 1800s.

Curtis' "The North American Indian" project (which this original photo is part of) began with funding in 1906.



The image the Yraceburus used is a clip from "Apache baby - Atsina
Edward S. Curtis, 1907
Northwestern University Library, Edward S. Curtis's 'The North American Indian': the Photographic Images, 2001." https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Edward_S._Curtis_Collection_People_014.jpg

Looks like in the actual book it was captioned "An Apache Babe". https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/archive/b/b7/20081123093216%21Edward_S._Curtis_Collection_People_014.jpg http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2001695844/

Maria claims this is a photo of her grandfather "Juan Ten Bears Yraceburu, Apache HolyOne". She says it was taken in the mid 1800s, also that this grandfather died in 1973.

QuoteWhen he passed in 1973, we buried him beneath the sacred crystal waterfalls in Arizona

That would mean he was about 120 years old. Although Maria states that this grandfather was "an Apache HolyMan who lived nearly 100 years." .

The Yraceburu's are fundraising as a "certified charity" Yraceburu Earthwisdom

http://www.gofundme.com/erlnlo

But the domestic nonprofit corporation Yraceburu EarthWisdom in NM is a corporation "not in Good Standing". They  have not filed necessary paperwork since 2012.