On the closest weekend to the Fall Equinox lay a 4′ by 4′ square sheet of cotton cloth in the middle of a room. set aside three lengths of cotton clothes-line rope about three feet long each and lay them on the cotton sheet. Set a white tapered candle in a candle holder and place it next to the ropes on the cotton sheet. Light the candle.

If there is a woman available she should braid the three ropes into one. and create an oval or egg-shaped loop around the base of the candle.

The oval will represent a coa hoop (traditional Taino stone collar). It also represents the pear-shaped uterus of Ata Bey the Cosmic Mother.

Begin the ceremony with a tobacco smoking ritual. Then all participants should meditate and focus on the end of Yoka hu’s life cycle. It is a time of endings. It is also the beginning of some of the crop harvests, a time when the plant spirits give up their lives to feed the hungry people. Ceremonially douse the candle flame to represent the end of life. Keep the ropes for future ceremonies. Unbraid them to put them away.

The ceremony should end with dinner. We suggest that the dinner include some yuca product, preferably casabe.