Lekhikàn · the second book

Nishkàhëna

we dance together

The Covenant of Alignment

The nature of the covenant

The Covenant of Alignment is the active collective agreement of Mikumwakàn, the church of the Moor Essential Community. It is the living bond that joins each member to the Great Knowing, to the land, to the ancestors, and to one another.

Mikumwakàn is an unincorporated, self-governing church. It stands on the principles of the ancestors and on the order written into the cosmos. There is no one way of existence for every soul, yet there is an order that comes with alignment, and this covenant is that order made visible.

Its name, Mikumwakàn, means remembrance, from the Lenape mikum-, to remind. The church exists for the remembering. The church and its shared harvest stand in their own name.

The covenant opens with the statement of Mikumwakàn:

Kilùna, mayày ta kulhatènamihëna òk wanishi. Lapi òk lapi, nutëmwakàn d' Xìnkwi Uwatuwakàn. Milinèn manitu Isla, Pèthakhòn, òk Xàskwim, Këkhitaholtëwakàn, Tuhwepia Kikehwakàn, òk Nuhàm Uwatuwakàn. Xkwithakamìka: kweti, pìlët, nishkàhëna. Wanishi.

We are beyond happy and grateful for the constant guidance and protection of the infinite intelligence and the gift of creating peace, power, and prosperity through unconditional love, cellular healing, and ancestral wisdom in service of creating a world of unity, integrity, and perfect harmony.

The Faith of Mikumwakàn holds the teachings this covenant serves. The Kishux Calendar holds its time. The Moabe dictionary holds its language.

What every member affirms

In entering the covenant, each member affirms:

The Great Knowing. Xìnkwi Uwatuwakàn, the infinite intelligence, reads between all things and guides and protects all life, again and again.
The Mother. Life flows through the womb, and the earth, the moon, and the women who carry life are honored as the living face of Gahès.
The cosmos as teacher. The sun, the moon, and the planets reveal the order of creation, and every shift in the sky carries meaning for life below.
The three foundations. Cosmology, suv'eranty, and agriculture are the stones on which the faith stands.
The three paths. Unconditional love, cellular healing, and ancestral wisdom are the ways of the faith.
The three fruits. Peace, power, and prosperity are the harvest of those paths, offered in service of unity, integrity, and perfect harmony.
The seven universal laws. Oneness, the Source, Correspondence, Rhythm, the Seed, Reciprocity, and Wholeness govern all things.
The matriarchal order. The Nuhàm Circle, the Circle of Grandmothers, is the highest council of the faith.

What every member commits to

Each member commits to live the twelve ways of the code of integrity, as set forth in The Faith of Mikumwakàn: speak what is true, love without measure, honor the Mother, honor the ancestors, govern oneself, tend the land, care for the body, keep the rhythm, give back, do no harm, mend what breaks, and serve harmony.

In living these ways, each member also commits to:

Keep the moons. Follow the Kishux Calendar, gather at Naxa Kishku when able, and keep the sunrise practice on each peak day of Isla, Pèthakhòn, and Xàskwim.
Learn the tongue. Speak the statement in Moabe and grow in the sacred language season by season.
Serve the land. Give time to planting, tending, or harvesting, on the church's land or on one's own.
Contribute to the shared harvest. Offer a portion of one's means, labor, or gifts to sustain the community, in the measure one's heart and circumstances allow.
Honor the circle's counsel. Receive the guidance of the Nuhàm Circle and the facilitators with an open heart, while remaining free in one's own conscience.

What the community holds for every member

The covenant binds the community as much as the member. Mikumwakàn holds for every member:

Suv'eranty of conscience. No member is compelled in belief. Each walks the path at the pace their spirit allows.
Belonging. Every member stands within kilùna, the "we" that includes all, regardless of origin, wealth, or degree.
Teaching. Every member has access to the teachings, the calendar, the language, and the counsel of facilitators.
Ceremony. Every member may take part in Naxa Kishku, the stations of the sun, purification, and the rites of passage.
Care. In times of need, the community offers presence, counsel, and a share of the harvest as it is able.
Safety. Every member, and every child above all, is protected within the community. Harm to a child is never tolerated, and the community acts at once to protect any child at risk.
Freedom to depart. Every member remains free to leave the covenant at any time, in peace and without penalty.

How the community governs itself

Mikumwakàn governs itself by circle, not by throne. Authority flows the way the Mother's care flows: toward the good of the whole and for generations not yet born.

Body	Who	Holds
Nuhàm Circle	Grandmothers of the faith, led by the First Grandmother	The teachings, the anointing of facilitators, the naming of the moons, final counsel, and repair when harm occurs
Founder	Zayin-zari: Bey, founder of Mikumwakàn	The vision and the founding documents, in service to the Nuhàm Circle
Facilitators	Women and men of the three degrees: Kweti, Nìsha, and Naxa	Ceremony, teaching, and the care of members
The gathered people	Every member in the covenant	Their voice at Naxa Kishku, where every member may speak and be heard

How decisions are made. Matters of daily life rest with the facilitators. Matters touching the teachings, the covenant, or the whole community come before the Nuhàm Circle, which decides by consensus: the Circle speaks in turn until one voice emerges. When consensus does not emerge, the First Grandmother gives the final word.

Hearing the people. Before the Circle decides a matter touching the whole community, the matter is spoken at Naxa Kishku so every member may offer counsel.

Open for the founding Circle to decide: how grandmothers are called into the Circle, how many sit within it, and how the First Grandmother is chosen.

Repair and restoration

When harm occurs, Mikumwakàn seeks repair, not revenge. The aim is to restore wholeness, pìlët, to the person harmed, the person who causes harm, and the circle.

Speaking directly. Those in conflict first speak to one another what is true, with love.
Calling a facilitator. If the matter remains unresolved, either person calls a facilitator to sit with them and help each be heard.
Coming before the Circle. If harm remains, the matter comes before the Nuhàm Circle. The Circle hears every voice, names the harm, and sets the path of repair.
Making amends. The one who causes harm makes amends in a form the Circle sets: an apology, a restoration, an act of service, or a time of reflection.
Returning to the circle. When amends are complete, the person is welcomed back in full, and the matter is spoken no more.

When a person refuses repair and continues to cause harm, the Circle may ask them to step away from the community until they are ready to return in good faith.

Harm involving a child, violence, or a threat to anyone's safety does not wait for this process. The community acts at once to protect those at risk and brings the matter to the proper authorities.

The shared harvest

Everything the community receives belongs to the whole, as the harvest belongs to the whole village. The shared harvest follows the Law of Reciprocity: what is given returns to serve all.

Held by the church alone. Offerings, land use, tools, and funds belong to Mikumwakàn itself and are held in the church's own name and accounts, kept separate from any person, business, or other entity.
Used for the mission alone. The harvest serves the teachings, the ceremonies, the land, the care of members, and service to the wider world. It never becomes private profit for any person.
Fair support for those who serve. Facilitators and others who give their time may receive fair support for their service, set by the Nuhàm Circle.
Kept in the light. Every gift and every use is recorded, and the Nuhàm Circle reviews the record at each Day One. Integrity in the harvest is integrity of the whole church.
Returned to the mission. Should the church ever lay down its work, all that remains passes to another body serving the same sacred and charitable purposes, never to any individual.

Entering, renewing, and departing

Entering the covenant. A seeker enters at a Naxa Kishku, before the gathered people and a member of the Nuhàm Circle.

The seeker is cleansed with water and speaks npìlsi, "I am clean."
The seeker speaks the statement of Mikumwakàn, in Moabe and in English.
The seeker declares their name: Nteluwensi ___, "I am called ___."
The seeker speaks the words of the covenant:

Nuwatun. I know it. I enter the Covenant of Alignment with the Great Knowing, the Mother, the land, the ancestors, and this circle. I walk the paths of love, healing, and ancestral wisdom. I live the twelve ways. I offer my peace, my power, and my prosperity in service of unity, integrity, and perfect harmony.

The grandmother answers: Kilùna, "We, including you," and the people respond Wanishi. The new member's name enters the Record of the Covenant.

Renewing the covenant. At every Day One, when the sun enters Aries and the year is born, every member speaks the statement and the twelve ways together and renews the covenant for the year.

Departing the covenant. A member who chooses to depart speaks to a facilitator or to the Nuhàm Circle and leaves in peace. The circle answers Xu làpi knèwël, "I will see you again," for the way back is always open.