Two-Eyed Seeing
Why Anacaona Uses Both Indigenous and Western Science Simultaneously
The term "Two-Eyed Seeing" was coined by Mi'kmaw Elder Albert Marshall in 2004. It describes the practice of learning to see from one eye with the strengths of Indigenous knowledge and from the other eye with the strengths of Western knowledge, and using both together for the benefit of all. It is not about picking one over the other. It is not about blending them into a third thing. It is about holding both simultaneously without collapsing either.
Anacaona was built on this principle from the very first formula. When I stand in the bateyes of Caguana and observe how the monoliths track the Pleiades, I am seeing with one eye: an astronomical observation system that predates European contact by centuries, built by my direct ancestors, encoded in stone. When I return to my laboratory and deploy fractional distillation to isolate specific molecular fractions, I am seeing with the other eye: Western analytical chemistry at its most precise.
Neither eye alone produces Anacaona. Without the Taíno cosmological framework, the chemistry is just chemistry. Competent, but culturally empty. A technically excellent perfume with no structural identity. Without the molecular chemistry, the cosmology is just storytelling. Beautiful, but unable to control how the scent actually behaves on skin over time.
The Practice
In practical terms, this is how Two-Eyed Seeing operates in our laboratory. The Taíno eye provides the architectural blueprint: four strata (Turey, Batey, Coaybay, Cemí), four elements, and the principle that every material must earn its position through structural necessity. The Western eye provides the engineering: fractional distillation for Turey volatility, molecular encapsulation for Batey stability, chemical anchoring for Coaybay persistence, and anaerobic maturation for Cemí resolution.
The blueprint tells us what the scent should do. The chemistry tells us how to make it obey.
Why This Matters
The luxury fragrance industry has treated Indigenous cultures as decorative themes for decades. Tropical florals, "exotic" ingredients, vaguely spiritual marketing language. Anacaona does the opposite. We treat Taíno observational science as a rigorous, testable engineering framework and we force the most advanced Western molecular tools to operate within its rules. The Indigenous knowledge is not the decoration. It is the load-bearing structure.
“I do not use Taíno cosmology to market perfume. I use Taíno cosmology to engineer perfume. There is a difference, and it is not subtle.”
Isabel Flores
From the bench of
Isabel Flores
Founder and Perfumer, Anacaona