hold your son

hold your son, originally uploaded by Tatiana Cardeal.

Words from the letter I received,
about the next brasilian presidencial elections:

"As son of the First Nations of Brazil, we know that our potential is not in the amount of votes that other social sectors are possessing as the afro brothers, the women or the young among others, that of some form they had obtained to keep its representation in the National Congress and the Federal Government.

The aboriginal questions had passed without any mention of the part of the two candidates. Nothing it was said nor for an elegance question, which would be the status of relationship in the future Government. Perhaps our lands are not priorities for the National Sovereignty, or drinking waters, the mineral biodiversity, resources, and mainly, the partner-economic sustentabilidade of our villages and communities."

Marcos Terena
President of the Intertribal Committee - ITC

> Indigenous Meeting at Betioga city.
This are Manoki (Irantxe) People hands.
They live in Western Mato Grosso State from Brazil.

kayapo women

kayapó women, originally uploaded by Tatiana Cardeal.

When I saw them, they were preparing to dance
the ritual before the begining of the meeting.
I felt looking to spirits, gods in earth.

Kayapó means “those who look like monkeys”, probably because of their ritual where Kayapó men, using monkey masks, execute short dances. But the Kayapó refer to themselves as Mebêngôkre, “the men from the water hole/place.”

united

united..., originally uploaded by Tatiana Cardeal.

Kayapó women dancing at their ritual, before the beginning of the meeting.

a different war

a different war, originally uploaded by Tatiana Cardeal.

For the Kayapó people

"... human modifications of the nature world are accompanied by rituals. For example, the opening of new swiddens is preceded by a dance presenting many structural similarities to the war ritual. Opening up new swiddens is indeed a symbolic war against a natural rather than human enemy.

Returning from the hunt, men must sing to the spirits of the game they themselves have killed in order for the spirits to remain in the forest. Each animal species designates a song that always begins with the cry of the dead animal."

by Gustaaf Verswijver
anthropologist

Kayapó cosmology and ritual
(nice link to read more details and info about this)
...................................................................
> Kayapó people dancing in the end of the meeting.
The Kayapó People live on South Pará State and Mato Grosso State, in Brazil. They were about 7.096 (in 2003).

IMAGINING OURSELVES

I'm encouraging people to visit this great project,
Imagining Ourselves.

They invite you to answer the question, “What Defines Your Generation of Women?”. They are looking for submissions from young women in every corner of the globe. If you have a story to tell, images to share, or a voice that wants to be heard, they welcome your submission. They accept film, audio, images and text

Some of the themes they will explore are:
War & Dialogue, Young Men, Motherhood,
Image & Identity, Online Film Festival.

Click here to read about the Call For Submissions

photo © International Museum of Women