Live Your Indigenous Ancestry
At Brincada do Brincar on September 12, 2020, 45 participants: babies, children, teenagers, and adults, Brazilians and foreigners (USA and Mexico), were welcomed to the sound of the song Nhanderú Toexá, performed by the Nhe’ẽ Ambá Group, in which the religiosity of the Guarani people is sung. Each participant played with their body to connect to the tune, in an initial invitation to connect to Pachamama. After this, a raffle was presented to the public to raise funds for survival at Aldeia Tavaí. As part of the introduction, the poet and Digtmed group participant, Bárbara Manja, played with the theme of mother nature reciting her poem in video format presented to everyone with access here.
In the sequence, Kuaray (the indigenous leader) and his friends from the village Tava’í arrived to play with everyone singing a song of their own. In a virtual handshake, the participants played with their bodies to the sound of a song dedicated to Guaraní children. From there, there was time to play with the Guarani language and try to pronounce new sounds, new pronunciations and intonations to greet friends: Djavy Djú (good morning), Nhande ka’arundju (good afternoon), Nhané Pytun Djú (good night) )! Kuaray then invited everyone to play and connect with their god. In Guarani, their god is Tupã and their connection to Tupã is through a pipe, which is lit to ask for protection. Kuaray also shared the importance of the rattle, which is a sacred instrument that emits the snake sound, which chases away the tormenting spirit.
After observing these objects from their village, participants were asked to search for indigenous objects at their own homes.
In thirty seconds, the little windows on the screen were filled with objects that each participant was going to describe and invent a legend about. Before getting started, participants discussed what a legend is. Then they split into breakout rooms of 6-7 people and using the improv tool of “Yes and”, they created and presented their legend with their objects.
To end the meeting, in Guarani tradition, everyone got some fruits or seeds for the Consecration. Kuaray explained the importance of this consecration and asked that people reflect on the food growth cycle and be grateful for it during this ceremony. To finish the meeting, there was a quick presentation of our Brincadas and the Global Play Brigade.
