(¯`'•.¸Around the World : Cultures and Tales¸.•'´¯)

Japanese immigration to Brazil

2011-02-01T08:14:00.000-08:00

On June 18 1908, the first Japanese immigrants arrived in Brazil, aboard the Kasato Maru.
The trip from Kobe to the Santos port, in São Paulo State, lasted 52 days.

Japan was facing many economic problems and the Brazilian governmemt offered them prosperity by working in the coffee plantations. So Japanese immigrants intended to work a few years in Brazil, make some money, and go home. However, they soon discovered that those promises were false.
They received very low salaries, worked very long hours in poor conditions, suffered physical violence, lived in bare wooden sheds, slept on dirt floors... Many of them committed suicide or escaped.
Over the years, many Japanese managed to buy their own land and became small farmers.

Today, Brazil is home to the largest Japanese community outside of Japan, with over 1.4 million people.

On 18th June 2008, the 100 year anniversary of Japanese immigration was celebrated in Liberdade,
the Japanese district in São Paulo.

Interior Trend Show JAPANTEX 2009

2009-11-11T00:32:00.000-08:00

JAPANTEX is the largest International Interior Design, Interior Decorating and Home Textiles Exhibition in Japan, where manufacturers and wholesalers, distributors and retailers of interior industry meet.

JAPANTEX are held every year at Tokyo Big Sight organized by the one and only home textile organization in Japan.

Interior designers competition 2009.

Full circle - The Epic return to Trinity

2009-10-21T19:34:00.001-07:00

The madness of WW2 lead mankind to create an ultimate weapon, the atomic bomb.
The first atomic bomb test was set for July 16 1945 in the New Mexico desert at a sight called Trinity. On July 23 1945, President Truman signed an order to use these atomic bombs on Japanese civilians.

Since the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japanese zen monks have pondered the question of how to end this horrible circle of death and destruction...

In Buddhism, there is no concept of war.
These monks believe that everything in the universe moves in a circle, what goes around comes around. They believe that the first atomic bomb test in the American desert on July 16 1945 opened a new circle in the universe, one that would lead to the end of all living things. 22 days later the circle of death found its way to Hiroshima killing 200,000 people, and three days after that, it continued, killing 77,000 people in Nagasaki.
After the atomic bomb destroyed Hiroshima, Japanese monks who had been away, returned to find the city on fire. From the embers of one temple, a flame was candled and kept burning. This is the atomic flame which embodies the essence of the atomic bomb.
To hold this circle of destruction at Nagasaki, the monks kept the atomic flame alive praying that their self sacrifice would somehow stop it from ending all life on the planet.
If the flame was returned to the exact place where it was created on the day marking 60 years since the circle opened at the Trinity site, the circle could be closed. The "Cause" and "Effect", "Fate" and "Destiny" would be broken.
The atomic flame in Hoshino, Fukuoka Prefecture, kept alive since the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, was used to light a lantern and this flame was taken to the United States. The flame was carried on foot from San Francisco to Trinity Site in New Mexico, where the world's first atomic bomb test was performed.

Source : Atomic Flame, a movie by Matt Taylor, television producer, and representative of the Global Nuclear Disarmament Fund.

"Atomic Flame" ("Gate" in Japanese) is the dramatic footage of the 2,500-kilometer-long walk across the desert and over mountains.
The journey began on July 16, 2005, the test date anniversary, and ended on Aug. 9, the anniversary of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki. Upon arrival at Trinity Site, the borrowed flame was ceremoniously extinguished as 125 people, including Japanese monks as well as American citizens who were exposed to radiation near nuclear test sites, looked on. The 25-day-trip was made into a one hour, 40 minute film.

The people of Nagasaki continue to pray that they would be the last city ever subjected to an atomic bomb attack.
Matt Taylor wants to open the gate of people's hearts through the film.

http://www.gndfund.org/

Konoike Tomoko : inter-traveller

2009-09-27T17:44:00.000-07:00

Journey to the centre of the Earth ~ Konoike Tomoko

There is a curious warning at the entrance to the Tomoko Konoike exhibit at Tokyo Opera City : “This exhibition includes galleries with low entrances, dark spaces, slopes, and works that are designed to stimulate the visitor’s sense of touch and smell including lily. Please inform the reception if you are allergic to animal fur.”

Welcome to a world “where beauty and disgust do not yet exist.”

Tomoko Konoike, 'Hidden Mountain – Fusuma Painting' (detail) (2008)
Japanese ink, acrylic, pencil, kumohada-mashi paper (Japanese paper), shell powder and wood panel(Fusuma). 182.0 x 544.0cm
Collection: Mori Art Museum. Photo: Kei Miyajima
© Tomoko Konoike. Courtesy: Mizuma Art Gallery

The exhibition has been designed to evoke a journey through the earth’s geological strata. As you travel from the crust to the centre, you will reach the earth’s “heart of darkness” – the root of human imagination. Along this journey, you can appreciate Konoike’s works as an imaginative traveller.

The exhibition contains a variety of media. There are paintings – the massive four-part《Story Series》(2004-06); animation 《mimio-Odyssey》; drawings – including original drawing of 《mimio》,《Open Book Series》 and《Book Burning-World of Wonder》; sculptures – 《Virginia》and 《Inter-traveller》; and Fusuma paintings –《Hidden Mountain》and the new work《Shira-Spirit from the Wild》.

”mimio--Odyssey” (2005); DVD, 11’30”, © KONOIKE Tomoko, courtesy: Mizuma Art Gallery

Knifer Life (detail), 2000-01, acrylic, pencil, Japanese ink on canvas and wood panel, 180 x 810 x 5cm©KONOIKE Tomoko, Courtesy: Mizuma Art Gallery

Book Burning- World of Wonder
2007
acrylic, pencil, color pencil, paper
418 x 509 mm
photo by Kei Miyajima
Courtesy the artist and Mizuma Art Gallery

Virginia-Set Me Free, Fly from My Restraint
2007
Mixed Media
2800 x 3700 x 2000 mm
Photo by Atsushi Nakamichi (Nacasa&Partners)
Courtesy the artist and Mizuma Art Gallery

Shira—Spirit from the Wild (detail), 2009, Japanese ink, shell powder, gold leaf on Kumohada-mashi paper, 1.82 x 16.32m ©KONOIKE Tomoko, Courtesy: Mizuma Art Gallery

The climax is “the centre of the earth.” There, you will encounter the new installation《Earth Baby》(09), which invokes both the earth’s rotation and its rebirth.

To counter the sense of hopelessness associated with the present day, KONOIKE invites us to consider the power of art through “play” and its full use of imaginative engagement. KONOIKE here draws upon the Japanese ancient derivation of “play” (asobi) which refers to shamanistic retrieval of the soul of the recently departed. These “players” retrieved souls between dimensions, where the soul was like an “inter-traveller” between the living and the beyond. KONOIKE metaphorically employs this sense of “play” between dimensions to claim art’s ability to release the body’s soul and invoke its interior spirit.

“Don’t sit there gazing at a painting…get outside and feel the wind. Don’t mutter the lines of some old poem, get moving and create some friction. If you don’t keep playing, traveling all around and causing all kinds of friction, until you’re so tired you can’t speak, you’ll never stoke the fires of a robust imagination.”

Source : https://www.operacity.jp/ag/exh108/index_e.html

Sengakuji and the 47 Ronin

2009-09-08T21:54:00.000-07:00

Tale of the 47 Ronin

The true story of the 47 ronin (masterless samurai) of the province of Harima is probably the best-known story of the valor and ideals (the Code of Bushido) of Japan's famous samurai warriors.

At the heart of Japan is the samurai code of "bushido." Bushido literally means the "Way of the Warrior". It was the code, the way of life of the Samurai : courtesy and courage, sincerity and self-control, honor and loyalty.

The story begins in 1701.
The Shogun Tsunayoshi lived and ruled from Edo (known today as Tokyo), while the Emperor lived in Kyoto. To show respect to the Emperor, Tsunayoshi sent gifts and envoys to Kyoto for the New Year's celebrations, and in return, the Emperor sent his own envoys to Edo in March. To receive the Imperial envoys, Tsunayoshi appointed two young daimyos (feudal provincial lords), Naganori Asano-Takuminokami, The Lord of the Castle of Ako in Harima Province, and Munehare Date, Lord of Sendai to act as hosts during the forthcoming visit of a member of the Imperial Court in Kyoto. Because the daimyos were inexperienced in entertaining high born guests, the Shogun appointed an elderly high official named Yoshinaka Kira-Kozukenosuke to assist them.

But Kira disliked Asano and treated him with malice and disgraced his honor as a samurai. Kira used every opportunity to publicly humiliate Asano. After months of abuse, Asano's tolerance was gone.

On March 14, Asano drew his sword in the Edo Castle and struck Kira cutting him on his forehead and shoulder. It was strictly forbidden to draw one's sword within the Edo castle at that time and Asano was immediately arrested. There was also a law which punished both samurais involved in a fight so both Asano and Kira were expected to be punished. However, while Kira received no punishment, Asano was sentenced to death by seppuku (hara-kiri) on the very same day.

By law, when a samurai committed seppuku, his castle was confiscated, his family was disinherited, and his 321 samurai retainers were ordered to disband, thus becoming ronin or masterless warriors.

Oishi Kuranosuke, Asano's Chief Councilor, decided on a plan to avenge Lord Asano's disgrace by killing Kira. Only this would restore Asano's rightful honor.
The men split up to conceal their plans from Kira, who naturally suspected that Asano's retainers would try to get revenge against him.
Oishi went to Yamashina, a suburb of Kyoto, where he earned a reputation as a drunken gambler, to deceive the Shogun's police and Kira's many spies. The ruses worked. Kira and his allies finally relaxed their suspicions of Oishi and his men.

Almost two years after the fateful incident, at a secret meeting, Oishi and the other 59 ronin decided that the time had come to move against Kira. But Oishi would allow only 46 of the men to participate with him in the attempt. He sent the other 13back home to their families.

One by one Oishi and his men infiltrated Edo, and on a snowy winter night of December 14, 1702 the 47 ronin attacked the mansion of Kira while he was having a tea party.

In the great battle that followed, the 47 ronin stormed the mansion, killing all of Kira’s guards without a single loss of their own.

They found Kira hiding in an outhouse. The ronin brought Kira to the courtyard and offered him the chance to honorably commit seppuku. Kira refused, so Oishi beheaded him with the same sword that Asano had used to end his own life. Then the 47 returned to Asano's grave at Sengaku-ji Temple and set Kira's head before it, declaring their Lord's honor redeemed.

Prepared to die for their deed, Oishi sent two delegates to the Magistrate of Edo, informing him of what had been done and telling the official that they would be waiting at the Sengaku-ji Temple, awaiting orders from the Shogun.

The Shogun Tsunayoshi, instead of being angry, was deeply impressed with the loyalty demonstrated by the 47 ronin. Tsunayoshi was faced with a dilemma. Should he spare the 47 ronin in recognition of their great display of bushido and their defense of their Lord Asano's honor, or should they be punished according to the law. After 47 days of deliberation, Tsunayoshi ordered that Oishi and 45 of his men were to execute themselves not as criminals but as honored warriors. The youngest of the ronin, who had been sent to Ako with the news of Kira's death was spared from the sentence.

On February 4, 1703, Oishi and the other 45 ronin all committed seppuku simultaneously, dignifying themselves in their valiant sacrifice. Upon their deaths, the 46 ronin were buried side by side next to their master at Sengaku-ji Temple.

Sources :

http://victorian.fortunecity.com/duchamp/410/47ronin.html

http://www.hisashiotsuka.com/bushido.htm

Each year thousands of Japanese visit the gravesite of the 46 ronin at Sengaku-ji Temple to pay homage to the honor and loyalty of the 47 ronin and their dedication to the code of bushido.

The avenge of the Ako Gishi has been made into various plays and is now commonly called Chushingura (the Story of the Loyal Retainers). It is a popular tale and one that still touches the Japanese heart even after 300 years. The chivalry of the loyal retainers and the themes of Gi (justice) and Chu (loyalty) are still highly esteemed by the Japanese.

The Japanese national legend has been adapted for the big screen at least six times.

Keanu Reeves will star in a new film version of the 47 ronin.

Marvellous Vallée des Merveilles

2009-06-05T06:03:00.000-07:00

Meu bem, freshly arrived from Japan, and I went to spend the last weekend of May in the "Vallée des Merveilles", Valley of the Wonders.

40 km north of Nice, in the Mercantour Park, Mount Bego (2,872 m) dominates the Valley of "Merveilles" and the Valley of Fontanalba shaped and polished by ancient glaciers that melted 10,000 years ago, leaving finely polished rocks and lakes.After 3 hours and a half and some difficulties to stay on the trail due to the snow, we finally reached the refuge des Merveilles.

On the next day we climbed the mysterious Mount Bego...

Despite the fact that the snow prevented us from seeing any petroglyphs, the ascencion was magic...
The following day, the melting snow gave way to a multitude of sprouting wild spring flowers.

On the way down via "Baisse de Vallaurette", the scenery is simply beautiful.

The people of the South Alps came up here because of the water–it was dry in the valley.
They were first of all hunters, then 6000 years B.C. they became shepherds and farmers.
The lakes, brooks and storms pushed the first farmers and shepherds to consider Mount Bego as dispenser of fertilizing water and to identify it to the sky divinity sowing the earth.
The storms around Mount Bego were terrific and terrible. People believed the god of lightning was here, and they came to pray for rain.

4000 rocks with nearly 40,000 engravings that evoke the daily lives and concerns of men in the Copper and Bronze Age have been found. These rock carvings are a schematic symbolic language whose study should allow us to understand our ancestors´ way of thinking, traditional rites and myths.

Almost half of these petroglyphs are rectangular shapes surmounted by two horns, schematic representations of the bovine. According to H. de Lumley, they represent bulls, the Mediterranean symbol of virility that fertilises mother earth. They were also said to canalise cosmic forces.
Other iconographic themes are hundreds of daggers, halberds, hatchets, bows and geometrical figures: squares, rectangles, circles, cross linked shapes with 2, 3, 4, 6 cases or more, ovals, stars, rectangular lines... Some figures, like the zigzags on the Mount Bego’s rocks represent the water springing from the rocks.
Recently, other researchers have identified in these rock carvings the primitive couple of Indo-European rituals, as well as astronomy symbols.

Earth Day...

2009-04-22T21:59:00.000-07:00

by Nassima Aharbil 3e4

by Kevin Lebihan 3e4

by Christophe Locricchio 4e7

by Jihen Bouhlel 4e7

by Wendie Levasseur 3e1

by Julie Bailleul 3e1

Nice Carnival

2009-03-02T01:53:00.000-08:00

Nice Carnaval is the most important event on the French Riviera in winter.

It embodies the cultural identity of Nice - by the wealth and the force of its popular prints.
Every year, it gives the inhabitants of Nice a spontaneous opportunity to relive a period coloured with their history.

Nice Carnival was the biggest carnival of the world in the Beautiful Time. " Corsi grotesque " and the " battles of flowers " influenced and sometimes served as model in the development of the carnivals in Rio, Viareggio, New Orleans, Quebec...

In the Middle Ages, the carnival preceded the period of the fast and offered a series of festivities: balls, masquerades, dances, fires, exhibitions of jugglers and mimers...
The first parade of "corsi grotesque" took place in 1873.
The carnavalier joins in the inheritance of the popular mythology and throws through his art, the certainties and the fears of his time, the fantasies and the dreams of his man's life.
The carnival is considered as a festival of transition among winter and spring and represents the period of mediation which allows the communication between the world of darkness and the heavenly universe.

At the beginning of spring, the carnavalina declares itself; it is often the most exalting period: that of the conception, the search for the idea, for the creative spark.
The carnavalier of Nice acquaints with the subject imposed by the Events committee for the next year, " the holiday " in 1987, " the centenary of Côte d'Azur " in 1988, " love " in 1989, " the laughter " in 1990, " Europe " in 1993... subjects which leave him a relative freedom. He makes drawings and paintings for his subject - float or big heads - with a model maker, and executes then the works necessary for the realization of his float or his group, with a small and specialized work force. Long noses are stuck on faces and deformed bodies - masses of pasteboard more than two metres high amuse or frighten the children.

In 2009, Carnaval de Nice took place from 13 February to 1 March, and for its 125th year, the theme was Roi des Mascarades (King of Masquerades).
The theme evokes the art of concealment in every sense : wearing a mask, changing one's appearance, staging, in short the art of deception.
With 20 tall floats (up to 14 meters / 46 feet high), 20 flower floats, 200 "big heads" and countless dancers, musicians, and other participants - not to mention tens of thousands of spectators, it was a fun celebration.

Confettis are privileged ammunitions.

His Majesty the King

The Eagle, a heraldic symbol of Nice.

Le tour du monde

2009-02-22T09:32:00.000-08:00

Conte musical créé par les élèves d´UPI et leurs professeurs, Melle Cerdan et M Carrel, Collège Jean Giono, Nice.

"Le soleil n’est jamais si beau qu’un jour où l’on se met en route."
Jean Giono

"Le voyage est un retour vers l’essentiel."
Dicton tibétain

"Tes pieds t’emmeneront là où se trouve ton coeur."
Proverbe chinois

Chapada Diamantina: the heart of Bahia

2009-02-06T02:07:00.001-08:00

Bem vindo a Lençóis!
Located in the The Chapada Diamantina National Park, a 1,520 km² national park in the Chapada Diamantina region of Bahia state in the Northeast of Brazil...a paradise with many rivers, streams and cachoeiras (waterfalls), caves, hills, mountains, valleys and monoliths.

Chapada in Brazilian means a region of steep cliffs, a plateau. Diamantina refers to the diamonds found there in the mid 1800s.

The National Park of the Chapada Diamantina (Diamond Plateau) established in 1985, contains an extraordinary variety of ecosystems and is the habitat of many species of plants and animals: bromeliads, orchids and cacti, Jaguatiricas (local feline), mocós (local rodents), deers and teiús (local reptile).

What is now a jewel of ecotourism was once a refuge of diamond hunters.

Cachoeira da Fumaça, 340m; the highest waterfall in Brazil and the second highest in the world, after Salto Angel in Venezuela.

The 'waterfall of smoke' gets its name from the fact that the water evaporates before touching the ground, forming clouds of vapour.

Morro do Pai Inácio, 1.120 m.
The landscape, the geological structure and the vegetal species that grow here are unique!

The hills of the Chapada were created by the erosion process that began in the Pre-Cambrian period, forming towers of minerals known as "TEPUY" by the local Indians who lived in the region before the arrival of the first settlers or “bandeirantes” around 1750.

The most astonishing TEPUY like the Tambor hilltop, the Calumbi (also known as Morro do Camelo, or Camel Back), and the Morro do Pai Inácio, challenge time and feed the local legends.

The Legend of Pai Inácio tells the story of a slave who fell in love with his colonel’s wife. Chased by the guards, he found shelter on the top of the mountain but was discovered and jumped from the summit...that is what everybody thought! He actually hid behind a rock a few meters down the promontory. He then ran away with his loved one and was never found again.

...and another legend was born on January, 15th!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Brigadeiro ;p

2009-02-06T02:06:00.001-08:00

There is a delicious Brazilian sweet that is like a chocolate called brigadeiro!

It is named after a Brazilian politician in the 1920s, Brigadeiro Eduardo Gomes. He was an Army brigadier general who first gained notoriety for playing a part in quashing a communist coup in Rio.

This is a great type of sweet that is loved in Brazil! Try it! It is very easy! And very addictive :)

You can make it in the microwave too, just remember to stir every minute.

1 can sweetened condensed milk

3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
1 tablespoon butter

optional topping : 1 package chocolate sprinkles

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, mix the cocoa, butter and condensed milk.

Put over low heat and stir constantly with a wooden spoon, until thickened, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and let rest.

Let cool.
Butter your hands and roll the mixture into small balls and roll over the chocolate sprinkles.

You can use different toppings: granulated sugar, roasted coconut...

Here is another version of the story of the brigadeiro.

Camila from Rio de Janeiro, United States wrote:

"I love brigadeiros, but let me tell you this story might not be right. It is rumoured that this name was created by someone who didn't like Brigadeiro Eduardo Gomes very much... it's about the fact that he had lost one of his testicles during the war (he was shot). Then people during the elections called the candy "brigadeiro" because it doesn't need an egg and "egg" in Portuguese is a slang for "testicle".

Axé Bahiaaaa !!!

2009-01-26T02:41:00.000-08:00

Welcome to Bahia, the craddle of Capoeira!

The history of capoeira began in the sixteenth century, at the time when Brazil was a colony of Portugal. The labor-African slave was widely used in Brazil, mainly in the sugar farms of northeastern Brazil. Many of these slaves came from the region of Angola, also a Portuguese colony. The Angolans, in Africa, did a lot of dances to the sound of music.

When they arrived in Brazil, the Africans realized they needed to develop means of protection against the violence of Brazilian settlers. When they flew from farms, they were persecuted by the capitães-do-mato, who had a very violent way to capture fugitives.

Slaves were not allowed to practice any type of struggle. Therefore, they used the rhythm and movements of their African dances, adapting them to a type of fight. Capoeira, a martial art disguised as a dance, emerged.

By 1930, the practice of capoeira was banned in Brazil, it was seen as a violent and subversive practice. The police received guidance to arrest the capoeiristas who practiced this fight. In 1930, a major Brazilian capoeirista, Mestre Bimba, made a show for the then President Getúlio Vargas. The president liked that art so much that it became the national sport in Brazil.

There are three styles of capoeira that differ in movements and rhythms according to the music that accompany the dances. The older style, created in the era of slavery, is Capoeira Angola. The main characteristics of this style are: slow rhythm music, lower movements (nearer to the ground) and a lot of maliciousness. The regional style is characterized by the mixture of maliciousness of Capoeira Angola with the game of quick movements, to the sound of the berimbau. The strokes are fast. The third type of capoeira is contemporary; it unites some of the first two styles. This style of capoeira is the most practiced nowadays.

berimbaus

More about the history of capoeira here !

Fiestaaaaa!!!

Zumbi de Palmares, hero of black resistance against slavery.

2009-01-26T02:39:00.000-08:00

"It is time to take our nation from the darkness of racial injustice."

In the afro-brazilian (a mix of african and brazilian culture) popular beliefs, Zumbi is the spirit who wanders home to home in the middle of the night. This is because everybody beleived that he was imortal...

Zumbi was born free in Palmares in 1655, but was captured and given to a Portuguese missionary, Father António Melo when he was 6 years old. Despite attempts to "civilize" him, Zumbi escaped in 1670 and, at the age of 15, returned to his birthplace.

Grandson of Aqualtune, he did not allow the submission of his people to the yoke of the Portuguese crown because he wanted the freedom for all, inside or outside the Quilombo.

He continued the fight and became leader of the Quilombo. Quilombo dos Palmares (located in the current region of União dos Palmares, Alagoas, in Bahia) was a self-sustaining community, a settlement formed by black slaves who had escaped from farms and prisons. Quilombos represented slave resistance.

Wounded in 1694, when the capital Palmares was destroyed, he was killed and beheaded on 20 November 1695.

The Portuguese transported Zumbi's head to Recife, where it was displayed in the central praça as proof that, contrary to popular legend among African slaves, Zumbi was not immortal. This was also done as a warning of what would happen to others if they tried to be as brave as him.

After 300 years, the date of death of the leader of the black resistance was established by the black movement, as the national day of black consciousness.

Zumbi (a felicidade guerreira)Letra de Waly Salomão e mùsica de Gilberto Gil (para o filme Quilombo) 1983

Zumbi, comandante guerreiro
Ogunhê, ferreiro-mor capitão
Da capitania da minha cabeça
Mandai a alforria pro meu coração

Minha espada espalha o sol da guerra
Rompe mato, varre céus e terra
A felicidade do negro é uma felicidade guerreira
Do maracatu, do maculelê e do moleque bamba

Minha espada espalha o sol da guerra
Meu Quilombo incandescendo a serra
Tal e qual o leque, o sapateado do mestre – escola de samba
Tombo – de – ladeira, rabo – de – arraia, fogo – de – liamba...

A felicidade do negro é uma felicidade guerreira

* FeLiZ AñO 2009 *

2008-12-18T04:45:00.001-08:00

2008-12-03T06:31:00.000-08:00

During the 17th century African slaves replaced Indian prisoners on the plantations. From 1550 until 1888 about 3.5 million slaves were shipped to Brazil. The Africans were considered better workers and were less vulnerable to European diseases, but they resisted slavery strongly.

Quilombos, communities of runaway slaves, formed throughout the colonial period. They ranged from mocambos, small groups hidden in the forests, to the great republic of Palmares, which survived much of the 17th century. Led by the African king Zumbi, Palmares had 20,000 residents at its height.

More than 700 villages that formed as quilombos remain in Brazil today, their growth only stopped by abolition itself, in 1888.
Those who survived life on the plantation sought solace in their African religion and culture through song and dance.

Life on the plantations was miserable, but an even worse fate awaited many slaves.
In the 1690s gold was discovered in Minas Gerais, and soon the rush was on. Wild boomtowns like Vila Rica de Ouro Preto (Rich Town of Black Gold) sprang up in the mountain valleys. Immigrants flooded the territory, and countless slaves were brought from Africa to dig and die in Minas.

Today, in Brazil the Black community often gathers and celebrates.

Estrada Real, Minas Gerais

2008-11-30T12:01:00.000-08:00

The Estrada Real is the name of the path that Portuguese expeditions trailed to bring gold from Minas Gerais to Rio through mountains, plateaus, meadows and creeks.

The first route (Old Route) connected Ouro Preto, in Minas Gerais, to Paraty, in the south of Rio; from Paraty, the expeditions walked to the city of Rio. This trip took three months.

In the beginning of the 18th century a "New Route" was built. This new route took only ten days to complete; only people authorized by the Crown could travel along it.

Today, a partnership between the Instituto Estrada Real and the government of Minas Gerais is reconstructing the entire route.

The Old and New Routes are 1,400 kilometers long and cross 177 cities, colonial and baroque architecture in gorgeous landscapes.

From the heart of Minas Gerais, the Route goes from Diamantina to Ouro Preto, where it splits in two directions.

OURO PRETO

Ouro Preto is a former colonial mining town located in the Serra do Espinhaço mountains and designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO because of its outstanding Baroque architecture.

Founded at the end of the 17th century, Ouro Preto (meaning Black Gold) was the focal point of the gold rush and Brazil's golden age in the 18th century.
To find gold in Brazil was the dream of the Portuguese...The dream came true at the end of the 17th century, when pioneers from Sao Paulo found gold in the south-east region of the country.
The first gold, which was discovered in the valley of Rio Doce and Rio das Mortes, was called "gold of alluvium".
The gold rush started. Brazilians from every part of the country and even Portuguese, started to migrate to these regions with the hope to get rich quickly. The mines appeared and with them the villages. Gold seemed to flow everywhere; the numerous mines gave its name to the region of "Minas Gerais".
The authority of the region collected a tax : a fifth of the quantity of extracted metal. The gold was transformed into bars and a fifth was removed and sent to Portugal. People who were found with gold which didn´t have the stamp were severely punished: they lost all their properties and could be exiled to Portuguese colonies in Africa. Portugal collected about 1,000 kg every year.

The dissatisfaction of the settlers was big, due to the rigid control that Portugal was practising on the mines. Besides, they were judging abusive the tax collected on gold. Very often they were smuggling or hiding it. Led by Felipe dos Santos, a furious crowd demanded that the governor reduced the taxes and closed the "Casas de Fundição". Instead of holding his promise, the governor ordered his soldiers to invade Vila Rica (Ouro Preto). Felipe dos Santos was publicly executed. His arms and legs were tied to four horses that left in opposite directions. His head was exposed in the centre of Vila Rica and the other parts of his body were spread on the roads.

With the excessive extraction of gold, the production lessened, taxes were not paid on time and the inspection became more and more rigid. In Brazil, in 1789, a group of conspirators aiming at the emancipation of the country, was formed by persons belonging to the upper mining society and interested in the independence, since they were in debt to the Crown. Among them were the poets Cláudio Manuel da Costa and Tomás Antônio Gonzaga and Joaquim José da Silva Xavier, best known as "Tiradentes". The Inconfidência Mineira (Minas Conspiracy) adopted a white flag, with a red triangle, around which was written "Libertas quae será tamem" (Libertade ainda que tardia). But one of the informants, Joaquim Silvério dos Reis, known as the Brazilian traitor, revealed the conspirators' plans to the government. In exchange of the information, he was cleared of his debts. All the members of the Inconfidência Mineira were arrested, judged and condemned. All of them sentenced to death. But the Queen of Portugal, Maria I modified the sentence to exile. Tiradentes, which was one of the poorest and most humble, assumed the fault alone and was the only one to have death penalty maintained.

He was hung in Rio de Janeiro, and then his head was pulled out and taken up to the city to be exposed in public. The rest of his body was cut up (divided in four parts), and sent to several places of Minas to serve as an example of what would be done to new conspirators. His house was destroyed, his lands salted, so that nobody could grow anything, and his descendants were judged infamous for several generations. The execution took place on 21st april 1792, in Praça da Lampadora, in Rio de Janeiro

Minas da Passagem

The Brazilian "Gold Cycle" began in the 18th century and ended around 1800.
"Bandeirantes" in search of gold, emeralds and diamonds found gold around 1695 near Ouro Preto. The news spread to the whole of the colony and from 1697 a "rush" started.
During this period, the production of gold was 1,421 tonnes, Minas Gerais (especially Ouro Preto and Mariana) produced 700 tonnes, 50% of the gold produced at this time.

The "Mina da Passagem" is the largest gold mine in the world open to public. A trolley drives you to the underground galleries, which are 315 meters long and 120 meters deep.
Since its foundation in the 18th century about 35 tons of gold have been extracted. Mina da Passagem operated regularly until 1954. Attempts to reopen, from 1959 to 1966, were unsuccessful.

MILHO VERDE

The village was named after Manoel Rodrigues Milho Verde, the first person who found gold there. It is located in the Sierra Espinhaço, between Serra and Diamantina and was originally occupied by miners looking for gold and later diamonds. Portugal became aware that gold had been found, barracks were installed to collect taxes and to control the entry and exit of people and goods in the region. The restrictions imposed on the District contributed to the stagnation of the town. The place was forgotten in time. In the twentieth century, miners caused ecological damages by using pumps and bombs, which diverted rivers. Today, mining is prohibited.

During the 80's, the peace and tranquility of the place and its rich nature attracted hippies and residents of large cities and surrounding areas, interested in a more simple life.

Today, the village is seeking to develop a tourism based on natural and cultural preservation, a good chance of economic prosperity, as the majority of the population lives on less than 1 minimum wage.

DIAMANTINA

Diamantina was built during the colonial era in the early 18th century.
It was a center of diamond mining in the 18th and 19th centuries.

Estrada Real, Caminho dos Escravos

This road was built by slaves who broke and loaded these rocks to facilitate the traffic of the troops carrying diamonds and gold from Diamantina to Rio de Janeiro and Paraty.
The area offers amazing caves and cachoieras.

Feliiiiiiiiiz Aniversariooooo ma Drey!

2008-11-26T11:01:00.000-08:00

C´est l´anniversaire de ma petite soeur! 30 ans! :)

HAPPYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY BIRTHDAY

FELIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIZ ANiVErSaRiO

JOYEUX AnnIvERsaIrE

BOn, là c facile...et maintenant?!
Petit indice, ce sont les expressions dans les pays ou endroits où je suis (et nous sommes) allée(s) pendant le voyage!
ahaha! mais attention, il peut y avoir plusieurs expressions par pays ou par endroit!!!!
Allez, bonne chance ;)

Janam Din ki shubkamnaayein!

Parabenspara voce!

Selamat Hari Jadi!

Suma Urupnaya Cchuru Uromankja!

Otanjou-bi Omedetou Gozaimasu!

Suk San Wan Keut!

Selamat Ulang Tahun!

Droonkher Tashi Delek!

Parabens e muitas felicidades!

Huttida Habba Subashayagalu!

Janam Din ki badhai!

Som owie nek mein aryouk yrinyu!

Putudina dina saukhya!

Parabens pelo seu aniversario!

Ravihi janmadinam aacharati!

Allinlla p'unch'ay!

Feliz Cumpleaños!

お誕生日おめてとう！

Les 3 derniers, dans un seul pays...
Sun Yat Fai Lok!
Shēng rì kuài lè!
Sugeng Tambah Warso!

aaaargh il me manque ceux en Mapuché et en Rapanui...pas trouvé
enormes beijosssss, Alles Gute zum Geburtstag!
TI AMOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Les as-tu tous trouvé?

..::Pirates of the Atlantic::..

2008-11-13T11:17:00.000-08:00

Paraty was founded by Portuguese colonizers in 1667, in a region populated by the Guaianás Indians. The Guaianás people made a trail from the hinterland to reach the coast, where they fished, dried and processed into meal a fish they called Pirati found abundantly in the river. They called the entire area “Paraty”. The Amerindians normally described locations according to geographical landmarks. The name Paraty in the Tupi language means an opening to the sea, gulf or bay.

After the discovery of the world's richest gold mines in 1696 in the mountains of Minas Gerais, Paraty became an export port for gold to Rio de Janeiro and Portugal. The gold rush led to the construction of the "Caminho do Ouro" or "Gold Trail" (using the old trail of the Guianás), a 1200 kilometer road which connected Paraty to Diamantina via Ouro Preto and Tiradentes. It was used to transport gold to Paraty, but also to convey supplies, miners and African slaves. But pirates who frequented the islands of the Bay of Angra dos Reis attacked the gold laden ships bound for Rio de Janeiro! A safer overland route from Minas Gerais to Rio de Janeiro was created. The gold began to run out in the late 1700s. In the 19th century, the same route was used to transport coffee from the Paraíba valley.

Paraty is very famous for its production of cachaça, a sugarcane-derived spirit used for the caipirinha and the gabriela (cachaça, clove and honey)!!

Igreja de Nossa Senhora das Dores.
This chapel dates back to 1800. It was used mostly by the rich women of society. The image of Nossa Senhora da Piedade was stolen from this chapel. It was finally recovered in the 1990s.

Igreja Matriz Nossa Senhora do Remédios is the largest church in Paraty.

In 1636, as a result of population growth, a lady called Maria Jácome de Melo donated the part of her land between the rivers of Paratiguaçu and Patitiba for the construction of a settlement, on condition that a church would be built in praise of the saint to which she was devoted, Nossa Senhora dos Remédios (Our Lady of Healing).

Igreja de Nossa Senhora do Rosário e São Benedito

This church was built and used by Paraty’s African slaves.

Igreja de Santa Rita is the oldest church in Paraty. It was completed in 1722. This was the church of the white elite and freeman, former slaves who earned or paid for their freedom.

During the colonial times Trindade was the port used by the pirates to attack the shipping of Paraty. The present residents still talk of legends of lost treasure and chests full of gold. During the sixties the spot was discovered by the hippies.

Ponta Negra

ILHA GRANDE

The history of Ilha Grande and its prison meant that few people wanted to live on the island, despite its rugged natural beauty.

The first Europeans to settle on the island were pirates, waiting to attack ships leaving Paraty and Angra dos Reis that were laden with gold from the goldfields inland.

The terrain and isolation of the island meant that it served well as a leper colony and a prison for some of Brazil’s most violent criminals.

Eventually the island’s beauty was put under protection from further development, the prison was shut in the 1990s.

The Cidade Maravilhosa

2008-11-05T17:03:00.000-08:00

When the Portuguese entered the bay of Rio, on January 1st 1502, on San Sebastian Day in the Portuguese calendar, they thought it was a river (rio in Portuguese). So they named it San Sebastian Rio de Janeiro!
The French were actually the first settlers in the bay, establishing the colony of Antarctic France in 1555. But the Portuguese then defeated the French... Otherwise Brazilians would speak French!!!
The name “Brazil” comes from brazilwood, in which the Portuguese merchants expressed interest for its red dye.
During the 17th century African slaves replaced Indian prisoners on the sugarcane plantations. From 1550 until 1888 about 3.5 million slaves were shipped to Brazil.
“Fa” means black in African, “vela” means boat in Portguese : black people who came by boat.
Brazilians came from all over the country to find a job in the big cities. They settled in the mountains, creating the favelas.

How do the favelas work?
In favelas, people don´t pay water nor electricity. They just hook on the electric lines already existing for the rich (who pay double!). The companies don´t do anything as people are too scared to get shot. Each favela is governed by a political representative, and the chief of the mafia. Each favela tries to sell more drugs than the others, so they fight...
A person from one favela cannot go to another favela, and when two people from different favelas fall in love... well, they meet at the beach :)

The average salary in Brazil is 450 reais (about 160 euros) per month. Gangsters can earn from 2,000 up to 1,000,000 for the chief. A young who decides to become a gangster knows that he will die young (25 years old in general). He sacrifices his life to make money for his family...

The favela of Rocinha is 120 years old. 400,000 people live there. It is the biggest favela in South America, and one of the 815 favelas in Brazil.
It provides free education and many activities such as English classes, music, dance... and every year, a show is performed. The favela doing the best show gets 1 million reais!

The school.

View from the favela.

The favela is 10 minutes drive from Copacabana...

Cristo Redentor, Corcovado.

In the 16th century, the Portuguese named mount Pinnacle of Temptation. It was later renamed Corcovado, from Corcova meaning hunchback.

The statue of the Christ is the largest art déco sculpture in the world. It is 38 m high! And it was sculpted by Paul Landowski, a Frenchman! It is one of the seven wonders of the world...
The view is breathtaking...

The history of Pão de Açùcar
According to historian Vieira Fazenda, the mountain was named Pão de Açùcar (Sugar Loaf) by the Portuguese. During the height of the sugarcane in Brazil during the 16th century, liquid sugar was placed to set in conical clay moulds, whose shape resembled that of the now famous mountain.

The Sugar Loaf Hill is 600.000.000 years old!

It is 396 meters high. View from the top!!!

In 1907, Augusto Ferreira Ramos, an engineer, decided to build an aerial link between Red Beach, Urca Hill and Sugar Loaf Hill. The Sugar Loaf Cableway Company was founded in 1910, and became responsible for the building, operation and management of Sugar Loaf’s cable cars. Work started that same year. The cable car system was imported from Germany and assembled by local workers, who laboriously climbed the mountain and transported parts, motors and steel cables using a rudimentary winch. The work was completed in two years.
Thus in 1912, the first cable car system in Brazil and only the third in the world was inaugurated. The cablecar was covered by wood and transported some 7.890.511 tourists during the 60 years it was in operation.
In 1972, the current system was inaugurated, increasing the cable link’s capacity ten fold. The two lines have been duplicated and the new cable car – the only one in the world with two totally transparent sides – received a prestigious design award in Turim, 1971, for its unique diamond shape.

Known to be the one of the safest in the world, the Sugar Loaf cableway consists of four cable cars, two in Line 1 and two in Line 2. Each car has two track ropes and one traction cable. The entire system is electronically monitored and programmed; 47 separate safety features are checked before each departure.
From “ Caminho Aéreo Pão de Açùcar”

Watch the story of Pão de Açúcar

Elena Bühring Vallejos, Chilean Art, Vicuña

2008-11-02T13:33:00.000-08:00

Mapuche

2008-10-30T12:06:00.001-07:00

Up until 1850, Araucania and Patagonia made up a single, unknown territory, populated by aboriginal peoples coming from Argentina and who for the most part had adopted the Mapuche culture...

Prior to the coming of the Spanish in the 16th century, northern Chile was under Inca rule while the indigenous Araucanians (also known as Mapuches) inhabited central and southern Chile.
Due to the loss of their lands, many Mapuche now live in impoverished conditions in large cities.

They appreciated the hardness and texture of stone, and made insignias of command, sculptures, ritual masks, musical instruments, pipes, and tools for cutting, polishing, kneading, grinding and piercing. Musical instruments.
Silver is considered as "the tears of the moon" in the Mapuche culture.

Mapuche jewelry

Thank you to M Ulloa Metzger who opened the museum for me :)

More on the Mapuche culture on http://www.pucononline.cl/ and http://www.museomapuche.cl/

Calendario Lunar Mapuche.

Para el Mapuche, su arte chamánico procede de La Luna, pues la Luna es el astro que preside la fertilidad de la tierra, el nacimiento de los seres humanos, determina el sexo, impulsa la procreación animal, da vida, bienestar, salud y buena fortuna, así también en el kultrun (un tambor ceremonial que usa la machi en rogativas y rituales), está representado el calendario de la Luna.

Los remates curvos de los extremos de la cruz, son las fases principales de la luna y trazando las bisectrices de los ángulos rectos, el círculo queda dividido en cuatro sectores circulares, dentro de los cuales el doble trazado de la cruz determina siete espacios, los que corresponden a los siete días de la semana. Cuatro sectores circulares iguales determinan un mes lunar de veintiocho días. El año lunar resulta multiplicando esos veintiocho días por trece, múltiplo que se obtiene de los doce extremos de la cruz lunada, mas el circulo central. Así se obtienen 364 días, a los que hay que agregar la unidad del punto central, para obtener los 365 días del año solar.

Semana de siete dias, mes de veintiocho dias y año de trece meses y un dia.

Desde el punto de vista mitológico las cuatro fases de la luna, son los cuatro espíritus o dioses lunares invocados en los nguillatunes y machitunes, de acuerdo a la estructura cuaternaria del panteón mapuche.

El círculo es considerado por los pueblos antiguos, la forma geométrica perfecta y por ende la imagen misma del ser supremo, de lo absoluto, no tiene principio ni fin, lo que se interpreta como lo infinito.

De acuerdo al ritual mapuche a cada punto cardinal se le asigna un elemento. Al norte el aire, al oeste el agua, al oriente el fuego y al sur la tierra. El signo repetido cuatro veces entre los brazos de la cruz es la swástica, que conforme a la simbología universal, representa al sol en las cuatro estaciones del año.

CHILE

2008-10-30T09:02:00.000-07:00

Chile may derive its name from the indigenous Mapuche word chilli, which may mean "where the land ends,""the deepest point of the Earth,"or "sea gulls"; or from the Quechua chin, "cold," or the Aymara tchili, meaning "snow" or from the cheele-cheele—the Mapuche imitation of a bird call. ;)

Santiago, Regíon V

Mote con huesillos. Que rico!!! Chile, with a coastline that stretches over 6,435 kilometres (!!!), offers a great variety of fish and seafood.

Valparaíso, the cultural capital of Chili, is a Unesco World Heritage site.

The Jewel of the Pacific” is built on many hills that you can reach by “ascensores” (funiculars) !

Valparaíso’s unusual system of funicular elevators (highly-inclined cable cars) is one of the world’s 100 most endangered historical treasures. La Sebastiana, Pablo Neruda's house in Valparaíso.

Palacio Vergara, Viña Del Mar. Casa la Isla Negra, Neruda's third home in Chile

Vicuña, regíon IV Cerro de la Virgen

Vicuña is located in the Elqui Valley. It has big sky observatories! The skies here are the clearest in the world, it's the only place in the world where you can see the two Magellanic clouds!!!

The valley also offers muscatel vineyards, pisco distilleries, papaya groves... geomagnetic energies and paranormal activities!

Pucón, Región IX

Snow-bound volcanoes rising over verdant hills and lakes...and termas (hot springs) !!! ;) Volcano Villarrica, 2847m.Parque Nacional Huerquehue : rivers, waterfalls, forests of Coigue, Mañio and Araucania. The Araucanía, named for the monkey-puzzle tree, is the center of the Mapuche culture. Some Araucanias are 2000 years old! Chilóe, Región X

Curanto : meat, potatoes and shellfish vapor-smoked in giant leaves or cooked in a hole, dug in the ground. Wooden houses and wooden school! Iglesia San Francisco de Castro

Iglesia de Archao (Isla Quinchao)

Palafitos Parque Nacional Chiloe. The park protects diverse birds, chilote fox and the pudú.
Thank you Karen, Carlos and J, my friends, for your hospitality and all the good time :) Love ya!

CHILOE: Archipiélago chileno, forma una provincia de 153.670 habitantes (chilotes), capital Castro. Esta definicion es la que se puede leer en un diccionario, pero todos aquellos que habitamos esta isla, sentimos que es más que eso; sabemos de su ubicación geográfica no por el mapa, sino porque se siente, se siente que estamos al sur del mundo, cuando al llegar de cada noche nos sumergimos junto al despertar de las pincoyas, de traucos y de todos los seres mitológicos que aquí habitan y no existen... o déjan de existir cuando llega un nuevo día, donde despierta la naturaleza verde espesa. Verde que se transforma en agua clara,en pudúes, en manos fuertes, espaldas curtidas por el tiempo y miradas altivas y orgullosas de ser, por que no decirlo, Chilotes.

Ten-Ten Vilu y Cai-Cai Vilu
La leyenda cuenta que hace milenios atrás Chiloé era parte de un sólo cuerpo terrestre unido al continente. Un día apareció el espíritu de las aguas, en forma de culebra: Cai-Cai Vilú. Este ordenó el ascenso de las aguas ocasionando con ello la inundación de las tierras bajas, valles y cerros, sepultando con ello a sus habitantes. Cuando las aguas cubrían gran parte de la tierra, se presentó el espíritu protector, Ten Ten Vilú, en forma de culebra, originando con ello el inicio de una larga batalla.
La lucha entre estas dos fuerzas, fue fuerte y penosa. Mientras una elevaba el nivel de las aguas la otra elevaba nivel de las tierras, tratando ambas de proteger todo lo existente en sus respectivos dominios.
Después de largos años de batalla, en la cual ninguna demostraba clara supremacía, la culebra Ten-Ten logró vencer a su enemiga, pero no totalmente ya que los campos de batallas no regresaron a sus límites primitivos, conformando así los antiguos y fructíferos valles transformados en golfos y los cerros y cordilleras en diversas islas.

La llegada de Hotu Matu´a

2008-10-25T07:50:00.000-07:00

Según las leyendas, los antiguos habitantes de Rapa Nui venían de un lugar llamado Hiva. El rey de esa gente se llamaba Hotu Matu´a. Cuando se presentó una catástrofe en su tierra, decidió emigrar de su tierra natal a Rapa Nui, con toda su gente para salvarse de ello.

El rey Hotu Matu´a supo de la existencia de Rapa Nui porque un "vidente" entre su gente, llamado Hau Maka, había soñado con la isla, viendo en ella un lugar donde desembarcar los botes al llegar y donde vivir la gente. Siete hombres fueron mandados a Rapa Nui para conocer la tierra vista por Hau Maka en su visión. Estos llegaron a la isla e hicieron el mismo recorrido hecho por el "vidente" en su sueño.

Hotu Matu´a mandó fabricar dos grandes naves. Una vez construidas, las mandó abastecer con toda clase de implementos y herramientas de trabajo, con animales, semillas y plantas, incluyendo entre otros: taros, camotes, ñames, plátanos, y caña de azúcar. Una vez terminada esta labor, él hizo embarcar a toda su gente, que sumaba entre hombres y mujeres unos centenares de personas, y se echó al mar.

Junto con Hotu Matu´a venía su mujer, que se llamaba Vakai, su hermano Oroi y su hermana Ava Rei Pua, esposa de Tu´u Koihu, entre otros miembros de su familia. También entre la gente venía un grupo de sabios quienes portaban rollos de hojas de plátanos escritos en carácteres idiográficos. Es probable que también traían algunas tablillas escritos con los mismos signos que se llaman kohou rogö-rogö.

Tras un largo viaje, llegaron las embarcaciones a Rapa Nui. Al avistar la isla, Hotu Matu´a la nombró Te Pito o te Henua. Poco antes de llegar a la bahía de Anakena, la hermana de Hotu Matu´a, Ava Rei Pua, dió a la luz a una hija; y a Vakai, la mujer de Hotu Matu´a, nació su primer hijo, Tu´u Maheke. Hotu Matu´a fue el primero en desembarcar en la playa de Anakena. Apenas desembarcado, mandó hacer una casa para él, y otra para su mujer, Vakai.Según la tradición, Hotu Matu´a, como rey, hizo muchas cosas a favor de su pueblo. Primero reconoció el terreno de la isla, acompañado de grupos de hombres. Después distribuyó las tierras entre doce tribus o clanes, exigiendo a todos hacer líneas divisorias exactas de propiedades. Enseñó a su pueblo el cultivo de la tierra en pequeños sembrados protegidos o manavai. Estimuló la crianza de las aves que habían traido de Hiva. Por eso, bajo la tutela de Hotu Matu´a, la gente no pasaba hambre.

Pero sí enfrentaba un problema muy grande, el abastecimiento de agua fresca. En ese tiempo la gente necesitaba menos agua ya que no tenía ropa que lavar. Tambíen cocinaban sus alimentos en curantos y no en ollas. Por eso, no necesitaba una abudancia de agua, sólo una cantidad adequada. Pero aún así, no tenía suficiente agua fresca. Había agua fresca en los cráteres de los volcanoes, pero si uno vivía a una distancia de ellos era muy difícil conseguir agua en cantidades suficientes para valer el viaje a buscarla.

Hotu Matu´a buscó por todas las orillas de la costa, pequeños riachuelos que podían ser de agua fresca juntado bajo tierra después de las lluvias, o que filtraban de los cráteres y que seguían sus caminos hacia el mar. Logró encontrar algunos y mandó excavar pozos donde se juntaba agua. También mandó construir unos paredes de piedras tanto para contener el agua fresca como para impedir que se mezclara con agua salada durante mareas altas. El mejor abastecimento de agua fresca permitió a la gente poblar sectores de la isla a más distancia de los cráteres, cerca de estos pozos de agua.

Las leyendas indican que Hotu Matu´a se hizo cargo de toda labor educativa de la isla. Para el mantenimiento de las tradiciones, él ordenó el traspaso de toda la escritura contenida en los rollos de hojas de plátano a tabletas de madera. La lectura y escritura de estos signos fueron enseñadas a un grupo de alumnos seleccionados.

También durante el reinado de Hotu Matu´a, la gente empezó a hacer tallados en madrea. Según las leyendas, Tu´u Koihu, esposo de Ava Rei Pua, la hermana de Hotu Matu´a, hizo los primeros moai kava-kava.

La Isla

2008-10-25T07:25:00.000-07:00

VII LA ISLA

Cuando prolificaron los colosos
y erguidos caminaron
hasta poblar la isla de narices de piedra
y, activos, destinaron descendencia: hijos
del viento y de la lava, nietos
del aire y la ceniza, recorrieron
con grandes pies la isla:
nunca trabajó tanto
la brisa con sus manos,
el ciclón con su crimen,
la persistencia de la Oceania.

Grandes cabezas puras,
altas de cuello, graves de mirada,
gigantescas mandíbulas erguidas
en el orgullo de su soledad,
presencias,
presencias arrogantes,
preocupadas.

Oh graves dignidades solitarias
quién se atrevió, se atreve
a preguntar, a interrogar
a las estatuas interrogadoras?

Son la interrogación diseminada
que sobrepasa la angostura exacta,
la pequeña cintura de la isla
y se dirige al grande mar, al fondo
del hombre y de su ausencia.

Algunos cuerpos no alcanzaron a erguirse:
sus brazos se quedaron sin forma aún, sellados
en el cráter, durmientes,
acostados aún en la rosa calcárea,
sin levantar los ojos hacia el mar
y las grandes criaturas de sueño horizontal
son las larvas de piedra del misterio:
aquí las dejó el viento cuando huyó de la tierra
cuando dejó de procrear hijos de lava.
Pablo Neruda

The origin of the Moai

2008-10-20T13:34:00.000-07:00

The legend tells of six men sent by their master to consult with a master from the Marama tribe on how to sculpt a "moai" statue. During three days, the master cooked them a "Umu Tahu", refusing to answer their question. When the young men left to go home, the old master yelled after them, "Go and tell Miru A'Hotu that down below, on your own selves, is the "moai". Without understanding a thing, the men continued on their way until one of them stopped to urinate. Looking down, he called to his companions and said, "Look. Down, on our own selves, is the form of the "moai".

Rano Raraku, the main moai quarry