This exhibition is the result of a profound encounter with the Totonaca Community, one of the sixty two indigenous groups in Mexico. The idea came to life after a visit of a group of Totonacas to an aboriginal festival in Queensland, Australia, where they danced and shared their culture.
Through their dances, colorful rituals and music, they awakened in me the longing to enter into the mystery of their sacred ceremonies and traditions. Therefore this project became the way to tell their story, giving their voices a space to resonate and share their knowledge. The project shares, not only their words and their language, but also a short documentary film by MaríaJosé Cruz-Guerrero and a collection of captivating images that connect us with them, with their sacred city, with their traditions and rituals.
The Totonacas you will meet today come from the region of Papantla, located in the state of Veracruz, in the Gulf of Mexico. Even though their main activity is working the land, studying or doing craftwork, most of their energy and heart, is placed in the importance of rescuing their culture and sharing it with the world. They gather every Saturday to dance and fly in a traditional school, where they teach the youngest children their language and the wisdom behind their ancient ceremonies.
Their captivating rituals are full of symbolism. Two of their most important ones are Voladores, or “flying men”, and the Guaguas dance. In these dances the circle is a recurrent symbol, reminding us the perfection in cycles, the unity and the totality in life. In the Voladores ritual, the flying pole, represents the union between the sky and the earth; it is the link between the sacred world and the earthly realm. The sound of the flute combined with the drum and the smell of copal (a sacred incense) transport us into another dimension, where the magical and the mythical are the dominant structures of consciousness, where once a reverential relationship existed with the natural world as the realm of the gods.
Today, the Totonacas are fully awake to the valuable wisdom that has been transmitted from generation to generation through rituals and oral tradition. They want to share with us their unique view, their ancient ceremonies and their struggle to integrate the old with the new, keeping their traditions and their language alive.
Their strength as a community has kept its soul almost intact despite 500 years of colonization. The Voladores ritual has been acknowledged by UNESCO and listed as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
Verónica Domit Palazuelos
Thursday, December 10, 2009
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