AVÓZINHA DO MUNDO: ARAUCÁRIA
Cristine Takuá
30 de maio de 2024
Today I dreamt of the granny of the forests
The great teacher
Who knows the wise secrets
Of the mystery's science of sciences.
In a few words she wove me in
Thoughts, revealing paths
Guiding me and showing me the
Incredible delicacy that lives
In the simplicity of things.
My spirit flew and travelled
Valleys and mountains
Danced, twirled and felt
The profound freedom that dwells
In the sacred abode of secret spirits.
There is no greater knowledge than Love!
Every day we are surprised
With the revelations that emerge
In the new dawn
In the cold night I plunged in search of understanding
And to my surprise
The great teacher was there
Sitting on her sacred throne
Waiting for me
In the long tails of a Parana Pine
With her flute and her Maraca
Just waiting for me to join her
To continue the lullaby
And blow poetry to the four corners
In order to colour and massage
The beings of this Earth!
Tired and suffering
For lack of understanding.
Oh walking beings, wake up
From this deep sleep
And feel the tasty magic
That lives in the singing silence
Of your thoughts!!!!
Photo: Carlos Papa Tekoa Yvyty Porã, RS
Thousands and thousands of years ago the sacred being Kuri, as the Guarani call the Parana Pine tree, came into being. This ancient tree is a plant grandmother of the world. Archaeological records show that the tree has existed and resisted for centuries. In all this time, the Parana Pines have witnessed a lot of struggle, resistance and also a lot of beauty; an active memory that they witness from the top of their green crowns.
In the last few weeks we have been witnessing a profound imbalance in Rio Grande do Sul, which has affected the lives of human and non-human beings: The overflow of the Guaíba River, the Taquari River and so many other rivers that, bruised by the harsh actions of humans, couldn't withstand the pressure of heavy rains and flooded, caused destruction and left their message.
The Ija kuery, guardiões de tudo que habita nessa Terra, estão cansados dos seres humanos, imperfeitos e desajustados. Há muito tempo estão a observar as pegadas tão pesadas do agronegócio, da mineração, do desamor e do desrespeito para com a diversidade das formas de vida.
Pen engraving by Percy Lau, Arequipa, 1903
Rio de Janeiro, 1972. Source: Tipos e Aspectos do Brasil IBGE 1966
The temporal milestone, this anti-constitutional thesis that allows the revision and abuse of indigenous lands that have already been demarcated, is the ultimate in human ignorance and abuse, which cannot see that without a living forest there will be no life. The constant struggle and prayer to guarantee and protect the ancestral territories of indigenous peoples is precisely so that all forms of life can live: Parana Pines, Agoutis, Pacas, Bees, Amethysts, Mountains, Rivers and Fish.
Two nights ago, when I was concentrating in Opy'i, the prayer house, dialoguing and studying with the teacher plants, Kuri's spirit came to speak to me. She was very old and large. She calmly told me that she was up there watching all the confusion and suffering that was happening. She saw many of her plant and animal relatives drowning, dragged down by the mud and the raging water, and she could do nothing about it. She just watched it in silence, with her little arms as if they were in a form of greeting, bowing every day to the sun, the moon and life, asking for strength and protection. She spent some time showing me the great Parana Pine forests that once existed and which are now reduced to a few. She also showed me the power of petyngua, the Guarani pipe made from the knot of her pine, and how everyone who carries this pipe must respect it. She reminded me of beautiful images of women preparing pine nut flour with their pestles, old scenes where everything was deeply interconnected. Little by little, the images and her voice faded away and I gradually came back and, as I looked at the fire, which was intensely alive, I felt the need to get up and share with the young people who were with me that magical and very fruitful experience that I had felt, witnessed and learnt while immersed in deep visions.
Painting: Jose Vera, RS
Ao amanhecer do dia refletindo sobre toda a noite de estudos e aprendizados, me recordei de passagens do livro a “Queda do Céu” de Davi Kopenawa….
“No começo a terra dos antigos brancos era parecida com a nossa. Lá eram tão poucos quanto nós agora na floresta. Mas seu pensamento foi se perdendo cada vez mais numa trilha escura e emaranhada. Seus antepassados mais sábios, a quem Omama criou e a quem deu suas palavras, morreram. Depois disso, seus filhos e netos tiveram muitos filhos. Começaram a rejeitar os dizeres de seus antigos como se fossem mentiras e foram aos poucos se esquecendo deles. Derrubaram toda a floresta de sua terra para fazer roças cada vez maiores. Omama tinha ensinado a seus pais o uso de algumas ferramentas metálicas. Mas já não se satisfaziam mais com isso. Puseram-se a desejar o metal mais sólido e mais cortante, que ele tinha escondido embaixo da terra e das águas. Aí começaram a arrancar os minérios do solo com voracidade. Construíram fábricas para cozê-los e fabricar mercadorias em grande quantidade. Então, seu pensamento cravou-se nelas e eles se apaixonaram por esses objetos como se fossem belas mulheres. Isso os fez esquecer a beleza da floresta. Pensaram: “Nossas mãos são mesmo habilidosas para fazer coisas! Só nós somos tão engenhosos! Somos mesmo o povo da mercadoria! Podemos ficar cada vez mais numerosos sem nunca passar necessidade! Vamos criar também peles de papel para trocar!”. Então fizeram o papel do dinheiro proliferar por toda parte, assim como as panelas e as caixas de metal, os facões e os machados, facas e tesouras, motores e rádios, espingardas, roupas e telhas de metal. Eles também capturaram a luz dos raios que caem sobre a terra. Ficaram muito satisfeitos consigo mesmos. Visitando uns aos outros em suas cidades, todos os brancos acabaram por imitar o mesmo jeito. E assim as palavras das mercadorias e do dinheiro se espalharam por toda a terra dos seus ancestrais. É o meu pensamento. Por quererem possuir todas as mercadorias, foram tomados de um desejo desmedido. Seu pensamento se esfumaçou e foi invadido pela noite.”
(Davi Kopenawa, 'Merchandise Love' in The Falling Sky) A Queda do Céu)
Parana Pine rock painting, Pirai do Sul, PR