sábado, 16 de dezembro de 2006

Introduction to the Ñe'ẽ Porã






Map by Transit 21
Sete Quedas / Salto del Guairá Falls photo from this SITE


The Beautiful Words - Ñe' Porã or The Guarani Mythic Hymn was first brought to world's attention by Leo Cadogan, a Paraguayan of Australian descent who dedicated most of his life to collecting and studying the Legends and Cosmovisions of different Guarani tribes / cultures all over Paraguay. What Cadogan collected, mainly the Cosmovision of the Mbyá Guarani of a region known as the Guairá was made into a book and published in Paraguay thanks to the help and efforts of many people (Credit is to be given soon). The work of Cadogan is probably the only record avaialble today of a Guarani Theology. 

The ancient Guairá has traditionally been an area where an incredibly large number of attrocities and historical injustices have been perpetrated mostly connected to different versions of European colonization. The most famous of such injustices happened during the process of Brazilian nation-building where slave-raiders called bandeirantes were free to roam the territory. The bandeirantes were the people responsible for the huge emigration of thousands of Guaranis to the Missions of Jesuit priests in Paraguay, Argentina and part of what today is the State of Rio Grande do Sul in Brazil. 

Only ruins of that extraordinary social experiment have survived as World Heritage Sites thanks mainly to the efforts of, again many people, and international organizations like Unesco. A map and a photo of a very special place in the Guarani sacred territories have been added. The Sete Quedas / Salto del Guairá Falls have been destroyed and are presently underwater. Hope you enjoy the Guarani Beautiful Words.

limajac@gmail.com

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