Venezuela on the Move: The Kariña indigenous community keeps its culture alive

teleSUR English

Venezuela has an ancestral pulse that resonates in indigenous communities like the Kariña, who proudly keep their heritage alive. Our correspondent Andrea Romero will show us up close, in another episode of Venezuela on the Move, the deep meaning behind the Kariña's most solemn ritual, the Akaatompo, the contagious joy of their signature dance, the Mare Mare, and the mastery woven into their moriche palm hammocks.  #teleSUREnglish #Venezuela #IndigenousCulture #Kariña #CulturalHeritage

Transcript

00:00Welcome back to From the South. Venezuela has an ancestral pulse that resonates in

00:20indigenous communities like Te Cariña who proudly keep their heritage alive.

00:25Our Chris Buen and Andrea Romero will show us up in another episode on Venezuela on the Move,

00:32the deep meeting behind the Cariña's most solemn ritual, the acatopo, the contiguous join of their signature dance,

00:41the mare mare, and the magistrate of woman, what went into their Mauritian palm hamcot.

00:49The Cariña are direct descendants of the Caribe, the first inhabitants of Venezuela.

00:56Their culture is a heritage of pride and self-determination.

01:04The Cariña indigenous people have been here since ancient times because when what they called the Guquita arrived,

01:11we already had our indigenous culture, our songs, our dances. That didn't come from anywhere else.

01:16It was created by ourselves. It was born here and it remains here.

01:20This deep ancestral root is honored each year in one of their most solemn ceremonies, acatopo,

01:28a sacred three-day celebration filled with love and reunion with ancestors and the holy innocence.

01:34It's a custom from our grandparents. Every November 1st, we celebrate here the Day of the Dead,

01:44which for us is the acatopo, the Day of the Dead, of the Innocents.

01:51Here children don't dance, as they say, because they are saints, the holy innocence.

01:59So here, the custom is that they come to collect their alms, the bananas, the food.

02:06The acatopo marks the respect for those who have gone, while marimer is a dance that highlights the festive expression of the community.

02:16We dance every time there's an activity in our community.

02:26We pass it down from generation to generation.

02:32We develop it in each community, in the schools, at cultural events, and as children grow,

02:43they learn those traditional cariña dances.

02:50The cariña also weave. The mohrichala, a palm-rich ecosystem, is their livelihood,

02:55because from the fibers of its palms come the hammock.

02:58Rosa tells us how hammock is made remembering her husband.

03:02We went to the mohrichal in the morning. He would cut the mohricha palms, and we brought them,

03:11and I'd sit under a little tree to extract the fibers.

03:17This is the actual core from where you take them out. Then you set the fibers to dry in the sun.

03:25After they dry, you grab them and bring them here. As you see, you twist them on your legs or over a strip made out of rubber.

03:38And after twisting them, you get this, as you see, and then you start weaving, and you have the hammock.

03:49Making a hammock requires skill and around a kilo of fiber. This craft is their economic independence,

04:01and the elders are in charge of passing their knowledge to the youngest.

04:04A blackout hit the entire Dominican Republic on Tuesday, starting traffic and paralyzing businesses in the country of nearly 11 million people.

04:20The Dominican Electricity Transmission Company informed that generations units in San Pedro de Macor.

04:27Do you still have many jobs?

04:30No, that's just lacking.

04:32But I'm here because the finished peligro of deer expecting a hemp and a anti Anti- siempre种 activity.

04:39I seek best and best given that it is going to be so far again in time when my fosterheid is open.

04:42What do you see on the solves for the pain?

04:46As you can see, here's an awful lot.

04:48A long time you get to my memory on the learner,

04:51Where are you working it?

04:52It's more beautiful than what you want.

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