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Connection to Nature

By Marco A. Guzman

Translated by : Germán Alvarez

(Speech given at the University of Toronto - Ontario Institute for Studies in  Education on January 27, 2005)

The indigenous world is intrinsically related to nature, not only to Mother Earth, but also to cosmos and the spiritual world.  This is the indigenous view of the world or the conception about the interaction of these forces that were conceived in immemorial times by our First Nations.  A legend of the Aymara Nation says that the Moon (Paxsi) and the Sun (Inti) fell in love with each other and fecundated the Earth (Pacha); this means that Mother Earth is daughter or product of the love between the Moon and the Sun.  Names such as Pachacamac and Pachamama stem from here. Tradition tells that we are intimately connected to nature: Alaxpacha, which is the sidereal space or universe, where the sun, moon, planets, stars, asteroids, milky way, etc. are placed; Acapacha, the environment that surrounds us such as the air, wind, rain, snow, thunder, the gravity that joins us to earth; Taipipacha, that is the land where we the humans, the plants, forests, deserts, salt mines, lakes, rivers, seas, mountains, animals, birds, fish, insects live; and Mankh’apacha, that is, everything that is inside the earth such as water, fire, oil, minerals, gas, biological resources. In short, it is a Tawantinsuyan quadrilogy.

The empire of the Tawantinsuyo, or of the four directions, or the empire of the four suns (Tawa=four Inti=Sun Suyo=place) located in the electromagnetic Inca city of K’osk’o -or Cuzco as named by the Spaniards, in the Andean country known as Peru- was comprised of four suyos or regions: Chinchasuyo, Kuntisuyo, Antisuyo and Kollasuyo.  In Canada, 5.000 kilometers away, this tetrahedric concept was known too and it referred to the four directions, East, West, North and South; they correspond to the four basic colours: Green, Yellow, Red and white; they correspond to the four seasons, Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter.  In each one of these seasons, we celebrate and remember with reverence the Khapaj Raymi (21 to 25 of December – Summer Solstice), Pawkar Raymi (March 21 – Autumn Equinox), Inti Raymi (June  21 – Winter Solstice) and K’oya Raymi (September 21 – Spring Equinox).

We honour the immortalized mountains with human shapes, silhouettes or faces; Illimani, Illampu, MachuPichu, Sajama where our deities dwell. Within the tradition of the Andean people, flora and fauna are also honoured; Tobacco, Coca, Sweet Straw, Rosemary or Rue that are known to contain medicinal properties.  The animals: Llama, Serpent, Puma and Condor.  In short, we are connected to nature through the sacred elements such as water, air, fire and earth, and without them life cannot exist, and for the same it cannot be sold.  “The human being is the most dependant, but at the same time is the most destructive and the worst predator of the environment, and for the same our planet earth is sick.” (Ivan Ignacio).

A clear example of the interaction with nature is the millenary “Wiphala”, which is a kind of flag or banner of the first nations of the Andes. It has seven colours of the rainbow with a total of 49 little squares that synthesize the four suyos of the Tawantinsuyan empire.  The Andean Cross, also called Chakana, appears inside the Wiphala. This is the Wiphala of the Kollasuyo that I took to the site of the United Nations when they proclaimed the first decade of the indigenous peoples.  It is the Wiphala that myself along with brother Ivan Ignacio of the Andean First Nations Council (CANO) brought for the International Day of Indigenous Peoples to New York on August 9 and 10, 1999 and it is the Wiphala that together with the Aymara brother German Choquehuanca we defended in a press conference at the Bolivian Parliament two years ago. Last equinox (September 25, 2004), the Wiphala flapped for the third time in the City Hall of the city of Toronto.  That means that this travelling Wiphala has historical, cultural political significance and it is revolutionary.

With the arrival of the Iberian conquerors to Tumbez (between Ecuador and Peru) in the beginning of the 16^th century, and the latter torture and death of the Inka Atawallpa in Cajamarca on November 16, 1532, the situation of the indigenous peoples of the Abya-Yala continent (today South, North and Central America), changed dramatically.  It is a common place nowadays to hear, read or see on television about the holocaust suffered by the Jewish people during the Second World War.  Hollywood has produced 175 movies about this topic in the last sixty years. However, nobody says anything about a far larger genocide or holocaust suffered by the indigenous peoples of Abya-Yala.

Out of 100 million inhabitants estimated at the time of the arrival of Christopher Columbus in 1492, the population was reduced to some 10 million in the first 150 years of the invasion or what would be equivalent to 500.000 natives massacred annually and an average of 1000 per day. If we add later numbers, this turns into bloodshed, a crime against humanity. Hence there was a holocaust 12 or 15 times larger and nobody says nothing, or filmed any movie. There is room here to question us if the educational centres include in their books, or at least devote one page about these crimes.  Teachers have the responsibility to educate our sons and daughters about the holocaust that the indigenous peoples suffered and maybe it is time for the United Nations to acknowledge this genocide.

The conquerors, as you know, arrived on horses and along they brought dogs, they dressed in armours, they were loaded with harquebuses and had the sword in one hand and the Bible in the other one, looking for El Dorado.  A Bolivian historian from colonial times said that with all the silver they extracted from Cerro Rico de Potosi, in south Bolivia, it could have been possible to build a bridge from Potosi to Madrid entirely in silver. Other modern historian said something similar about the precious metal gold, indicating that it would be possible to build another bridge from La Paz to New York, figuratively talking about the enormous quantity of silver and gold that was taken, and is still taken from Bolivia.

In opportunities like this one, it is necessary to make known this genocide in order to impede what should have never happened, the killing of so many indigenous peoples, that as you know we come from different areas geographically speaking; physically we have every kind of size and age, with flowers, music, perfumes, handicraft, dances and our own delicious dishes, with cinnamon-colour or earth-colour skin.  As you will see, the first nations have respect for cultural diversity, we are part of the environment, part of the universe, with human feelings and love. Indistinctively we could contribute to resolve the contradiction between tradition and modernity and we can be efficient instruments for peace with justice in the world, where environmental changes of cosmic causes are happening before our eyes, since identity values have been lost, such as the spirituality that was exchanged for harmful elements tied to the materialism of today’s world.

Thanks for having invited me to this educational journey in the University of Toronto. I would like to say as well that I was invited by some elementary schools, high schools, churches, non-governmental organizations, aboriginal organizations and universities in this country and Bolivia, and by a couple of indigenous reserves in this country, for me to talk about the culture of the first Andean nations, to find cultural and ancestral similarities in order to keep a dialogue of understanding and solidarity.

To finish, I would like to remind you that this coming April 22 is the World Day of Earth and I hope that we can remember how to treat Mother Earth, who is mother, house, pantry, ship, grave and temple.  The Andean First Nations Council, of which I am a member, will celebrate on Sunday March 20 at 6:00 PM in Amik Community Centre, 419 Coxwell Avenue, Toronto, the Pawkar Raymi Festival and 8000 Sacred Drums for the healing of our Mother Earth or Pachamama with renewed positive flows that are in gestation and help the equilibrium of our natural surroundings.  All of you are invited, and bring your drum, wankara or any little snack to share.  Thanks. Jallalla!

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