In this video, Quechan villagers carry out an ancient tradition of seeking guidance from an Apu, or sacred Mountain, in the Andes of Peru.
Produced by the villagers in September 2009, the video has become enormously symbolic for the Quecha, leading many villagers to once again take up their traditions of nurturing Mother Earth.
The significance of this cannot be understated. Even though Quechuan culture has withstood “500 years of invasion and the dictatorship of individualism,” as Hugo Blanco points out, it is today broaching toward extinction, like the cultures and languages of so many other Indigenous Nations around the world.
As “Conversations with the Earth” notes on their campaign website, this became abundantly clear to Quecha earlier this year, when an evangelical Mayor banished Andean Ceremonies and Rituals – including the one you are about to see.
“Conversations with the Earth” is an indigenous-led multimedia campaign that helps communities share their stories of climate change. Several more films are available at their website, www.conversationsearth.org.