Room 1
The thought of the Mè'phàà people
Before knowing the dance, it is necessary to understand the world it is born from.
01 The thought of the Mè'phàà people
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The thought of the Mè'phàà people
For the Mè'phàà people, persons do not exist apart from their territory.
The mountain, the water, the animals, the forest, and the community belong to one shared life.
The thought of the Mè'phàà people
La Montaña de Guerrero is not only the place where they live.
It is the space where language, memory, collective work, celebrations, and teachings that pass from generation to generation are made.
The thought of the Mè'phàà people
In this way of understanding the world, nature is not a resource that can be used without limit.
People belong to the territory in the same way the territory is part of them.
To care for the mountain is to care for the community and for those who have not yet been born.
The thought of the Mè'phàà people
Before continuing, look at the following images.
Each one shows a different way of relating to territory and to life.
Densely forested mountains under a cloudy sky.
Our culture is born from the territory and from the relationship we keep with it.
Homes in Laguna Seca set among mountain vegetation.
Language holds our way of understanding the world.
Place-name plaque of the community of Laguna Seca, Malinaltepec.
We do not own nature; we are part of it.
The thought of the Mè'phàà people
Memory lives each time a community chooses to share what it knows.