Session 23 summary
Since Uriel is half Quechua and half Aymara, so he tries to demonstrate both these cultures through his Photography. He can speak Aymara language but not the Quechua language. He has been working on several projects for years. He talked about two of his projects: Puraqta Kay (Adean Duality) and Wilka Nina (Sacred Fire). The Puraqta Kay project went on for 9 years in the Amantani Islands. It talks about the duality of Pachamama(mother earth) and Pachatata (father sky) and when they two meet the indigenous people of the Amantani receive blessings in the form of rain, which gives good produce in agriculture. It is a private ceremony that they celebrate every 3rd Thursday of January. 10 couples from different indigenous communities come together and go with the shaman to the Temple of Pachamama and Pachatata. This ceremony takes place in night, where they perform certain rituals where they use cocaine leaves, maize alcohol and cigarettes as offerings to Pachamama and Pachatata. The shaman helps them to communicate with the gods. They burn cocaine leaves, some grass and offer some maize alcohol to fire. The ashes that remain after the fire is extinguished, helps the shaman to predict the future. Through the ceremony they try to connect the three worlds- The sky, Earth and Inside Earth. So for these three worlds to meet they go to the highest place on the plateau and burn fire, the smoke that comes out is the link that connects them with the fire that comes from the core of the earth.
The next day a morning ceremony is held which is open to all, the whole village comes together and dances accompanied with music. They have two temples, one for Mother Earth which is circular in shape which symbolizes the circle of life from birth to death and the other for the sky god which is square in shape. In the temple of Sky god they try to connect the three worlds, where they offer sacred items in the fire. This ceremony reflects their belief that they are born from earth and will die in earth. They always thank god for everything. There is a feast as well and everyone brings their own food and spread it on a cloth. The men sit on the right side and women on the left, like Pachamama and Pachatata-left and right. They dress up beautifully for the occasion and the dresses are a fusion of Spanish and indigenous culture. The suits or skirts might be something that they took from Spanish but the embroidery and colours in their dresses belong to the Andean people. They hold flags of different colours because they see themselves as the flowers of the mother earth. When coming down from the mountains, after the ceremony the people pass through three arches, each arch represent one of the three worlds. At the end of the path there is a meeting ground where it seems as though the earth meets the sky.
Wilka Nina, is another project Uriel worked on for 2-3 years. This project focuses on the presence of fire in almost every ceremony of Andean people. The fire has an image of purification and symbolizes sacredness. The smoke that comes out of it as well plays an important role and so they dance around the fire. They believe that the fire can be a creator and a destroyer. The Andean people in their traditions show a lot of contraposition/ duality in talking about Pachamama and Pachatata (genders), the fire inside the earth and outside it, etc. So Uriel tried to show this duality in his black and white photographs, showing the contrast between the light and the darkness. Candelaria is the biggest festival in the plateau in Puno, it has both Christian and Andean cultures mixed. There are carnivals on the street to celebrate festivals. He has taken photographs of many villagers with the artificial fires that they create a day before the celebration. Uriel wishes to work on this project for 2 or 3 more years and plans to present it in black and white as it has great emphasis.
About the Speaker
Uriel Ukumary Montúfar
Photographer / Environmental Lawyer
Puno, Peru
Uriel Montúfar is a passionate photographer and environmental lawyer. He was born Quechua and was raised in the Aymara. His personal connection to these indigenous Peruvian groups plays a large role in his photographs, through which he tries to convey indigenous world views and people’s responsibility towards the environment. In his images, Montúfar refers to both capitalism and the increasing effects of industrialisation on our environment. His professional connection to the subject matter also allows him to profoundly and emotionally bond art, the environment, the indigenous peoples of South America and socio-political issues in his photographs. In particular, he focuses on Man’s relationship with Pachamama – Mother Earth. The photographer has received several awards, for instance as part of the UNESCO Projects for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage and at the Sony World Photography Awards. Uriel lives and works in Puno, Peru.
