Children’s Day was celebrated at the Museum of Indigenous Cultures
The Museum of Indigenous Cultures, in the western part of São Paulo, celebrated Children’s Day this Thursday (12th), offering the opportunity to learn about traditional Guarani mbya games.
In the morning the activities began in the courtyard, in front of the building where the museum operates. However, due to rain, the program was moved to the space known as Jiboia Room, which has a large snake-shaped ottoman.
Educator Juscelino Peralta explains that he has tried to bring games to the city that are outside of children’s daily lives. Among the proposals was target shooting with a bow and arrow. The native explains that in the communities this game is a way of preparing for the activities of adult life. “For him to have the vision and purpose of what you do with a bow and arrow,” he emphasized.
The cassava throwing game was also a hit with the children. One of the participants holds onto something solid, such as a tree trunk, while he sits on the ground. Then the next people, also seated, form a line holding each other by the waist. The goal is for the “field owner” to be able to remove all participants from the location.
This game is also directly related to the daily activities of the Guarani. “We need to have strength, because when we go to the fields we struggle to pick up cassava,” he says.
For the educator, moments like these are important to combat prejudices against indigenous peoples. “It’s an opportunity for us to bring our culture to people on the outside, who don’t know it, right? Who doesn’t know that there are indigenous people in São Paulo. Because today there are people who say that indigenous people are no longer indigenous because they use cell phones, because they wear sneakers, because they have clothes. But even so, we continue to strengthen our culture, our tradition, our songs, our dances and traditional games.”
Editing: Sabrina Craide
Source: Terra
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