Today I’m going to share a legend with you: one that isn’t new, but was born at the dawn of time.
It comes from the Macuxi tribe, native to the Brazilian Amazon, one of our planet’s lungs and now under threat from deforestation, forest degradation, wildfires and other dangers placing biodiversity and climate balance at serious risk.
The main driver behind this destruction? The spread of intensive monoculture farming such as soy.
But if there’s one community that has always protected the Environment and understands the secrets of the land, it’s the Indigenous peoples.
That’s why I’m sharing this legend with you, coinciding with World Environment Week.
A Macuxi woman once fled her beautiful maloca on the Surumu River with the son of a Taulipang chief.
They were never parted.
If he went fishing, she fished too.
If she bathed in the river, he bathed too.
If he went hunting, she hunted too.
If she walked in the countryside, he walked too.
Nine months later, the woman gave birth.
But the child was stillborn, and the woman could neither stand nor move.
She no longer had strength in her legs to walk.
From that day on, he carried his beloved everywhere on his back.
One day, they went to eat mangaba and muruci fruit.
The sun set. The moon rose. Then the sun rose. Then again the moon.
And so it went on, for days and days and days.
The two lovers never returned.
Long after, in the place where the man’s bow and arrows were found along with the woman’s earrings, bracelet and loincloth, a Tajá plant grew, with a hitherto unknown vibrant green colour.
That plant, the Tamba-Tajá, is said to have sprung from the lovers’ bodies, with leaves resembling the female genital form and the stem that of a man.
As a little something extra this week, here’s a simple upcycling project which gives empty La Cultivada cans a second life while keeping your kitchen stocked with aromatic herbs!
YOU’LL NEED:
- Empty La Cultivada 500 mL cans
- A can opener
- Expanded clay pellets (available at garden centres)
- Organic potting soil (also from garden centres)
- Herb seeds or seedling
INSTRUCTIONS:
- Carefully remove the top of the tin with a can opener.
- Add a layer of expanded clay at the bottom (about two fingers deep). This helps with drainage and prevents roots from rotting. Alternatively, if you’re not using clay, you can punch a few small holes in the bottom for water to drain.
- Add potting soil: fill to the top if using seeds or leave some space in the case of seedlings.
- Plant the seeds or seedling, then water.
Want to see how they look? Check out a photo of the finished planters [here]
Elena Vecino
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