Yatañneshañ

Remembering our ancestors

A five-part film

This film presents the histories and sacred places of five major Yanesha ancestors: Yato’ Pap, the Father of Tobacco; Yato’ Achanquëll, the Transforming Jaguar; Yato’ Payomp, the Eagle-Harpy; Cornesha’ Huancashpeñ,  a warrior-priest, and; Yompor Santo, the 18th century revolutionary Juan Santos Atahualpa. Each of these ancestors has played crucial roles in Yanesha history, affecting how they came to be in the present and how they see themselves as a culture. Invoking and recording the stories where they occurred was part of the mapping project and carried strong spiritual significance for the Yanesha.

The narratives were told by several Yanesha elders in the very same locations where the original events took place. The stories are illustrated with original drawings made by Yanesha artists to better communicate and recreate the cultural significance these ancestors have for the Yanesha people.

Recorded in the Central Andean Amazon of Peru, 2005-06.

These films are recommended for teaching about subjects including:

oral history

myth and religion

religious syncretism

Yanesha cultural identity

Andean Amazonian cultures

Latin American studies

For more information and to purchase this film

please contact Instituto del Bien Comun

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