Ha' Agua Water Tz'itz
A Participatory Co-Creation with Yakanal indigenous youth exchange
Ha' Agua Water Tz'itz is a video-poem—a poetic documentary—created by the Yakanal indigenous youth cultural exchange and The Cultural Conservancy over the course of one year and 4 documentary trainings. It was made by youth from 14 distinct indigenous communities. Through images, sounds, words and feelings, the film connects the indigeneity that roots us all in our lands with the flow that connects us all.
PRODUCTION AND POST-PRODUCTION TRAINING for collaborative creation
We gathered with the Yakanal indigenous youth exchange in Laguna Pueblo for a one-week Documentary Production Training at the beginning of 2015, where we learned about audiovisual storytelling, cultural protocol, and envisioned the story we wanted to tell. Then we met again for 10 days of training and filming in the summer, while traveling together throughout the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico, exchanging knowledge and sharing experiences as a part of the cultural exchange. And then finally we met 6 months later to craft the final product out of all the raw material, during a week of Editing and Post-Production Training in Laguna. There, a group of youth wrote the below poem that became the backbone of the film.
The process of creation—as important as the product—included youth learning language and culture from elders, some of whom who have since passed (may they rest in peace), and some of which was recorded and integrated in the film. The sacred sites visited and the sacred songs sung taught participants about the blessings and responsibilities we have in relationship to water, our relative.
The film is quad-lingual, and strives to give equal space to all four languages: Western Keres, Yucatec Mayan, English and Castilian Spanish.
The Original Poem
MAYA YUCATECO
Ha’
Ooxol
Peek
Chaak
Ik
Nuup
Muuk
Ki’imako’ol
K’aay
U’uy
Kanan
Huum
Hanal
Mina’an Mix baa, le ha’o ma tu peek, un pel nohoch aac
Un pe Yaaxché, tulame mayahop ku yacolalti yum chaak
Le haab ku peek, ku mentic u hohochtal le halo’ob le ku dza’atan hana,
Ku mentic o_o’oc, ku mentic u’uy, ku nuupcon
Le’ebix le iskimo yeten le haab ku nuupku bao
Ku sut k’eyem ku tzaitic hana tic ma’a koob le ma naá ko’ob ku ts’a’antic hana’a ti yolol cab
Le mayab yan yun u sucuno tu la cal yocolcab, abilca
Yeten u ya’acolcotic ha’ o, tic kuxtalob yeten zucuno
Le haa ku nuupcon
ENGLISH
Water
Steam
Movement
Rain
Wind
Union
Strength
Joy
To sing
To feel
Guardian
Sound
Food
There is nothing, calm water, a big turtle
A tree of the world, the Mayan people prays to the nature and it’s thankful for what is given to them
The water flows, makes the corn grow, feeds us
It makes us laugh, makes us cry, makes us feel
It unites us; like when it’s one with the corn, the make the k’eyem (pozole), it feeds the people and they feed the earth
The Maya has brothers and sisters in the world, they also respect and pray to the mother nature
They pray to the water, to the life, to the brothers and sisters
The water unites us
ESPANOL
Agua
Vapor
Movimiento
Lluvia
Viento
Unión
Fuerza
Alegría
Cantar
Sentir
Guardián
Sonido
Alimento
No hay nada, el agua en calma, una gran tortuga
Un árbol del mundo, la gente maya reza a la naturaleza y agradece lo que le da
El agua fluye, hace crecer el maíz, nos alimenta
Nos hace reír, nos hace llorar, nos hace sentir
Nos une; como cuando se une con el maíz,
Crean el k’eyem, alimenta a la gente y ellos alimentan a la tierra
El maya tiene hermanos en el mundo que también respetan y rezan a la naturaleza
Rezan al agua, a la unidad (vida), a los hermanos
El agua nos une
Credits
Camera, Sound, Script and Editing Assistance
Cámara, sonido, guión y asistencia para la edición
Alfredo Hau Camal
Bryan Carpio
Damian Chino
Victor Z. Corpuz
David Early
Jesús Galiano Blanco
Vicentina Galiano Blanco
Mary Ellen Hawkins
Diana Hernández Hernández
Sandy Vianney Hernández Aquino
Mateo Hinojosa
Patrick R. Keyope
Luis Llovera Ramírez
Luis Lopez Tuyub
Tahiya Martin
Jordan Martinez
Luis Fernando Pacheco
Ana Rosado Torres
Kyle Shpeyiah Swimmer
Flavia Trecco
Nícola Wagenberg
Hoki Pah Julia Wall
Video Direction and Editing
Dirección del video y edición
Mateo Hinojosa
Direction of Jackpile Scene
Dirección de escena en Jackpile
Hoki Pah Julia Wall
Production, Workshop Coordination, and Instruction
Producción, coordinación de taller e instrucción
Isabel Hawkins
Mateo Hinojosa
Shelly Valdez
Nícola Wagenberg
Audio Post-Production and Music
Post-producción del audio y Música
James Whalen
Yakanal Logo Art
Arte del logotipo de Yakanal
Mary Ellen Hawkins
Special Thanks
Agradecimiento especial
Atilano Ceballos Loeza
Lee Francis
José Huchím Herrera
Laguna Department of Education
Melissa K. Nelson
Old Laguna Village Officials
Ann Ray-Sarracino
Gilbert Sanchez
Victor Sarracino
Al Siow
Francisco Vásquez Mota
Ish Wilson
Lead Funding
Patrocinadores principales
Chamiza Foundation
Eureka Scientific
Indigenous Ways of Knowing and Learning Fund
Laguna Community Foundation
San Francisco Arts Commission
Swift Foundation
Additional Support
Apoyo adicional
Ideum
Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia (INAH)
International Biocultural Exchange Fund
National Park Service
Native Pathways
Pueblo of Laguna
U Yits Ka'an
Woven Path Media
In Loving Memory
En cariñoso recuerdo
Mrs. Lucille (BabaLou) Valdez
