We often talk about ‘connecting to nature’ as if it’s something outside of us. For the Mbyá Guaraní people of South America, this is an utterly alien idea. Photographer Maurico Holc got to know this Indigenous community and was inspired by a worldview we can all learn from.
When Spanish colonizers first came into contact with the Mbyá Guaraní in South America, they believed that the lack of temples and churches meant that this Indigenous community was not spiritual. What the colonizers didn’t realize was that for the Mbyá Guaraní, their temple is nature itself.
It’s so intimately rooted in their reality, there is no separate word for nature in their language. They have no need for one. “Nature is our life itself, our existence, our memory,” says community leader Hilario Castillo-Mburuvicha.
Rivers, fish, fruits, plants and animals – all are an embodiment of their creator Ñanderú, providing them with everything they need. This worldview means that the Mbyá Guaraní have a sacred relationship with their surroundings. It also means they are incredible environmentalists.
Photographer Maurico Holc spent several years getting to know the Mbyá Guaraní community, which is spread across southern Brazil, part of Paraguay and northeast Argentina, where Holc lives. His personal experiences inspired his project, ‘Yvy-mara ey’, which translates as ‘Land without evil’ in the Mbyá language. In these images, Holc aims to convey their respect for the living world, their sense of community and the collective memory spanning generations that continues to shape their existence.
Handcrafted wooden figurines of the jungle animals the Mbyá Guaraní see every day and some they only know of through their collective memory. It’s a way of keeping their ancestral knowledge alive.
Sisters Analia and Carina Castillo hold a local sacred stone, symbolizing how precious Indigenous knowledge is, transferred across generations.
Ñanderu, the Mbyá Guaraní creator, is honored with mud, flowers and plants. Everything is seen as a sacred manifestation of Ñanderu’s life force.
Sonia Sanchez applying a dye to her granddaughter’s ankle. The colored paste is called ‘ychy’ and is made of beeswax and ash. It is used in rituals, as medicine and for important life events such as in this case, the beginning of menstruation.
Being in the river is a spiritual experience for the Mbyá Guaraní. Before entering, they ask permission from Ñanderu, their creator and Tupa, the god of water.
Community leader Hilario Castillo with his wife and two daughters.
Jungle produce, like these bananas, are seen as a shared resource among all forest dwellers, human and animal.
Mbyá Guaraní children playing along the El Chapa river. From birth, they have an intimate relationship with the jungle and nature; their natural habitat.
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