This is the audio for the sound sculpture, Maija Awi: The Creation.

Maija Awi: The creation
Creation is the basis of all fruitful aptitude. In this creative staging, the myth of Maija Awi is represented.
The procedure to materialize a vision of this valuable knowledge consented to study the bases of this myth rooted in the imaginary of the Kumiai community, an ancestral community that has been located since time immemorial in the Mediterranean area located in the Pacific Northwest region.

From this knowledge, we managed to extract the following: this story is based on the need to know of a community eager to express its joy through music and dance; we could see the concord between the community through agreements in harmony, respect for community leaders established for their longevity and wisdom, acceptance of challenges and empowerment of the member chosen by the community to solve their knowledge needs, community support by providing the necessary tools (bow and arrows) to the journey to the goal. The strength of the Kumiai people was revealed, when they made a journey through the inhospitable lands of the Rumorosa, desert areas, and Baja California oaks, as well as by the longing and determination to transform themselves and be able to achieve their mission by swimming to the shores of the Coronado Islands, where they located the knowledge represented by the rattlesnake (Crotalus helleri): intelligent, elusive, skillful animal with extraordinary resistance to survive in harsh environments, winter in difficult times, capable of shedding its skin to allow the growth of your skin, repair wounds and remove damaged skin, a useful change also to eliminate external parasites.

A hit of popular lore, by choosing the rattlesnake as the icon of its myth, which exhibits hollow inoculating fangs, which dig into the skin of the victim to deposit their hemolytic venom that makes blood vessels penetrable. A reptile with great ingenuity due to its ability to blend in with the environment, through the melanic condition that allows it to express patterns and colors that make it blend in with the environment, which supports its survival by making it less visible to its predators.
The Serpent of knowledge is capable of containing innumerable knowledge. In the myth, she listened attentively to the messenger’s request after he yelled at her three times. Finally, with his magnanimous capacity to share, he decided to heed the call, thus following the messenger, they began the journey back to the town, yearning for his wisdom. In their wandering, they crossed through areas of coastal scrub, observing the beauty of the mullein (Gnaphalium bicolor); jojoba (Simmondsia Chinensis), and daisy mats (Encelia califórnica). Later they found themselves in front of the Rumorosa, where they observed trees and shrubs such as encinillos (Quercus dumosa), manzanita (Arctostaphylos glandulosa), pine (Pinus jeffreyi), and red chamiso (Atriplex leucophylla). And finally, they reached the areas of the California oak (Quercus agrifolia).
Throughout this journey, Maija Awi left her mark, a quartz stele that represents her DNA: a compendium of genetic wisdom. Quartz, a mineral composed of silicon dioxide, was recorded as crystalline lines; its polyhedral structure reminded us of nucleotides, essential components of DNA. And so, they finally arrived at the town where its inhabitants were in full activity, finishing building a bower for Maija Awi, who, upon seeing her, is surprised by its enormous size; meanwhile, the viper began to roll up in the columns, of it for her small bower. Her presence was so impressive that a man got scared, took a torch, and set it on fire. In the fire, the accelerated oxidation was revealed, while the incandescent particles of combustible matter, emitted heat and visible light, thus, the end came for Maija Awi, who exploded, dispersing the knowledge contained in her body.

In this way, the Kumiai received from Maija Awi, the expected knowledge of a magical and non-magical nature of: music or schkil, in which they incorporated the rhythmic sound of the rattle or jalma, with this they managed to capture the cosmogonic songs, those of funeral , of pawn game, of cradle or of everyday subjects, of war (juatenay), of hunting (jammaemuch) and of healing; in dance (kurikuri) they learned that people should hold each other by the waist or hands and dance back and forth in coordination with the singer or dance back and forth, setting the rhythm with the body or swinging around; from herbalism, they learned that the mastic (Rhus ovata) serves to mitigate menstrual cramps, that the governor (Larrea tridentata) cures rheumatism, and that mesquite (Prosopis glandulosa) cures the evil eye among other knowledge; They learned that willow (Salix spp.) and rush (Juncus spp.) are useful species for making baskets, to which they added their inspiration in the rhomboid shapes of Maija Awi skin, to create baskets of various shapes and sizes; pottery, they received the knowledge to make pots, censers and pipes (chacuacos), using desert clay, to which they had to add a degreaser (chamotte), sandstone made of finely crushed pots, and to which they incorporated reddish tones, through from the use of iron oxide or red blood; in goldsmithing they learned how to make beaded necklaces, breastplates and belts; important was the knowledge received in agriculture, use of marine and plant resources. Finally, they also received different languages ​​that prevented them from continuing to communicate with each other, which caused their dispersal and, with it, the search for new territories.

Nahara Ayala–


Grabaciones sonoras de cantores recopiladas en el Ña Ojap 2021 10 de julio de 2021.
Tribu Kiliwas, Arroyo de León, Ensenada, B.C.
Grabaciones realizadas por Álvaro G. Díaz-Rodríguez.
Grabado en micrófono Wildtronics stereo, grabadora zoom F8n;
Estero 96K, 24bts.