Teko Porã

The good and beautiful paths of bem viver

While the maracas are sounding inside the prayer houses,
The women with their takuapu pulsing in the earth,
The sun rising to cheer up the children,
There will still be resistance.
In every corn seed, cotton seed, pumpkin seed,
Tobacco, cassava, palm heart, cambuci,
From jaracatiá, from pacuri, from embiruçu, from taioba,
Pariparoba, banana, peanut,
Of sacred plants that heal,
If they are being cultivated there will still be certainty,
That we will relearn how to walk.
The path is resistance and resilience,
Inside everyone's heart!
Resist to survive!
Believe so you don't stop dreaming!

Enquanto os maracás estiverem soando dentro das casas de reza,
As mulheres com seus takuapu pulsando na terra,
O Sol de levantando para animar as crianças
Ainda haverá resistência.
Em cada semente de milho, de algodão, de abóbora,
De tabaco, de mandioca, de palmito, de cambuci,
De jaracatiá, de pacuri, de embiruçu, de taioba,
De pariparoba, de banana, de amendoim,
De plantinhas sagradas que curam
Estiverem sendo cultivadas ainda haverá a certeza
De que reaprenderemos a caminhar.
O caminho é a resistência e resiliência
Dentro do coração de cada um!
Resistir para sobreviver!
Acreditar para não deixar de sonhar!

For centuries, prayers in the four corners of the world have shared wisdom and guided children and young people to seek and practice bem viver/teko porã (a concept, with articulations in many cultures, loosely translating to living well in harmony with the community - human and more-than human - and environment). However, today's unbalanced, technological and individualistic world is progressively distancing people from this ancestral essence. The Guarani term teko porã holds a broad and profound meaning, encapsulating a political, cultural, philosophical and spiritual concept. It is a good and beautiful way of being in your territory.

Today we are thinking about how to make it possible, to apply this Indigenous system and philosophy of good living, within the world’s cities; aiming to bring about a transformation for all and creating a metamorphosis in human and democratic relationships, which are otherwise distanced by abuse and egocentrism. There is an urgent need to metamorphose human relationships so that we can respect all forms of life that coexist with us on this shared home - the Earth.

She welcomes us, feeds us, protects us and gives us all the conditions for us to coexist harmoniously with all the beings sharing this sacred territory. With great generosity, the Earth houses a myriad of animal, vegetable and mineral beings that, like a vast web, relate and collaborate within the transformative flow of life. But within this web of relationships and interactions, throughout the history of humanity, humans have managed - in a very disrespectful way, with their hard and heavy footprints - to unbalance the home of many spirits. Rethinking and retracing this journey begins with the regeneration of Gaia - planet Earth. This requires healing, mending and weaving possibilities to extinguish the mental monoculture that reduces and separates everything.

These days, experiencing the deep meaning of bem viver, can often appear contradictory due to the various situations that move us away from it and take us towards tekó vai (bad living). This manifests in unrestrained consumption and the mania of voluntary servitude, where many become enslaved to their desires. It is present in wars, individualism, river pollution, impoverishment and depression - essentially, in situations prompting a ceaseless pursuit of a supposedly "better" life. It’s the illusion that material goods, comfort and luxury can provide the delicate and deep satisfaction that penetrates one's being when achieving bem viver in the daily actions of life.

Since the beginning of the colonisation processes, our grandmother of the world - the Earth - has been injured, raped and contaminated by human actions that have fundamentally altered the home of numerous life forms. And today we live in the midst of many imbalances, grappling with the serious consequences of these wounds, which are concentrated in the womb of our ancestral grandmother. Centuries of reason and scientific development have not been able to respect the natural flow of life. In an incessant search for control and domination, humans have distanced themselves from nature and turned everything into merchandise. Historically, many cultures have been wiped out through genocidal acts. Ethnocide remains latent, silencing original languages and ancestral spiritualities. And ecocide looms, polluting the Earth's veins and rivers - causing such profound destruction that we may not live to see or feel their transformation and cure.

The principle of education should be to sow respect and guide children and young people towards the path of bem viver. Unfortunately, we are shaped by a colonial educational model, which values theories and encourages competition. Therefore, it is necessary for us to dream more and seek ways so that living schools, where the primary essence is to return to the principles of respect for our Earth, pulsate in many territories and germinate the understanding that we each bear the responsibility of an ethical commitment to life. Hence, if individuals could adopt a broader perspective and transcend their human-centric view, they would recognise the significance of all life forms. Paca mothers, agouti mothers, otter mothers, jaguar mothers - all beings deserve respect, not just human lives.

If there was no environmental racism, we would possibly not be witnessing these wounds in the Earth's womb. Some call it “climate change”, but spiritual leaders in the four corners of the world see and hear the pain and groans of our grandmother. Mining, agribusiness, real estate speculation, social inequality, religious intolerance and the lack of political will to develop sustainable projects of balance and respect are a sign that our humanity is extremely sick.

Reweaving the threads of this great web of life requires us humans to be able to make the breath of our words walk in the same rhythm as our feet. Think, speak and do, with care and affection. I think there is still time to rebuild and harmonise. There are some ways, such as the educational practices of tekó porã, but urban societies must rethink their methods of educating children. This entails valuing the inherent potential within each individual and creating a school that is both useful for people's lives while also fostering an increased awareness of the importance of respect.

Numerous creative beings inhabit the forest, and the guardian spirits overseeing all life therein observe us and are angry with our inappropriate way of walking. We need to relearn how to walk gently on the Earth, otherwise, we will all die as a result of our own waste, greed and contradictions. However, as long as the sacred songs are sounding in the prayer houses, the praying men and women chanting good and beautiful words and the children singing and enchanting the world, there remain opportunities to practice bem viver and to regenerate deep within our grandmother, the Earth.