Dominique Riofrio, Boston University – Pacha Mama
Caption: May 17, 2013. Samaï Gualinga (right) helps her mother Sabine Bouchat to paint her face in preparation for the Pacha Mama festivity at the Sarayaku indigenous community in Ecuador.
Caption: May 18, 2013. Kids from the Indigenous community of Sarayaku in Ecuador dance and play the drums as part of their festivity Pacha Mama, which means Mother Earth.
Caption: May 18, 2013. Chicha is a drink made out of yucca. This is an important element in any festivity at the kichwa indigenous community of Sarayaku in Ecuador.
Caption: May 18, 2013. Wrestling is one of the traditional sports competitions that take place during the Pacha Mama festivity in the indigenous community of Sarayaku in Ecuador.
Caption: May 18,2013. A man from the indigenous community of Sarayaku participates in a blowpipe competition. This is one of the activities that take place during the Pacha Mama festivity celebrated every May.
Caption: May 18, 2013. Spear throwing is one of the traditional sports competitions that take place during the Pacha Mama festivity in the indigenous community of Sarayaku in Ecuador.
Caption: May 19, 2013. Every May the indigenous people of Sarayaku in Ecuador celebrate their traditional festivity Pacha Mama. All the activities, like sports competitions or dance, take place in the main plaza of the community.
Caption: May 19, 2013. During the Pacha Mama festivity, the indigenous women of Sarayaku take turns at chopping a tree with a machete until it falls down. At the top of the tree there are many presents to be distributed among them. Women of all ages participate in this activity.
Caption: May 19, 2013. The indigenous women of Sarayaku gather together around a palm tree in the main plaza and take turns at chopping it until it falls down. At the top of the tree there are many presents to be distributed among them.
Caption: May 19, 2013. After the indigenous women of Sarayaku have chopped a tree down they distribute the present that were at the top of the tree.