Qutiy, Returning to the Land is a photographic series about native American corn.About the relationship of the Quechua, Nasa, Otomi, Zapotec indigenous peoples with the seed that gave beginning to the time, to the agricultural cycles. Seed with which they observed the skies and the stars to dream of corn. The ancestors of America say that from the cob the gods sculpted our human bodies.
By documenting native corn and its rituals in Latin America, I can better understand the world of indigenous peoples, their connection to Nature and their identity. The seeds, drying in the sun, are treated as newborns. I remember as a child my mother used to wrap me with the Lliclla, a Quechua cloth, just like this child, to make us stronger. Likewise, corn seeds are wrapped in the Lliclla.
Each species, size, color and shape is related to a story, has a specific individual meaning and use.Corn is not only our staple food, but a precious object for pre-Columbian rituals still present. For offerings to the earth and, more importantly, for healing ceremonies.
As a photographer, I believe that if we become aware of this, we will understand how they have preserved native seeds, such as the more than 55 varieties of corn in Peru and 64 in Mexico for more than 8,700 years.
2018 - ongoing
With the National Greographic Society's support.
Qutiy, Returning to the Land is a photographic series about native American corn.About the relationship of the Quechua, Nasa, Otomi, Zapotec indigenous peoples with the seed that gave beginning to the time, to the agricultural cycles. Seed with which they observed the skies and the stars to dream of corn. The ancestors of America say that from the cob the gods sculpted our human bodies.
By documenting native corn and its rituals in Latin America, I can better understand the world of indigenous peoples, their connection to Nature and their identity. The seeds, drying in the sun, are treated as newborns. I remember as a child my mother used to wrap me with the Lliclla, a Quechua cloth, just like this child, to make us stronger. Likewise, corn seeds are wrapped in the Lliclla.
Each species, size, color and shape is related to a story, has a specific individual meaning and use.Corn is not only our staple food, but a precious object for pre-Columbian rituals still present. For offerings to the earth and, more importantly, for healing ceremonies.
As a photographer, I believe that if we become aware of this, we will understand how they have preserved native seeds, such as the more than 55 varieties of corn in Peru and 64 in Mexico for more than 8,700 years.
2018 - ongoing
With the National Greographic Society's support.
Qutiy, Returning to the Land is a photographic series about native American corn.About the relationship of the Quechua, Nasa, Otomi, Zapotec indigenous peoples with the seed that gave beginning to the time, to the agricultural cycles. Seed with which they observed the skies and the stars to dream of corn. The ancestors of America say that from the cob the gods sculpted our human bodies.
By documenting native corn and its rituals in Latin America, I can better understand the world of indigenous peoples, their connection to Nature and their identity. The seeds, drying in the sun, are treated as newborns. I remember as a child my mother used to wrap me with the Lliclla, a Quechua cloth, just like this child, to make us stronger. Likewise, corn seeds are wrapped in the Lliclla.
Each species, size, color and shape is related to a story, has a specific individual meaning and use.Corn is not only our staple food, but a precious object for pre-Columbian rituals still present. For offerings to the earth and, more importantly, for healing ceremonies.
As a photographer, I believe that if we become aware of this, we will understand how they have preserved native seeds, such as the more than 55 varieties of corn in Peru and 64 in Mexico for more than 8,700 years.
2018 - ongoing
Florence Goupil
Freelance photographer and storyteller based in Peru. National Geographic Explorer.