Anima
Activity Book
Anima
“At night, I turn into an animal...”
Anima is an immersive installation gathering
artists, magicians, and explorers to question
the difference between men and animals and
the very notion of soul.
The exhibition Anima is a meditation of the
soul as expressed by K’in Obregón, a legendary Lacandon figure. K’in Obregón is a major
character among the Lacandon Maya who have
lived for centuries in Central American Forests.
Valentine Losseau, an anthropologist and dramatist, has been working with K’in Obregón’s
family for seven years and spoke with them
about his strange and mysterious life shortly
before his death.
According to legend, K’in Obregón was invited
to the 1937 Exposition Universelle (Paris World
Fair) in Paris to be exhibited as a “native” in
what today might be called “a human zoo”.
Anima uses the story of this mysterious figure
as a starting point to explore the distinction
between animate and inanimate, human and
animal, naturalism and animism. Children will
enter a world of myth and magic, surrounded
by forests and archeology.
My name is K´in Obregón. When I was born, I
was named K´in. In my language, K´in means
“Sun”. One day, some people came to my village and said: “From now on, your name will
be Obregón.” It sounded strange and a little
funny. That is why I have two names now.
At night, I turn into an animal. In my dreams,
I walk the forest, I search for food, I hunt, I
drink water from the river. Sometimes, I see
my father as a macaw parrot or my sister as
a jaguar. If I bump into her then I usually run
away so she doesn’t eat me!
Everyone is invited to consider the question:
what if the relationship between humans and
animals was one of equality? What if animals
did have souls? These people came from far away. They didn’t
were
speak the same language as me, and they wer
forest
afraid of the jungle. Not me. The fores
single
is my home and I know every singl
here.
animal and plant that lives her
people
I am a Maya, and my peopl
forest
have been living in the fores
become
for centuries. We’ve becom
used to life in the forest. IIn
and
fact, we love it there, an
that
what we fear most is tha
might
our beloved forest migh
one day disappear. That
Tha
be
day, all the plants will b
left
gone and we will be lef
without a home.
The people who came from far away thought
this
his was very strange. One day, they invited
me
e to come to their country, far,
far
ar away. I was curious to see
their
heir world. That’s when they
exhibited
xhibited me in a human zoo.
Maybe
aybe they thought I was
an
n animal.
This project was conceived in July 2015,
during a meeting in the Lacandones forest
between anthropologist Valentine Losseau and
Prune Nourry, an artist-in-residence at The
Invisible Dog Art Center. Following a second
exploratory trip, they invited several artists from
different fields to work together to create this
experience in the heart of New York City.
Prune Nourry, artist
Valentine Losseau, dramatist & anthropologist, La Cie 14:20
Raphaël Navarro, magician, La Cie 14:20
Etienne Saglio, magician
Takao Shiraishi, artist
Benjamin Gabrié, scenographer
It also makes me sad tto
think that the animals
animal
too.
will lose their home, to
bond
My people have a special bon
just
with animals. When I was jus
me
a small child, my parents told m
told
that I had a totem animal. They tol
forest
me that the animal lived in the fores
intertwined.
and that our fates would forever be intertwine
Every child from my village has one. Mine is a
peccary (a sort of wild pig). My brother’s totem
animal is a silver fish, and my sister’s, a spider
monkey. In my culture, animals are considered
to be part of the family. The women breastfeed
animals the same way they would their baby.
When
hen I came back, I
didn’t
idn’t know what to
think.
hink. I told my family
about
bout my adventure,
but
ut they didn’t understand
tand what a zoo was,
orr why people would
want
ant to watch me.
For
or us, humans are no
better
etter than plants or
animals.
nimals. We are all equal
because
ecause we all live together,
in
n the forest. That’s why I like
to
o turn into an animal, because
that
hat way, I can see the world through
different
ifferent eyes.
2
In our culture, we all have an animal we identify to: it is called a “totem animal”.
Our destinies are deeply connected. Choose yours.
Toucan
y
ar
cc
Pe
gu
ar
Life in the forest. Draw a line between the picture and the corresponding activity.
Ja
1
Cook
Drink
Fish
Sleep
ey
Spider monk
Fish
GAME
GAME
“I, K’in Obregón, am a Maya. The Maya people have
been living in the forest, in Latin America, for centuries.”
GAME
1 Who are the Maya?
Cultivate
Play
3
Or invent your own!
At night, in my dreams, I turn into an animal.
Imagine here your dreams as your totem animal and tell us more about your adventures
in the jungle and who you would meet.
4
Naturalism
Do you think there should be such a hierarchy?
5
You can also represent Animism as a circle.
Place a human, a plant, and an animal where you want.
This is how we the Maya
live in harmony in the forest.
Animism
GAME
GAME
“Where I live, animals are as important as human beings.
But some people think differently. Some think that
humankind is superior. In the forest, we think that plants,
animals, and humans are equal. This is called Animism.”
GAME
2 Animism & Naturalism
6
Help them find their way home!
GAME
“One day, some strangers came and took me away.
They wanted to display me in a zoo, in their country.”
7
What did they see when they looked at me?
Me, as K’in Obregón?
This is what I was seeing:
Does that seem strange to you? What do you think?
GAME
3 A human zoo?
8
When I came home, they told me I had been exhibited like an animal. What’s so wrong
with that, I thought ? I began to wonder: what is the difference between a human,
an animal and a plant?
Who are they? Name these creatures and draw your own hybrid.
Or my totem animal,
the peccary?
4 Who has an “Anima”?
“The Anima is a natural force that breathes life into
all living things around you.
Some people think that the difference between humans
and animals is that humans have a soul and animals don’t.
GAME
Where I live, we believe that animals, trees and humans
all have souls. But different beliefs can coexist in the
same country.”
9
If you could draw a soul for each of the pictures beneath, what would it look like?
5 Looking through the eyes…
GAME
“Today, there are people who are trying to put the forest
inside a cage…
10
…of another
“Sometimes, we think there is only one way
to look at things…
Connect the dots beneath the picture to reveal the reflection.
…But they forget that there are people living there.”
…But things can look very different, depending
on where you stand. In order to see the whole picture,
you have to look at it through the eyes of another.”
6 Glossary
To Find out more
Anima
The Maya An ancient word that means
“soul.” In Ancient Greece, people
thought it was a little gust of
air that breathed life into all
living beings. You can recognize
the word “anima” in a word you
use all the time: animal.
The Maya are a people living
in Central America. A long time
ago, their ancestors built huge
pyramids. In the Maya forest,
they learned how to grow corn,
tomatoes and coffee. Today they
live in Mexico, Guatemala and
Honduras. The Maya speak 33
different languages! In fact, you
know at least one Maya word:
cocoa (which they spell “kököw”),
and which means chocolate.
Animism
The belief that humans,
animals and plants all have
souls. Animists believe that,
like humans, animals can
dream and plants can have
feelings, just as you do. It
doesn’t mean we are all alike:
the jaguar has spots, the
monkey has a long tail, and
humans walk on their two legs.
Naturalism
The belief that only humans
have a soul, which makes
them different from animals
and plants, even though they
are, in many ways, similar. For
example, did you know that the
wing of a bird has five fingers
and that a giraffe’s neck has
five vertebrae — just like you.
Just a dream
Chris Van Allsburg,
Houghton Mifflin Company, 2011
.
Giving Tree
Shel Silverstein,
HarpersCollins, 1964
.
L'homme qui plantait les arbres
Jean Giono, illustrations by Willi Glasauer,
Gallimard Jeunesse, 2014
.
La Terre Respire
Guia Risari and Alessandro Sanna,
Editions MeMo, 2008
.
Beyond Nature and Culture
Philippe Descola, translation by Janet Lloyd,
University of Chicago Press, 2013
.
Zoo ou l’assassin philanthrope
Vercors, Editions Magnard, 1959
.
Think Global, Act rural
(Solutions locales pour un désordre global)
documentary film, Coline Serreau, 2010
.
Anima
is presented
by The Invisible Dog
Art Center, as part of
Tilt Kids Festival, supported
by the French Institute Alliance
Française (FIAF), and the
French Cultural
Services.
With the
generous support
of Elizabeth Krief Manardo
& Jacques Manardo.
Authors:
Prune Nourry,
Valentine Losseau,
and Raphael Navarro
Editing Director: Léa Gabrié
Graphic designer: Marion Bizet
Illustrator: Laure Macé de Lépinay
Printed on recycled paper
by Think Box Media.
March 2016
NY
.