Tore of the Sun and the Moon

Directed by Zeca Ligiero
Theatre at University of Rio de Janeiro in July, 1999

This piece is based on an indigenous myth of the Kamaiura and Kuikura people of the Amazon Basin (Brazil) that tells how Mavutisin, in order to save himself from being devoured by panthers, promised one his daughters to their chief in marriage. Regretting his action, he makes different women out of branches and twigs and sends them in place of his daughter to the panther chief. Two of the tree-women survive the arduous trip. On arrival, one of them becomes pregnant by the panther chief, but his mother kills her out of jealousy. The father and the sister-tree remove the two twins, the Sun and the Moon, from the womb of their dead mother and place them in a basked and high in a tree in order to complete their gestation. He hides the mother's body in the garden, marries the sister-tree and decides never to tell his children about their grandmother's crime. It is told how the sun and the moon grew up to revenge their mother, confront their father and found a warrior dynasty.

The work of character development demanded research into indigenous gestures and body painting techniques, which sought to understand the symbols, the mythology and the meaning of each stage of the work's creation. For this purpose, two shamans, musicians and dancers, Tchydjo and Tekaina, from the Kariri Xoco tribe, were invited to collaborate with and teach movement to the student actors. They taught a variety of Tore (celebration and ritual) dances and rythmns to the students which were then integrated into the overall piece.

More on the Toré and the Kariri-Xocó
More on Master Tchydjo

In this piece, I sought to emphasize the bodily work of the students-actors through multiple transformations: trees that transform into people, four-legged animals that transform themselves into a humans, birds which speak and interact with people and other animals. Narrative and ritual intertwine and give a mythological dimension to the piece. First they read the myth and discussed it exhaustively. Then, they improvised and the text and movement were placed in a kind of score where all the elements were combined together. The choreographer worked hard to make the movement precise and meaningful. We only used essential words in order to enhance the magical atmosphere of the original myth. The floor of the theatre was covered with earth, the set constructed with organic materials and fire was a central element of the staging. The play was presented in the Main Stage Theatre at University of Rio de Janeiro in July, 1999.

Slideshow of the Performance