THE STORYTELLERS | Napoleon | comunidad Shipetiari | Cantos Matsigenka

The Storytellers is our current and ongoing Xapiri Ground project in collaboration with the Matsigenka community of Shipetiari located in the Manu biosphere of the Peruvian Amazon. Featured here is Napoleon who sings some traditional Matsigenka songs: 1) PARARI / NUTRIA / The Otter This chant is about ’Parari’ (the otter), because the otter likes to eat fish, it always goes around the river looking for its fish. The song also includes the canoe of ’tsiguri’ (cicada) because cicadas make their canoe to go to the river to fish. Este canto es sobre el ’Parari’ (la nutria), porque la nutria le gusta comer pescados, siempre anda por el rio buscando sus pescados. También incluye la canoa de ’tsiguri’ (chicharra) porque chicharra hace su canoa para que vayan al rio a pescar. 2) SHIANI / OSO HORMIGUERO / The Anteater The song of the ’Shiani’ recognizes that she likes to eat insects such as earthworms. It walks in the woods looking for its meals, making holes in any damp place. El canto del ’Shiani’ reconoce que le gusta comer insectos como las lombrices. Camina en los bosques buscando su comida, haciendo huecos en cualquier sitio húmedo. Learn more about this and other Xapiri Ground projects: Lend your support to our organization: This project is made possible through our partnership with SePerú; a non-profit organization dedicated to equal benefits and co-management of Peruvian Indigenous communities and their natural ecosystem. Video Footage: Mike van Kruchten, Melanie Dizon, Davis Torres Video edition: Melanie Dizon Matsigenka Song Interpretation: Gregorio Perez © 2022 by Xapiri Ground. All rights reserved.