“Children never finish learning their practices, but rather what they learn as young children they put it to the test in their activities.”Īs part of their training, students participate in reforestation efforts, learning that they must grow new trees to replace the ones fashioned into poles that have been taken to use in their rituals. “The flying ritual has never had a learning age, it is a project of a lifetime,” he says. Some are teenagers some are as young as 6. He now runs the Escuela de Niños Voladores based in Temático Takilhsukut Park in Papantla. “When the flyers train, they learn the original language, the meaning of the songs, they learn gratitude for what nature has given us,” says Mario Ramírez, who did his first circuit around the pole 18 years ago. “The ritual ceremony of the Voladores expresses the worldview and values of the community, facilitates communication with the gods and invites prosperity.” Recognized as “intangible cultural heritage” in 2009 by UNESCO, the ceremony “brings to life the myth of the birth of the universe,” the United Nations cultural organization said. There are supposed to be 13 full rotations before the flyers reach the ground, with the four added together being 52. The embroidered patterns on the costumes and the mirrored elements of the headdresses are all imbued with meaning. ![]() At the top, the caporal, or chief, plays songs on the flute that are dedicated to the sun and the four winds from four directions, also symbolizing the elements of fire, water, air and earth. After a brief ceremony on the ground, the group climbs the pole. For the participants, there are layers of meaning touching on fertility, harmony with nature and a connection to the ancestors. To the outside observer, it’s a simple yet striking chain of events to watch. The epicenter of this is the Veracruz “pueblo magico” (magic town) of Papantla. It is believed that the ritual originated in a time of drought and famine when the flyers were sent to appeal to the gods “for rain to fertilize the earth,” according to a government report (pdf).Īlthough tribes in other regions may have originated the practice, it is now associated with the Totonac people who kept the ritual alive. The Voladores of Veracruz in Mexico have a history that goes back at least 1,400 years. All the while, the caporal at the top keeps playing his music and banging the drum to accompany the flyers until they reach the ground and the ritual is done. Eventually the other four rise in unison and launch into the air, their ankles connected to the top by ropes as they spin around the pole.Įach time the four men complete a circle, the ropes unwind a bit more and the men fly closer to the ground, arms outstretched as they soar along. ![]() ![]() One plays a metal flute and beats a pattern on a drum. At first, there’s not much happening – just five men in white tops and tasseled red pants clinging to a small platform high atop a single pole.
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