Heres a program from our archivesWaila – the Desert People Celebratemusic: Waila bandThe music we’re listening to is called “waila”. It’s unique to the native American nation of the Tohono O’odham in southern Arizona, near the border with Mexico. I’m Jim Metzner, and this is the Pulse of the Planet. Angelo Joaquin Junior is director of an annual Waila Festival in Tuscon. He says this music is a relatively recent tradition of a very old culture.Joaquin: The people have been living here, well, since the beginning time. The Tohono O’odham creation story tells us that this land was made for us and that everything we needed in the way of physical, mental and spiritual sustenance would be provided by the plants, animals and other resources of the desert.Joaquin says that this belief empowered the Tohono O’odham, or “desert people” to survive in the harsh desert environment.Joaquin: The O’odham believe that the hindac, or the way of life, is a guiding force for the way we conduct our lives on this earth today, and certainly it dictates how we are to interact with the other people, and when O’odham talk about people, in general terms, they’re talking about plants, animals and humans, and that there is no hierarchy here, we’re all equal, and so we have to take care of each other, we have to respect each other. O’odham believe that animals have powers and they must be heeded and you don’t disrespect them because you may be affected by the power of the animal.More on the Tohono O’odham on future programs. This archival program is part of our thirtieth anniversary celebration. If you want hear more, check out our podcast. Im Jim Metzner and this is the Pulse of the Planet.
Waila - the Desert People Celebrate
The Tohono O'odham Native Americans of southern Arizona believe that everything in the desert - humans, animals and plants - must be treated with reverence.
Air Date:05/27/2021
Scientist:
Transcript:
Heres a program from our archivesWaila - the Desert People Celebratemusic: Waila bandThe music we're listening to is called "waila". It's unique to the native American nation of the Tohono O'odham in southern Arizona, near the border with Mexico. I'm Jim Metzner, and this is the Pulse of the Planet. Angelo Joaquin Junior is director of an annual Waila Festival in Tuscon. He says this music is a relatively recent tradition of a very old culture.Joaquin: The people have been living here, well, since the beginning time. The Tohono O'odham creation story tells us that this land was made for us and that everything we needed in the way of physical, mental and spiritual sustenance would be provided by the plants, animals and other resources of the desert.Joaquin says that this belief empowered the Tohono O'odham, or "desert people" to survive in the harsh desert environment.Joaquin: The O'odham believe that the hindac, or the way of life, is a guiding force for the way we conduct our lives on this earth today, and certainly it dictates how we are to interact with the other people, and when O'odham talk about people, in general terms, they're talking about plants, animals and humans, and that there is no hierarchy here, we're all equal, and so we have to take care of each other, we have to respect each other. O'odham believe that animals have powers and they must be heeded and you don't disrespect them because you may be affected by the power of the animal.More on the Tohono O'odham on future programs. This archival program is part of our thirtieth anniversary celebration. If you want hear more, check out our podcast. Im Jim Metzner and this is the Pulse of the Planet.