The myth of the stolen eyeballs - Nathan D. Horowitz
-
0:08 - 0:11Deep in the Amazon rainforest
in the river Nea’ocoyá, -
0:11 - 0:14lived,
according to Siekopai legend, -
0:14 - 0:17a school
of particularly big and tasty fish. -
0:19 - 0:24When the rains came and the water rose,
the fish appeared, -
0:24 - 0:27swimming away as the waters fell again.
-
0:27 - 0:32The villagers along the river reveled
in this occasional bounty— -
0:32 - 0:34and wanted more.
-
0:34 - 0:37They followed them upriver deep
into the jungle -
0:37 - 0:41to a lagoon that thundered
with the sound of flapping fish. -
0:43 - 0:46The whole village set up camp
by the lagoon, -
0:46 - 0:51bringing barbasco, a poison they would put
in the water to stun the fish. -
0:51 - 0:54Meanwhile, their young shaman took a walk.
-
0:54 - 0:58He sensed he might not be
completely alone. -
0:58 - 1:03Then, he came to a monse tree
humming so loudly -
1:03 - 1:07he could hear it even above the thunder
of the fish. -
1:07 - 1:13With that, he was sure:
spirits lived here. -
1:13 - 1:17Back at camp, he warned his people
these fish had an owner. -
1:17 - 1:18He would find the owner.
-
1:18 - 1:23Until he returned, no one should fish.
-
1:23 - 1:25He went to the humming tree.
-
1:25 - 1:31Inside was a hollow as big as a house,
full of busy weavers. -
1:31 - 1:33Their chief invited him in,
-
1:33 - 1:37explaining that the juicy
little siripia fruits were ripening, -
1:37 - 1:41and they were weaving
baskets to collect them. -
1:41 - 1:43Though they looked and acted like people,
-
1:43 - 1:48the shaman knew they were juri,
or air goblins, -
1:48 - 1:51who could fly and control the winds.
-
1:51 - 1:54They taught him how to weave.
-
1:54 - 1:56Before the shaman left,
-
1:56 - 2:00the goblin chief whispered
some cryptic instructions in his ear. -
2:00 - 2:05Finally, he told him to tie
a pineapple shoot outside a hollow log -
2:05 - 2:08and sleep inside that night.
-
2:17 - 2:24Back at camp, the villagers were fishing
with barbasco poison, cooking, and eating. -
2:24 - 2:29Only the shaman’s little sister refrained.
-
2:29 - 2:34Then, everyone else fell
into a deep sleep. -
2:34 - 2:37The shaman and his sister
yelled and shook them, -
2:37 - 2:39but they wouldn’t wake.
-
2:41 - 2:44It was getting dark,
so the shaman and his sister -
2:44 - 2:48tied the pineapple sprout outside
the hollow log and crawled inside. -
2:48 - 2:53A strong wind rose—
the mark of the air goblins. -
2:53 - 2:56It broke branches
and brought down trees. -
2:56 - 2:59Caymans, boas and jaguars roared.
-
2:59 - 3:02The water began to rise.
-
3:02 - 3:06The fish flopped off the drying racks
and swam away. -
3:06 - 3:09The pineapple sprout turned into a dog.
-
3:09 - 3:14All night it barked, keeping the jungle
creatures away from the fallen tree. -
3:14 - 3:18When dawn broke, the flood receded.
-
3:18 - 3:21The fish were gone,
and most of the people were, too: -
3:21 - 3:24the jungle animals had devoured them.
-
3:26 - 3:29Only the shaman’s relatives survived.
-
3:29 - 3:31When his family turned toward him,
-
3:31 - 3:37the shaman realized what the goblins meant
when they said the fruits were ripening: -
3:37 - 3:41they weren’t really collecting
siripia fruits at all, -
3:41 - 3:43but human eyes.
-
3:43 - 3:45The shaman’s older sister called him over,
-
3:45 - 3:50trying to touch his face
with her long, sharp nails. -
3:50 - 3:54He backed away and, remembering
the goblin chief’s instructions, -
3:54 - 3:57threw palm seeds at her face.
-
3:57 - 3:59The seeds became eyes.
-
3:59 - 4:05But then she transformed
into a white-lipped peccary and ran away— -
4:05 - 4:09still alive, but no longer human.
-
4:09 - 4:13The shaman and his little sister’s
whole community was gone. -
4:13 - 4:15They went to live with another village,
-
4:15 - 4:20where he taught everyone to weave baskets,
as the air goblins had taught him. -
4:20 - 4:24But he couldn’t forget the last
of the goblin chief’s words, -
4:24 - 4:27which told him how to get revenge.
-
4:27 - 4:32He returned to the air goblins’ home
carrying chili peppers wrapped in leaves. -
4:32 - 4:35As the goblins watched
through their peepholes, -
4:35 - 4:39the shaman made a fire
and put the chili peppers on it. -
4:39 - 4:42The fire began to smoke the tree out.
-
4:42 - 4:45The goblins who had eaten
people’s eyes died. -
4:45 - 4:49Those who hadn’t
were light enough to fly away. -
4:49 - 4:53So the goblins, like the humans,
paid a steep price. -
4:53 - 4:57But they also lived to tell the tale,
like the shaman. -
4:57 - 5:01In Siekopai legend, where the spirit
and human worlds meet, -
5:01 - 5:04there are no clear victors,
-
5:04 - 5:08and even death
is an opportunity for renewal.
- Title:
- The myth of the stolen eyeballs - Nathan D. Horowitz
- Speaker:
- Nathan D. Horowitz
- Description:
-
View full lesson: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/the-amazonian-myth-of-the-goblins-revenge-nathan-d-horowitz
Deep in the Amazon rainforest in the river Nea'ocoyá lived a school of particularly big and tasty fish. When the rains came and the water rose the fish appeared, and swam away as the waters fell. Villagers along the river followed them to a lagoon and set up camp. But their young shaman soon sensed they might not be completely alone. Nathan D. Horowitz details the Siekopai myth of the air goblins.
Lesson by Nathan D. Horowitz, directed by Yijia Cao & Mohammad Babakoohi, narrated by Jack Cutmore-Scott].
- Video Language:
- English
- Team:
- closed TED
- Project:
- TED-Ed
- Duration:
- 05:12
lauren mcalpine edited English subtitles for The myth of the stolen eyeballs | ||
lauren mcalpine approved English subtitles for The myth of the stolen eyeballs | ||
lauren mcalpine accepted English subtitles for The myth of the stolen eyeballs | ||
lauren mcalpine edited English subtitles for The myth of the stolen eyeballs | ||
Tara Ahmadinejad edited English subtitles for The myth of the stolen eyeballs | ||
Tara Ahmadinejad edited English subtitles for The myth of the stolen eyeballs | ||
Tara Ahmadinejad edited English subtitles for The myth of the stolen eyeballs |