Ti Zwazo’s wicked stepmother has put the child to an impossible task: go to the house of the Spirit of Death and bring home his most vital secret. On her journey she meets three nature spirits and a magic bird, each of whom helps her win entrance to the underworld—and the secret. Can she use this sacred knowledge to bring life back to her dying village?
Makandal is planning an update of this neo-folktale (or eco-folktale) of struggle, hope, and respect for Earth, with art by Kesler Pierre, and to translate it into Haitian Kreyòl.
A Haitian child overwhelmed in the aftermath of Hurricane Matthew, 2016 | Photo: UNICEF/UN03511/LeMoyne
Reports from 1999 to 2018 by the research organization Germanwatch identified Haiti as one of the three countries most vulnerable to the climate crisis. Hurricane Matthew ravaged the south in 2016, and mining companies are poised to extract from deep beneath the soil Haiti needs to feed itself. At the same time, global awareness of the crisis has blossomed. We intend to build this new awareness into our work and to get our message out in English and Kreyòl.
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Featured Image: The House of Bawon Samdi, guardian of the cemetery and keeper of the cycle of birth, death, and regeneration. Created by Kesler Pierre for The Drum and the Seed.
Welcome to Makandal 