Atikamekw Nehirowisiwok

Translation: Nicole Petiquay

Narration: Nicole Petiquay

0:00 3:45

Atikamekw Nehirowisiwok

Spirituality

 

Between birth and death, Life is but an accessory. What matters to us is the survival of the spirit which depends on family members who must look after the spirit of the dead, through the bonds created by the Drum.

The use of this instrument requires special respect, demands a seriousness and thereby, bears in its symbolism purity and the centrality of relationships that bind us to other beings, to the world and to spirits. We are reclaiming this organ which is the Drum to stay alive; we strike its membrane so that the meanings of our dreams finally become understandable again through the chaos of this era.

Many are fighting for the repatriation of our ancestors’ bones preserved in museums or universities. We want to bring them back near us, within our communities; an urgent necessity since abandoning them is unthinkable to us.

HOW DOES IT WORK