OruMbya – Astronomy as fuel of life: the resilience of stars in Yoruba, Afro-Brazilian and Indigenous Cosmogony

OruMbya (Orum, sky in Yorubá, and Mbya, a Brazilian Guarani ethnicity) is a pilot project to celebrate Astronomy as the fuel of life, in which the stories of the stars are preserved in the resilience of people from three different continents and shared over months, through scientific-cultural activities focused on the dissemination of knowledge, promotion of social inclusion and sustainable development in the context of PLOAD. In this first phase, the hosts are the cultural centre “Remanescentes da Tia Ciata”, whose aim is the defence and preservation of afro-brazilian memories in Rio, and the centenary Observatory of Valongo (OV), one of the oldest institutions of Astronomy in Brazil. The two institutions are located in Morro da Conceição, an iconic place of resistance and reaffirmation of black identity, one of the most socially vulnerable urban regions in Rio. We plan to organise five public events (once a month) at the Observatory of Valongo. Every event will comprise an organic combination of three experiences: dedicated to astronomy, african and indigenous knowledge, and art or music, which will be recorded and live broadcast. There will be webinars (roundtable discussions) where people from the different countries will share their experiences of Cultural Astronomy. Locally, we will organise workshops on traditional food/herbs used in Afro-Indigeneous cultures, as well as seminars on specific astronomy subjects (calendars, cycle of seasons, stars, planets, chemical evolution of the Universe), accompanied by music from the partner countries. An e-booklet and an outreach video will be created from the recordings and photos of the organised events. The outcomes of this project will be publicly available for downloading and streaming from the site of the OV, Casa da Tia Ciata and PLOAD. Our activities will attract a diverse public (children, young and adults), leading toward an exciting and healthy sharing of life experiences.

 

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