Native and Turkic Art     www.miigi.com

Sibirga Art    www.sibirga.com

Anishinabek Art    artofmoses.tripod.com

Kuna Art   www.deleonkantule.net

RABINAL, Guatemala – the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization named the Mayan indigenous people’s play The Rabina Achi a masterpiece. The Rabina Achi was according to anthropologists first staged in the 1400’s when two Mayan kingdoms went to war 500 years before it was staged in the 14th century. The play is about a Quiche warrior who is captured and granted a few wishes among which is his wish to visit his home after which he returns to his captors and is executed in an honorable way. The play is performed annually at a January festival. It lasts two hours and is the Achi language of the Rabinal area Mayans. Performers wear wooden masks and pace back and forth in a circle to the rhythm of a traditional wooden drum called Tum and the sounds of cymbals and bells that they hold. It is one of the oldest dramas in this continent and the first to be declared by the UNSCO a global masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity.

This ceremonial play is performed in the Mayan capitol Rabinal three hours from Guatemala City. It was almost lost in Guatemala’s 30 year old civil war where government soldiers indiscriminately killed 200 000 civilians mostly Mayans. Quoting Reuters: ‘Rabinal's outlying villages were the scene of some of the country's worst massacres. According to a 1999 U.N.-backed truth report, soldiers and paramilitaries raped Maya women and smashed children's heads open on rocks, killing 143 in the nearby village of Rio Negro. During the war, the play disappeared for several years when meetings of groups larger than two people sparked the military's fears of guerrilla organizing.’

The Mayans worry that the UNESCO award will destroy this prehistoric drama on their continent. Quoting Reuters:’ "The title is a tragedy," said Virgilio Yol Jeronimo, a youth group leader in Rabinal. "This just reinforces the image of indigenous people as a tourist attraction. It turns it into a marketable object." ‘

Jose Leon Coloch, 69, has the role of overseeing the play passed down to him from by his father and from his ancestors. He says that till recently he and the performers were treated like with witches. At present Guatemala’s Ministry of Culture supports the play.

To read more visit: http://www.unesco.org/culture/intangible-heritage/15lac_uk.htm

In New Zealand/Aoteara in Wanganui a new movie is made, it's about the Maori  and it caused concerns with the Maori , New Zealand Native Nation, because it is touching on things sacred to the Maori  that are not supposed to be used in entertainment movies.

Iwi spokesman and the movie's cultural advisor Gerrard Albert says the ceremony, which is being held in the city where it was filmed, is about acknowledging the co-operation between the film's production team and local Maori. He says one of the film's waka will be paddled up the river and a haka and powhiri will be held on the shore.

This movie is staring Temuera Morrison in the lead roll the very well known Maori actor. Most people saw him on screen in movies that are regular commercial entertainment movies not knowing that he  is Maori. He is the nephiew of the famous New Zealand entertainer Sir Howard Morrison. He played Boba Fett in Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980). He also played in Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983) and Jango Fett in Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones (2002)

Here's his filmography:
(2000s) (1990s) (1980s) (1970s)

1. Star Wars: Battlefront II (2005) (VG) (voice) .... Boba Fett, Jango Fett, Republic Officer 1, Retired Clone Trooper
2. River Queen (2005) .... Te Kai Po
3. Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005) .... Commander Cody
4. Star Wars: Republic Commando (2005) (VG) (voice) .... Delta Three-Eight "Boss"
5. Star Wars: Battlefront (2004) (VG) (voice) .... Republic Infantry, Republic Officer
6. Blueberry (2004) .... Runi
   ... aka Blueberry: L'expérience secrète (France)
   ... aka Renegade (USA)
7. The Beautiful Country (2004) .... Snakeyes
8. Star Wars: Bounty Hunter (2002) (VG) (voice) .... Jango Fett
9. "Mataku" (2002) TV Series .... Host
10. Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones (2002) .... Jango Fett
    ... aka Attack of the Clones: The IMAX Experience (USA: IMAX version (promotional title))
    ... aka Star Wars II (USA: promotional abbreviation)
    ... aka Star Wars II: Attack of the Clones (USA: video box title)
11. Crooked Earth (2001) .... Will Bastion
12. Vertical Limit (2000) .... Major Rasul
13. From Dusk Till Dawn 3: The Hangman's Daughter (2000) (V) .... The Hangman
    ... aka The Hangman's Daughter (USA: closing credits title)
14. Ihaka: Blunt Instrument (2000) (TV) .... Tito Ihaka
    
     
15. What Becomes of the Broken Hearted? (1999) .... Jake Heke
16. Six Days Seven Nights (1998) .... Jager
    ... aka 6 Days 7 Nights
17. Speed 2: Cruise Control (1997) .... Juliano
18. Broken English (1996) .... Manu
19. The Island of Dr. Moreau (1996) .... Azazello
20. Barb Wire (1996) .... Axel Hood
21. Little White Lies (1996) .... Tim
22. Whipping Boy (1996) .... Jack
23. Once Were Warriors (1994) .... Jake Heke
24. "Shortland Street" (1992) TV Series .... Dr. Hone Ropata (1992-1995)
25. The Grasscutter (1990) .... Det. Sgt. Harris
    
     
26. Mauri (1988) .... Young Cop
27. Never Say Die (1988) .... Alf Winters
28. "Adventurer" (1987) TV Series .... Maru
29. "Gloss" (1987) TV Series .... Sean
30. Other Halves (1984) .... Tony
    
     
31. Rangi's Catch (1972) .... Rangi