Once upon a time, there was … Noushi.
There are encounters that, even when they are brief, mark you deeply. Precious moments and you instantly know that you live an experience suspended beyond the passage of time. As a photographer, you are experiencing a contradictory feeling between living intensely in the present moment and taking photographs to keep track of what you live … being able to share with those who do not have the chance to live the same experience as you …
Noushi, he appeared with his long black hair and white tunic, and, his little dog. Straight out of another universe between the past and the present, betrayed by his little “Crocs” plastic. We would have met the little Prince with his fox, that it would have had on me the same effect. Noushi is a Lacandon Indian from the Selva Lacandona. He lives with his family in the heart of the tropical forest of Chiapas, Mexico.
He is one of the most isolated groups of indigenous tribes in Chiapas. Almost extinct in 1943 their population today is less than 1000 people … Noushi speaks a language Hach T’ana, a strange language almost identical to that of their ancestors. It is one of the last Maya of the Selva Lacandona. They open to the outside world since the middle of the 20th century. Indeed, Noushi is one of the last Maya of the Selva Lacandona.
But for how long?
We followed Noushi and his little dog on the way in the middle of the jungle. I held my breath, I would have liked to stop the time, suspend it indefinitely …
What is our impact of “foreigners who just pass by ” on these communities? Is it too late to go back, tell them that they must preserve their history, their culture at all costs, not just for the “foreigners”, but to give hope to all Humans … So many questions without an easy answer … Protecting humans from other humans …
Noushi, you are my “Little Prince” of Chiapas, our encounter was brief as a shooting star, but I had time to make a wish … that your culture never disappears, that your children and those of your children carry within them the hope of a better world more respectful of its environment, of the Earth and especially of other Humans. I’m taking you to my heart forever.
Note: I thank the Topche Ecolodge family who accepted that I take pictures of the family. Thank you for your smiles and your welcome … A special thank you to Noushi, my “Little Prince” of Chiapas.