Work Time
There are illustrated ideas from our grandparents’ past experiences
like the stories of the old inhabitants of this continent.
In this country, Mexico, they also valued the bees
so they began to keep them inside the little pots.
I'm going to leave these flower buds over there (Xiloxochico).
Are you taking them there?
Yes, I'm going to leave them at the church, in their sacred place.
You're missing those little roses. Aren't you going to cut them up there?
Where?
Those little roses.
I cut some of them – these. I already cut four.
Ok.
This is already something significant.
We want to do something,
something representative.
Flowers are essential for them.
Of course.
I will therefore go entrust with the Virgin Mary.
Of course.
May our Lord give them more.
That’s how we’re going to stay,
both them and us.
And this is why we want to celebrate it, as it should be.
You were born with permission
to drink nectar from the flowers.
With the duty to fertilize
the fruits of the earth.
You nourish our bodies.
You sweeten our lives.
In your pitchers, you keep the mysteries
of the sacred architecture of nature.
You transform the heat of the sun
into fresh water that cures.
Your buzzing graces the air and opens the doors inside the flowers.
Wood and clay are your dwelling place.
You work tirelessly
fertilizing, pollinating.
I, humble woman of the earth,
who walk on your face, everyday
I hurt you, I dirty you, and wither you.
I know that someday you will eat me
and carry me in your entrails.
As you nourish me, so shall I nourish you.
We can say that the woman is the one who gives fertility, generates life.
We can say that our God is with her.
The juice from the sugar cane mill came out very tasty.
It squeezed out very well.
It's good because it saves work, you don't have to gather so much firewood anymore.
It is also better to use it this way, because if you deforest, there are no more flowers,
and without flowers, how can there be pollination? How will there be honey?
If we don't take care of the trees, our bees are going to die.
That's why we use the dry pulpy cane residue – not to cut down trees.
We are going to harvest the honey of our bees.
Let's see how much honey they have.
We can tell that this box has only young bees.
We'd only remove the core.
It doesn't have much honey?
No, this one hardly has any.
This is the queen bee.
We have to cover it very well now to protect her, and so she doesn’t go away.
It has very little honey.
Yes, we’ll see how we do next year.
These are the workers.
Some of them carry pollen,
and others will bring only honey from the flowers.
The worker bees work in these two ways.
The queen is the mother of all.
She is in charge of taking care of the young bees.
There are bees that only work inside the hive.
They are dedicated to building the jars where they make their honey.
That’s how it is.
If there are no more bees, no fruits of any plant will be born.
For example, coffee, pepper – of any plant that is.
They do the work of pollinating.
They allow fruit to ripen well.
It is important that we continue taking care of them.
This should be discussed every time we meet.
We must take care of them.
Melipona bees, also known as native bees, taxkat/pisil nekmej, are the primary pollinators of endemic species in the cloud forests and deciduous tropical forests throughout Mesoamerica.
For centuries, Indigenous peoples have used the Melipona bee's honey, pollen, and propolis as medicine and nutrient. This short film expresses part of the Masehual and Totonac cosmovision from their perspective, and the work of caring for the bees.
For years, Melipona beekeepers have sold their products in town squares. The benefits of the bees are used at the family level.
The Union of Tosepan cooperative centre brings together over 40,000 producers from the northeastern mountains of Puebla and Veracruz, breaking down borders so that honey and its products can reach more homes.
Dedicated to the Masehual and Totonac beekeepers who protect and defend life and territory.