Leaf of Coca

コロンビアの北部の山、シエラネバダ へ4日間の旅に出た。そこには千年以上住み続ける先住民族の人たちが、自分たちの伝統を守りながら暮らしていた。彼らにとってコカは大切な儀式にも使う植物であり、日常的に持ち歩いて挨拶の際に交換しあうものでもあり、口に入れて過ごすことで高山病にも効く薬でもある。

その山でのどかに育つコカの木を見たとき、私は麻薬のイメージの強いコカの葉の本当の姿を見た。 人工的に薬物を加えられて全く違う形になってしまう前は、こんなにも平和で穏やかであどけない植物で、他の植物とも変わりない人間との美しい物語があることに気付かされた。

I set out on a four-day trip to the mountains, Sierra Nevada, in northern Colombia. There, were the Indigenous peoples living for more than a thousand years and still practicing their old traditions. For them, coca is a plant that is used for important rituals, is a thing that is carried around on a daily basis and exchanged for greetings. It is also a medicine that is effective with altitude sickness by putting it in the mouth.

When I saw a coca tree growing peacefully in the mountain, I saw the true shape of the coca leaves that normally give a strong image of drugs. By being artificially altered to become the drug, it became this completely different thing. I realized that in its pure form there was a beautiful story about a human being that is so peaceful, calm, and innocent.