Celebrate Peruvian Culture with Auckland Museum

Celebrate Peruvian Culture with Auckland Museum

A day of fun educational activities like no other is on offer at Auckland Museum on Sunday 17 August with a unique Living Treasures Day, Peruvian Cultural Celebration.

Fascinating educational lectures include Isabel Yaya, from Paris, discussing Religious Thought and Practice in the Inca Empire.

Dr. Kathryn Lehman, from the New Zealand Centre for Latin American Studies, will hold a talk about Indigenous Peoples in Peru.

Why not take the opportunity to have a look at the exhibition Gold & Sacrifice: Treasures of Ancient Peru (admission charges apply), a supernatural tale of the Incas and their ancestors. Our own curator of archaeology, Dr. Nigel Prickett, will be available to take you on a special guided tour.

Music and dance are fundamental to the very fabric of Peru, and are therefore a big part of the day’s line-up. Music will be provided by Sol De Los Andes, a three-piece local band combining pan flute, guitar, mandolin and vocals as well as Tumi, a group of Latin American musicians who will play a selection of traditional music from their homeland.

Peruvian dance teacher, Jorge Sequeiros, will be demonstrating traditional and contemporary Peruvian dance, followed by the opportunity to strut your stuff as Jorge teaches the Marinera; a sleek and complex dance of highly coordinated choreography, dating back to the 19th century.

Kids can keep themselves busy with plenty of Peruvian activities including the Path to Peru Education Trail, a Peru colouring competition and more.

Lectures include:

Dr. Kathryn Lehman, Acting Director of the New Zealand Centre for Latin American Studies. Speaking with and about Indigenous Peoples in Peru 1.00pm Education Room, Ground Floor.

Nigel Prickett, Curator of Archeology Gallery Tour, Gold and Sacrifice: Treasures From Ancient Peru 2.00pm (Meet inside the exhibition), Ground Floor.

*Isabel Yaya, PhD student at the Ecole Pratique de Hautes Etudes, Paris Religious Thought and Practice in the Inca Empire 3.00pm Apec Room, Ground Floor.

Traditional Peruvian Performance includes:

Demonstration of traditional and contemporary Peruvian dance by Jorge Sequeiros, Peruvian Dance Teacher. Followed by your chance to learn the traditional Peruvian dance, the Marinera. 11.00am-12.30pm Exhibition Hall 1, Ground Floor.

Sol De Los Andes, a three-piece local band combining pan flute, guitar, mandolin, and vocals. 12.30pm-1.30pm Foyer, Ground Floor.

Tumi, a group of local Latin American musicians (who take their name from the ritual knives used in human sacrifice) will play a selection of traditional music from their homeland. 2.30pm-3.30pm Exhibition Hall 1, Ground Floor. Kids activities include:

Make your own clay pot or Peruvian Badge 10.00am-12.00noon & 1.30pm-3.00pm. Discovery Centre, First Floor.

Peru Colouring Competition Path to Peru Educational Trail Great prizes to be won. Entry forms at the Information Desk, Foyer, Ground Floor.

Documentary Screening: Inca Mummies: Secrets of a Lost World. All Day, Matapuna, First Floor.

Peruvian websites also available in Matapuna.

*Isabel will be giving a second lecture, entitled The Sociocultural Formation of the Antique Peruvian civilizations, at 3.00pm on Sunday August 24 in the Apec Room.

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