May-2015
Boy hunters (Part IV)
The house was far, hard to get to, with countless gates to open and several splits on the road where we had to guess which way to go. If we hadn’t been there the day before, we would never have found our way.
We didn’t tell them we were coming, we arrived by surprise, needing image releases signed and inviting them to come watch our films the following day.
With an unexpected visit, everyone was busy with their house duties: washing clothes, splitting open bean pods, sweeping around the house.
Alex, a seven-year-old boy, had his head practically buried in the ground in the lot in front of the house. It was enough to pique our interest. What could he be doing over there like that?
There he was hunting, for a certain type of spider called a “fire mouth.” The spider burrows into the ground and shuts the door with a type of cap made of silk. This cap disappears when mixed with the dirt and, in order to find it, you need to stick your head into the ground.
The hunt calls for silence, attention, precise movements. Alex, along with his sister Franciele and his brother Alessandro, shroud themselves in persistence and precision in order to pull the spiders out of their holes.
A piece of grass is stuck into the hole and they wait for the spider to bite it. It’s almost like fishing. Then they pull the blade of grass and the spider is taken out of its hole.
There is a taste of victory with every spider that’s captured.
The game goes from hunting to a competition between spiders. They put two, three, even four spiders next to each other and wait for them to start fighting.
A brief visit that turned into a long hunt. A gift to those who are open to looking at the most genuine gestures of childhood.
Text and photos: Renata Meirelles
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