Page 21 - Demo

21As the sun starts to fades into the haunting twilight of the gloaming, the Carijona head into the safety and warmth of their Maloca. Outside, nature%u2019s timekeeping prompts changeover. As the light fades and the stars become brighter in the sky, a chorus of frogs create a cacophony of croaking. The deepening black of morphing shadows signify that a stealthy predator is on the move...GROWTHUpon hatching, the first instar, larva devours its empty shell, which provides an initial source of carbohydrates and proteins before it begins to feed on the host plant Unlike adult specimens, blue morpho%u2019 caterpillars do have functioning jaws and are capable of biting and chewing.THE SUN%u2019S HOME IN THE SWARM OF STARSA Carijona shamanAccurate to the Earth%u2019s tilt, Chiribiquete%u2019s iconic tepuys lay on a North-South axis. The equator divides Chiribiquete%u2019s mountain range right down the middle with one half sitting in the Northern Hemisphere, and the other half in the Southern Hemisphere. This alignment on the face of the planet means that the Moon can be seen in the sky%u2019s zenith each day and observers can see the arc of the Milky Way with superb clarity. Chiribiquete%u2019s precise co-ordinates also can cause a profound optical illusion. Known as %u201cThe Celestial Dance%u201d the heavenly bodies appears to the observer that the direction of Milky Way lines up perfectly with the trajectory of Sun and the Moon.The exact position where the horizontal and vertical axis cross with particular precision is referred to as a %u201czero point%u201d. Many indigenous people in the area consider these coordinates as %u2018THE NAVAL OF THE WORLD%u201d. And as the legend goes: %u201cThe Great Deity who lived in the Milky Way, observed that this was the only point on Earth where his staff stuck in the rock did not cast a shadow. There he opened a hole In the world where he poured his seminal power and achieved his first creation: the Moon. And then all the descendants of animals and plants and men%u201d