Kolochi Baw

Kolochi Baw is a philosophical reflection on the great processes of human construction and the political, social and spiritual sacrifices that have been necessary to make them possible.

The stage work begins by understanding construction as a deeply human and deeply political act. In contrast to the contemporary neoliberal view that reduces dwelling to a capitalist act, Kolochi Baw reclaims housing as a universal right: the right to a healthy, durable home built in harmony with nature. An ecological architecture that calls upon the sun, the moon, the earth and the air as allies, while questioning the contemporary logic that has separated construction from its natural, organic and biological dimension.

Through a profound exploration of the sacrifices required to build humanity’s great structures, particularly temples, the piece draws a parallel between physical and spiritual construction, between raising a wall and raising a people.

What are the essential elements needed to build a home? What does it mean to build in harmony with nature? How do we protect — and illuminate — that which is intimate?

Kolochi Baw draws inspiration from the history behind the construction and preservation of the largest earthen temple in the world: the Great Mosque of Djenné in Mali. Kolochi Baw, in Bambara, one of Mali’s central languages, means “the guardians”. The performers in this work are the guardians, custodians of time, vibration and sacrifice — the three forces that the piece collectively invokes — protecting the secrets of these intimate places: homes, temples and sacred spaces that belong both to nature and to humanity.

A stage manifesto about the physical and conceptual place of our existence, and that of our ancestors, asking how we build the world we inhabit.

Kolochi Baw is a creation by choreographer Aïda Colmenero Díaz, developed as part of her Pina Bausch Fellowship between Bamako, Terrassa, Barcelona and Wuppertal. Premiered in Mali and subsequently presented at Mercat de les Flors (Barcelona) and the Pina Bausch Zentrum (Wuppertal, Germany), the work brings together an international cast of performers from Mali, Rwanda, Côte d’Ivoire and Brazil.