The Three Worlds: Arbors, Herbs and Banana Leaves

The worlds of plants and human beings are entangled and mutually influenced. In Jingmai Mountain of Yunnan Province, China, the Blang ethnic group lives with a wide variety of wild plants, and plants have woven the material and spiritual lives of the Blangs. For example, arbor trees are believed to have divine power, herbal plants can be used as ingredients and medicines, while banana leaves serve as both a spiritual medium between the people and their ancestors and a material product that builds a necessary part of human life. This ethnographic film aims to show the relationship between the Blang people and various wild plants, as well as the subjectivity of plants perceived by people. Therefore, the film adopts a multi-species perspective and, through the mode of plant music, tries to present the plant as a subject, not just an object of human activity. In addition, the film calls for the preservation of Indigenous traditional knowledge as intangible cultural heritage, thus reflecting on the sustainable development of Indigenous areas.