GUAIA HYCHA

Nowadays lose our values, our roots, a little part of what we are have promote that we forget the importance of the culture in this case the indigenous culture that was the base and the first civilization that habited in our country but also we refuse to understand where we come from.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D8RRwOZ-vog

THE BEGINNING OF OUR DESCENDT

Anthropology science has established that a human being is only one, despite of the differences on skin color, facial features or cultural manifestations that each one has.
However it implies a traditional point that involves human beings in four important races: White or European, Black or African, Yellow or Asian and brunette or American race. This classification does not satisfy the requirements in order to determine what family belong all the people who are live in this world according to the skin color.

According to the reality looking for the anthropology and modern linguistic, is more important the classification of the human families finding the principal linguistic racial roots, for instance the family or Latin group that countries that speak Romanian, Italian, French, Spanish Catalan and Portuguese belong. In America in a similar way all the indigenous families are grouped on linguistic racial roots integrated by counties that sometimes can be widely geographic separated but they have a lot of common features and cultural elements and the speaking of the language related to a common root.

When Hispanic conquerors arrived to America, it had a lot of aboriginal’s culture, but few of them were highlights for their organization, architecture, states or emperies.
Before to America discovery, in pre-Hispanic period, three linguistic families habited in the territory that nowadays is called Colombia

LINGUISTIC-RACIAL FAMILY CARIBE: They came from Antillas and introduce the cultivation of corn in Colombia, they displacement Chibchas to other territory strengthening themselves in this warm valley, the most important cultures that belong it were Sinúes, Quimbayas and Tolimas.

LINGUISTIC-RACIAL FAMILY ARAWAK: They used to live in eastern plains and one of their cultures survive to Spain colonization, they are los Wayú that live in La Guajira.

LINGUISTIC-RACIAL FAMILY CHIBCHA: Is believed that this family comes from Center of America, they were initially established near to warm valleys, latter they moved to temperate valleys near to rives and finally in the range for the fights with neighbor linguistic-roots as Caribe. The most important cultures that belong it were “Taironas”, “Muiscas” and “Guanes”



The main difference among Mayas, Aztecas, Chibchas and Incas is that Chibchas never construct big buildings as Mayas or Incas or Aztecas, for instance:

Machu Picchu, Perú, a sample of Incas architecture.

Templo Azteca, Tenochtitlán Mexico.

Ciudad Maya,  Petén,  Guatemala.

Incas, Mayas and Aztecas were recognized for their empires, beautiful and awesome architecture.
In Colombia the most important Colombia civilization “Chibchas” unfortunately were not recognized but those kinds of buildings, they worked with crafts and gold workers.

LA SIERRA NEVADA DE SANTA MARTA ” TAIRONA’S HOME”

“The land of forgetfulness” That is commonly called the mountain range  located north of Colombia and also an isolated system of the Andes on the Caribbean coast, the highest coastal mountain formation of the world for several years was the home and the shelter of one of the most important cultures in Colombia, “The Taironas” who constructed one of the most beautiful legacies as “Ciudad perdida” a construction conformed by terraces and parts for the cultivation of corn as their livelihood.
Now “Los Koguis” live there but who were “Taironas” what was the secret of this culture belong to the “Chibchas”, that were not recognized as builders as Mayas or Incas, and the successful of this city that did not deteriorate the environment.

“The Taironas” were people belonged to the big linguistic group “Chibcha”, Tairona’s forefathers used to live in neighbor valleys, but the had to move for issues with other cultures, that is why they finally established their home in the highest part of the mountain called “Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta” with water wealth consist by the rivers Guarupal, Guatapurí , Badillo, Piedras, Mendiguaca, Manzanares and others.

Ciudad perdida: Cities that do not damage the environment.

At the top of steep basins of some rivers mentioned before, the “Taironas” constructed more than 280 population nucleus for the number of habitants that lived there, those nucleus were real cities, Bonda, Chairama, Pocigueica and Taironaca were the principal cities established in this place, the one of the latest mentioned before it has been found the remains near to Buticara river, 1350 meters above seal level but border for hills, those ruins are commonly called “Ciudad perdida” and were restored by Colombia Anthropology institute in order to promote not only tourism, the importance of preserve this treasure. 

"Ciudad perdida” is a model about how Taironas cities were settled to the earth, the grass, the nature, the environment without affected them, the little villages always were located on land pending but are interconnected by roads cover by flat stones, the roads, under the threes shadows, up and down, sometimes were stairs and sometimes transformed in bridges that pass through rivers or streams.


The houses at the same those ceremonial houses “temples” (temples were bigger that houses but maintain the same architecture) were circles, they were built in small groups on round terraces that protected the houses against erosion, bordered by stone walls, those bases were made in this way because it allow to Taironas to up the house until 80 centimeters, latter the put up the wood and walls and the conical roof was cover by palm leaves, the live was quite, cooked over three stones, slept on hammocks made by cotton and the goldwork made by clay.

More than roads, stairs and usual terraces, stone remains and Taironas engineering, water reserves and stone canals that conducted the water to the cultivate terraces: those terraces  also protected against erosion in the same way that houses, gave to the population a lot of products like corn, that was the most important food and fabricated chica (alcoholic drink), arepas (like pancakes made by corn), tropical fruits and the most up terraces they cultivated potatoes or other vegetables that are cultivated only in cold climate.

Their organization and the way that they lived together with the environment without destroy or affected it, give us and example that human beings can live in a balance with environment.
Nowadays Koguis that are Taironas descendants still live there despite the problems of violence, deforestation and the wish of private business to convert the region in a hotel zone for the tourism that it carries on. La sierra Nevada de Santa Marta is a place where you find sea, nature, mountains, animals, plants, human beings and spirits living in a balance.  

SAN AGUSTIN: “AN IMPONENT PLACE LOCATED TO SOUTH-WEST OF COLOMBIA”

In the south-west, between Huila and Cauca departments, the central range is expanded and as result a knot of mountains called Macizo Colombiano, where the three ranges born that’s why lots of rivers emerge to the interior of the mountains and open the space giving life to the nature, some of them goes to the west, others to east, south or north of the country, the most important is Magdalena river that pass through the country, at the beginning of the river was habituated by San Agustín culture that are recognized for the excellent stone work, carving,  painting the rocks according to their day to day, beliefs and religion or digging graves below the earth in order to give another atmosphere to the new travel that started when someone died.

AMAZING STATUES THAT HAVE CAUSE EMOTION FOR EACH ONE TO HAVE SEEN IT.

San Agustín was a culture that for unknown factors disappear before the colonization period, when Spanish colonists arrived to this territory they found another cultures that did not have characteristics similar to the work of San Agustín people, the only aspect about the origins of them was that in this region was a step where other cultures passed and interchange information or things that was called “Trueque” and they received a lot of knowledge of the cultures that passed there.

HOW WERE THE GRAVES IN SAN AGUSTIN CULTURE?

In San Agustín culture as other cultures the death was an important aspect because they thought that death is the beginning of a new life, the graves also were made according to social or economic status of the dead man. These are the most important aspects that make a typical San Agustín grave:

1.       Statues represented the divinities in special the god that protected the dead and his family.

2.       A corridor as the picture with two lines of monolithic columns (configured each one for only one rock) over each pair of columns was a slab as roof and the columns looks as humans.

3.       

The sarcophagus was according to the economical position of the dead man since de digging to the sarcophagus made by rock carved with facial features of the person that have a rest.

4.       Other sarcophagus where others family members, or slaves were buried alive and doped.

5.       The graves were adorned with ceramic and normal jewelry, few gold crafts were found in the graves.

  

AMAZING STATUES

In general, the San Agustín statues represented solar and moon divinities that always have between their hands and object symbolizing an offering gave by a member of the community related to the activity that the divinity protected.
Moon divinities had a female costume and sometimes have a bowl of water that means the rich and fertility of the earth, sometimes these statues are represented pregnant.

Chamanes (kind of native wizard) always use strong facial features or masks represented the power that was supposed they had.
Others are anthropologic statues (human forms) that hold in their shoulders a character that means the soul, the other me, as protector being,
Human statues represented the real life of each one of the persons and animal statues as protectors of the culture and environment.

  Is beautiful the integration the art with the environment, reflected in the art on the falls of he region the name of this monument is “Fuente de lavapatas” it has lots of pools connected among them and are carved figures of frogs, snakes and other animals. The most important is the rocks were caved in the same place that we found nowadays.

PEOPLES CONGRESS

“Roots are those who seek mother earth freedom and overthrow the false and deceitful country, taking us out the cities by assault and load!”

 PEOPLES CONGRESS

Two years ago was demonstrated by all Colombia indigenous community the importance to work together and fight for the rights. Those communities are represented by the MINGA (Minka in quechua language) that is an traditional community who has a social purpose that has been established in Latin America from pre-Columbian times, today it takes place in countries like Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia and Chile.
MINGA meaning derivates of knowledge that indigenous have developed through years; working by a common purpose is faster and better.

MINGA importance is an attitudinal value of the event, since before the call of the leaders, the vast majority of people came to call, be mobilized and organized in such a way that the physical effort MINGA represented were became a true celebration of life, love, a real party and the emphasis is on feelings and values ​​that relate to the organization and execution of the MINGA:

Leadership: because the call to the need to run a "MINGA" was done by the reference to the people.

Solidarity because people went to the MINGA by the feeling of helping others, thinking that by intervening in it, he was favoring it, for the common good that she represented.

Fellowship: for to the difficulties generated by the effort of performing a task assigned to an individual in a given time without being able to achieve the expected result, other people came to him, to share the effort and time finish the job.

Teamwork: it banishes individualism, because when it was gigantic works, as generally were those planned with Ming, one person could not run, but working together, they performed with great taste and adequate effort.

Sharing: for how these events were usually lasts a day or more of sustained effort, had to carry food familiar to the Ming and the right time, make it available to others, organizing a common table for all.

Sense of collaboration: because if leaders working committees organized on different fronts, either by providing the technical direction of work, "handing out" some soda to quench the thirst, the MINGA participants eagerly fulfilled their obligations and goodwill.

Satisfaction for the common good: for the work done through the MINGA, favored at all, as it turned into beneficiaries of these works, which undoubtedly raised the quality of life of residents.

High self-esteem: for a job well done, done with joy and positive outcomes for users, raising the status of loving ourselves and the rest of congeners.

Love the flavors: because the effort to deliver in a MINGA is manifesting the love for the land, to whom it has been enlarged with a little effort that added to the others, is transformed into a beautiful reality of progress.

Colombian MINGA has extended the concept to a political level, at it seeks the vindication of indigenous rights, inviting to reporting and reflection about their deplorable situation, also it has appealed to all indigenous communities and popular character in order to establish a social process in all regions who are willing to undertake a legislative construction with equal rights for everyone, focusing in nature perspective.

             

A first meeting of this congress was in Universidad Nacional Bogotá campus, from 8^th to 12^th October 2010, it brought community members together who feel alienating, in order to organize proposal for a better country.

It was famous for all mass media because it was a but they never explain the most important aspects of this meeting and how these communities working together create a special plan that include us either.

These are the main points and goals of this group that will have a meeting again in Cali city on September 30th

They seeking to asses a plan in the social and political articulation process in the last two decades in our country, expressing the odds of life processes and positions that they defend as a whole relative to the current pattern of death.

1. Is important develop thematic of “The National Plan of Decent Life” in order to all indigenous communities have an excellent human conditions in each one of Colombia regions.

2. To develop thematic that involves all the goals of different regional, sectors and villages process.

3. A construction of a platform mobilization and action plan that going to take place few years after that with a strategic focus in our country.

4. To define, established an organizational, methodological criterion in social and political articulation.

5. to collect and build and international agenda to advance the integration of peoples. 

PEOPLES CONGRESS PERSPECTIVE

 PESPECTIVE:
1. Land, territory and sovereignty
2.Develop of economy for the life.
3. Building a better future.
4. Multiculturalism.
5. Human rights.

The pace and rhythm in the middle of mobilization: This congress arises in the middle of grateful to mobilization capability around their struggles. In the next section, the topics that will be discussing affect the environment with the new policies around mining and the impact in our resources, in our lives.

CARLOS JACANAMIJOY

“Sharpen the senses and touch the hand of reflection that leads me and dipped me into reality also allows me to recreate in paint the vibrations to them as dreams are intangible, feel the irrationality, as in a game with his own rules, it warn those vibrations, traces suddenly pointing on the ancient state of things, or our attitude towards the bounty of nature, I also suggest that new days not only  have to come only after night, day and night, the senses themselves without sharp bursts, we can offer ungraspable, to be believed as seizable as the light path or the path of a color”.

Carlos Jacanamijoy

Carlos Jacanamijoy was born in Santiago de Putumayo, is a Colombian artist who belongs to INGA people from Putumayo, although he lives in New York, he travels frequently to his natal region where participates in the life and celebrations of his community, he also has an important part in ceremonies and rites because his fathers is one of the Curacas or spiritual guide in his community.
Despite of his origin he does not integrate the most important aspects of INGAS people in his art; he studied arts in Universidad Nacional de Colombia, that’s why he learnt about occidental art, he develop a special Oleo technique and also an abstract art where you feel the nature but is not implicit.

He likes mixed all the colors that he saw in the jungle where they grows, the plants, the trees, the sounds of the nature that you can perceive in his pictures.

Jacanamijoy works is displayed in its cultural heritage and shows not only their roots, but also the same environment. Between the explosions of colors you can see a dream that feeds on the forest and stimulates the senses. And I say way, for the silence of the canvas, you can almost hear the sounds of nature and, if you can lift feet off the ground, you can also smell their aromas. It's a strange sensation that comes to see his paintings, perhaps because the play. Jacanamijoy is the result of the combination of a good artist and the unique vision of an Indian.

    

This artist is a spokes man of a culture, the jungle, the sounds, the passion of a community in the middle of the jungle.

What do you feel when you see these pictures?

JIZCAMOX A COLOMBIAN PUBLIC SCHOOL WHERE MUYSKKUBUN IS TAUGHT

Cota is a little municipality near the north-west of Bogotá the capital of Colombia; it is quite calm and still preserves colonialism architecture, but beyond of the houses, people, streets, beyond of we called civilization, there is a little indigenous reservation, where the transmission of ancestral values and knowledge preserves a little, but, at the same time an important part of traditions.
 Muyskkubun is the idiom used by people that belongs to Muiscas community; nowadays few Colombians speak Muyskkubun as the use of indigenous languages was forbidden in 1770 by royal decree in favor o Spanish language for social, religious, economical and political reasons.

Jicamox that means hand medicine is the only one Colombias Public School where Muyskkubun  is taught to 150 children whose last names like  Tibaquichá, Bocarejo, Balsero or Fiquitiva are a sample of Muiscas descendent.
The school is situated in the north-west of Cotas municipality, is situated in a quite hill, border of normal haciendas, houses and nature.
Childrens education has a traditional primary with an emphasis in this special language and traditions, everyday you appreciate expressions of the students like Chisué that means good morning and Anaxié see you later.
The experience in this school that tries to integrate the normal public educational curriculum with ethno culture demonstrates that it is possible if there are the places and the wants to preserve a little part of what we are.

In Bogotá there are also Chibcha words like Curuba (a fruit), toche (a bird), guadua (a plant similar to bamboo) and tatacoa (a wild animal) among others, although many are unaware its origin.
Cota is a little municipality near the north-west of Bogotá the capital of Colombia; it is quite calm and still preserves colonialism architecture, but beyond of the houses, people, streets, beyond of we called civilization, there is a little indigenous reservation, where the transmission of ancestral values and knowledge preserves a little, but, at the same time an important part of traditions.
 Muyskkubun is the idiom used by people that belongs to Muiscas community; nowadays few Colombians speak Muyskkubun as the use of indigenous languages was forbidden in 1770 by royal decree in favor o Spanish language for social, religious, economical and political reasons.
Jicamox that means hand medicine is the only one Colombias Public School where Muyskkubun  is taught to 150 children whose last names like  Tibaquichá, Bocarejo, Balsero or Fiquitiva are a sample of Muiscas descendent.
The school is situated in the north-west of Cotas municipality, is situated in a quite hill, border of normal haciendas, houses and nature.
Childrens education has a traditional primary with an emphasis in this special language and traditions, everyday you appreciate expressions of the students like Chisué that means good morning and Anaxié see you later.
The experience in this school that tries to integrate the normal public educational curriculum with ethno culture demonstrates that it is possible if there are the places and the wants to preserve a little part of what we are.
In Bogotá there are also Chibcha words like Curuba (a fruit), toche (a bird), guadua (a plant similar to bamboo) and tatacoa (a wild animal) among others, although many many are unaware its origin.

35 indigenous communities are going to disappear.

It's really sad to meet with the reality of indigenous communities here in Colombia, of these mentioned communities, there are some that have less than 100 members, due to inner war here in Clombia; In the country 73 indigenous people have been murdered, the "Organización Nacional Indígena de Colombia" (Onic) states this communities have been affected more than the rest in the country, they are even considered communities that will eventually disappear.

Taking into account we have mentioned in previous articles, the artist Carlos Jacanamijoy, he was part of a campaign here in Colombia to stop violence against indiginous communities, Jorge Olave and Jacanamijoy made an sculpture of a pregnant indigineous woman in order to make visible the problematic we are mentioning in this article.

17 indigenous people from awá community were murdered by the "FARC"

This crime took place in Barbacoas, Nariño; the weird thing is that this was in the spotlight thanks to the Human Rights Watch, not a Colombian instution, which is a clear clue to what is happening with our indigenous communities here in Colombia, and what the goverment is doing: not much.

HRW was clear when they said it was relevant that Colombia's goverment had an special attention to this zone, because this is not the first act of violence against indigenous communities.

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