After visiting the Kogui natives in Colombia’s Sierra Nevada region, I decided to visit the Arhuca natives who also live in these regions.. In fact, these natives formerly lived in the state of Valledupar, then came to the Sierra Nevada highlands.. Although there are still Arhuaco natives living in Valledupar province, I’ve been content with those here.
Although their culture may seem like Kogui natives in general, you can understand the differences when you go inside.. For example, in the village of Atigumake, where we walked for two days with my guide, the houses were empty.. Because they come to the village center only once a week for cleaning and for a meeting every 15 days.. Everyone else lives in their own house by the creek.. Some houses are an hour’s walk from the village, some are 3-4 hours walking distance.. The same is true for the village of Don Diego, which is close to the city centre.
they don’t have any religious beliefs as we know. They say, “We know there is someone above, you call him Allah, we call him Serenkua”. Just like the Kogui Indians, they believe in nature.
There are schools for children in the village centers and the teachers are Arhuaco Indians.. The primary educational purpose is to teach children Spanish.. Because these natives use the Arhu language and in some villages or houses there is no one who speaks Spanish.. Children whose homes are close to school go to school on foot, while children whose homes are far away stay in houses in the village center on weekdays.. There were women who looked after them and cooked their meals.. So you can think of it as a kind of dormitory.
Arhuaco Indians Part 1
Like the Kogui natives, the Arhuca natives also have a mamo, that is, the leader of the village.. This leadership continues from father to son.. But don’t think that you’ve become a leader if you’re just going to sit. All the Arhuaco mamos I’ve seen were working all day, doing something. In fact, the mamo of the village of Atigumake was also one of the two great mamos in the area.. These two mamo are responsible for all the villages in the region.. When I first went to the village, we had a little talk with the big mamo Izmail.. The man was cleaning in the village you know, working in the vineyard or garden, he was doing his own business.. And in general, most of the mamos are like this.
When mamos are young, they spend between the ages of 10-12 in a cave and all their needs are met by their mamo father.. The purpose of their stay in the cave was to strengthen their feelings and learn more about the education that his father would give.. If the child completes his education in 1 year, he stays in the cave for only 1 year, if he completes it in 4 years, he stays for 4 years.. Get out of the cave until you learn new (opens. The issue of 10-12 years old is a bit of a general situation.. Some may start education earlier and some later.
When someone in the village gets sick, they go to the mamo first. and she tells him her situation. Mamo looks at it and tells him to go to the hospital if it’s more than that, if he can offer a natural solution, he does the treatment himself.. When I say natural method, I mean medicines made from plants.. Meanwhile, locals also said that the Colombian government helped them.. If they go to the hospital, they don’t pay anything.. There is also a doctor who owns a house in this Sierra Nevada mountain region that I mentioned, and the government pays the man’s salary.. In emergencies, they also reach this doctor.. Of course, those living in some houses may need to walk for 4-5 hours to reach this doctor.
Whenever I asked women, they all said that they gave birth to their children at home.. Again, mamo comes and looks at the woman, if there is no distress, the birth happens at home.. They say that although Mamo usually does not get involved during the birth, she also knows what to do in case of need.. I stayed 3 nights at my guide’s house. To his wife Elena, “You gave birth to all 3 children at home, wasn’t it difficult?” I asked. He said no, it was very easy, I worked normally again until the day before, I gave birth and the next day I went back to my normal life.. Of course, his mother stayed with him for a few days to help him again.
As with other natives, Arhuaco natives do not have a toilet culture.. So there is no separate place for the toilet. They urinate under any tree they find.. There are two things that challenge me the most when I spend time with locals anyway.. One is the lack of a place to sleep at night and the other is this toilet business.
A string on the wrists of all locals there is. This thread is tied by mamo and for whatever purpose mamo is tying, the threads work.. Some for protection from disease, some for protection from bugs.. In addition to these, there are also ropes that are tied for better thinking and better observance of events.
Arhuaco natives also wear only white, like Kogui Indians.. But they are not very traditional in this regard like the Koguis.. Locals in villages close to the city have left their white clothes, and it is even possible to see those wearing normal jeans.. There was absolutely no such thing with the Koguis.. Also, while Koguis can only wear the mamo hat, in Arhuacos everyone can wear this leader hat.. The shape of the hat is slightly different compared to the Koguis.. You can see it in the photos I shared.
Arhuaco Indians Part 2
Sierra Nevada forest region has a very rich vegetation and the locals meet their fruit needs from this forest.. They grow their main food sources, such as rice and corn, in fields within the forest. Near their house, I saw that they feed all kinds of animals.. From pig to turkey to duck to goat they had it all. They also hunted fish from the stream.
Girls start knitting bags when they are 6 years old and continue to knit for life.. A bag ends in 1-3 months, depending on the situation.. They take the bags to the center and sell them there and the average selling price is 40-50 USD.. I didn’t just say that they knit for life because every woman I saw was knitting bags without exception.. There is no path in the forest, I can hardly walk, but the woman behind me was still knitting a bag. Or even when I was riding a donkey, I saw the bag weaving. In that sense, I can say that women are very hardworking.. Although the men are very hardworking, the men are tireless.. Children, young and old, all the same. I don’t think it’s very likely that someone who was born and raised in the city could live the life in these villages.. Life here is so hard for us. But whichever local I talked to, they were all happy with their lives.
The bags I mentioned above are generally made of animal hair or They make it from thread they produce from a large, green plant like a cactus.. Rarely, I have seen those who buy wool/rope from the center and weave bags.
By the way, there is no telephone signal or electricity in the villages in the Sierra Nevada region.. There is no such thing as solar energy.. For this reason, it is not possible to see technological devices here.. They go to bed at 7-8 in the evening and get up at 4-5 in the morning.. As you will see in the videos, they usually lie in a hammock.. As we know, they do not have a bed culture.. In houses without hammocks, they lay something like a sack on the ground and lie on it.
The more the houses and villages I visit move away from the city, the more the locals become cold towards foreigners.. They love you as they talk, but it is very, very difficult to take pictures and videos.. It is not normal to offer money before taking a photo.. I usually have a conversation with all of them, then say things like I’ll help you, get food, and take their photos and videos like that.. I can say that after the Kuna Yala Indians, the Arhuca Indians are the ones who challenge me the most.
Arhuaco Indians Chapter 3
In some villages or houses I went to, people were not very warm. When I asked about this situation, they said that if you come to our visit 4 times at different times, you will be our friend and then you will be welcomed differently.. In other words, they do not have a guest understanding like in our culture.. In 95% of the houses I went to, there was no water dispenser.. So I can say that the situation is so different.
Couples who want to get married first report the situation to the mamo.. Then everyone gathers in the village center and this couple expresses again that they want to get married in the presence of all the villagers.. Then the couple who will get married meet again privately with the mamo, as if to say, is it your final decision?. After everyone says “ok” mamo takes this couple with him for 1 month and trains them for life. Family life such as what to do if there is a problem at home, who does what, how to treat children is taught by mamo. At the end of this month, the couple goes to their own homes and continues their new lives.. Ask my guide “Is there any domestic violence?” When I asked him, he said not usually, very very little.. In such a situation, if the woman complains about her husband, mamo would take the man of the house with her, talk to him like a psychologist and try to fix the problem.. Of course, it is another fact that everything does not go so systematically.. Because they say that if the man’s condition is good, he can easily afford a second wife.. In such a case, most of what I wrote above is already invalid.
Arhuaco men’s hair is long like Kogui men’s.. Even though some cut it from the ends after it grows to the waist, some don’t cut it at all.. When I asked how it couldn’t reach the ground without cutting it, there were those who said “it can’t stretch, that’s the maximum”.. At first I couldn’t believe it, after all, I thought that what you call hair grows, how does it stop after a certain point, but then I heard from many other people that such a thing can happen.. Biologically, I don’t know about the subject, but whatever their genes are, they have a situation like this.. In addition, regardless of male or female, everyone’s hair is always pitch black.. Even the 77-year-old grandmother’s hair is jet black, she doesn’t have one white. When I asked about this situation, they said that he was never a white-haired native.. I have not seen a single white-haired native in this region where I spent about 1 month.. I asked dozens of them, do you use anything special for your hair?. Even though some say they use avocado, they just wash it with river water, that’s all.
Two generations It was even possible to see locals who were 135 years old until before.. Until now, they say the average age of death is falling day by day.. Since they generally eat naturally and are constantly on the move, I can still say that they are longer lasting and healthier than those who live in a “modern” life.
Women, especially men, everyone carries a bag or two. Even if the bag is empty, they still carry it. The first thing they do when they wake up in the morning is to throw their bags over their shoulders.. When I ask why are you carrying the empty bag, they say “traditional”. But what I understand is this; Let your bag stay on your shoulder, you never know when or what life will fill it with.. It is not possible for that bag to come home empty in the evening since they are constantly wandering around in the forest.
Men mix the coca leaves, called popora, which you will see in the videos, with crushed seashells, and smoke cigarettes. they are using for the purpose. They hold coca leaves on one side of their mouths, and with a stick they rub the floury shells on their tongues.. And they do it all day. It suppresses the feeling of hunger and gives energy.. The other thing they say is that it’s one of our greatest traditions.
Women’s one ornament hanging around their neck bead necklaces. It is possible to see these necklaces in everyone, big or small.. While some use one color, some can be colorful.. It doesn’t mean anything special, they just do it to look beautiful.
If I compare it with the Kogui natives, I can say that the Arhuaco natives are a little more open to modernization, while the Kogui natives are more mystical and mysterious.. In both groups, when you move away from the city, the coldness towards foreigners increases at the same rate.
I shared my experiences with the locals of Arhuaco, where I spent about 7 days.. None of what I write is encyclopedic information.. Likewise, it is not something that I have researched and written on the internet.. I asked the locals, what they answered, I wrote down what I saw during these 7 days.
To find out how the children’s lives are going in these villages, what they are doing, take a look at Edvard’s life at the link. I say take a look, it will be of interest to you.
Child Older Edvard
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