Arhuaco

The Arhuaco are an indigenous people of Colombia/ They are Chibchan-speaking people and descendants of the Tairona culture, concentrated in northern Colombia in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta.

For each of the ethnic groups that inhabits the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, the snowy peaks are considered the center of the world. The first men come from these groups and are therefore the “Elder Brothers”; all those who came after are considered as the “Younger Brothers”. The difference between the two types of brothers is the knowledge they have about nature, from this perspective, the “Older Brothers” are in charge of caring for and preserving the world, ensuring that the cosmic cycle has a good development so that diseases do not destroy the lives of men; so that the harvests are good. The world is conceived as two pyramids supported on the same base. Internally, it is made up of nine worlds, each with its own land and its own inhabitants. The land is located on the fifth floor. Above the worlds are related to light and below they are related to darkness. The sierra is considered as a human body, where the snowy peaks represent the head; the lagoons of the páramos the heart; the rivers and the streams the veins; the earth layers the muscles; and the grasses the hair. With this base, the entire geography of the sierra is a sacred space. The Mamo is the central character within the system of representation of the Kogi. He is the intermediary between the heavenly forces and men. The wisdom and knowledge of him allows the balance between the forces. For them the end of the world is near, because the “Little Brothers” are not interested in protecting nature.