Uncover the Origins

The Kogi language belongs to the Chibehan family. The Kogi people are descendants of the Tairona culture, which flourished before the times of the Spanish conquest. The Tairona were an advanced civilization which built many stone structures and pathways in the jungles. They made many gold objects which they would hang from trees and around their necks. They lived similarly to modern-day Kogi. Before ther Spanish conquistadors arrived, the Tairona were forced to move into the highlands when the Caribs invaded around 1000 CE. Their new area proved strategic when the Spanish entered in the 15th century.

The Kogi have many distinct traditions. for example, all Kogi men receive a poporo when they come of age. A poporo is a small, hollow gourd filled with lima 'lime', a powder of heated and crushed shells. The men also continuously chew coca leaves, a tradition followed by many indigenous tribes to connect them to the natural world. As they chew the leaves, they suck on the lime powder in their poporos, which they extract with a stick, and rub the mixture on the gourd with the stick to form a hardened layer or crust. The size of this layer depends on the man's maturity and age. Men and women all carry traditional bags across their shoulders.

Kogi men and women alike have simple modes of dress. Women pick, card, and spin wool and cotton; men weave it into cloth. The Kogi all wear only pure white clothing. They say that white represents the Great Mother, and and therefore the purity of nature.

The Kogi live in a series of villages, called Kuibolos, containing circular huts made of stone, mud and palm leaves. Men live in a separate hut from the women and children. Each village contains a large hut called a nuhue 'temple' where only men are allowed. In the nuhue, many things are discussed and decisions are made. Divination and concentration also occur in these temples. Women are not allowed because the Kogi believe that women are more connected to the Great Mother and have no need of entering the temple. There are also women priests in the villages.

Fields, houses, and livestock are passed from mother to daughter and from father to son, which is bilateral inheritance of these items. There is also the normal parallel descent of personal items, including ritual objects which are male property and descend patrilineally. But certain rights, names or associations descend matrilineally.  

The Kogi practice agriculture using slash-and-burn farming methods; each family tends farms at varying altitudes of the Sierra, producing a variety of crops to satisfy their needs. They also raise cattle on teh highlands.

The Kogi base their lifestyles on their belief in 'Aluna' or 'the Great Mother,' their creator figure, who they believe is the force behind nature. The Kogi understand the Earth to be a living being, and see humanity as its 'children.' They say that our actions of exploitation, devastation, and plundering for resources is weakening 'The Great Mother' and leading to our destruction.

Like many other indigenous tribes, the Kogi honor a holy mountain which they call 'Gonawindua,' otherwise known as Pico Cristobal Colon. they beliee that this mountain is 'The Heart of the World' and they are the 'Elder Brothers' who care for it.

From birth the Kogi attune members of their society called mamos 'sun', for guidance, healing, and leadership. The mamos tribal priests, highly respected in Kogi society, and are not shamans or curers. To assume their role, Mamos undergo strict training. When selected boys are taken at birth and put in a dark cave until age 9. In the cave, elder mamos and the child's mother care for, feed, train, and teach the child to attune to 'Aluna' before the boy enters the outside world.

Since the Spanish Conquistadors, mamos have remained isolated from the rest of the world. In order to preserve their traditional way of life, they rarely interact with the modern world or with outside civilization. Through deep concentration, symbolic offerings, and divination, the mamos believe they support the balance of harmony and creativity in the world. It is also in this realm that the essence of agriculture is nurtured: seeds are blessed in Aluna before being planted, to ensure they grow successfully; marriage is blessed to ensure fertility; and ceremonies are offered to the various spirits of the natural world before tasks such as harvest and hut building.

Since the Spanish Conquistadors, mamos have remained isolated from the rest of the world. In order to preserve their traditioanl way of life, they rarely interact with the modern world or with outside civilization. Outsiders and not allowed in their ancestral lands. Only men may interact with outsiders.  

Traditional Kogi religion is closely related to the structure of the cosmos that exists in dualistic expressions. the sun separates the universe into two hemispheres: the east/west and consequently a right/left. The Kogi use this dualistic notion to elaborate on a number of earthly divides: man/woman, male/female, heat/cold, light/dark, and right/left. Each of these groupings are complementary opposites. Within each pair, one cannot survive without the other. In the case of good (right)/evil (left), the Kogi believe committing a sin once in a while serves as a justification for the existence of good. These natural opposites are a way to keep the society balanced or 'in agreement' (yuluka).

In Kogi cosmology, they have added three dimensions to the standard N/S/E/W: Zenith, Nadir and the Center. This fixed system of points resembles an egg, and is formulated into nine stages/layers of development. Mother Goddess, the creator of the universe and humankind, created the cosmic egg. The horizontal layers of the egg are divided into two sections of four worlds with humankind (the 5th layer) residing in the center. The cosmic egg also represents the uterus of Mother Goddess and the Sierra Nevada. Because of this, the Kogi have built the structure of the ceremonial house as a replica of the cosmos.

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The Mamos participate in various rituals to celebrate the individual's life cycle from birth to death. These ceremonies include offerings, dances, and other ritual affairs. Although every life cycle is celebrated, emphasis on burial customs has been of much importance to the Kogi people. In this tribe, death is not viewed as a tragic event but as a 'fulfillment of life'. The burial process usually lasts approximately two hours and is performed without prayers and chants. To an outside viewer, the ritual might seem simple or without depth for such a spiritual tribe. However, these funerary customs have philosophic concepts and deeper meanings beyond the dimension of the western world. Burial rites are an act of 'cosmification'. When a person dies, the Mamos return him/her back to the uterus of Mother Goddess.

*All of the excerpts above are sourced from Wikipedia