For as long as any one can remember, the Indigenous Arhuaco people have protected their land and not many people have been invited, but Rituals was. This is what we learnt from meeting the community on a mission to restore the balance of nature.

Here’s a question: from memory, do you know how many trees there are outside your bedroom window or in your local park? What about how many species of animals or plants? For many of us, the answer will be no, and yet, the Arhuaco community knows these answers about their sacred land in Colombia.

In the modern Western world, we are constantly searching for more meaning in life. Years ago, the meaning was simple: to survive. With many aspects of survival being done for us (we shop instead of hunt, we rent or buy our homes instead of building them) we’ve lost a connection to nature. In stark contrast, the Arhuaco people have not. Since ancestral times, the Indigenous Arhuaco community – known as the Earth Keepers - has lived in harmony with nature in one of the most biodiverse and beautiful areas on earth, the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta. But now, due to activities such as logging and mining, their sacred land is under threat.

In their mission to protect and conserve it, the Arhuaco have accepted outside help. We have partnered with the conservation enterprise Sacred Forests, to help support the Arhuaco in their mission to reclaim, reforest and protect their ancestral land. This is what we learnt.

Walking into one of the world's wonders

Nestled within the heart of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, the Arhuaco’s land unfurls like a verdant tapestry. Rising sharply from the shores of the Caribbean to the Sierra Nevada’s snow-capped peaks, the steep gradient means this area has a range of microclimates and habitats, making it one of the most bio-diverse places on earth. Scattered across the mountains are the Arhuaco settlements, thatched huts and stoned terraces that make up the village communities. We spoke to Rituals’ Senior Producer Daan van Hoof about what it was like to arrive in the Arhuaco territory.

“For our trip, we were stationed in Santa Marta, the nearest big city close to the Sierra Nevada de Sante Marta,” explains Daan. “From there, we were picked up and taken into the jungle. After a 2-3-hour drive, and a long walk we entered Busingueka, a tiny village on the edge of a mountain, overlooking the Sierra, all the way to the sea.”

“There, we were welcomed by a large group of Arhuaco people who were expecting us. What I experienced then was a unique feeling. Although we weren’t able to communicate, there was a strong feeling of mutual interest in one another – call it, fascination.”

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Upholding traditions

A big part of the Arhuaco’s purpose is keeping traditions alive, not in a performative way, but because they truly believe in their power. “When meeting the Arhuaco for the first time they welcomed us with a ceremony,” recounts Daan. “Each visitor was given two woven threads made by the cotton they produce. These were tied to our wrists by a few young members of the community.

“The land of the Arhuaco is so vast, with settlements all around the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta. We were told if we were to visit remote parts of their land, this thread would be a sign to the community that we were welcome.”

The ceremony was led by the Mamos, spiritual leaders of the group who play a crucial role in preserving the cultural and spiritual traditions of the Arhuaco people. These leaders aren’t selected, they are individuals that show certain signs from birth that indicate their calling. “Mamos are born to be Mamos,” explains Rogelio Mejia, member of the Arhuaco community. “This doesn't happen at school. Not everyone is a Mamo. No matter how hard they try. A father whose son is a Mamo, does not become a Mamo. Nature itself provides the seed for the Mamo to be born.”

After the threads were tied, the Mamo asked the visitors to take a place in their spiritual meditation ground.  “It was made up out of an uneven circle of large and small rocks. They explained to us that all spiritual decision-making ceremonies were held there with the participants sitting on these rocks. The stone acts as a connection to nature: the hard material of the rock symbolises the sometimes-hard decisions that need to be made. In this case the circle was used for our welcoming ceremony.”

“As we sat down, they explained to us the importance of the moment. Without being welcomed we were not allowed to enter the community. Two fluffs of wool or fibre were given, each in one hand. We were told the fluffs were symbols of water, earth, the trees, sun, moon and nature in general. We were asked to close our eyes for a moment and feel the presence of the fluffs in our hands, thinking of these symbols. It was a strange sensation, as the items themselves were weightless, but in that moment my hands felt heavy.”

Ceremonies like this are deeply rooted in the Arhuaco way of living. In their spiritual way of life, everything carries meaning. “Our clothing is the representation of the Sierra,” explains Alfonso Torres, member of the Arhuaco community. “In our language, this is called Tutusoma, it is the symbol of the snow-capped mountains. In my veins run rivers. I have vertebrae which are the stones.” They feel a deep connection to the earth and each other.

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Living in balance

The Arhuaco people live in close-knit communities where cooperation and mutual support are paramount. Their social structure is communal, and decisions are made collectively, often under the guidance of the Mamos. They don’t exchange money, but rather their trades. This focus on balance is also key to their purpose in life – supporting the balance of nature. Their harmonious way of living means they never take more from the earth than they need.

“It became apparent to me that what I was eating came straight from the land,” says Daan, recounting the meals cooked for them by the women of the communtiy. “There was a small plot where they grow all sorts of vegetables. From that plot came the potatoes and the cassava we ate, and I saw peas growing there that became our soup later that day, too.”

At home, we are so used to the convenience of cooking with an oven. “There we sat in a small hut with a big fire in the middle. They would transfer pots from the flames to a pile of slow burning ambers in order to control the heat source. For me, as a person with a big interest in cooking, that was something very comforting to watch.”

No one knows the land like the Arhuaco community, and they can feel that all is not right with the world. They have come to realise that saving nature is beyond their own power. They see non-indigenous peoples as ‘their younger brother’ and they believe now, we need to come together to fix the problem.

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Their purpose

 “Today we ask ourselves the reason for such drastic climatic changes and extensive drought and it’s because every action has a reaction” says Mamo Camilo. “That natural balance, which today should be a priority, should already be inside every one of us. Unity is strength and only by uniting can we achieve this huge task,” he explains. The Arhuaco consider the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta to be the heart of the earth, and their life purpose is to keep it thriving.

“To us, the indigenous peoples of the Sierra were left with a mission to care for, protect, and safeguard everyone […].  We want to tell the world, that together, we are going to care. Just as this river flows from snow-capped peaks to the sea, we fulfil the life cycle of water, the life cycle of the tree, the life cycle of the moon. We are not against the beings that are around us. So, now, we must tell the younger brother to help us to live together.’

What we have learnt from the Arhuaco community, is that to help protect our planet, our connection and balance with nature needs to be restored, and we want to help. To learn more about our partnership with Sacred Forests and our shared mission to help the Arhuaco reclaim, reforest and protect their land for generations to come, click here.

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