Wiwa people
 Indigenous Wiwa people in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta | |
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 18,202 people (2018) [1] () | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, Cesar Department, La Guajira Department, Valledupar, Santa Marta | |
| Languages | |
| Wiwa | |
| Religion | |
| Shamanism | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Arhuaco, Kogi, Kankuamo |
The Wiwa people are an indigenous people of Colombia, that speak Dʉmʉna, of the Chibchan language family.[2][3]
Demonyms and etymologies
[edit]The name Wiwa comes from the root wi, meaning warm (person from warm land); wi can also mean "to beget".[4] The Wiwa are also known as the Sajas, which means native or indigenous, as opposed to sintalu, meaning foreign, non-indigenous. Other regional demonyms typical of Wiwa villages are: guamacas (from Guamaka), marocaseros (from Marokaso), arsarios (from El Rosario). The origin of the demonym Malayos is unclear, but is also used.[3]
Territory
[edit]The territories of the Wiwa people consist of the Cesar department, northern areas of the Valledupar municipality, and adjacent areas of the La Guajira department.[5] A signifigant population of Wiwa people have resided in the Magdalena department since the early 1980, thanks to the leadership of Mamo Ramón Gil Barros who was able to recover ancestral Wiwa territory. The territory's land, located in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta mountain region, is between the basins of the northern Guachaca river and the southwestern Frío river in northern Colombia. They live between 900 and 2500 meters above sea level.
The Wiwa's original territory was in the regions of Marokaso, El Rosario and Guamaka, reaching into the flat lowlands. But, due to colonization and forced displacement, the Wiwa had to migrate to higher lands and abandon El Rosario (later called La Sierrita) and Marokaso.In Magdalena they currently occupy: Gotsezhi ("El Encanto"), Kemakumake, Kalabangaga, Wimake, Tolezhi y Rumangaga
In early 2024, alarms were raised by various human rights group operating Colombia about on-going forced displacement of Wiwa people in the Rancheria river basin by armed groups and conflict.[6]
Population
[edit]Their settlements are composed of dispersed rectangular single-family houses located in the foothills and valleys of the Sierra mountains. These villages are ceremonial and ritual centers, with their meetings being held in homes where stories and advice of the mamos are heard.
According to the Ministry of Culture of Colombia, in 2010 the Wiwa people had "a population of 13,627 persons - 6,872 being men and 6,755 being women -. Of these, 12,803 resided in rural areas and 824 in urban areas. The bulk of the population is composed of children, youth, and young adults (79% under the age of 30), while adults older than 60 are a small number of people(2%)."[2]
The main Wiwa villages are now Avingüe, Cherúa, Sinkujka, Surimena, Ahuyamal(munduguatjkua), Pozo de Humo, Siminke, Sabanas de Juaquina(Kuasalamena) and Bernaka in Cesar, as well as Rinconal, Naranjal, Marokaso, and Potrerito in La Guajira. They are located within the Kogui Malay Arhuaco Reservation, collective properties recognized by the state. They have formed the Wiwa Yugumaiun Bunkuanarrua Tayrona Organization (OWYBT) at the Cesar departmental level to be represented before the rest of society. In La Guajira, they are represented by the Wiwa Golkushe Tayrona Organization (OWGT).[4] They also meet with authorities of three other towns in the Sierra: Kogui, Arhuaco, and Kankuamo to coordinate the defense of their territory within the so-called línea negra demarcating the Sierra and the four towns that are in charge of taking care of it.
In the Serranía del Perijá mountains in the municipality Becerril (Cesar), is the Campo Alegre reservation, Wiwa Community, legally constituted according to resolution 21 of May 16, 1995. It has a population of approximately 463 inhabitants.
Agricultural system
[edit]The Wiwa are farmers that grow and cultivate Yuca, Ñame (a type of Yam), Malanga, Bananas, Corn, Bean, Coca, and Sugarcane/Panela, for family consumption and Coffee (coffea arabica) for commerce.
They also produce Fique, whose fiber they make hammocks and suzu backpacks with. The men wear carry cross with duadu backpacks, made of home-spun cotton. The women make the clothes, although they usually acquire the fabric from Kogui people. The men make hats.
They hunt Iguanas, Rabbits, Rodents, and Birds. They collect shells in order to extract their lime which is required for the traditional consumption of coca.
Mamos
[edit]The traditional Wiwa spiritual and political authorities are called mamos. Their influence is present in the daily lives and important events of the communities and individuals, whom they advise one-on-one, in assemblies, and in angag+k+n talks.
Mamo means sun, grandfather, and counselor and his wife is the Saga, meaning moon, grandmother, and counselor. Both leaders have received a special education to learn about the Creator, understand nature, society, and people, heal, interpret dreams, and direct ceremonies and rituals.
The mamos, in addition to being spiritual leaders, fulfill the functions of a doctor, as every person in the community who gets sick is attended to by him. For many people, it is known that they are the wisest people in the community.
Clothing
[edit]Traditional male clothing
[edit]Wiwa men dress in the following way: white pants that, in the native Wiwa lanuage, is called a ganzurra from factory origins, white tea shirts made by Wiwa women called shamarra, and hats.
Traditional male child and adolescent clothing
[edit]Male Wiwa children and teenagers dress in a white coat or tunic that reaches their knees with a small backpack that they carry at all times on their shoulder.
Traditional female child and adolescent clothing
[edit]Just like the male children, female Wiwa children and adolescents dress in a tunic, but it is typically longer, reaching the ankles.
Traditional female clothing
[edit]The Wiwa woman dresses in a blanket poncho that they make with their own hands, but with materials of textile origin, and a sash called a yina.
Language
[edit]The native language of the Wiwa people is Dʉmʉna, also known as Malayo, Wiwa, or Guamaka;[3] It belongs to the Chibcha language family and is spoken by more than one thousand people. According to the Colombian Ministry of Culture, 60% of the Wiwa people spoke Dʉmʉna as of 2010.[2]
Phonemes
[edit]The Wiwa language has seven vowel phonemes and 19 consonant phonemes.
Trilingualism
[edit]Due to the transposition of the Wiwa and Kogui territory that has characterized the last decades, part of both peoples speak both of their languages. In addition, part of the population speaks Spanish. This means it's relatively common for Wiwa to be trilingual.
References
[edit]- ^ "Población Indígena de Colombia" [Indigenous population of Colombia] (PDF), 2018 census, Bogotá: Departamento Nacional de Estadística (DANE), 16 September 2019, retrieved 28 July 2020
- ^ a b c "Un poco más de la mitad de la población wiwa habla bien la lengua damana". Ministerio de Cultura. 24 February 2010. Archived from the original on 27 March 2010. Retrieved 9 August 2024.
- ^ a b c "Malayo". Ethnologue. Archived from the original on 13 April 2018. Retrieved 10 August 2024.
- ^ a b "Wiwa". ONIC (in European Spanish). Archived from the original on 13 December 2023. Retrieved 10 August 2024.
- ^ "Wiwa in Colombia". Joshua Project. Archived from the original on 10 August 2024. Retrieved 10 August 2024.
- ^ "Forced Displacement of the Wiwa Indigenous Peoples". ABColombia. 27 February 2024. Archived from the original on 10 August 2024. Retrieved 10 August 2024 – via Relief Web.
Referenced works
[edit]- María Trillos Amaya, Gerardo Reichel-Dolmatoff, Carolina Ortiz Ricaurte: Lengua de los Wiwa (Lenguas aborígenes de Colombia. Descripciones).
- Hoppe, Dorothy 1978: "Malayo"; Aspectos de la cultura material de grupos étnicos de Colombia I:307-316. Editorial Townsend, Lomalinda, Meta.
- Trillos Amaya, María 1989: "aspecto, modo y tiempo en Damana"; Lenguas de la Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta. CCELA - Universidad de Los Andes, Bogotá.
- Whiton, Louis C. 1962: "Seeking the Sanha of Colombia"; Explorers Journal 4194:28-37. New York.
- Whiton, Louis y Joaquín Rojas Parra 1962: The Sanha Indians of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, Colombia. The Central Museum, Florida, USA.