22.8.2023 Traditional Work

At Yosagaka

I drew a portrait of Mamo Bernardo and then I ripped the page from my diary and gave him the drawing because he liked it very much.

In the morning we drank a cup of coffee and went to do the traditional work. I remember the wind blowing outside of the house before the dawn.

There were sacred stones down the hill. The lower and smaller one had on the surface an engraving representing the evil, and the upper one carried engravings of a man and a woman representing the good. We sat side by side on the rocks and Bernardo sat behind us above the stones. He put a small black bead in everyone’s right palm and asked us to sit facing the sunrise and to focus on everything negative. Let it absorb into the bead! It is because we are dragging a negative trail behind us like we wear the clothes. We are the visitors and strangers for people living here. Therefore everything needed to be thoroughly cleansed in order for the spirit of the Sierra Nevada mountains to accept us.

It is not possible to be here without permission. If there were unwelcome guests, they would have difficulties by walking on the trails of the mountains and even the negative trail would remain on the trails after them.

When our minds were empty of negativity we turned back and put the beads in front of the large rock. Now I saw that I had the biggest bead from all of us. Bernardo explained that I contained the biggest amount of negativity because I was new here. The more time a person spent in the world ruled mostly by consumerism and materialism, the more negativity it drags in their mind.

I felt freshness and sparkle. Bernardo prepared beaded necklaces for each of us. We had to hold them in our right palm and ask for the gifts we need. The point of sitting facing the sun was that the east symbolizes ,openness’, on the contrary sitting facing the west ,decay’.

Mamo said it was a perfect day for a cleansing ritual. The Sun warmed gently behind the clouds, it did not burn like the other days, and a very pleasant breeze blew. He said it was like honeymoon time. I liked the comparison a lot which filled me with pure joy and pleasure. I had to wish for good things. Let us ask for everything we need. If a student needs to study more, money and books are needed, this is important, and so everything we desire is important and will be given to us.

Mamo also explained that the necklace he gave us is our ID. Because we cannot walk down the street without any ID and thus we should keep it only for ourselves. Finally he challenged us to put our necklaces around our necks and asked us how we felt.

We talked about giving and receiving. I felt that one of the reasons I should have returned here was to offset the uncertainty from my last visit, when I felt more like an intruder. But I also felt great here. I still did not understand such paradox, it gave me a lot of heavy thoughts to think about myself though.

When we stood up, Bernardo said we would do pagamento later, because now we are very rich and fulfilled after we asked for so many gifts and wishes. We returned to the house, where Lilia and kids prepared arepas for breakfast.

Fires were burning in the distance yesterday. When we went to bed, they were still burning. Mamo asked me how I felt. He pointed out that I was very quiet and often walked alone and that he hopes I was not sad. He explained that language is important for communication, not only the non-verbal but also the verbal one. Good communication brings people closer. He apologized for his imperfect Spanish. He pointed out how difficult it is that everything he wants to say he translates from Iku language to Spanish, then the guys translate his words to English and then I have to translate it to my native Czech language.

When darkness falls, the silhouettes of the mountains are beautiful and mysterious. The Moon is rising and shining brightly and everything is illuminated by the blue moonshine. I often stand in the middle of the night up there in the mountains of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta and think of the wholeness and my life in Europe, letting the enchanting spirit of the place and nature to wrap me in its delicate veil.

After lunch we came down from the house into the garden. Mamo Bernardo did the pagamento with people who are not Arhuacos for the first time. There down he had such a hidden corner near the plants and among the coca bushes. He tore cotton in everyone’s hands and appealed to us for paying all good stuff we asked for. To pay the owners of animals, mountains, the Sun, the Universe. The more we pay, the more we get.

Then he gave us small pieces of string to create new rules for cooperation — a new order in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta. He pointed to the civil war in Colombia and the dangers of both enemy troops. We have created a new order based on respect and love and caressing and embracing and pleasantness. Here children often come to us and hug us. They want to cuddle and usually stand in silence next to us for long time.

After the traditional work, Lilia brought us a jug of water and we washed our hands. Exhaustion overwhelmed us. Now I could understand how hard was the work of Mamos. They say, it is more demanding than working at the farm.

I helped Lilia to wash their clothes. White as the large flowers of hydrangea yet stained by the juice of plátanos. When Bernardo saw my drawing he showed me his drawings. A notebook filled by colour drawings of Arhuaco figures, tools and landscapes. The guys translated labels and short articles about Arhuaco culture that accompanied the drawings and challenged me to train my Spanish. I am all better.

5. 11. 2019 Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, Colombia © Jaroslava Šnajberková