Home Among the Clouds

A new short film by Kogi screenwriter Jacinto Zarabata and the Tairona Heritage Trust for the Sierra Nevada of Colombia

Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, 2019. Claude Dopagne

HTI Open Plaza presents the new short film by Kogi screenwriter Jacinto Zarabata and two previous film selections from the archives of the Tairona Heritage Trust. 

The Kággaba (Kogi), who descend from the Tairona, are the last surviving civilization from the world of the Inca and the Aztecs. This is due in large part to their geographical isolation. 

Their home, the Sierra Nevada of the Colombian Andes, considered the highest coastal mountain range in the world, is also deep jungle and along with the Kogi’s insistence, has allowed the least Western influence. This has made the Kogi the most isolated people from colonial contact since 1600. However, their territory has recently been threatened by the presence of paramilitaries, guerrillas, and military bases.

The Sierra Nevada is regarded by the Kogi as The Heart of the World and they refer to themselves as Elder Brother. The area represents nearly every ecosystem on Earth: coastal, tropical rainforest, cloud forest, mountain, paramo, glacial and high-alpine ecosystems. Their Law of Origin comprises the spiritual principles that birthed the earth, the Mother. Adherence to these rules in their land ensures not only their continued survival but also enacts their belief that the stability and harmony of our planet’s entire natural system depend on it. The Mamas’ ways always return the generations to the teachings of the Mother.

“The consequences of industrial practices have been evident in the Sierra for some time, and are increasing. From the Kogi vantage point on the mountain they can see how this is damaging the rest of the planet.”

—Tairina Heritage Trust

Ciudad Perdida, Colombia, 2006. Photo: Raphael Chay

Through the permission of the Kogi Mamas, the spiritual leaders of the tribe, a long-lasting relationship with historian Alan Ereira was formed to help tell their story; first with a book, then through collaborative films of their worldviews. The retelling of their ancestral knowledge and their stories is done entirely via oral tradition, with double-translation of Kogi into Spanish, then Spanish into English. The younger generation is just recently learning to speak Spanish. 

In 2003, to further support the Kogi people, Ereira created the Tairona Heritage Trust in conjunction with the Organización Gonawindúa Tairona (OGT). The work and intention of the Kogi Mamas permitted the OGT’s initiation and is comprised of the Kággaba (Kogi), Pebu (Ika or Arhuaco), Wiwa, and Kalkuama (or Kankuamo) indigenous groups. The OGT represents all the descendants of the Tairona people and is the legitimate institution that speaks for the Kogi before the Colombian State and acts in harmony with the Kogi-Malayo-Arhuaco Reservation, a special public institute of political and administrative issues.

Initially, the Trust focused on facilitating land purchases, but over time, it expanded its efforts to help establish the administrative infrastructure needed for the indigenous communities of the Sierra to engage directly with both government and non-governmental organizations. In recent years, other NGOs and the Colombian government have taken a more active role in land acquisition, requiring a more minor role by the Trust. 

Additionally, to amplify their voices in challenging circumstances, the OGT agreed to become involved with National Geographic’s Indigenous Media Project. In 2004, the OGT started creating short films after acquiring digital cameras, a semi-professional video editing kit, and training.

“The leaders of Kogi society are highly intelligent, extremely well-informed and quick-witted, as well as profound analytic thinkers. Our simplicity was a constant puzzle to them: how did we have such an advanced technology when we have such weak intellects and such a brutal society?”

—Alan Ereira

Home Among the Clouds

'We know what you have done with the clouds. You have sold the clouds¹.'

From the Heart of the World: The Elder Brothers’ Warning

Alan Ereira: ‘If you want to speak to the world, I can help you.'
The Mamas’ reply, six months later: ‘We are waiting to work with you. Come².'

Aluna: A Journey to Save the World

“In the beginning, there was blackness.
Only the sea.
In the beginning there was no sun, no moon, no people.
In the beginning there were no animals, no plants.
Only the sea.

The sea was the Mother.
The Mother was not people, she was not anything.
Nothing at all.
She was when she was, darkly.
She was memory and potential.
She was aluna³.”

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Footnotes

^{1. Alan Ereira, “The Making of the Heart of the World: Representation and the Kogi,” Public Archaeology, Volume 4 (2005): 163-168.}

^{2. Alan Ereira, “The Making of the Heart of the World: Representation and the Kogi,” Public Archaeology, Volume 4 (2005): 163-168.}

^{3. Alan Ereira, From the Heart of the World (United Kingdom: Random House, 1992), 76.}

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"His book has a subtle, intelligent power - its tone and subject stay with you long after reading."

Roger Clarke,
Sunday Times

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