Helping families with Colombian children stay connected with the Colombian culture. You may contact me at the following e-mail:
colombiansadoptcolombians @ hotmail.com (please remove spaces around the @ symbol).
When the Spanish began to bring slaves from Africa to Colombia, there were some who escaped and began to form free, outlaw communities. These escaped slaves were called Cimarrones, and their communities and their enclaves were known as Palenques.
Benkos (called Domingo by the Spanish) Bioho is the most famous of all Cimarrones. He arrived in Cartagena de Indias in 1599, where he became the slave of Juan Gómez. The historian Fray Pedro Simón (1574-1628) wrote Benkos Bioho's story in his epic work. According to Simón, the mistreatment of slaves by Gómez led Bioho to rebel and flee his master taking with him his wife, three other men and three other women. He also encouraged an additional 22 slaves, owned by Juan de Palacios, to rebel and flee with them. The group of 30 headed out into the swamps and camped near the village of Tolú -- around 50 miles away.
From there, Bioho organized the group into a guerrilla type movement, and for five years the group launched attacks on Spanish interests. The Governor of Cartagena tried everything to stop the group, but found it impossible to do so. Finally, in 1605, the Governor signed a peace treaty with the group and gave them a small section of territory -- what is today San Basilio de Palenque -- where they could establish themselves as free people.
Eventually, Benkos got the Governor of Cartagena to sign agreements that allowed his Cimarrones to freely go wherever they wanted (including Cartagena), carry arms both without and within the city limits, and be treated with respected by all Spanish authorities. Fray Pedro Simón reports that Benkos insisted that he dress, act, and be treated like a Spanish gentleman.
When a new governor arrived in 1621, he wrote to Spain that Bioho had established a Palenque (a walled city) where no Spanish were allowed to go, and that it was well fortified and protected by Bioho's soldiers. Apparently, the governor had sent troops to the area, but Bioho's men disarmed them and sent them back with a message that they were not to return.
As a result of this offense, the Governor sent more armed troops, Bioho was captured and hanged on 6 March 1621. This sparked an insurgent war that would last until 1691 when Domingo Criollo, a palenquero, asked the King of Spain to intervene. The decision of the King allowed all Palenqueros born in the Palenque their freedom and the right to live in freedom on the lands where the Palenques were located.
Below is the anthem of San Bailio de Palenque. It is an ode to Benkos Bioho.
In response to this week’s posts on names, I have received several e-mails asking about the names of famous Colombians and their stories and about Indigenous names. I plan to spend the next three days sharing some of them. Also, I will continue to post more in the future and you will be able to find them all by clicking on the NAMES link the LABELS section to the right of the blog. Name: AQUIMÍN ( pronounced: ah key MEAN) or AQUIMINZAQUE (pronounced: ah key mean ZAH kay) When the Spanish arrived on the plains of Bogotá, 1536, they found a great nation. In fact, it was the third largest group of indigenous inhabitants in America. They called themselves the Muiscas , which meant ‘the people’. Their language was called Chibcha . The Muiscas were not a united group, but rather a collection of city states. The majority of the power was held by two main cities – what today are called Bogotá and Tunja (in Boyacá). These two cities were mortal enemies and each enlisted the loy
Recently, I was asked to write a post on Colombian names, and popular Colombian names. I had a hard time finding a list, but eventually I did find one. According to I.N.E. - Instituto Nacional de Estadística, -- unfortunately, when I found this it doesn't say the year -- the most common Colombian boys names across all ages are: 1 JUAN CARLOS 2 CARLOS ALBERTO 3 ALEXANDER 4 ANDRES FELIPE 5 LUIS FERNANDO 6 DIEGO FERNANDO 7 JHON JAIRO 8 CARLOS ANDRES 9 ALEJANDRO 10 JUAN DAVID The girls are: 1 SANDRA MILENA 2 LUZ MARINA 3 CAROLINA 4 PAULA ANDREA 5 CLAUDIA PATRICIA 6 MARIA EUGENIA 7 PAOLA ANDREA 8 DANIELA 9 LILIANA 10 MARTHA CECILIA Just as here, names go through ebb and flow. Fourteen years ago when we were married, I attended several baby baptisms and met numerous friends of my husband. At the time, it seemed like everyone was naming their kid Juan CAMILO (boy) or Maria CAMILA (girl). I met dozens of them. Then, about 7 years later, I heard tons of SANTIAGO, JULIAN, SEBASTIAN and FE
The myth of the Madremonte (Mother Mountain), and I do say myth though many campesinos in Colombia believe in her today, has it's roots in the indigenous cultures of Colombia and is known throughout much of Colombia including Antioquia, Caldas, Arauca, Caqueta, Amazonas, Guainia, and perhaps more departments. The Madremonte looks like a large woman. She has large, bony hands, large teeth and Betty Davis Eyes -- which on closer examination glow. Her body is covered in leaves and moss. Her hair is a tangled mess of plants and moss which often covers her face. She lives in the mountains and jungles, (in Antioquia and Caldas she lives in swamps where streams are born. People who claim to have seen her, usually report to have done so near thickets and bushes in jungle like areas. Others report having heard her bloodcurdling screams and groans on stormy nights. She rules the winds, the rains, and all the vegetation, and her role is to protect nature. She punishes those who invad
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