Colombian Culture, Colombia Adoption and Raising Colombian Kids

When Colombians hear the word BUNDE, most will think of the music familiar to Tolima. There is also a musical tradition called Bunde, also called Chigualo, found on the Pacific Coast. It's origins are believed to be from the Wunde of Sierra Leone, in Africa. On the Pacific Coast, the term BUNDE has come to refer to a type of song used at the wake for dead Afrocolombian children, yet it is typically not sad, but festive. (The word Chigualo is used when the song is for a deceased adult.) The Bunde is a funerary right in which the pain over the loss of a loved one is transformed into joy. The happiness is caused by the belief that the the soul of the child has entered into the Spirit World. The Bunde is sung while accompanying the the decorated casket in a processional march. The march moves three steps forward and two back. The song is followed by a brief poem: Yo soy la primer madrina (I am the first godmother) que me vengo a presentar. (I am coming to introduce myse...

Another Afrocolombian group trying to increase the self-esteem of the Afrocolombian people in the Pacific region of Colombia is the group Chocquibtown . They sing about the pride of being from the Pacific and the wonderful things of the region. You can see their video here:

In preparation for this week of official celebration of Afrocolombian culture, I have read a few books. One of them I will highlight today. It is rather interesting and offers insight in to Colombian culture in general. Anyone reading this book will walk away with a greater understanding of what living in Colombia would be like. It is far more than a book dealing with race relations. You will learn about Paisa culture, mestizaje , Antioquia , the Atlantic Coast and Choco . The author challenges how the Colombian belief that the Afro population is adequately integrated into Colombian society. He questions Colombia's self proclaimed image as a "racial democracy", and offer several valid reasons as to why Afrocolombians are not truly "equal". If learning about Afrocolombians and Colombian culture in general interests you. I highly recommend this read. It is not an easy read novel, but very enlightening nonetheless. The title: Blackness and Race Mixtu...

Okay, so here is a place for my bucket list. I had heard about Gorgona from an old Salsa song by Fruko and Sus Tesos called El Preso (The Prisoner). The lyrics start out like this: " Oye , te hablo desde la prision , Wilson Mayoma , Gorgona ." (Hey, I am speaking to you from prison, Wilson Mayoma [name of the lead singer of Fruko ], Gorgona ." When I heard the name in the song, I asked by husband -- "So, what's Gorgona ?" The answer -- the Alcatráz of Colombia. The next question, "So where is it?" On an island in the Pacific Ocean about 2o miles from Guapi , Cauca , Colombia. Here's the story: The earliest remains of inhabitants of the island date to 1300 B.C. One of the earliest European visitors was Francisco Pizarro, who, in 1527, gave the island its name. Following the Spanish conquest, Indians from the Sindagua tribe inhabited the island. Then, in the 1950's, it was decided that because of the remoteness of the island, the ...

Okay, so I really meant to post this the first week of January, as the event is held from January 1-6 every year, but the move really threw me for a loop. So, now that this event is over, I'll give you a run down so you can look forward to it for next year. On the Pacific coast of Colombia, there is a unique tradition popular among Afrocolombians. It is called the Balseadas de Santos . The Balseada is actually a procession of canoes, accompanied by a chorus of drums. In the procession, the canoes carry the statues of Catholic saints down the river to where a village or city is located. Then, the canoes come to shore and the statue is carried to the home of a family that has been chosen to sponsor the "partying" all year long. The party then begins. There is marimba music and the woman at the head of the household will begin singing and dancing. The festivities last for several days. These balseadas are held on the Sanquianga river in the cities of Bocas de Satinga, Mulato...

The Tule (meaning the people) or Kuna (name commonly given the group) Indians live in the Urabá region of Antioquia and the islands of San Blas in Panamá. They are a matriarchal society. When a couple marries, the groom goes to live with his in-laws and he works for them. Like most indigenous peoples, their society revolves around hunting, fishing, and agriculture. The language, Dulegaya, is still spoken and taught in the communities. Here is a clip from a documentary about the Tule-Kuna of Colombia: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=doHx7RoFVR0 One of the most beautiful handicrafts of Colombia are the MOLAS made by the Kuna women. Here is a picture of one: Molas are bright colorful works made by using a reverse appliqué process. In the process several layers of brightly colored cloth are loosely sewn together. Then, the top layers are cut and folded back and then hand sewn to the layers below. Molas (which means 'blouse' in the Tula language) are still worn by the women of the vi...

The Awá indigenous community is located along the south-west mountainous rain forests near Tumaco in Narino (also located in Northern Ecuador). They live on several Indigenous reservations. Awá means the "people." They live in small communities that consist of large extended family units. There is typically long distances between communities. The people live off of the land hunting, fishing, and growing corn (maiz), and other vegetables. Unfortunately, little has been written about the AWÁ and their culture. The best resource is in Spanish. It is a book by Benhur Ceron Solarte called LOS AWÁ-KWAIKER. As I mentioned yesterday, some of the hardest hit by the drug/guerrilla violence are those of indigenous communities. Unfortunately, the reservations where the Awá live are also located in areas where poppy and coca are grown. Thus making it ground zero for the FARC / Paramilitary / Army war. Under such conditions, the Awá have recently suffered great loss. On August 26, there wa...

The Waunana are closely related to the Embera and inhabit much of the same territory of the Embera . Many live in Chocó in the San Juan River basin , but there are others in the department of Cauca these are the Waunan Nonam . I have read some estimates that say prior to 800 AD they were the same people and spoke the same language. Then, sometime between 800 and 1200 AD their language began to change and now they are as closely related as German is to English. Their cultural and religious traditions seem to be much more cohesive than the diverse Embera , but their overall lifestyle is very similar. I also read that there has been a lot of racial mixing between the Waunana and Afrocolombians in the Chocó region. I am not sure if this source was particularly reliable, however, I think that it stands to reason based on the following: One of the most unique handicrafts of Colombia, WERREGUE BASKETS, are made by the Waunana Indians in the Chocó region. The Colombian official Touri...

The Emberas are nomadic peoples that live primarily in the department of Chocó and the part of Antioquia known as Urabá , however, there are also Emberas in other parts of Colombia as well as in neighboring Panamá . The Emberas are Colombia's 3rd largest indigenous group with a population of approximately 71,000. They are hunter gatherers and often still use the poison dart (made from the poison-dart frog)blow-gun, bows and arrows, or spears to catch their prey. They live in houses on stilts, which were to protect them from jaguars, wild boar and other jungle hazards. Both men and women are shirtless in their native environment wearing loincloths and skirts. One of the unique features of the Embera is the body painting that they do. The Embera use the inedible fruit JAGUA to create a black dye that is then used to paint their bodies. The dye lasts 10 days to 2 weeks. Each design has a meaning and each is different for age as well as gender. There are actually 5 different di...

Although the largest portion of the population on the Pacific Coast is of African descent (approximately 700,000 rural afrocolombian farmers), there are still large groups of indigenous peoples all along the coast. The largest group is the EMBERA (40,000), followed by the AWÁ (10,000), the WAUNANA (7,000), and the KUNA (600) native peoples. The native peoples accepted the afro colombian encroachment much more readily than that of the white man. There has been some, though not much, mixing of the races and the children of afrocolombian and indigenous people are called Zambos . They make up approximately 2 1/2 -3% of the population. In a book by Javier Ocampo Lopez (a professor at the UPTC in Tunja ), I found an Embera legend about the origin of race that I thought might be interesting to share to close out this week. According to the group of Embera Indians known as the Catios , who live in Choco , there exists the god EUANDAMA , whose body is that of the sun. Euandama mar...

One of the most unique aspects of food from the Pacific coast is the large variety of drinks that they have. Each department seems to have their specialty drink. CHOCOLATE CON LECHE DE COCO -- from Chocó . For this coconut chocolate milk, you take 8 bars of Colombian chocolate, 2 cups of coconut milk from freshly opened coconuts, 4 cups of milk, and sugar to taste. First, melt the chocolate in the coconut milk on low heat. Mix constantly with a hand mixer (molinillo). When the chocolate is completely melted, add milk and sugar and stir until they are dissolved. JUGO DE NAIDÍ - from Guapí, Cauca The naidí (nigh DEE) is more commonly known in the U.S. as the acai fruit. They come from palm trees where they grow in bunches, like grapes. They start out green and turn a deep reddish-purple when they ripen. To prepare a delicious drink from the fruit, you place the ripe berries in a pot of water that just covers the berries, and then boil on high for about 30 minutes (add water if necessary...

In 1648, a group of Franciscan missionaries arrived to the area of what is now Quibdó , Chocó . With them they brought a large statue of San Francisco de Asís . Their mission was to 'civilize' the natives of the region and build new routes for the Gold from Chocó to get to the capitals of the Nuevo Reino de Granada. Shortly after their arrival, they organized a floating parade. A long line of canoes was headed by a canoe bearing the statue of San Francisco de Asís . By 1684, the natives had become restless with the new religion and killed off the missionaries. This might have been the end of the encroachment on the natives for a while, had it not been for the Spanish conquistadors that had moved into the area in 1670, bringing with them a large groups of African slaves who worked to take gold out of the rivers and hills in Chocó . The African slaves in the area took San Francisco de Asís as their patron saint, and he was eventually named the patron saint of Qui...

The Pacific Coast of Colombia is considered to be one of the most biologically diverse areas in the world. In fact, the area contains one fifth of the diverse plant species known in Colombia. There are also many different kinds of animal species, including mammals, birds, fish, and amphibians. The major departments located on the Pacific coast are : Chocó (capital Quibdó ), Valle de Cauca (main Coastal city = Buenaventura ), Cauca (main Coastal City = Guapí ), and Nariño (main Coastal city = Tumaco ). The city of Lloro (which happens to mean 'cries'), Colombia, is the wettest zones on the planet, receiving 542 about inches or 13,300 millimeters of rain each year. In spite of being rich in natural resources (water, minerals, forests, and plants and animals), it is typically considered to be the poorest part of Colombia. The majority of the population are the descendants of African slaves who had been brought to the region to work as miners. This brings me to an interesting...