Based high up in the snow peaked mountains of Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, the Teyunas have served as sacred guardians of the Earth for hundreds of years. Their way of life is devoted to the health and heart of the planet, which they regard as one fully interconnected living being, of which people are a part. In August 2019, four Teyuna mamos and a zaga (female leader) traveled to Omega Center in Rhinebeck, New York near the end of a year-long trip around the US, where they gave a week-long workshop about their Earth Stewardship work. The Teyuna mamos have been featured in several documentaries, including Aluna, which was filmed in Columbia with a BBC journalist.
For the mamos, the water, air, stones, trees and plants are all living intelligences. Nature is already perfect and even polluted rivers don’t need to be “fixed”, a point beautifully made by Kandymaku in his talk “Learning to Speak from the Heart,” which is published on this website. The Teyuna teach that our thoughts and words have a direct affect on our well being and equally on that of the rivers, trees, water and earth. An important part of their work is making Pagamentos, which are spiritual payments (offerings) to the earth for all the resources we use and for healing work. They work to restore imbalances to prevent natural disasters. As we deepen our ability to concentrate and reconnect with the life pulse of Nature, we begin to quiet our minds, see more clearly — to act with greater integrity.
Over the past several years, many important sacred sites in Columbia, which are pivotal to the work that the Teyuna do in their pagamento work, have been taken over by government projects such as mining and dams. When the water becomes sick or can’t run freely, the land suffers and cannot support the biodiversity native to that land. This affects the entire environment - locally and globally. An important part of the year-long journey that the Teyuna took around the US has been to raise awareness about the work they do, the challenges we all face, and a message to take heart and connect as a community and the gifts that each of us has to share in restoring balance to Mother Earth - starting with ourselves. Following is a transcript of the public address that Mamo Rodrigo, Wiwa leader, member of the Teyuna.
Nature is already perfect and even polluted rivers don’t need to be “fixed”, a point beautifully made by Kandymaku in his talk “Learning to Speak from the Heart,” also published on this website. The Teyuna teach that our thoughts and words have a direct affect on our well being and equally on that of the rivers, trees, water and earth. An important part of their work is giving Pagamentos, which are spiritual payments to the earth for all the resources we use and for healing work. They also help restore imbalances to prevent natural disasters. As we deepen our ability to concentrate and reconnect with the life pulse of Nature, we begin to quiet our minds, see more clearly and act with greater integrity.
Mamo Rodrigo, Wiwa leader, member of the Teyuna
We have materials for offerings in us
Buenos Noches. Our name is Teyuna. That means that we are responsible and that our duty is with Mother Nature. The Teyuna are four tribes. Arhuaco, Kankuamo, Kogi and Wiwi people of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta region of Colombia. Each of us speaks a different langange, different way of dressing, houses and different types of pocillas. But our belief, our wisdom, is one. At the beginning, our ancestors, our elders taught us to fulfill our duties with Mother Nature and the community, or society. They told us, if you don’t do pagamentos, you will have disease, problems. They also told us to continue playing our traditional music. The elders asked what materials are we going to use for pagamentos? But the materials are within ourselves.
If we behave kindly toward Mother Nature, she will be in harmony. If we mistreat her, we will be creating conflict within ourselves. At the beginning they taught us to be self-sufficient. To live in unity. To keep or maintain our culture, our practices and our customs. They also taught us to have our own form of government. Because we are authority and we are the spiritual government of Mother Nature - we know the government of Mother Nature. About our practices and customs they told us this.
The heart of the world
To maintain our way of clothes and hats, our language, because if we lose our language or our customs we will be weakened, and so the heart of the world, because we represent that - the Heart of the World. About the practices and customs, they they told us to use the poporo (a hollowed-out gourd, with a stick). They also told us to use ayo. To keep our language alive because the language our main code is in our language of the Sierra Nevada. And then they gave us the law of origin which is our own government. Our own government means to follow the wisdom of our male and female ancestors, our male and female elders.
Asking permission from nature
They gave us temples, or houses, which is the place where we gather to learn our sacred wisdom. Inside we use our code. They also told us don’t cut your hair, our hair represents the trees and also the mountains. When there are problems or conflicts among us our ancestors ask what should we do; the spiritual fathers said no. Because through the consultations you will find the sacred places where you can address all types of situations. And you can prevent them as well. You can address conflicts, arguments, bad or negative rain and natural disasters. There are sacred spaces to address all of these issues. We were told that when we were going to go into the river or lake to take a bath or to use the water, before doing that we do that we should ask for the proper permission from the spiritual father of the water.
Nobody owns the land
When our brothers buy land, they say I’m the owner of the land and so I’m the owner of the trees. They do’t now that the spiritual father of the trees is the real owner of the trees. If you don’t ask for proper permission from the spiritual father of the trees, the spiritual father will come back to you to collect, to show you the bill. You will get disease, climate problems.
At the beginning they told us not to hurt the soil, the earth. But our brothers will say, I’m the owners of the territory and there is a lot of gold in this ground. So I will be able to sell this to you at the right price because the land and the gold is mine. But they don’t know that it is our spiritual father who is living in that land. And because of this there are thousands and thousands of mining licenses because the government authorizes the digging without taking into consideration that they are destroying the earth, hurting rocks. Rocks are sacred to us. They cut the trees, build dams because the rivers cross their land.
The earth is mother, the water is also mother
What would you feel what would you say if you saw the zaga with holes, wounds in her body? And they don’t realize that the way we have been mistreating women and the earth, that there are conditions on the planet related to this mistreatment. Because the earth is mother, the water is also mother. They are mothers and we are completely ignorant of how we have been abusing them.
One of our elders that is almost at the end of his days, he’s about 140 years old, told us, the storm is coming. When the diseases become a reality they immediately study the conditions of the disease in order for them to be able to control them. So now when the hurricanes are coming, they’re studying that to prevent this. The wise man said, we will have earthquakes and we won’t be able to control them. We’ll get dirty rain. At the beginning the wise men were really concerned.
They also said, the Mother is going to close her legs and when that happens we will sink. And when that happens the earth will be destroyed. And the wise men are worried, concerned, and say what do we need to do to save the world. And then the Teyuna strategy for Mother Earth to help her and for the earth to be able to endure and continue, we will have to go out of our land and do pagamentos all over the planet.
Every day we owe more to Mother Earth When we treat our women well we won’t have any problem with the water. When we mistreat our partner, then the water will get sick. If we do Pagamentos for the water, we will have few illnesses for our mother. If we cut down many trees, men will be treating each other poorly (trees are related to men). That is the reason we are doing this tour. Because by doing this tour we will be able to prevent illnesses. Because our wise men have told us that chronic conditions mean earthquakes are coming. Every day we owe more to Mother Earth. So we ask our brothers to gather spiritual tributes to pay Mother Nature, and that is what we are doing. And we are very grateful to you for this.