U'wa people
The U'wa are an indigenous people living in the cloud forests of northeastern Colombia. Historically, the U'wa numbered as many as 20,000, scattered over a homeland that extended across the Venezuela-Colombia border. Some 7-8,000 U'wa are alive today.
The U'wa are known to neighboring indigenous peoples as "the thinking people" or "the people who speak well".[1] They were formerly called Tunebo, but today prefer to be known as U'wa, meaning "people".
Struggle to prevent oil drilling
They gained international visibility in a 14-year-long struggle to prevent
Geography
The U'wa people live in northeastern
Territory
The U'wa ancestral homeland, known as Kajka-Ika or Kera Chikara, lies in the
The U'wa have been engaged in a major project of land recovery, expanding their recognized territory from 1,000 square kilometres (250,000 acres) to 2,200 square kilometres (540,000 acres) Unified Reserve (Resguardo Unido) in 1999.
Municipalities belonging to U'wa territory
The U'wa inhabited the highlands of northernmost Boyacá and western Arauca and Casanare.
Name | Department | Altitude (m) urban centre |
Map |
---|---|---|---|
Cubará | Boyacá | 380 | |
Labranzagrande (shared with Achagua & Guahibo) |
Boyacá | 1210 | |
Saravena | Arauca | 2600 | |
Sácama | Casanare | 1250 | |
Támara (shared with Achagua) |
Casanare | 1156 | |
Nunchía (shared with Achagua) |
Casanare | 398 |
Culture
The U'wa speak a language of the
Their religious tradition includes an obligation to gather in the summer months and "sing the world into being" as well as to maintain equilibrium between the layers of the world: earth, water, oil, mountains, and sky. Their identification of petroleum, which they call Ruiria, with the blood of Mother Earth, stiffened their resolve in their conflict with oil corporations in the 1990s.
The U'wa consider non-U'wa to be impure, and place high importance on purification rituals, which makes interaction with outsiders difficult.
Institutions
The U'wa organize their political life in a collection of institutions known to the outside world as the U'wa Traditional Authorities. This body is made up of Werjayás (wise
The U'wa have affiliated with the Guahibo in the Association of Cabildos and Traditional Indigenous Authorities of the Department of Arauca (ASCATIDAR), officially founded in June 2003 to promote the local autonomy of the department's indigenous peoples. The Association's president is Dario Tulivila, a Guahibo leader.
Clans
The U'wa were grouped into eight clans from time immemorial to the 20th century. Three clans survived their dramatic population loss in the last hundred years and structure their communal life today: Kubaruwa (Cobaria), Tagrinuwa (Tegria) and Kaibaká (Bokota), each of which includes multiple communities. The U'wa population includes some 822 families.[1]
See also
- Muisca
- Guayupe, Lache
References
- ^ a b UNESCO Centre of Catalonia, U'wa Dossier
- ^ Culler, Jenny R. (2001). "The U'wa Struggle To Protect Their Cultural Lands: A Framework for Reviewing Questions of Sovereignty and the Right to Environmental Integrity for Indigenous Peoples". Georgia Journal of International and Comparative Law. 29 (2): 335–360. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015.
- ^ Ángela Uribe, Petróleo, economía y cultura: El caso U'wa, Bogotá: Universidad del Rosario / Siglo del Hombre Editores, 2005.
- ^ EarthRights International (19 October 2015). "Victory for U'wa Nation". IC Magazine (International Cry).
Further reading
- Stoddart, D.R. (1962). "Myth and Ceremonial among the Tunebo Indians of Eastern Colombia". The Journal of American Folklore. 75 (296). American Folklore Society: 147–152. JSTOR 538175.
External links
- Rainforest Action Network background
- Profile of the U'wa from Minority Rights Group International. Accessed Oct. 22, 2017.