In March, ACT’s Liliana Madrigal traveled with ACT board members to Colombia’s Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta to participate in the christening of two new Kogi temples. The buildings were constructed on Jaba Tañiwashkaka, a sacred site that ACT worked to purchase in 2013 with Kogi leaders and the Colombian government. This land will now be forever protected from development.
ACT advisory board member Janell Cannon wrote about the trip:
“Soon we could see the new ceremonial houses that had been built on the site. By now a very large gathering of Kogis from many clans had come together from all points along with Colombian officials and the ACT group to witness the ceremonies and speeches involved in the official reclaiming of Jaba Tañiwashkaka. Each non-Kogi visitor stood and stated their reason for being there, as the Kogi listened. It was a very meditative and solemn event. In each instance, they spoke of increasing environmental degradation and that nature, when not paid back materially and spiritually, will wreak havoc.”
The construction of the two temples—one for men and one for women—honored the Kogi’s various traditional practices, such as divination for proper location. The site and the buildings will allow the Kogi to continue their sacred ceremonies next to the sea.
To learn more about ACT’s work with the Kogi, click here.
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