Kogi Culture and Cultivating Harmony
The Kogi have an ancient culture and worldview, which they believe they need to share and we need to understand in order to stop us from destroying the world.
Since 1990, through their films and by establishing a political presence of their own indigenous government they are seeking to influence Colombia and the wider world.
They believe that the mountain where they live, the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, is "The Heart of the World" and they are the "Elder Brothers" who care for it. They refer to us as the “Younger Brother”, the outside civilisation who were sent away from The Heart of the World long ago.
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Coca
The Kogi believe that natural coca civilizes men. The toasted coca leaf they chew is as far from refined cocaine as rye bread if from whisky. It has been a food for thousands of years for native Americans giving them important vitamins and enabling them to endure long periods without food and sleep.
The men continuously chew coca leaves, a tradition followed by many indigenous tribes to connect them to the natural world. As they chew the leaves, they suck on the lime powder in their poporos, which they extract with a stick, and rub the mixture on the gourd with the stick to form a hardened layer or crust. The size of this layer depends on the man's maturity and age.
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Poporo
The Poporo is a gourd which contains powdered lime made by burning seas shells which the Kogi collect from the Caribbean coast and extract with a stick which is used to wipe the lime on to a wad of coca leaves in their cheeks. For a boy the giving of the first poporo by the Mamas marks his rite of passage to manhood.
The Kogi believe the Poporo is the mark of civilization, eating from it reminds a man of what he is and keeps him in harmony with the Great Mother (the earth). The ring of calc which builds up around the rim of the gourd is saliva mixed with shell dust. It’s a bit like a book. They say, ‘We write our thoughts in it.’
“‘Up to now we have ignored the Younger Brother. We have not deigned even to give him a slap. But now we can no longer look after the world alone. The Younger Brother is doing too much damage. He must see, and understand, and assume responsibility. Now we will have to work together. Otherwise the world will die.”
— In their Own Words
