When my husband and I went to Columbia we spent 3 nights and 4 days hiking in the jungle with a group of tourists lead by a guide, a translator, and a chef. We stayed in cozy encampments that most people from America would call rustic. The trail led us to the Lost City. There are two groups of natives that run this trail, Columbian farmers and the Indigenous.  Indigenous are tribal, and the group we met is one of four found in the Sierra called the Kogi.  The Kogi look different than even the Columbians.  They speak a different language than the Spanish of Columbia.  Their lives are simple. Here is a story of their religion as told to me by an educated Indigenous man who learned to speak Spanish.  A translator then told us what he was saying in English.

A long time ago there were two brothers.  They were the sons of the masculine sun god, and the feminine god, Mother Earth. The two sons lived on and took care of the earth; they were loyal to El Sol. But then the younger brother became greedy.  He began to do bad things and use the earth to his advantage and in doing these unfavorable things he caused harm to Mother Earth.  The older brother, who was wise, saw what his younger brother was doing and tried to show him the harm he was causing the earth and the pain he was causing El Sol. Filled with greed, the younger brother continued to use the earth for his gain. The older brother continued to mend the earth and appreciate her, but his younger brother’s destruction was very harmful.  As the years continued the earth could not be fully repaired.

The Indigenous believe that they are the older brother called to protect the earth with love. The people that are not from the Sierra are the younger brothers, whom the indigenous love and wish no harm upon. The indigenous attribute all natural disasters to be El Sol’s wrath for the harm the younger brother has caused Mother Earth. Their mission is to spread this story to all who hike through in hopes of inspiring and enlightening the younger brothers to change ways. 

Message from the Kogi

-Kristen Eovaldi

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kristen and benjamin with kogi shaman