Spiritual Beliefs
The Kogi base their lifestyles on their belief in "The Great Mother," their creator figure, whom they believe is the force behind nature, providing guidance. The Kogi understand the Earth to be a living being, and see the colonizers' mining, building, pollution and other activities damaging the Great Mother.
From birth the Kogi attune their priests, called Mamu, to the mystic world called Aluna. It is in this "spirit-realm" that the Mamas operate to help the Great Mother sustain the Earth. Through deep meditation and symbolic offerings, the Mamas believe they support the balance of harmony and creativity in the world. It is also in this realm that the essence of agriculture is nurtured: seeds are blessed in Aluna before being planted, to ensure they grow successfully.
The Kogi Mamas have remained isolated from the rest of the world since the Spanish Conquistadors came to plunder South America for gold. The Kogi Mamas claim that the balance of the earth's ecology has been suffering since these times and that 'Younger Brother' (modern humanity) is to blame. The Kogi Mamas in turn term themselves as 'Elder Brother' claiming that their religious work is instrumental in helping to prolong and protect life on earth. In an attempt to prevent further ecological catastrophe, the Kogi Mamas broke their silence and chose to allow a small BBC film crew into their isolated mountaintop civilization to hear their message, a warning to 'Younger Brother'. The subsequent messages and warnings were voiced in the documentary The Heart of The World: Elder Brother's Warning. After the documentary was filmed, the Kogi Mamas took away any means for 'Younger Brother' to enter their civilization and once again returned to their work in isolation.
The Kogi Mamas quickly realised that their warning had not been heeded by Younger Brother and chose to contact the same filmmaker twenty years later to give one final message. This became Aluna a documentary made by the Kogi Mamas themselves in which they choose to share their secret sciences with 'Younger Brother' so that 'Younger Brother' can help change the world for the better.
Read more about this topic: Kogi People
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