If we heal the territory, we heal everyone: Returning to sacred spaces

To ensure the continuity of all that exists, Indigenous spiritual authorities (mamus) and their families care for, spiritually cleanse, and defend sacred sites. By healing sacred sites, they heal the land and, in turn, all of humanity.

In northern Colombia, in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta – known to the Indigenous peoples as Gonawindúa – live the Kággaba (Kogui), Iku (Arhuaco), Wiwa, and Kankuamo peoples as well as the coastal base peoples Taganga, Wayuú, and Ette Ennaka (Chimila). This area, also known as the Ancestral Territory of the Black Line, is regarded by these communities as the heart of the world, a point of connection between different levels of existence.

Here, the mamus (traditional spiritual authorities) hold the ancestral responsibility of maintaining cosmic balance. Their role is not only spiritual but deeply political and ecological. They care for sacred sites, sustain the web of life, and uphold harmony among humanity, nature, and the universe.

Who are the mamus? The mamu is the spiritual authority and guide for the Indigenous peoples of the Sierra Nevada in Colombia: the Kággaba (Kogui), Iku (Arhuaco), Wiwa, and Kankuamo peoples, all of them connected to Tayrona. Their home, the Sierra Nevada de Gonawindúa, is a mountain system isolated from the Andes range, rising from sea level to 5,775 meters – making it the highest coastal mountain range in the world. Characterised by majestic peaks, rivers, and exceptional biodiversity, it embodies the sacred web that connects human beings with nature and the cosmos. Declared a Biosphere Reserve in 1979, it hosts a remarkable range of ecosystems, from mangroves and tropical rainforests to páramos and perpetual snow, in a way a microcosm of the planet. The mamu is a wise figure who, through ancestral knowledge and spiritual practices, watches over the balance of the territory, collective health, and cosmic order. Chosen through a spiritual process from childhood (although in special cases this may occur later), and subjected to extensive training in ancestral knowledge that can last several years and involves special diets, their role is to protect and ensure compliance with the Law of Origin, the set of principles that governs the order of the universe. Due to their traditional practices and the geography of the Sierra, they remained relatively isolated from western colonisation until the arrival of the Capuchin religious mission in 1916 to Nabusímake, their ancestral capital. The Ikun language includes a sixth vowel with specific phonetic value, the broken u, shown in this article as a strikethrough “u”.

These practices restore balance between opposing forces: creation and destruction, health and illness, life and death

Today, the Iku people face a series of structural and persistent threats, understood as manifestations of ongoing colonisation. These include: extractivism (in the form of megaprojects and monoculture farming), armed conflict, evangelisation, unregulated tourism, religious and academic colonisation, and the loss of traditional foods. In the words of Mamu Aruawiku:

They took away all our traditional foods (zumu kia). They realised they could use that to weaken us, because before, we only ate native food. So even though zumu kia still exists in many places, it’s no longer complete. (translated by Seynawiku, 2025)

Territorial recovery: The case of Kwarte Umuke

Since 2004, mamu Aruawiku Izquierdo Torres and his family have been living in Kwarte Umuke, known as the “land recovery zone.” They are recovering colonised lands in the Ariguaní River basin, near the city of Valledupar and in the municipality of Pueblo Bello (close to its urban center). This movement back to colonised lands is no coincidence: it represents an act of return and re-existence, reclaiming dispossessed spaces and exercising self-government. It is also a way to protect the entirety of the Sierra Nevada de Gonawindúa (SNG), whose integrity is vital for the balance of life.

The mamu and the community built kankurwas (ceremonial houses) to continue their work as spiritual guides, giving advice to the community and political authorities, and carrying out their own justice processes and rites of passage in all cycles of Iku social life (baptisms, marriages, funerals). They also plant zumu kia (native foods) and care for the sacred places found in this area.

In response to the threats mentioned above, they fulfill their ancestral duties by engaging in dialogue with other cultures, including the western world, in defense of Mother Earth. In Kwarte Umuke, spiritual work is carried out in ka’dukwus (places of reflection) and kankurwas:  places that have spiritual and social functions, including traditional education.

• The kankurwas, built from wood and straw, represent the mountains at a spiritual level. There are masculine and feminine kankurwas, where sacred conversations take place around the fire.
• The ka’dukwus are natural spaces for council and connection with the Mother (the universal creator), where gakanamu (knowledge) is shared. These spaces often feature large rocks and native plants.

Here, ‘pagamento’ practices take place – offerings made to maintain reciprocity with water, food, sacred places, and spiritual fathers and mothers. These practices restore balance between opposing forces: creation and destruction, health and illness, life and death.

Ancestral wisdom in the face of colonial threats

For the Iku people, harm to the territory is neither new nor merely contemporary: it is part of an ancestral tension between opposing forces that dates back to the beginning of the world. This understanding is embedded in the Law of Origin, the set of principles that governs the order of the universe and guides all spiritual work of the people.

According to the Law of Origin, from the moment of creation there have always been wise beings who competed to measure their knowledge, and this competition generated imbalance. Even the arrival of Christopher Columbus is understood as part of a much older process—one in which knowledge was used without harmony, leading to destructive consequences.

Based on the Law of Origin, [the harm] didn’t start with Columbus; it goes back millennia, to the creation of the world. The Law of Origin comes from there. […] There were wise beings who always competed, trying to measure their wisdom. So one would loosen something, another would pull something else, and there was conflict between types of knowledge: who knows more, who knows less? That mentality of struggle has always existed, from far back […] And so [Columbus] arrived… and the thing is, if he was coming, there should have been some kind of warning, a message for the mamu to know what to do. But it happened that the mamu was elsewhere, and when [Columbus] came, he brought many mirrors, luxury items, and since this place was full of gold, the exchange began (…) (Mamu Aruawiku, translated by Seynawiku, 2025)

This account teaches that any crisis affecting the territory is not new: it is inscribed in the spiritual history of the world. In response, the mamus continue to practice their ancestral wisdom, guided by the Law of Origin, to restore balance.

Defending the territory: A spiritual and collective commitment

They remind us that the possibility of healing and protecting life still exists

The fulfillment of the Law of Origin ensures permanence, or the continuity of everything that exists. For this reason, mamus and their families uphold this law by caring for, spiritual cleansing, and defending sacred places. In this sense, spirituality and ancestral knowledge are essential to sustaining life. To heal sacred sites is to heal the territory; and to heal the territory is, in turn, to heal all of humanity. This is a commitment that traditional authorities constantly remind us of, wherever we may be in the world, and for all people.

In the words of mamu Aruawiku:

We are talking about defending the territory. That’s the resistance, defending water. But anyone who has weakened in that [traditional] part is already lost, even if they seem to be alive, because they no longer have the mindset.

[…] We’re not talking about programmes. We’re beyond that. From the beginning, it was set this way, and we have to defend [the territory]. If we don’t defend it, we’ll end up in war ourselves.

[…] What’s the point of having so much money, if in the end there’s no water, no food, nothing? Money becomes worthless. […] Many billionaires have believed that having money means they can buy everything: the people, the territory. But in the end, that’s extermination.

[…] What we’re doing is for the good of future generations, so they can continue to live well and enjoy what our grandparents and ancestors once enjoyed. (translated by Seynawiku, 2025)

The natural ways of life that still endure in the Sierra Nevada stand in contrast to the artificial modern world. They remind us that the possibility of healing and protecting life still exists. Rooted actions, thoughts, and practices are key to confronting the many crises that threaten our shared home: the Earth.

Author: Natalia Giraldo-Jaramillo is an anthropologist from the University of Caldas in Colombia, currently a doctoral researcher at the University of Amsterdam, Netherlands. She wrote her award-winning thesis on the Iku (Arhuaco) people, which has now been published as a book, CAMINO EN ESPIRAL. YO´SA INGUNU. Sacred Indigenous territory and traditional authorities in the Iku (Arhuaco) Indigenous community of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, Colombia. Contact:  nataliagiraldojaramillo2025@gmail.com

This article was co-authored collectively with Umunukunu Kwarte Umuke-Umunukunu Nawaku, Walking the Pluriversity of the Mother, a process that is woven and weaving itself in the Sierra Nevada of Colombia, especially in the ka’dukwus of Kuarte Umuke and Nawaku, of which she is a part. This article was written specifically in conversation with mamu Aruawiku Izquierdo Torres, Seynawiku Izquierdo Torres, Aldo Esparza Ramos, Eduardo Ignacio Cáceres Salgado, Ismael Reyes Payan, and Rolando Vásquez Melken.

To learn about the history of the Black Line, watch the video “Defending the Ancestral Territory of the Black Line – CLACSO 2022. COSMOS Archive”.

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This article is part of Issue 3-2025: Weaving Resilience and Resistance