By Maitphang Syiem
Somewhere in the indigenous hill areas of Colombia exists an interesting ancient indigenous community – the Incas, the Aztecs and the Kogi tribe which is often not talked about until recently when their ancient indigenous knowledge and their philosophy of ecological relationship came to light. The Kogi tribe of the Sierra Nevada, Santa Marta, has maintained a profoundly ecological philosophy for millennia. Interestingly their worldview offers some of the most compelling indigenous wisdom which have accumulated with experiences and insights that came from listening and meditation, Undoubtedly, they present the most captivating wisdom for Earth stewardship available today.
The core philosophy of the Kogi tribe is ‘Aluna’ which they believe refers to the mind, conscience thought, memory and cosmic consciousness. Digging into their untranslatable concept is something that can be referred to as the amniotic sea, the cosmic principle of Mother. It is in that realm that the original intelligence from which the universe was dreamed came into being. The Great Mother concentrated her thought within Aluna and from the act of cosmic contemplation, the Earth was born. Some may say that what is seen physically is the manifestation of the unseen (Aluna). A famous filmmaker Alan Erira says, One way to understand Aluna is that the world has life and awareness. It is absolutely mysterious to the Kogi that we do not think the Earth experiences what we do to it.” Now this perhaps may seem intricate but if we look at it from the Kogi lenses it becomes justifiable that the mother (Earth) is facing excruciating pain and every day is seeking help.
Now taking this concept forward let us take time to imagine what would we do if our biological mothers were in pain. Wouldn’t our hearts beat to rush in to assist? Let us answer that question within ourselves. Now furthermore, “the mother” for the Kogi is not a static realm; it is actually a living acting generative force and as it is the Earth manifests those dynamic attributes thereby making it active in many ways from the bio-geochemical cycles, the nutrient cycles to the meteorological cycles. These in the eyes of the Kogi are generative forces. They are a boon when in balance and a bane when out of balance. What can be learnt from the Kogi is that the Earth itself is a living being with humanity as her children.
The Kogi Law of Origin is interesting because it is the framework that binds them. It emphasizes the intricate inter-connectivity among humans, water, mountains, forest, animals and the air. Having delved into the worldviews of the Kogi and considering the philosophy mentioned, the Kogi are governed by both male and female spiritual leaders called the Mamas and Sagas. The most compelling fact is that they are trained to listen for a period of 18 years. Some call it a Dark Ritual because they are kept in complete darkness. Listening is an art and the Kogi are masters in the art of meditative listening. At this juncture it is appropriate to recall what famous personalities have quoted. Jimi Hendrix says “Knowledge speaks, but wisdom listens,” and the 14th Dalai Lama also said “When you talk, you are only repeating what you already know. But if you listen, you may learn something new.” In the context of “Listening,” both of these personalities speak about gaining wisdom by listening. For the Kogi this is an ancient art practiced solely to listen to the cosmic lesson, the calls of the mother. What many say about the Kogi is that they go by the motto, ”To listen is to think and thinking is what creates the world.”
So our takeaway from this discussion is that we need to imbibe the art of listening in a modern way though not locking ourselves in the dark for 18 years to gain wisdom to understand what needs to be done to sustain the Earth. A question may arise as to what to listen to and how to listen. This is something we need to learn from the Kogi community and it is appreciable that the Kogi have started to collaborate with global environmentalists to create educational materials and pool in their conservation methods in universities and schools worldwide. The Kogi offer a radically different environmental ethic from global models and they believe that humans are not managers of nature but they are caretakers and any ecological collapse is a spiritual failure before it becomes a destructive physical manifestation.
On the other hand it is understood globally that there is a continuous efforts to sustain and protect this Mother Earth but what it’s actually missing is the spirit and wisdom in the likes of Kogi in our implementations. Yes development cannot stop and who does not want development? However, there is a natural aspect we must understand: certain aspects must be treated much like a human body where each part has a specific place and function and all must be interrelated to maintain a healthy overall state. A key takeaway from the Kogi indigenous philosophy is that every physical action must have a spiritual hold and conservation must also be spiritually connected.
In the context of various spiritual traditions, we are not the creators of this planet. In fact we are the manifestations of that generative force which emanated from Mother Earth; therefore, it becomes a mandatory and spiritual responsibility to listen to the mother. When we discuss the Kogi concept of “Mother,” it seems to parallel the worldview of the indigenous tribes of Meghalaya. The Kogi call the Earth as Jaba Se (Mother of Origin); Khasis and Jaintias call it “Mei Ramew” and the Garos – Aman-Asong. This reflects a common belief that Earth is not a resource but a parent and humanity is indebted to her. We have the Sacred Groves, they have the sacred sites.
The Kogi maintain several codes that act like ecological maps such as the spatial entity called (Gaka) marking all the life saving areas (LSA), natural landscapes, waterfalls, rivers, valued natural areas. The interesting fact is that they have that spatial understanding in a spiritual aspect and how these are intertwined. They believe that if these Gaka are destroyed the balance is disturbed the spiritual and material world collapses with the possibility that human and nature co-existence would be endangered. The Kogi have been very practical and just in their approaches. Presently, in the context of governance and assessment the modern world has tools like the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), hence it would be beneficial if indigenous knowledge and the modern tools supplement each other. EIA asks what will this project damage? SEA asks what is the cumulative cost across policies? LCA asks what does this product cost the Earth, from birth to end? All three are vital. But they all begin after a decision has already been imagined.
The Kogi begin with Aluna, the living thought-world of nature itself. Before any act of taking, they listen. Their sacred site governance mirrors SEA’s landscape-scale thinking. Their (pagamentos) offerings before any harvest embody the reciprocity that LCA quantifies but never spiritually honours. Their Law of Origin, which sees every human action as rippling through an interconnected whole, is the philosophical backbone that EIA’s scoping phase has always needed.
The Kogi do not replace these frameworks they complete them. Where our tools measure consequence, Kogi wisdom cultivates conscience. Together, they offer the planet something neither can provide on their own – rigour with reverence.
(The writer is a Geospatial Expert)
