Tairona Heritage Studies Centre Contents Page

Tairona Heritage Trust

Contents of the site.

The site is divided into five sections.

Section 1 is a series of documents dealing with the pre-20th century history of the area and its peoples. Section 2 contains documents relating to the 20th century - the descendants of the Taironas, the political situation in Colombia etc.. Section 3 gives background pages for the Tairona Heritage Trust and Section 4 is devoted to graphics (all of which can also be accessed from text documents). Finally, there is a links section to other sites of interest.

The number in brackets after each document link is the time in seconds to download using a 14,400 bps modem under optimum conditions. The forward and back arrows at the end of each text document take you to the text document immediately preceding or following the one being viewed. Links at the end of graphics pages return you either to the document from which they were accessed, or to Section 4 of this page.

Section 1 - Pre-20th Century

General indigenous history to Spanish Conquest. [6]
The Tairona society at the time of the Spanish Invasion - graphics. [5]
Spanish Invasion and its effects [6]
Bartolomé de Las Casas and his Defence of the Indians. - graphics. [9].
Early Spanish expeditions - graphics. [7]
The myth of 'El Dorado' - graphics. [7]
Gold-smithing at the time of the Spanish Invasion - graphics. [14]
Tairona gold use in particular - graphics. [5]
The use of coca in South America [9]
Spanish colonial history from Invasion to the 20th century [5]

Section 2 - In the 20th Century

Kogi society by the 20th century - graphics. [8]
The tribal groups on the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, and their languages - graphics. [4]
20th century threats to Kogi society and the response of the Mamas [5]
The political milieu in which Gonavindua Tairona works - graphics. [5]
Guerrillas and paramilitaries [3]
The Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta - graphics. [3]
Kogi religion and cosmology - graphic. [7]
Time, Space and the 'declutching' of time in Kogi thought [5].
The education of the Mamas - graphics. [5].
Mama Bernardo's description of the ideal training of a Mama [7]
The nuhue - 'men's house', 'world house' or temple - graphics. [4].
Agricultural theory. [7].
Spirituality and Materiality - Ramon Gil explains the connection between the two [10].
The 'poporo' and its use - graphics. [4]
Women in Kogi society - graphics. [8]
A 500 word dictionary of Kogi words and mythological characters [20]
The wildlife of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta [6].

Section 3 - The Tairona Heritage Trust

The establishment of the Tairona Heritage Trust and its ambit [5]
Personnel involved with the Trust - graphics. [6]
A letter from Gonavindua Tairona [5]
The film 'From the Heart of the World - the Elder Brothers' Warning' - graphics. [6]
The book 'The Heart of the World' [4]
Other films made about the indigenes of the Sierra Nevada [3]
An interview with Alan Ereira (Beshara magazine) [18]
An account of the Trust's visit to Santa Marta in 1992 [14]
Supporting the Trust [3]
Further reading re. the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta [4]
Newsletters

October 1998 - graphics. [13]
July 1999 - graphics. [14]
Feb 2005
Feb 2007 - graphics

Section 4 - Graphics.

Sec. 4a - Maps, diagrams and line drawings

Map of 16th century Spanish expeditions throughout Colombia. Colour. [15]
Map of the principal gold-working regions of Colombia at the time of Invasion. Colour. [18]
Engraving of Indians being punished for failing to meet the gold quota. B/W. [18]
Map of 'resguardos' in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta. Colour. [8]
Map showing the tribal distribution on the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta. Colour. [6]
Graphic representation of the cosmic 'egg'. Colour. [6]
Side and floor plans of a nuhue. B/W. (5).

Sec. 4b - Indigenous people, places and culture

The peak area of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta. B/W. [18]
Lake Guatavita. B/W. [12]
The main highway to 'The Lost City'. Colour. [21]
The remains of a house in 'The Lost City'. Colour. [16]
Paved steps in 'The Lost City', showing the mapstone. Colour. [21]
Mama Valencia looking at a modern replica of a traditional Tairona gold piece. Colour. [11]
An example of Tairona goldwork - a pectoral. Colour. [10]
Hut with coca bush. Colour. [20]
Hut roof against landscape. Colour. [13]
Wooden bridge across river. Colour. [19]
Village settlement. Colour. [16]
Mama Lejo and family. Colour. [17]
Woman gardening. Colour. [19]
Flute player. Colour. [9]
Kogi Mama with ceremonial regalia. B/W. [12]
Kogi Mamas with Alan Ereira. Colour. [16]
Mama Valencia. Colour. [9]
A poporo in the hand. B/W. [5]
Young boy learning to use a poporo for the first time. Colour. [17]
Portrait of young woman. B/W. [7]
Mother and children making 'mochilas'. Colour. [12]
Mother and children. Colour. [12]
Ramon Gil. Colour. [9]
Arregoces. Colour. [19]
Alan Ereira showing playback to Arregoces. Colour. [8]

Sec. 4c - Other

Gerardo Reichel-Dolmatoff. B/W. [14]
Alan Ereira and Elizabeth Reichel-Dolmatoff at Lampeter. Colour. [14]
The Queen of Spain's visit to the Kogi, 1994. Colour. [12]

Links:-

to sites directly related to the Kogi, the Sierra Nevada or Colombia

Sunstone Films is the film production company set up by Alan Ereira since leaving the BBC. There are reports of his visits to the Kogi at this site.
Gonavindua Tairona is the organisation that represents the Mamas of the indigeous people of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta. This is their official website.
A page of cultural information on the Kogi.
TribaLink 'aims to preserve our past and provide a link between modern media and the diverse traditional cultures, lands and teachings of tribal people and their environment.' Based in the USA, this site contains a link describing a visit to the Kogi by American tribal elders.
'Universo Arhuaco' is a series of articles and interviews with Arhuaco Mamas - their thoughts on religion, history, ecology and the world situation. An excellent read.
The Stendal family are Christian missionaries in the Sierra. This site describes their work.
Museo del Oro in Bogota. Some images of Tairona work can be seen here.
This is a site dedicated to the U'wa of Colombia whose land is threatened by the oil exploration of Occidental Oil and Shell. There are some similarities with the Kogi situation.
An official Colombian government site that gives general information about the country.

to general sites

Abya Yala Net presents information on indigenous peoples in Mexico, and Central and Southern America.
IKDM is the Indigenous Knowledge and Development Monitor which 'promotes the exchange of information on indigenous knowledge as it relates to sustainable development.' Based in the Netherlands.
Another site based in the Netherlands is ETC International. Following the newsletters link finds the COMPAS - Comparing and Supporting Endogenous Development - newsletter. COMPAS is a ' is a small but exciting effort to come to a closer understanding of indigenous cosmovisions.'
Native Web - 'resources for indigenous peoples around the world'.
Centre for World Indigenous Studies - 'Access to indigenous peoples knowledge and ideas, Conflict resolution based on mutual consent, Protecting the rights of indigenous peoples'
SAIIC isThe South and Meso American Indian Rights Center - 'to ensure that the struggles of Latin America's Indigenous peoples for self- determination and respect are heard in the US and internationally, and to support Indigenous peoples' organizing.'
Survival International is 'a worldwide organisation supporting tribal peoples. It stands for their right to decide their own future and helps them protect their lives, lands and human rights.'
Cultural Survival - 'a non-profit organization founded in 1972 to defend the human rights and cultural autonomy of indigenous peoples and oppressed ethnic minorities.' USA.
Amnesty International publishes many reports on the contemporary Colombian situation.
LANIC is the Latin American Network Information Center based in Austin, Texas.

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