The Chapter Caquetá from the VozTerra platform has been possible thanks to the support of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), under the Conservation and Governance Program in the Amazonian Piedmont, launched by the Patrimonio Natural Fund, in partnership with VozTerra. Its content is responsibility of VozTerra and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of USAID or the United States government or the Natural Heritage Fund.
BIODIVERSITY IN THE TROPICAL FOREST
The guide or teacher will find the following sections in the different activities: description of the topic, additional information for activities theme and suggestions on web pages, where the guide can find more information on each theme.
Different audios of the Soundscapes and The voices of the people of the Caquetá Amazonian piedmont Chapter are suggested to carry out the activities; these are on the suggested audios list of each section. We invite users not only to listen to the suggested audios, but also to navigate through the diversity of soundscapes and voices of this beautiful region.
Primary School Activities
Activity: I know the forest animals through their sounds
Age: 5 - 9 years
Introduction:
This activity seeks to teach children about the biodiversity of the tropical forest through different sounds.
Goals:
Promote and experience conscious listening in children.
Teach children general characteristics of the tropical forest and the importance of biodiversity.
Learn through listening, some of the common animals of the tropical forest.
Develop creativity through drawing.
Description of the activity:
The teacher or guide makes an introduction about the general characteristics of the tropical forest and the importance of biodiversity. [Consult suggested references on the web, on these topics.]
The guide prepares the group for a listening session in the Caqueta forest. In this space the group will go silent for a few minutes. They will become aware of their breathing and slowly begin to hear all the sounds that surround them. Starting with the closest sounds and then the furthest.
• This is a little guide for this moment:
Sit in a way that you are comfortable and take a deep breath (pause space 15 seconds). Start touring your body: your feet, legs, trunk, arms, hands, and head. Take a couple of deep breaths and start listening to the furthest sounds (30 second pause or whatever time you think it is appropriate). Listen to the closest sounds (30-second pause or whatever time you think it is appropriate). Take a deep breath and feel your body, feet, legs, arms, hands, trunk, head. Slowly open your eyes.
In this listening session, the guide plays to the children different audios of animals from the tropical forest from the Suggested Audios list without them knowing which animal it is.
At the end of each audio, the guide asks the following questions:
• What animals do you think you are listening to? (A big or small bird, a bat, a monkey, a frog, an insect, etc.) • Do you think it is an individual or are they several individuals? • What time of day do you think it is? • Where are these animals? (In a tree, in a cave, next to a lake, next to a river, in a pasture, in a palm, etc.)
The guide plays the audio a second time and points out to the participants the moments when the animal or animals are heard.
The children draw a tropical forest with the mentioned characteristics and with one or some of the animals they just heard. They can also choose a single animal to draw.
Activity: Imitating the tropical forest. Acoustic communication in tropical animals
Age: 5 - 9 years
Introduction:
This activity aims that children learn about the different forms of acoustic communication in tropical forest animals. Children will learn some of the animal characteristics of this ecosystem and will create a story imitating the different vocalizations.
Goals:
Promote and experience conscious listening in children.
Teach different ways of acoustic communication in animals from the tropical forest.
Promote creativity in children through the creation of stories.
Develop artistic and theatrical skills.
Develop group work skills.
Activity description:
The guide introduces different ways of acoustic communication in tropical forest animals. [Consult suggested references on the web on these topics.]
The guide prepares the group for the listening session in the Caqueta forest. (You can use the guide found in point 2 of the previous activity).
Students listen to different audios and imitate some of the vocalizations they heard.
The guide teaches the students some facts about each of the animals they heard. (The guide can be guided with the complementary information found at the end of these activities).
Together they create a story of the tropical forests with the animals they heard.
Children choose to imitate the vocalization or singing of some of the animals in the story and accompany it with some characteristic body movement of each selected animal.
As a group they narrate the story they just create. Each child imitates with sound and movement the animal they choose, whenever that animal is named in the story.
The guide records the narration of the story in audio and / or video and sends it to vozterra.com@gmail.comand / or they record with the whole group a message imitating the different sounds on the Voice Recorder. (Maximum duration: 3 min.)
At the end of the activity each child can record a message to the tropical forest in the Voice Recorder. You can imitate an animal or leave a spoken message for the forest. (Please put the name of the educational institution, municipality, department and country in the message format).
Activity to share at home:
The children learn where they can play the different audios on the VozTerra page and share them with their family. Family can guess what type of animal it is (bat, monkey, frog, bird, etc.) Children can share with their family what they have learned in this session.
Additional information:
Colombia is the second country with the highest biodiversity in the world and its tropical forests host a large number of species per square meter. The Caquetá piedmont, is one of these strategic areas with great biodiversity and countless endemic species (species not found anywhere else in the world), since it connects the Andes with the Colombian Amazon.
These are some of the characteristic animals of the tropical forest of the Caqueta piedmont:
[In each animal, you will find the audio link with the exact moments of the singing or vocalization, and a short description of its natural history).
Marmoset monkey or squirrel monkey (Saimiri cassiquiarensis)
From the first seconds you can hear the praise of the monkeys, and in the background the Sarabanod river. Throughout the audio they continue listening although not as intense as at the beginning. These audio was recorded at 4:56 pm on the banks of the Rio Sarabando.
These monkeys are small, weigh just a kilo and do not have a prehensile tail, that is, a tail that can hold on objects, such as branches, unlike other monkeys in the new world. They are diurnal, arboreal. They live in groups of 15 to 50 copies. They consume fruits and berries in addition to insects and small vertebrates such as frogs and lizards. The offspring goes on their mothers back and are weaned at six months. Their predators can be eagles, snakes or cats. This species is threatened due to the disappearance of its habitat and the wildlife trade, as they are illegally sold as pets. The monkeys fulfill a very important function for the tropical forest as they are seed dispersers of many plant species, which contributes to the regeneration of the forest.
Throughout the audio you hear the sounds of many individuals of flat bats and common vampires, habitants of a cave. This audio was recorded at 10:18 am in the Yin Yang cave in El Horeb Reserve.
In this audio we listen two different species of cave-dwelling bats in the rain forest: flat bat (Cormura brevirostris) and common vampire (Desmodus rotundus).
Bats are very special animals, since they are the only mammals that can fly and their way of locating themselves is through echolocation. Echolocation consists of emitting waves that when bouncing off an object produce an echo. This echo returns to the bat's ears, giving it information about the object's shape, location in space, and size. Other animals that are located by echolocation are whales and dolphins. Bats fulfill different important functions for ecosystems such as the control of insect pests, the dispersal of seeds and the pollination of many plants.
Common vampire (Desmodus rotundus)
Its coat is between gray and brown with a lighter belly. They have a firm snout and their ears are pointed. It weighs between 15 to 50 grams. Their average life span is 12 years. They feed from the blood of birds and mammals when it is completely dark. They inhabit caves and generally live in colonies of 20 to 100 individuals, although cases exceeding 4,000 individuals have been documented.
Flat Bat (Cormura brevirostris)
Its coat is dark brown to blackish in color and its nose is short. Live up to 1000 m.a.s.l. It feeds on small insects.
The cicadas are heard from the beginning and throughout the audio constantly without interruptions. In the background, the frogs croak throughout the audio. This audio was recorded at 5:12 am, when it is still dark, before dawn.
The cicadas are insects belonging to the order of the hemiptera. One of the characteristics of this order is that its head is much smaller than the thorax. The cicadas inhabit both temperate and tropical climates. As adults they feed on the sap of trees and other plants. Its sound is very characteristic in the forest and is made only by males, with drum-shaped organs located in its abdomen. This sound is the serenade that males do to woo the females.
Throughout the audio you can hear the song of the oriole. A few short songs are heard and then the characteristic song of the oropendola, which is very similar to to the dripping water.
Common Oropendola (Psaroculius angustifrons) Photography by: Colectivo Caquetá Exótica
Large birds with long tails. Its plumage is mainly olive-brown and its bright yellow feathers stand out in the lateral plumage of the tail and forehead. Its beak is long, straight and pointed. It feeds on fruits, nectar and insects. Their nests are highly admired because they are long and imitate the shape of a backpack, which is why in some parts they are known as backpackers. They are generally found between 5 and 10 nests in isolated trees. In the Amazon they can get together to form flocks to spend the night in islands of the river. Their songs have a diversity of intonations and calls, they can even imitate other birds. Generally, their singing is well-known, as it is heard as if water is falling into a pool.
The song of the Cock of the Rock is present throughout the recording from the second 0:08. At the second 0:55 a hummingbird sings. This song was recorded at 6:11 am.
The song of the Andean Cock of the Rock is heard throughout the recording with the river in the background. We heard it from the second 0:30 to 0:40 and several times in the audio, with the bottom of the gorge behind. This song was recorded at 6:40 am.
Andean Cock of the Rock (Rupicola peruvianus). Photography by: Caquetá Exotica Collective
It is a very striking and colorful bird. Its crest is flattened like that of a rooster. Build its cup-shaped nests at the entrance to caves or on rock walls.
Inhabits moist forests near waterfalls and streams. It feeds mainly on fruits, although juveniles are also fed on small vertebrates, such as lizards. It is a very persecuted bird to sell it as a cage bird.
Red-bellied Grackle (Hypopyrrhus purohypogaster)
audio: Andean Cock-of-the-rock and Red-bellied Grackle
The song of the Red-bellied Grackle is heard alone from the second 0:32 to 0:55. Several times you hear the Andean Cock of the Rock during all ther recording duration and a mask hummingbird from the second 0:08 to the second 0:20.
Red-bellied Grackle (Hypopyrrhus pyrohypogaster). Endemic species of Colombia. Photography by: Camilo Andres Yasnó
Also known as red-bellied turpial. It is a very important bird for Colombia because it is endemic, that is, it is only found in Colombia. It is a species in a vulnerable state, because its habitat is at risk. Its plumage is black and it has a bright red color on the belly. It has a black, pointed beak. It lives in the upper parts of the forests, in small groups of 6 to 8 individuals, except during the breeding season when it separates into pairs or as solitary individuals. Sometimes they flock with other groups of birds or with orioles.
The laughing falcon is heard as if it were saying ("hollow, hollow, hollow") with its song, throughout the recording from the second 0:11 to the end, almost 3 minutes without stopping. You can also hear an Indigo buntin, an Andean Cock of the rock cock and other birds.
It is a bird of prey that usually perches on bare trunks where it hunts snakes and other vertebrates such as rodents and lizards. Inhabits forests and savannas. Their nests are located iin hollows of trees or cliffs, and sometimes they use abandoned nests of other birds such as hawks. They walk alone or in pairs. They have black plumage that covers their cheeks, forming a black mask on their face. Its song resembles a laugh in the distance, which is why it is also known as a laughing hawk. It is believed that when someone listen to the laughing hawk, it is because the death of someone close to that person is approaching, since it seems that his song said "hollow goes, hollow goes" (hueco va in spanish). It is also said that if he sings standing in a dry tree, he warns that summer is coming, and if he sings standing in a tree with leaves, he warns that the rain is coming. The falcon, like most raptors, plays a very important role in balancing ecosystems, as they are predators of animals that are at the top of the food chain. So when there is an overpopulation of these animals, raptors help balance the size of these populations.
Starting from the second 0:02 the owl's song is heard throughout the recording every 2.3.4 seconds. In the background cicadas and frogs.
Red-bellied Grackle (Hypopyrrhus pyrohypogaster). Endemic species of Colombia. Photography by: Camilo Andres Yasnó
This barn owl known as a bell owl or white owl is the barn owl. It lives in plain areas , open country or semi-open areas. It is one of the most widespread land birds on the entire planet because it lives on 6 continents and on numerous islands. It is a good omen for farmers to find it in barns as it catches mice and rats. It feeds on rodents, some birds, insects, and sometimes frogs and fish. It hunts at night, as it has excellent vision, although it can also hunt in total darkness thanks to the precision of its ear.
This activity seeks to make students aware of the importance of protecting biodiversity in tropical forests. Students are invited to listen to different audios of the tropical forest and to be inspired by creating a piece of art, dance or music.
Goals:
Learn the importance of biodiversity in tropical forests.
Learn about endemism in the tropical forests of Colombia.
Stimulate creativity through the creation of a sound story.
Experience the sounds of the tropical forest.
Activity Description:
In addition to the list of suggested audios at the end of these activities, the participants are invited to listen to ten other audios at random of the soundscape of the different places of the Caquetá Chapter.
Students research on the following themes:
- Biodiversity and endemism in the tropical forests of Colombia. - Why should biodiversity be protected?
Each participant creates a sound story to present this topic. That is, they choose some of the audios to tell a story about biodiversity, endemism and why biodiversity should be protected.
In pairs they share their stories and create a single story as a product of the two stories. It is shared with the whole group.
A story is chosen by the group and is sent recorded to VozTerra: vozterra.com@gmail.com. Some of these stories will be shared on the VozTerra networks.
Activity: I create a piece from the tropical forest voice
Age: 12 to 18 years
Introduction
Goals:
Experience different sounds of the tropical forest.
Learn the importance of biodiversity in tropical forests.
Stimulate students' creativity through the creation of a piece of art, dance or music inspired by the sounds of Caquetá.
Activity description:
The participants listen to 10 to 15 audios of the Soundscape section from the various places of the Caquetá, Amazonian piedmont chapter.
Participants investigate:
-Biodiversity of tropical forests and their importance for the planet.
Participants carry out a piece inspired by the sounds of the tropical forest and the importance of biodiversity.
Through art: they paint, draw, create a sculpture or any manual work inspired by the audios of the tropical forest.
Through music: it can be through a song, instruments and even mixing music, inspired or from different audios of the Soundscape section.
At the end of the work they put a title on it and share it with the rest of the group.
If the student wants, at the end of the activity they can leave a message for nature on the Voice Recorder of VozTerra. It can be any message for nature or about the piece that was created.
The Chapter Caquetá from the VozTerra platform has been possible thanks to the support of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), under the Conservation and Governance Program in the Amazonian Piedmont, launched by the Patrimonio Natural Fund, in partnership with VozTerra. Its content is responsibility of VozTerra and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of USAID or the United States government or the Natural Heritage Fund.
THREATS AND CONSERVATION OF THE TROPICAL FOREST
The guide or teacher will find the following sections in the different activities: description of the topic, additional information for activities theme and suggestions on web pages, where the guide can find more information on each theme.
Different audios of the Soundscapes and The voices of the people of the Caquetá Amazonian piedmont Chapter are suggested to carry out the activities; these are on the suggested audios list of each section. We invite users not only to listen to the suggested audios, but also to navigate through the diversity of soundscapes and voices of this beautiful region.
Primary School Activities
Activity: I protect the forests from home
Age: 7 to 11 years old
Introduction
This activity seeks to raise awareness in children about the threats faced by tropical forests and the different actions to protect them from home. Through the creation of a collage, the children commit to do their bit to take care of the forests.
Goals:
Know the threats that tropical forests face.
Know the relationship between consumption habits and the protection of tropical forests.
Learn about the different ways forests can be protected and encourage children to take actions to protect forests from home.
To stimulate artistic skills of children through the making of a collage.
Description of the activity:
The guide introduces children to the different threats that forests face and the relationship between consumption habits and the protection of tropical forests. [Consult suggested references on the web, and suggested audios for this section.]
Children share different ways of how they think they can conserve the forest.
The guide introduces children to the Action to take care of forests * Table that contains different actions by which children can be part of the solution to conserve forests, from their home. Children choose three of these ideas, explain how they are going to do it, and share them with the group.
The group is divided so that some children make a collage about threats, and other ones make a collage about ways to protect forests. Everyone writes in their collage one of the actions they chose to protect the forest.
The collage can be placed in some space in the classroom so that everyone remembers their action to protect the forests and care for the planet. A photo can be taken and send it to vozterra.com@gmail.comwith your name, name of the educational institution, department and country. Some of these works will be published on VozTerra's social networks.
Actions to take care of forests
I'm going to do it
How am I going to do it?
I am not going to do it
Use less paper
Use paper on both sides
Reuse as much paper as you can, including wrapping paper
Print only what I need
Purchase recycled paper and cardboard products
Recycle paper and cardboard at home
Buy paper from forests that we know have been managed with respect for people and the environment
Join internet campaigns that protect tropical forests
Asking our parents to attend foundation events that protect forests
Ask our parents to buy wood that is from certified forests that protect the environment
Suggest our parents to buy wooden things in second hand places to extend the useful life of these objects
Ask our parents to buy products brought from indigenous forest-dwelling communities (foods like chili, cocoa, chocolate, fruit, and handicrafts) at fair trade stores.
Activity: Threats and conservation of tropical forests
Age: 14 to 18 years old
Introduction
In this activity, students want to create awareness about the different threats that tropical forests and the Caquetá piedmont, as well as identify different conservation actions such as civil society natural reserves and sustainable livestock farming.
Goals:
To raise awareness about the threats that tropical forests face and some conservation actions in Colombia.
Stimulate group work.
Description of the activity:
Several groups are formed and each of the groups develops one of the following themes:
Threats to forests
Forest conservation 1
Forest conservation 2
Listening to the suggested audios and make a research on the differetne topics. Tthe students develop each topic and expose it to the whole group.
Threats to forests
According to the suggested audios, identify the different threats suffered by the Caqueta forests of the piedmont as expressed by its inhabitants.
Research: What other threats do tropical forests face? What are the deforestation rates in your country? Is this rate higher or lower than the global average rate? Which departments in your country have the highest deforestation rate? What are the reasons? How can students help on the conservation of the rainforest from home? Choose an audio that catches your attention to share with the whole group and explain the reason why it was chosen.
Forest conservation 1 According to the suggested audios, identify what actions are carried out or suggested by the inhabitants of the Caqueta piedmont to conserve forests and water.
Research: What actions, projects or programs exist in your country to protect tropical forests? What are the natural reserves of civil society in Colombia? Why are they important for conservation? How are they related to the national system of protected areas? How can they help conserve the rainforest from home? Choose an audio that catches your attention to share with the whole group and explain why it was chosen.
Forest conservation 2 According to the different audios suggested, identify what actions are carried out in sustainable livestock farming by the inhabitants of the Caqueta piedmont.
Research: How does livestock farming affect forests? What effect does livestock farming have on climate change? What is sustainable livestock farming? What actions are carried out in sustainable livestock to protect forests? How can they help conserve the rainforest from home?
The Chapter Caquetá from the VozTerra platform has been possible thanks to the support of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), under the Conservation and Governance Program in the Amazonian Piedmont, launched by the Patrimonio Natural Fund, in partnership with VozTerra. Its content is responsibility of VozTerra and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of USAID or the United States government or the Natural Heritage Fund.
GETTING CLOSER TO INDIGENOUS COMMUNITIES
The guide or teacher will find the following sections in the different activities: description of the topic, additional information for activities theme and suggestions on web pages, where the guide can find more information on each theme.
Different audios of the Soundscapes and The voices of the people of the Caquetá Amazonian piedmont Chapter are suggested to carry out the activities; these are on the suggested audios list of each section. We invite users not only to listen to the suggested audios, but also to navigate through the diversity of soundscapes and voices of this beautiful region.
Primary School Activities
Activity: Drawing a maloca
Age: 5 to 11 years old
Introduction
In this activity, the aim is that children get a little closer to the culture of the indigenous peoples, knowing and drawing a maloka, the communal house of the indigenous people of the Amazon.
Goals:
Bringing children closer to the culture of the indigenous peoples of the Caquetá piedmont.
Develop artistic skills through drawing.
Activity description:
The guide introduces Caqueta piedmont indigenous communities and their relationship with nature. He also explains to the children what a maloka is and what it means for indigenous communities. [See complementary information and references on the web.]
Children draw a maloka with their different elements.
Children take a photo of their drawing and, if they want, share it on social media or send it to vozterra.com@gmail.com with name, name of school, municipality, department, and country. Some drawings will be chosen to be published on VozTerra's social networks.
Activity: I create a maraca and sing to the indigenous rhythm
Age: 4 to 10 years
Introduction
In this activity, the aim is for children to get closer to the Murui Muinane thought and culture through music, listening to indigenous songs, singing and accompanying with an instrument made at home with recycled material.
Goals:
Bring children closer to the culture of indigenous peoples through the knowledge of traditional murui muinane and coreguaje songs.
Encourage recycling at home for children.
Develop creativity.
Description of the activity:
Listen to the audios of the indigenous songs with the children.
Audios:
audio: Listen to learn what happens to the earth. To download: https://bit.ly/2Znz1nYChant by: Juven Arcadio Piranga Valencia, Cabildo Choosa'aro ko'revaju Pai. Coreguaje town. Florencia, Caquetá.audio: Cacique (chief) Emilio, some singing in the Maloka To download: https://bit.ly/307KszeChant by: Emilio Fiagama, Chief of the maloca and governor of the Jurama council. Uitoto people. Florencia, Caquetá.
Build a rattle by reusing or recycling material found at home.
Plastic bottle with lid or a small plastic jar with a lid: Decorate the bottles with paints and colored ribbons. Introduce them with rice, pebbles or some grain. Close the bottles.
With a roll of kitchen paper:Cut two circular cardboard lids to cover each side. Fill with some grain, rice or pasta.
Teach children one of the indigenous songs and also a rhythm to accompany this song.
Sing together a song and, if you want, share the song on the VozTerra page, recording the song on the Voice Recorder as a message. (Maximum duration: 4 minutes). Please share in the message information your name, name of your school or institution, locality and country.
High school Activities
Activity: Listening to nature from the indigenous perspective
Age: 14 to 18 years old
Introduction
This activity seeks for students to investigate and learn about the relationship of indigenous peoples with nature and the importance of their knowledge for conservation. Likewise, the aim is to introduce students to the use and importance of some sacred plants in the culture of these peoples.
Goals:
Know the relationship of indigenous peoples with nature and the importance of their knowledge for the conservation of tropical forests.
Know the use and meaning of tobacco and coca for indigenous peoples.
Develop group work skills.
Description of the activity:
The guide introduces the indigenous communities in Colombia and the Caqueta foothills and shares with the participants the song of the cacique Emilio Fiagama.
audio: Cacique (chief) Emilio, some singing in the Maloka
To download: https://bit.ly/307KszeSong by Emilio Fiagama Chief of the maloca and governor of the Jurama council. Murui Muinane village. Florence, Caquetá.
Several groups are formed and each of the groups develops one of the following themes and then exposes them to the whole group.
Understand the voice of nature
audio: Understanding the voice of nature
To download: https://bit.ly/2W9OGFh
What message does Cacique Emilio leave us? Why do you think he says that if we listened to nature more we would protect it instead of ending it? Discuss and share with your classmates. Investigate: What ethnic groups or indigenous peoples inhabit your region? What relationship do this or these peoples have with nature? What can we learn from them for the conservation of our forests?
audio: Pestling coca leaves To download: https://bit.ly/38NVn54
In this audio the coca is being pestled to make the mambe.
Research: How do the indigenous peoples of the Amazon use tobacco and the coca plant? What do they use them for? What meaning do these sacred plants have to them? What other sacred plants do you use in your daily life?
For all groups: Students listen to different suggested audios and share the audio that most caught their attention. They explain why they prefer that audio.
Activity: Listening session
Age: 14 to 18 years old
Introduction
This activity pretend to create awareness in students about the importance of conscious listening and the thinking of the Coreguaje people about what it means to listen to nature.
Goals:
Raise students' awareness of the difference between hearing and listening.
Learn a Coreguaje people song.
Stimulate creativity through art.
Activity:
The guide begins the session with a group discussion about what it means to hear and listen to nature.
They listen to the following audio and complete the discussion according to Juven statement, a Coreguaje indian.
audio: The heart of the earth's sound To download: https://bit.ly/2Weiu3QVoice: Juven Arcadio Piranga Valencia Cabildo Choosa'aro ko'revaju Pai. Coreguaje town. Florencia, Caquetá.
Organize the group for a listening exercise by inviting them to close their eyes, take a couple of deep breaths, and imagine that they are sitting in the middle of a tropical forest. After this little internalization, the students listen to Juven's singing with their eyes closed.
audio: Listen to learn what happens to the earth To download: https://bit.ly/2Znz1nYSinging: Juven Arcadio Piranga Valencia Cabildo Choosa'aro ko'revaju Pai. Coreguaje town. Florencia, Caquetá.
After listening to the audios they create a drawing, a sculpture or any manual work to express their feelings towards this song.
Students write a thought or reflection to share with the group.
If you want, students can leave a reflection or a message for the forest in the Voice Recorder or they can also take a photo of their drawing or art piece and send it to VozTerra (vozterra.com@gmail.com), of the drawings will be published on our social network.
Additional information
The Caqueta piedmont besides having a high biodiversity, it has been considered a center of cultural diversity for the variety of indigenous peoples that inhabit its territory. Historically it was a meeting place where the sages of the ancestral peoples of the Amazon and the Andes came to share knowledge about the nature and management of the world. Caquetá is inhabited by indigenous murui muinai or murui muinane, coreguaje, inga, embera, nasa, misak, pijao, andoque and some tucano and piratapuyo families, corresponding to 10 of the 115 indigenous peoples that exist in Colombia (Panche, 2018).
These ancestral cultures have great knowledge and wisdom regarding nature and its conservation, for which the protection of their ancestral territories and their ways of life is essential. However, they are in quite critical conditions due to forced displacement, the appalling conditions of the health service, little respect for indigenous traditions and limits to the development of their own education.
The indigenous peoples of the piedmont specialize in shamanism and the knowledge of medicinal plants among which are yagé and yoco. Likewise, they have the knowledge of diversity of sacred and mythical places of constant reference during their songs and rituals.
In the Caquetá Chapter we share with you some words from members of the Jaeni Diona communities and the Jurama community of the Murui Muinane or Uitoto* people and the Choosa'aro community of the Coreguaje people.
The Murui Muinane people, which means the children of tobacco, coca, and sweet cassava, mostly inhabit the southern part of the Colombian Amazon between the Caquetá and Putumayo rivers. They are divided into Murui, "people from the birth of the rivers or from the west", and Muinane, "people from the mouth of the rivers or from the East". For the Murui Muinane, the relationship with nature is a very close relationship, as expressed by Hernando Castro, a Murui Muinane indigenous:
"Within the indigenous worldview, the man-nature relationship is seen in an integral way; the territory is our mother, we are children of her and therefore we take care of her with the word, inheritance from our ancestors and food for the knowledge, growth and development of life in harmony with nature. The recovery of traditional knowledge of the elders regarding the use of natural resources and bringing them to different designs is what the elders say: make the word dawn." (Castro and Gala, 2003)
In their daily chores, the Murui Muinane carry out different activities such as agriculture, fishing and the harvesting of larvae and wild fruits. The men are in charge of fishing and hunting and the women of farming chores, the transformation of food, housework and children. The grandparents, along with the young people, are in charge of preparing the ground to establish the farm or garden and support the women in some activities. The entire Murui Muinane culture revolves around the maloka where rituals, dances and traditional festivals are celebrated. Sacred coca and tobacco plants are essential to their ceremonies. The coca leaf is roasted and piled for mambear (which is to chew and make a ball with the powdered coca to keep it in the mouth), a ritual that is accompanied by ambile, a tobacco paste. These two plants are essential for dialogue and decision-making, since the indigenous people consider the coca leaf as an ancient grandmother who gives clarity and wisdom. (Tagliani, 1992)
The coreguaje or korebaju people, which means 'children of the Earth', were previously known as guajes, payagaxes, guaques and piojés. Historically they have inhabited the upper Caquetá and Putumayo, which is located in the transition from the Andes to the Amazon in the piedmont. It is the oldest settlement area in the Amazon region. Its traditional economic activities are hunting, fishing, handicrafts, and fruit harvesting. Currently, they also have agricultural production systems. The coreguaje maintain a close relationship with their environment, with day-today circumstances and with supernatural forces. Learning to control these forces is done through taking yagé, its medicinal and sacred plant. The shaman knows how to read the images that the yagé produces, serving as a bridge between the forces and the spiritual world. In this way the cause of events is revealed and the affairs can be ordered and the different diseases can be healed. (ONIC)
* Uitoto: The term murui muinane will be used to refer to these indigenous people who are better known as Uitoto. The term 'uitoto' is of Caribbean origin and was imposed in the 19th century. It means 'slave' or 'enemy', so the indigenous people we visited told us that they feel better if they are called murui muinane and not uitoto.
Suggested audios:
Cacique (chief) Emilio, some singing in the Maloka
The Chapter Caquetá from the VozTerra platform has been possible thanks to the support of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), under the Conservation and Governance Program in the Amazonian Piedmont, launched by the Patrimonio Natural Fund, in partnership with VozTerra. Its content is responsibility of VozTerra and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of USAID or the United States government or the Natural Heritage Fund.
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