Learn About the Arhuacos de Santa Marta and their fantastic TUTU Mochilas Arhuacas -
Rare Tribal Chic Ethnic Colombian Fashion Mochila Bags…Bolsa Bonita TUTU:

Español: Más información sobre los Arhuaco y la fantastica Mochilas Arhuacos- Moda Etnica amenazada. Utilice el traductor de Google a su izquierda para leerlo en español. Aquí puede Comprar Espetacular y Autentica Mochilas Arhuacos Original.

Arhuacos, Aruacos, Ica, Ijca or Bintuk, are the names of the mystical and spiritual Native American ethnic group part of the Chibcha family, remnants of the Tairona Culture located in northern Colombia in an Indian Reservation in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta. The Sierra Nevada is the highest coastal region in the world at almost 12,600 square kilometers, and has an extremely diverse climate with great biodiversity. They speak a language that pertains to the Chibchan linguistic family and are related to two other tribes; Kogi and Arsario. The town of Nabusimake in the south-east of the Sierra is an old mission town and it means "birth-place of the sun": it was where the Arhuaco began the process of reclaiming their territory in the 1980's, by sending away the missionaries and proclaiming the "Black Line", the frontier which they established around the mountains. To learn more about their constant struggles read the section below called "Fighting to Survive".

Their traditional territory before the Spanish colonization was larger than today's boundaries which exclude many of their sacred sites that they continue to visit today to pay offerings. These lost territories are the lower parts by the steps of the mountains, lost to colonization and farming. The Arhuacos are approximately 30 thousand people but there is no way to know for sure. The tribe structure is complex and dispersed (totaling 42 separate Arhuaco communities) but they reunite for meetings or ceremonial events.

The Arhuacos are a profoundly spiritual people who follow their own unique philosophy that tends to globalize their surroundings. They believe in a "Creator" or "great father" named Kakü Serankua, who engendered the first gods and material living things, other "fathers" like the sun and the snowy peaks and other "mothers" like the earth and the moon. They consider the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta to be the heart of the world.

Nature and society as a unity are ruled by a single sacred law, immutable, pre-existent, primitive and survivor to everyone and everything. The material world can exist or cease to exist but this law is believed to continue without being altered. This universal law Kunsamü is represented by a boy, Mamo Niankua. This law of nature is an explanation to the origins of matter and its evolution, equilibrium, preservation and harmony, that constitutes the fundamental objectives and the reason being of the Mamo; the spiritual authority of the Arhuaco society. Each Mamo or Mamü is selected among different candidates, boys ranging eight to ten years old that will receive training for a minimum of nine to fifteen years. After this initial training period they are free to determine if they want to continue with the training. They specialize in certain knowledge areas such as philosophy, sacerdotalism, medicine and practical community or individual counselors. Their influence is decisive in their society.

The TUTU Mochilas Arhuacas and the Art of Knitting:

Authentic Mochilas Arhuacas, called TUTU in their native language, are hand woven only by women. At an early age, little girls begin to learn the art of weaving Mochilas from their mothers and older sisters. According to Arhuaca tradition the little girl takes her first knit or Mochila to the Mamu who needs to approve of it. If the Mamu approves of it then she commits to being a good weaver and is permitted to transmit the Arhuaco 'art of knitting' to her daughters. The first Mochila a girl hand weaves and submits in front of the Mamu is also said be used in the rituals of initiation of the girl as a member of the community; and when a an Arhuacos couple fall in love the 'Waty' (arhuaco women) hand weaves two Mochilas one for her and another for the man; preparing and introducing these Mochilas are a women's symbol of maturity that the man acknowledges.

To the Arhuacos the Mochilas are not only a mundane accessory but rather represent Mother Earth and a Waty's means of expression and a symbol of identity. As the girl grows into a Waty the weaving of the Mochilas keeps playing and signifying an important role in her life. The women are born in a spiritual land that they believe to be the uterus of the world, full of wisdom to be preserved and shared with the rest of the world. It is particularly through the mystical patterns of spiritual significance woven into the TUTU Mochila that women express their feelings and thoughts. These patterns include the weavers growing wisdom and the wisdom of the kin that passed on to the weaver the art of knitting.

The Making of an Arhauco Mochila:

In Arhuaco wisdom the thread (wool) used for the weaving of the Mochila symbolizes the time that is divided in positive (considered to be between 1 a.m. – 11a.m.) and negative (considered to be between 12 a.m. – 12p.m.). They keep a spiritual and material balance in all their activities. The thread is prepared during the positive time. The Mochila is then weaved with the necessary materials that Mother Earth provides them with. It takes a female between 30 to 60 days to hand weave a Mochila…love, respect for Mother Earth and ancestral wisdom are all transmitted into the weaver's needle and forever cherished in the Mochila's essence.

Today it is extremely difficult to source Authentic TUTU Mochilas Arhuacas.

The Arhuaco Mochilas available here are purchased directly from an association of Native Colombian Women that weave them. The association is called A'MIA NIKUYUN, which means enterprising women in Arhuaco language. It is this association of Indigenous Women of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta that hand weave the classic Mochilas Arhuacas you can now buy here today. The association is composed of 10 women leaders, each one of them including at least 10 other women. A'MIA NIKUYUN guarantees the authenticity of the Mochilas (see Authenticity Tag below). By doing so we can guarantee to you that the purchase of these Mochilas directly sustains the Arhuaco Economy and well being.

Each of these Mochila's is crafted by Aruaco women who have learned the original Arhuaco art of knitting; and each Mochila has a design of its own through which the females keep the Artesania Arhuaca and traditions alive. By purchasing a bag we help the Arhuacos live better and help safeguard a world's cultural heritage.

FIGHTING TO SURVIVE:

The Arhuacos are an endangered indigenous and have been suffering for ages. In 1916 the Arhuacos asked the government of Colombia for teachers to learn to read and write but instead the government sent Capuchin Friars. The Friars prohibited the children from learning about their culture, established a "regime of terror", put the children aside in an orphanage and established forced labor. In 1943, politicians from Valledupar, missionaries and Ministry of Agriculture, expropriated without compensation the best terrains of Nabusimake and built a State-owned, agricultural farm. The Arhuacos fought back and in 1944 created the Liga de Indios de la Serra Nevada (Sierra Nevada Amerindians League), but were outlawed later in 1956 by a military government. The Arhuacos reestablished their league in 1972; creating the cabildo Gobernador, a better structured and adequate organization to defend their values and land. In August 7, 1982 the Arhuacos rebelled against the Capuchins and took over the mission's buildings. The Capuchins finally left in 1983.

In 1975, Colonials, not Arhuacos, started cultivating Marihuana in the Sierra Nevada. This brought more problems to the community, like forced recruitment for plantations, assimilation of the drug dealers' culture by some, and violence. Many poor peasants from other regions of Colombia came to work in the Marihuana bonanza of the 1980s. The cultivation of drugs is jeopardizing the Arhuacos territory and way of life. Unfortunately still today the Arhuacos living conditions are at risk. They still get caught up in the middle of crossfires but Colombian associations are constantly working to help them preserve their territory and traditions.

(Sources: www.Wikepidia.org, www.unhcr.org, www.SurvivalInternational.org,  www.indigenousportal.com, www.aboriginalnewsgroup.blogspot.com)


Click here if you want to know about the Mochila Wayuu and the Wayuu life.

Click here if you want to know more about the Mochilas and how we get them to you.

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