Gotsezhy is a Wiwa indigenous people native to the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta. It is located in the Guachaca River Basin via Santa Marta to Riohacha, Kilometer 49.
This village was founded in 1986 by the spiritual leader Mamo Ramon Gil Barro of the Wiwa ethnic group, one of the four groups of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta. Ade Ramón came from the department of Guajira, and following indications from other Mamos and consultations with traditional and spiritual authorities, he arrived in the Guachaca basin to form a new community under his leadership.
Currently, this basin is the Wiwa territory of the department of Magdalena and represents almost 10% of the totality of the Wiwa people of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, it also represents the political, cultural and educational center for this part of the Sierra.
Beginning in the 1980s, after the company was founded Gotsezhy, three other population centers were created, of which the following are called Toleizhy (la Peña), this center is located at 100 MSNM, about 10 minutes from the village of Guachaca, Toleizhy is currently a place for the training of new leaders and Mamos of the Wiwa people. Currently, it has more than 8 houses for the Mamos and leaders who are trained there.
The other population center is called Wimake, this town is located at the headwaters of the Guachaca River, where the river originates, very close to an altitude of 1,800 meters above sea level. There are approximately 30 families there, of which there are health posts, an educational center and ceremonial houses for men and women. This community practically depends on agriculture and hunting for its livelihood. This population center was founded at the end of the 1980s, in 1989.
Lastly, the Kalabangága traditional education centerIt is a place located more than 2,000 meters above sea level, it is a center that only forms the Mamos, a sacred place for the Wiwa people, it is a place to make payments and rituals for the sanitation of the territory and the people, therefore it represents a place of great importance.
At present, projects are being developed with the Colombian government and with the support of local and international foundations, indigenous and territorial organizations, environmental protection processes are being carried out, with emphasis on the ancestral knowledge that still survives in these millenary cultures.
Gotsezhy, an encounter with nature and the indigenous culture of the Sierra Nevada of Santa Marta
If you want to escape from the city and get lost in the jungle of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta in search of a connection with the indigenous culture and nature, the Gotsezhy Indigenous Community Trek is the best option.
One of the wonders of this place is its fantastic waterfall that looks like something out of a fairy tale, called La Cascada Matuna, an excellent place to cool off and swim in pure and crystalline waters.
In addition, the indigenous community of Gotsezhy is a Wiwa population that still preserves its language, culture, customs and way of life, all these characteristics of this people are available to our travelers, so that they can be the main actors and interact with this native indigenous culture of the Sierra Nevada.
This community is located 120 meters above sea level, it is a warm area due to the cozy climate of the place and its majestic white sand rivers that make the waters look crystal clear. You will learn with local guides, the importance of the relationship with nature, as part of the worldviews of the indigenous peoples of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta.
The Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta holds, among many things, the millenary cultures, the unique traditions that characterize the indigenous peoples of the Sierra, the mega biodiversity and also legends and stories of the region. This mountain is home to breathtaking landscapes, rivers, waterfalls and new surprises to be discovered.
So don’t miss the opportunity to visit the Gotsezhy Indigenous Community, a native indigenous village embedded in the middle of the Sierra Nevada, rainforest and indigenous cultures.
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