Lost City will close temporarily during October to allow the Indigenous Peoples of the Sierra Nevada to carry out ancestral ceremonies of harmonization and payment to the territory, reinforcing the fundamental connections between the spiritual world and the origin of life that is strongly present in Teyuna, Lost City.
When you hike for days through the dense jungle, crossing wild rivers, waking up with the sound of the toucans and howler monkeys, and learning about the Indigenous ways in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta to finally reach the magnificent Lost City, there is this unique feeling of excitement, peace and contentment for reaching such a singular final destination.
The astonishing views, the gorgeous terraces, and the welcoming of the mamos (the Indigenous spiritual leaders), added to the exhaustion of a demanding trek, can make your body, mind, and spirit feel ecstatic. Nevertheless, there is much more than meets the eye. Teyuna, commonly named Lost City, holds deeper meanings and significance for the original Peoples of the Sierra Nevada, to the point that it is one the centers of their worldview, sacred and revered for hundreds of years.
Throughout most of the industrialized world, humans have lost the connection with the land, and on the way, we have also lost our capacity to identify ourselves and to feel one with the water, with the soil, with the sky, with the trees, birds and all of the other creatures that dwell around. The ability to live as we are one with the rest of the creation has been lost. We have believed that we are something stronger and superior, with the right to manage the rest of the planet, and that no matter what we do, there won’t be consequences. That’s how we go through life.
A different way to live in the world
Nevertheless, there are still some people around the world who have a different understanding of life and the world. In the Sierra Nevada, Kogis, Arhuacos, Wiwas, and Kankuamos, descendants of the ancient Tayrona people, have continued to live wisely in their traditional territory, sustaining its cultural and natural values. By living with, in, and by the natural environment, they have acquired the wisdom of how to best take care of their land.
Even after the European colonization, they kept living true to their cosmovision, values, and perspective of life, which means that they embody the fact that they and the territory are one, united, and that whatever happens to the land, the sea, and the creatures inhabiting them will also affect their existence, and vice versa.The idea of a connecting energy between the mountains, rivers, beaches, forests and all of the living beings underlies their whole existence.
Wiwa women in one of their ritual practices.
Precisely, the Indigenous Peoples of the Sierra believe that these energetic, spiritual connections are somehow more powerfully expressed and present in certain places around the territory. These places represent what today is called the Black Line: a spiritual, dynamic and holistic ring of 348 sacred sites around the base of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta that form the boundary of the ancestral territory of the region’s four Indigenous Peoples. Inside these Black Line, there are other numerous sacred places around the Sierra; sometimes, these places match particular geographic spots, such as the Gonawindua Peak (commonly known as the Simón Bolívar Peak): sometimes, these places correspond to locations where the spiritual and life energies are very powerful, such as Teyuna, Lost City.
The importance of these sacred places is paramount. They hold parts of the Law of Origin, the system that the four Indigenous Peoples of the Sierra follow and that dictates the world’s spiritual principles and origin of life. So, in some way, these places determine their norms, government, and traditional code of the territory. The system of sacred places sets up life in the Sierra Nevada through certain environmental, cultural, and spiritual practices, where the Indigenous undergo the task of taking care and protecting the Sierra and, therefore, the world. If these places get damaged, the spiritual and material balance of the world becomes jeopardized.
Map of the Black Line by the Amazon Consevation Team.
The impact of modern life in the Indigenous sacred places
And precisely, that is the point where we are at. Many of the Kogi, Arhuaco, Wiwa, and Kankuamo’s sacred sites are now threatened by different projects, such as tourism, agriculture, mining activity, and urbanization. When people build in these sacred places, it affects the flow of connections and energy in the whole territory, affecting the stability and well-being of all living beings on it. The root of all these problems is the greedy, developing vision of modern society, which seeks to extract and monetize all the resources and products of the Sierra Nevada.
By nature, these extractivist and consuming activities go against the Law of Origin, which is aimed at preserving the balance and natural state of the territory. Not just that, they have brought violence against Nature and and Indigenous communities, creating destruction and suffering all around.
Teyuna, or Lost City, didn’t escape from the impact of Western minds. Founded around 800 CE, 650 years earlier than the Inca city of Machu Picchu, Teyuna comprises around 200 terraces carved into the mountain, a network of stony trails, and several small circular plazas. It used to be where spiritual leaders lived and where special ceremonies and reunions happened.
The origin of the Tairona civilization is captured on its hills. That’s why, on its terraces, the mamos – spiritual leaders of the Kogis, Arhuacos, Wiwas and Kankuamos who hold centuries-old wisdom and influence the decision-making of their communities, would come to communicate with the spirits of the forest to understand what is needed to be done to keep the world in harmony.
After the Spanish colonization that profoundly damaged the Tayrona civilization, the city was abandoned and engulfed by the mighty jungle. Its “re-discovery” in 1975 was due to the guaqueros, or tomb robbers. In the process of trying to find treasures, guaqueros damaged some terraces and stole numerous ancient artifacts. After guaqueros, the archaeologists came, beginning then the state protection of Teyuna, and, a few years later, in the 90s, the control of Teyuna and surrounding lands was given back to the Indigenous Peoples. Being such an impressive, unique place in the world, the arrival of tourism didn’t take too long. In the early 2000, the first tourists started to arrive at Lost City, and the number of visitors hasn’t stopped increasing ever since: from 1.000 visitors in 2008 to 23.000 in 2017 and more than 27.000 before COVID-19 hit.
Tourists with an Indigenous guide from Wiwa Tours in Teyuna, Lost City.
Tourism is indeed a blessing to the local economy, allowing hundreds of families from both Indigenous and non-Indigenous families to make it. But, at the same time, tourism comes with a price to pay. The constantly growing number of tourists creates disturbances in Teyuna’s environment, such as the pollution of creeks and rivers, acoustic pollution, and soil erosion. More importantly, it disrupts the natural flow of energy of this ancient, sacred, and crucial place for the four Indigenous Peoples of the Sierra Nevada.
Giving Lost City its deserved break
This is why it is so important that, once a year, Teyuna has a break. So it can be cleaned from all the external energy that comes from tourism. During this month of October, Lost City and all its surroundings will be inhabited again by the four Indigenous Peoples of the Sierra, in the same way that used to be hundreds of years ago. They seek to remember how it used to be, to enjoy one of their most sacred spaces, to bring back the ancestral energy and state. For a couple of weeks, the four tribes will one more time fill the space with their varied cultural rituals, traditions, and ceremonies.
One of the most important ceremonies is harmonization or cleansing rituals. These rituals seek to appease the land, the water, and the spirits that still dwell in and around Teyuna’s jungle. Several endemic species of birds, howler monkeys, jaguars, ocelots, and many other species find a home in the hundreds-year-old forest around Lost City, so spiritual cleansings are performed in such a way that plants and animals that are subject to all the impacts of tourism can renew their connection with Nature.
Another consistent ritual for the four tribes is the pagamentos, which are offerings to the different elements of Nature for everything that they constantly provide to make life happen. Pagamentos are made to the rivers, the air, the hills, the soil, and particular trees or animals, to reinstate the balance between the land and humans. They are fundamental to the cosmovision of Indigenous Peoples of the Sierras. We take so much from Nature that someone has to give back and show gratitude to the territory for everything that we receive. By paying back to the land through dances, thoughts, food, music, and other expressions, harmony can be restored in Teyuna.
Teyuna, Lost City, during one of the breaks of past years.
During these weeks, children, women, and men of different communities of the Sierra fill the space with their energy, traditions, and ceremonies, guaranteeing the natural balance, physical life and cultural survival. They take advantage of the power of the mighty rainy season to thoroughly and deeply clean Teyuna so it can remain the paramount, marvelous and sacred place that it has been for ages. By honoring the deserved break that the Lost City needs, we will be able to keep enjoying one of the wonders of Colombia and learn from its history and magic, so we can also repair our own personal connection and relationship with Nature.
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