Cosmological references and good living practices in Manaure (Guajira, Colombia) Wayú’s thinking

https://doi.org/10.25058/20112742.65

Liceth Elisa Díaz Pushaina
pushaina1@hotmail.com
Universidad de San Buenaventura, Colombia

Ernell Villa
ORCID ID: orcid.org/0000-0003-0463-8354
villaernell@hotmail.com
Universidad de la Guajira, Colombia

Wilmer Villa
ORCID ID: orcid.org/0000-0002-3421-8820
villaw@hotmail.com
Universidad Distrital Francisco José de Caldas, Colombia

Abstract:

This paper discusses the practices of “good living” or “living well” (in Wayuu language, AnaaAkuaipa), deriving from cosmogonic views that ensure ancestral production among Wayuus in the municipality of Manaure, department of Guajira, northern Colombia. By studying Wayuu rituals, as presented in the results section, researchers were able to understand how generational, intergenerational and situational bonds are established. Thus, we aim to explore the significance of collective experience through the rituals enacted. This research was guided by the principles of “dense ethnography” as a methodological possibility, as related to “reflexivity.” Therefore the text depicts the rituals, and concludes by showing the role those rituals accomplish, in an interpretation based on meetings and interactions with Wayuu people and getting acquainted with their thinking.

Keywords: ritual, cosmogony, good living or living well, bond.