During my stay in Colombia, I traveled for several days to the northern coast of Colombia known as La Guajira Peninsula, part desert where the indigenous community, the Wayuu Tribe has lived for centuries. Wayuu are semi-nomadic herders and traders also known as the people of sun, sand and wind. They mostly inhabited lands in the coastal areas of northern Colombia and Venezuela.  Today, the Wayuu ancient way of life is being threatened by climate change and the consequences of the outside world.….

First, a Bit of History

The Wayuu ancestral history can be traced back to thousands of years with roots in the Arawak civilization. Unlike many other indigenous tribes, the Wayuu fiercely resisted colonization by the Spanish. Their knowledge of the desert terrain and adaptability to what is a very rough environment allowed them to resist being colonized. The Spanish realized that there was little to gain from colonizing the desert. Notwithstanding, there are other issues that have impacted the life of this community.  The conflict in Venezuela has pushed many Wayuu to migrate to Colombia. Today, it is estimated that there are over 400,000 living mostly on the northern coast and in the desert. 

Getting to La Guajira 

 This was a place that was not on my bucket list.  My friend Willie had planned to visit the desert/coastline and invited me to follow along.  I could not resist, both curious and wanting to explore places outside the city of Cartagena. Getting to the Cabo de la Vela would take more than 24 hours. We decided to find places where we can stay, realizing that Uribia would be the closest to resembling a city. We lodged for two nights in Santa Marta, known as Colombia’s first historic city. I found the historic center a bit rough around the edges. A great deal of abandonment of commercial properties, homelessness and trash. Once you get to the center of the plaza, you begin to see significant changes, but not much to my liking unless you are near the beach.

We were having a difficult time finding a driver who can take us to Uribia and then to Cabo de La Vela where you need a 4×4 jeep to manage the terrain.  We decided to change plans and instead detoured to Riohacha where we can go sailing, see flamingos and still be able to visit a Wayuu village.

Arriving in Riohacha

The drive to Riohacha from Santa Marta was approximately 3.1/2 hours.  I found the drive to be mesmerizing as we traveled through rural neighborhoods where I photograph what daily living looks like on the main road.  Much of Colombia, outside its major cities is a compilation of small towns and rural communities, many of them dirt poor.  In some ways, it reminded me of my travels to Ghana and Kenya, where the main road is cluttered with the business of selling just about anything.

Riohacha is a coastal (beach) town surrounded by the ocean and the desert that caters mostly to locals and less to tourists. Two of its major attractions besides the beach are its Flamencos Wildlife Sanctuary and the villages of the Wayuu tribe. We scheduled both tours the next day before heading back to Santa Marta.

The Village of Camarones is surrounded by this lovely lagoon with plenty of mangroves and marshes that shelter flamingos and other water birds. It is also a village where residents are mostly Wayuu and Afro Caribbean.   A young Wayuu was our guide as we hopped on the canoe with a sail made of a silk white color. Quite different from how you would sail in the US.  We were the first sailboat in this pristine body of water. The silence was only interrupted by the bird callings and the shifting of the waves.   As we approach the Pink Flamingos, we were prohibited from getting too close which made it hard to take photos. There were at least 100 flamingoes of different shades of pink going about their morning ritual. After about 30 minutes, they began leaving the area, and we strolled our way back to the village to visit a Rancheria.

The Villages of Wayuu

 In the Camarones area, there are 8 villages known as Rancherias. Our tour guide took us to the only one led by a woman which was probably a good thing since much of their cultural traditions are very anti women. Ofelia, the leader was indeed quite open and candid on what the culture is like and how it has affected their lives. Most rancherias represent 7-8 families, many of them related, living in small huts built from mud and other materials.

Here is where it gets a bit complicated.  The Wayuu laws are not written. They are passed on from one generation to the next and thus can easily be re-interpreted. The Wayuu are part of what is known as a matrilineal where inheritance and family ties are traced through women. Women hold key roles in decision-making and raising children apart from their husbands who have odd jobs, fish and herd sheeps and goats to sustain the household.

Women may not use any form of birth control and daughters are married off as young as 12.  Once young girls menstruate, they partake in what is known as an “encerrio”.  The girls are kept lock up visited only by other females where they are trained on everything that is Wayuu, including learning to weave and getting ready for marriage.  The “encerrio” can be up to a year, although in many villages it has been shortened to several months.  After the girls are married off by their parents in exchange for a dowry, many have anywhere from 10 to 15 children. Some of these children may die during birth or of malnutrition since many families can only count on most days to have one meal.

Men do not have any obligations to their children. For instance, if the mother dies, children become the responsibility of the mother’s family. If the husband dies, whatever assets he has gained during marriage will be inherited by his family. The wife and his children do not inherit any of it, requiring them to move in with her family.

The women, when young, are taught to weave, becoming their main source of earned income.  They make a variety of clothing, handicrafts and novelty items catering to locals and tourists. However, they are most known for weaving millions of beautifully designed Wayuu bags exported throughout all of Colombia and South America. The Mochila bags are a crucial part of the tribe’s history and identity.  They are sold everywhere you go in Colombia. In Riohacha, the boardwalk is lined up with Wayuu women selling their work.  It’s not clear to me if all the Molicha bags I see in stores in Colombia are made by the Wayuu or are copied. There is quite a bit of corruption and discrimination towards this community.   It is important to note most of the land controlled by this tribe is on the coast or near the desert.  They are unable to cultivate agricultural products, limiting their livelihood or feeding their families.

Besides facing discrimination and neglect from the government, the Wayuu are experiencing a crisis of water. The lack of water is due in part to climate change and the limitations that come with living in the desert.  Also, the government’s coal mining projects on Wayuu’s land are adding to the water crisis, along with their failure to provide healthcare and other services.

Ofelia…A Shining Light in Breaking with Traditions

If someone were to ask me how women can be empowering, Ofelia would be the perfect example.  She speaks and leads with such charisma and determination.  We were immediately charmed by her personality and courage in being more open to the outside world and how it can improve life in the village.  She is responsible for all tour activities in helping the women earn income from their weaving and by bringing resources to her village.

Ofelia is a bit of an outlier as she chose to use the health facilities of the government to undergo sterilization after her 4th child. She has been shunned for this, although she remains a strong and respected leader, making women think for the first time about whether they should have so many children.

Parents can choose to send their children to home schooling or the public school system. She and her husband chose to send their children to “government school” as it’s called, of which they have been criticized.  Her desire is that her children not stay in the village as there is not much of a future for her four boys. Her goal is to buy land to set up a different village to rethink and recruit families that would like a greater balance between Wayuu traditions, their socio-economic struggles and the influences of the outside changing world…Pretty remarkable!

 We wanted to know how her boys were doing in school, and she raised the concern of not having computers in the village. Willie thought he could help by providing older laptops and iPads that his staff no longer use that can be shipped to the local post office….A project has been born.

 A Day Never to be Forgotten

The entire tour consisted of a dialogue between the three of us, joined later by a group of women who perform “La Yonnaa”, traditional dance.  They dressed me up in one of their robes and painted my face with spiral symbols of nature. We later had a traditional Colombian/Wayuu lunch as well as shopped from their marketplace, ending the day with what we hope will not be our last connection with the almighty Ofelia. We walked away enlightened by her and sympathetic to a culture and a way of life that has resisted a great of deal of discrimination and neglect. No doubt, overtime, the tribe will need to make adjustments in the preserving of their culture and the survival of the next generation.

 We returned to the hotel and headed back to Santa Marta for another night stay to avoid having to drive for 8 straight hours after a long day of touring.  It may be advisable to catch a plane to Riohacha from Cartagena if anyone was interested.

Final Note –My Photos

My photos are of the entire La Guajira journey, beginning with the town of Santa Marta, the drive through rural communities, the Flamingo sanctuary,the beach of Riohacha and the village of Wayuu.  As always, remember to click the center of the photo to see a full view of each photograph.

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