Remembering the teachings from
our ancestors and elders
I understood that the
earth on which we walk
is a living being.
Every day it also gives us life
There are several words in Kamenstá
that have profound meanings
and explain the universal relation
of all living beings
For example, there is a beautiful
word that is "Ainean"
That translated to Spanish
it means Heart
but there is also the word "Ayênan"
that means the smallest particle
and the beginning of every process
or of any kind of matter.
It's the smallest space
that exists in the universe and
jumpstarts life
The territory for us,
for example
does not represents capital
or an economic asset,
it represents a mother
where everything exists
I believe that we started to
claim private property
among ourselves and
inside our reserves
because it is the way
to protect and defend ourselves
but we manage a general
vision that is collective
The white man is rushing
and his culture demands it
in such a way that capital accumulation
is above the principles of life
he forgets that his,
is a fleeting presence
and for us, for example, flooding
this land or having to move our families
the near the highway or to Bogota
No, we wouldn't have a connection
with the earth anymore
because that is raison d'être
of indigenous people
our spiritual connection
is in and with the territory
each one's placentas are here
[in our Territory]
therefore it has a different value
another interpretation
to remove indigenous people
from theri territory
is like taking fish out of the water
The wayfarers that have taught
us how to understand
the earth on which we walk
have taught us that the
territory is made of all of us
here we speak of the colour of
the sun and the clouds
of the colour of the mountains
and the colour of the skies
we speak about the elements
that enrich us all from the inside
and that inside us there is something
even more special than El Dorado
that is our spirituality
and the connection
from this plane of reality to others
that we as Kamenstás can perceive
El Dorad that was sought after by
people back in the days was physical
And somehow they were searching
for it to obtain wealth
but only material wealth which can
lead to conflicts and to wars
that dive humans and nature
We always say that if our little brothers
[Colonos / White men]
Had not arrived, we wouldn't
have had the need to learn Spanish
But it becomes necessary in order to
defend the territory
And as long as the white man invents we
also need to domesticate him
and his invention in order
defend the territory and our culture
It would be ideal if we didn't need that
so yes there is a contradiction.
[Natives] oppose extractivism
while ther use cars, have cell phones
and cameras
but also, we are the ones left with the
responsibility to protect the territory
but of course, we would be much
better if they had not arrived
Our ancestors made clear
which path to follow
their way of life was simply to
conserve what is already there
what other human groups do is to abruptly
transform and disrupt natural cycles
And that makes us all humans a bit groggy
so we get lost and divided
our thoughts separate and
become scatter
and then we lack a common process
to make sure our planet
and fellow humans
can last for a lot longer
this road runs across the Kamenstá
reserve, which we managed to extend
but the road runs over an ancestral path.
It has been retraced but not
to serve ancestral cultural, medicinal,
and spiritual exchanges
but with only commercial purposes
in mind
while over there, they benefit from
the extraction of resources here
it unsettles balance and make us
uncomfortable here
this is what I understand about
what goes on in this context
this path has spiritual relevance
for the Kamenstá and Inga community
because across millennia it has
been a contact zone
between the mountains and the Amazon
these are trails that have been
protected for millennia
our elders have conserve
and walked it
they have discovered so many
healing properties, foods, animals
they have found a way to communicate
with the mountain and nature
this path means a lot for my culture.
it means that we have a space
reserved for future
new generations
because past, present and future
generations not only inhabit a terrain
but we all live on a path that we must
preserved to adjust to the future
What our ancestors taught us through
this path is to preserve in order to
have a good relation between the families
in the mountains and in the lower Amazon
According to the stories
from so long ago
the process of searching
still goes on
but it's not a search for El Dorado
as it was before but instead
there is a palpable Dorado that is
bigger and is worth more
than the one imagined by
the expeditions
biodiversity, water, human talents,
and all the oxygen and clean air
that comes out of this great territory
the biological resources, as a hole make
this something else than a single Dorado
today, the ambition of big corporations
is to come after all this wealth