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NASA LEGACY: khabu fxizehnxi_tacueyó

Khabu fxizehnxi, Refrescamiento de chontas or Refreshing of the Batons 

The Nasa are one of Colombia’s largest indigenous people, who predominantly inhabit the western department of Cauca, a region central to the country’s civil war. The region is dominated by sugar plantations, which are surrounded by the country’s two great mountain ranges. The Nasa claim that the plains were taken from them by force in 1915, and that many were then pushed up into the poorer land of the mountains to make way for the sugar industry owned by the white, wealthy aristocracy that has always ruled the country. 

In the last decades, the region became a strategic corridor for the trafficking of drugs onward to the Pacific coast. Drug gangs, militias and paramilitaries have made this one of the most dangerous places in the world for indigenous rights campaigners and environmental defenders. The fundamental cause of the violence in the region is the same as it has been for centuries – land – and the victims are those who defend it. 

Nasa people reaffirm and protect their territory on a daily basis, not only through legal means, working or fighting for the land, but also through the defense of their cultural heritage and the celebration of sacred ceremonies. In January 2019, indigenous people from the Nasa reservation of Tacueyó gathered in the Páramo de Pisno to celebrate the Khabu fxizehnxi, Refreshing of the Batons, one of the five main rituals of the community. 

The ritual is carried out every year with the change of the traditional authorities of the Nasa people; it is conceived for the harmonization and cleansing of the batons of the Nasa authorities, which are the guardians of the spiritual balance in the community and territory with their ancestral knowledge. 

The baton, chonta, as a symbol of authority is refreshed to balance the negative energies that produce dissonance. In this way, the bearer of the baton is not affected by the negative energies. The person that receives the baton has a different energy than the one of the person that presents the baton. It is important that the baton does not transmit that energy. For the ritual, spiritual leaders choose sacred places linked to water sources for the cleansing of both the people and the baton. 

Photographs taken under the "Proyecto Cerrando Brechas" (Closing Gaps Project), led by Blumont Global Development and funded by the Government of the United States. 

  • Indigenous people from the Nasa reservation of Tacueyó arrive at the Páramo de Pisnos after a five hours long trip on a local 'chiva' (bus). They gather in this sacred place in order to celebrate the 'Khabu fxizehnxi' ('Refreshing of the Batons”), one of the five main rituals of the Nasa indigenous people of the Cauca region in Colombia. Cauca region, Colombia, January 18th, 2019.2019.
  • Animals playing in the Páramo de Pisnos    that belongs to the Nasa indigenous people of the Cauca region of Colombia. Cauca region, Colombia, January 2019.
  • Indigenous people from the Nasa community of Tacueyó spitting coca leaves and alcohol during the celebration of a mayor ritual in the Páramo de Pisnos. Cauca region, Colombia, January 2019.
  • Coca leaves thrown into a river during the celebration of a ritual of the indigenous NASA community in the Páramo de Pisnos. Cauca region, Colombia, January 2019.
  • Spiritual leader from the Nasa indigenous community during the celebration of the cleansing ritual of the 'Khabu fxizehnxi' ('Refreshing of the Batons”), one of the five main rituals of the Nasa indigenous people of the Cauca region in Colombia. Cauca region, Colombia, January 2019.
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  • Members of the Nasa indigenous  community of Tacueyó get out of the 'chiva' (bus) in the Páramo of Pisnos to start the celebration of the 'Khabu fxizehnxi' ('Refreshing of the Batons”), one of the five main rituals of the Nasa indigenous people of the Cauca region in Colombia.  Cauca region, Colombia, January 2019.
  • Members of the Nasa indigenous community wash themselves in the icy waters of the Páramo de Pisnos as part of the cleansing ritual of the 'Khabu fxizehnxi' ('Refreshing of the Batons”), one of the five main rituals of the Nasa indigenous people of the Cauca region in Colombia. Cauca region, Colombia, January 2019.
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  • Young boy from the Nasa indigenous community tries to jump in the icy waters of the Páramo de Pisnos to perform the cleansing ritual of 'Khabu fxizehnxi' ('Refreshing of the Batons”), one of the five main rituals of the Nasa indigenous people of the Cauca region in Colombia. Cauca region, Colombia, January 2019.
  • Members of the Nasa indigenous community wash themselves in the icy waters of the Páramo de Pisnos as part of the cleansing ritual of the 'Khabu fxizehnxi' ('Refreshing of the Batons”), one of the five main rituals of the Nasa indigenous people of the Cauca region in Colombia. Cauca region, Colombia, January 2019.
  • Woman from the Nasa indigenous community washes herself in the icy waters of the Páramo de Pisnos as part of the cleansing ritual of the 'Khabu fxizehnxi' ('Refreshing of the Batons”), one of the five main rituals of the Nasa indigenous people of the Cauca region in Colombia. Cauca region, Colombia, January 2019.
  • Member of the Nasa indigenous community washes himself and its baton in the icy waters of the Páramo de Pisnos as part of the cleansing ritual of the 'Khabu fxizehnxi' ('Refreshing of the Batons”), one of the five main rituals of the Nasa indigenous people of the Cauca region in Colombia. Cauca region, Colombia, January 2019.
  • Leader Felix, from the Nasa indigenous community of the Cauca region in Colombia, celebrates the cleansing ritual of the 'Khabu fxizehnxi' ('Refreshing of the Batons”) - one of the five main rituals of the Nasa indigenous people in Colombia - in the Páramo de Pisnos. Cauca region, Colombia, January 2019.
  • Member of the Nasa indigenous community washes himself in the icy waters of the Páramo de Pisnos as part of the cleansing ritual of the 'Khabu fxizehnxi' ('Refreshing of the Batons”), one of the five main rituals of the Nasa indigenous people of the Cauca region in Colombia. Cauca region, Colombia, January 2019.
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  • Members of the Nasa indigenous community get out from the icy waters of the Páramo de Pisnos  after washing themselves as part of the cleansing ritual of the 'Khabu fxizehnxi' ('Refreshing of the Batons”), one of the five main rituals of the Nasa indigenous people of the Cauca region in Colombia. Cauca region, Colombia, January 2019.
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  • Young members of the Nasa indigenous community get out from the icy waters of the Páramo de Pisnos after washing themselves as part of the cleansing ritual of the 'Khabu fxizehnxi' ('Refreshing of the Batons”), one of the five main rituals of the Nasa indigenous people of the Cauca region in Colombia. Cauca region, Colombia, January 2019.
  • Páramo de Pisnos that belongs to the indigenous Nasa community and it is a sacred place for the entire community. Cauca region, Colombia, January 2019.
  • Young boys from the Nasa indigenous community try to stay warm after bathing in  the icy waters of the Páramo de Pisnos as part of the cleansing ritual of the 'Khabu fxizehnxi' ('Refreshing of the Batons”), one of the five main rituals of the Nasa indigenous people of the Cauca region in Colombia. Cauca region, Colombia, January 2019.
  • Indigenous people from the Nasa reservation of Tacueyó jump on the 'chiva' (bus) after bathing in the icy waters of the Páramo de Pisnos as part of the cleansing ritual of the 'Khabu fxizehnxi' ('Refreshing of the Batons”), one of the five main rituals of the Nasa indigenous people of the Cauca region in Colombia. Cauca region, Colombia, January 18th, 2019.2019.
  • Members of the Nasa indigenous community joke among themselves after bathing in the icy waters of the Páramo de Pisnos as part of the cleansing ritual of the 'Khabu fxizehnxi' ('Refreshing of the Batons”), one of the five main rituals of the Nasa indigenous people of the Cauca region in Colombia. Cauca region, Colombia, January 2019.
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  • Woman from the Nasa indigenous community tries to get warm after bathing in the icy waters of the Páramo de Pisnos as part of the cleansing ritual of the 'Khabu fxizehnxi' ('Refreshing of the Batons”), one of the five main rituals of the Nasa indigenous people of the Cauca region in Colombia. Cauca region, Colombia, January 2019.
  • Young woman from the Nasa indigenous community makes an offer in front of a sacred place in the Páramo de Pisnos as part of the cleansing ritual of the 'Khabu fxizehnxi' ('Refreshing of the Batons”), one of the five main rituals of the Nasa indigenous people of the Cauca region in Colombia. Cauca region, Colombia, January 2019.
  • Young man from the Nasa indigenous community makes an offer and prays in front of a sacred place in the Páramo de Pisnos as part of the cleansing ritual of the 'Khabu fxizehnxi' ('Refreshing of the Batons”), one of the five main rituals of the Nasa indigenous people of the Cauca region in Colombia. Cauca region, Colombia, January 2019.
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  • People from the Nasa indigenous community climb a sacred mountain in the Páramo de Pisnos to make an offer as part of the cleansing ritual of the 'Khabu fxizehnxi' ('Refreshing of the Batons”), one of the five main rituals of the Nasa indigenous people of the Cauca region in Colombia. Cauca region, Colombia, January 2019.
  • A mountain in the Páramo de Pisnos that belongs to the Nasa indigenous community and it is considered a sacred place from the entire community. Cauca region, Colombia, January 2019.
  • Political leader from the Nasa indigenous reservation of Tacueyó speaks to the community in the Páramo de Pisnos after the celebration of the cleansing ritual of the 'Khabu fxizehnxi' ('Refreshing of the Batons”), one of the five main rituals of the Nasa indigenous people of the Cauca region in Colombia. The leader warns the community about the  threats and murders that are increasing exponentially within the territory. Cauca region, Colombia, January 2019.
  • Members of the Nasa indigenous community stand on the roof of a 'chiva' (bus) while listen to the speech of their political leader at the end of the celebration of the cleansing ritual of the 'Khabu fxizehnxi' ('Refreshing of the Batons”), one of the five main rituals of the Nasa indigenous people of the Cauca region in Colombia. The leader warns them about the  threats and murders that are increasing exponentially within the territory. Cauca region, Colombia, January 2019.
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