Kogi People

We are the Kogi people, and we have a story to share with you. For many centuries, we have lived with a special purpose. We call ourselves the 'Older Brothers' of humanity. We believe this name gives us a deep responsibility to care for the Earth, which is a sacred duty that shapes everything we do and how we understand the world.

Our home is a very special place, high in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta mountains of Colombia. We call this land the 'Heart of the World.' In our understanding, it works like the heart in a living body—if it is healthy, the whole world is healthy, but if it is harmed, the whole world suffers. This belief guides us in how we live upon the land, as we always try to protect its health and strength for the good of all.

Our traditions are very old. We are the descendants of the ancient Tairona civilization, who lived in these same mountains long before us. From our ancestors and from the Earth itself, we learned the Great Mother's Law. This is the most important teaching we have. It tells us that all things in nature—the rivers, the mountains, the animals, and the people—are connected and must be kept in balance. Forgetting this law, we believe, can cause great harm.

To help us follow this law, we have spiritual leaders called the Mamos. A person who is chosen to be a Mamo goes through a very long training. For many years, they live in the dark, learning not with their eyes, but with their minds and spirits. This special training teaches them how to listen to the Earth, to understand its needs, and to hear its warnings. The Mamos then guide our communities, helping us make decisions that maintain harmony in the world.

Our daily lives are simple and deeply connected to the land around us. We live in circular huts that remind us of the shape of the world. We grow our own food in our mountain gardens, taking care to take only what we need. We also weave our own white cotton clothes. Every part of our life is a way of practicing the balance we learn about from the Great Mother's Law, which the Mamos help us understand.

For a very long time, we kept to ourselves in our mountain home. We stayed hidden from the outside world because our way of life is quiet and requires great focus. But our Mamos, through their deep connection to the Earth, saw that something was terribly wrong. They could feel that the planet was being hurt. They taught us that the 'Younger Brother'—which is our name for the rest of the world—was causing this damage through actions that showed a lack of respect for nature.

Seeing this great imbalance, we knew we could not stay silent any longer. We decided it was time to share our message with everyone. Our warning is both urgent and clear: we must all work together to stop the damage being done to the Earth. It is a shared home for both the Older and Younger Brothers. We believe we must all come together to restore its balance before it is too late for everyone.