WORDS AND IMAGES Rosa Angélica Ramirez
Elders and members of the Kankuamo and Kogui peoples of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta entering Kankuasé, a Kankuamo sacred site in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, Colombia.
When I was a child, I remember an Elder from my Kankuamo community saying that when the Spanish arrived to conquer Indigenous territories, one of their main strategies was to ban our language. The Spanish understood that language was the key to their social and cultural cohesion. Without it, our identity and traditions would begin to fade.
Today, the significance of language to our cultural identity is more important than ever. This year, on February 21, 2025, the world commemorated another International Mother Language Day. Despite the incredible linguistic diversity of our planet, when most of us think about languages, our minds often go to English, Spanish, or Chinese. Yet, these represent only a small fraction of the world’s languages.
I do not judge people who are unaware of the importance of linguistic diversity. Before leaving my community in search of better opportunities in Bogotá, the capital of Colombia, I was also unaware of this. I even thought that only the four Indigenous Peoples of my territory existed! But now, experience has taught me its importance. Can you believe that 94% of the world’s population speaks only 6% of the world’s languages? That means the vast majority of languages — most of them Indigenous — are spoken by only 6% of the world’s people. Ironically, the least spoken languages, often Indigenous, hold some of the deepest biocultural and historical knowledge. And they are at an enormous risk of extinction.
The least spoken languages hold some of the deepest biocultural and historical knowledge.
Linguists estimate that approximately seven thousand languages are spoken today. At least half of them, however, may disappear in the next few generations because children are no longer learning them as their first language. This is not just an abstract statistic — it is something I have experienced firsthand within my own Indigenous Kankuamo community in northern Colombia.
The Atanquez Mountains, the ancestral territory of my people, the Kankuamo Indigenous people.
Unfortunately, when I was born, my people no longer spoke our native language. My great-grandmother did not teach her language to my grandmother, and my grandmother did not teach it to my mother; therefore, my mother did not share it with my siblings and me either. This vicious circle weighs on my identity and, in many contexts, even discredits me as an Indigenous woman. What many people, including other Indigenous people in my country, do not realize is that we have been robbed of the right to understand the world through our native language, which reflects our worldview as Indigenous Peoples.
Traditional language is the foundation of a collective identity.
Through our native language, we transmit our way of seeing and understanding the world, along with the teachings of our Elders. When language is translated into another language, such as Spanish, it loses the traditional meaning and knowledge associated with it. Therefore, from the experience of my people, I can say that when a native language dies, a large part of the culture dies with it, particularly in how the world is interpreted through that language.
Me, wearing my traditional Kankuamo dress in the city of Bogotá, Colombia. Photo: Ramirez family member
Language and Identity
Are Indigenous languages essential for the survival of Indigenous nations? I would like to delve into the experiences of my Kankuamo people to answer this question.
The four Indigenous nations of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta — Arhuacos, Kogui, Wiwa, and Kankuamo — share a common history and worldview. According to our ancestral tradition, we are responsible for maintaining the balance of the world. The Sierra Nevada is viewed as a large table, with each Indigenous nation representing one of its legs; if one is missing, the entire balance is lost. This means that each of the four Indigenous nations must remain strong and maintain the elements that reaffirm their identity, such as speaking their native language. But why are our Indigenous languages so important?
The four Indigenous nations of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta: the Arhuacos, Kogui, Wiwa, and Kankuamo peoples.
As an Indigenous woman who does not fully speak my language, I was determined to learn more about the importance of one’s native language. I traveled to various Indigenous territories in Colombia, from the northern region of La Guajira to the southern part of the Colombian Amazon. I found that traditional language is the foundation of a collective identity. It establishes a connection with the community and demonstrates that we belong to a common territory. In this way, an Indigenous language becomes a tool for a community to develop a worldview or cosmovision and to interact with their environment and the world.
In our language, all the traditional knowledge of our ancestors, Elders, and spiritual leaders is contained.
Language not only reinforces ethnic identity but also serves as an important tool in preventing the disappearance of Indigenous Peoples. In our people’s native language, all the traditional knowledge of our ancestors, Elders, and spiritual leaders — including the mamos, taitas, and jaibanas, among others — is contained.
Indigenous languages evolved from the historical experiences of Indigenous Peoples. An understanding of the territory and its natural cycles is passed down from generation to generation, including the lunar calendar, which indicates the best times for sowing and harvesting, as well as the winter and summer solstices — significant moments for the Kankuamo people that relate to care and balance with Mother Earth. Therefore, when speaking the language, the most intangible cultural values are shared, and the group’s collective memory is conveyed. Furthermore, the experience of speaking one’s own language, which is most often understood only by the community, can even safeguard and protect the information being communicated.
Our language reflects our identity, understanding of the world, and spiritual connection to nature.
In other words, language is the symbolic link to the community’s past, present, and future. An example of this can be seen in the word Kankuamo. If anyone were to ask about its meaning, it could be said that it refers to a person who belongs to the Indigenous Kankuamo people. However, in Kakachukua, the language spoken by the Kankuamo, its essence is deeper:
KUN: Temper or masculine force
WA: Mother
MU: Fire
These syllables contained in the word Kankuamo refer to the spirit and identity of the origins of the Kankuamo people. We are aware of the balance that must exist between the feminine and the masculine, and we possess the capacity for strength and resistance, much like fire. It is not just a word. Our language reflects our identity, understanding of the world, and spiritual connection to nature.
Our Kakachukua language reflects our understanding of the world, our identity, and our spiritual connection to nature. For example, the syllables in the word Kankuamo refer to the spirit and identity of the origin of the Kankuamo people.
The Struggle of the Kankuamo People
Before colonization, my people lived just like the other three Indigenous nations of the Sierra Nevada. We spoke our language, wore our traditional clothing, and followed the guidance of our mamos. However, our language, Kakachukua, has been deeply affected by historical challenges, including internal armed conflict, extinction strategies employed against the culture, threats, persecution, and forced disappearance. Today, my Kankuamo people are considered to be at serious risk of extinction due to the loss of our language.
Migration, urbanization, and acculturation have further weakened our cultural roots. For many Kankuamo, myself included, this has resulted in painful experiences. In my case, my Indigenous Kankuama identity has been challenged in various contexts. Often, eligibility for indigent scholarships requires knowledge of an Indigenous language, which excludes many of us.
Many Indigenous people go through painful experiences because they do not speak their language with confidence.
Currently, Indigenous leaders from different nations advocate for the affirmation that “an Indian without language is not an Indian.” This statement ignores that many Indigenous people go through painful experiences because they do not speak their language with confidence. However, this statement can also help us understand the importance of language: for Indigenous Peoples, language is a key factor in shaping identity and differentiating between ethnic groups.
Despite these challenges, our people have taken significant steps to reclaim our language and heritage. The creation of the Kankuamo Dictionary is one such effort. To accomplish this task, community leaders conducted several tours throughout the territory and traveled through the mountains to consult with the Kogui, Wiwa, and Arhuaco communities in search of words, sounds, expressions, and sacred sites of the Kankuamo people. We drew on the memories of our grandparents and held spiritual activities to help awaken our language.
Our Kankuamo Dictionary, created by my people to reclaim our language and heritage.
In Colombia, we are also advocating with the government to ensure our languages are not labeled as “dead languages” since they are not dead. They have remained dormant for a long time due to various historical complexities, but it is possible to recover them. We must take steps to revive and awaken dormant languages. They are languages of fundamental value.
We must take steps to revive and awaken dormant languages.
A congress of the Kankuamo people in Atanquez, our ancestral Indigenous Territory. This congress serves as an autonomous space for decision making, governance, and political authority.
While we remain committed to language learning, we have also discovered other ways to express our identity. One way to achieve this is through our textiles. Kankuamo women weave mochilas (backpacks), expressing their vision of the world. Every stitch is a thought, a feeling, a piece of ancestral knowledge passed down from mother to daughter. In this way, weaving is a language — one that tells our story without words.
Mochilas (backpacks) woven by Kankuama women from the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta in Colombia. The weaving design captures the symbolism and cosmogony of the Kankamo people. Weaving is an important way to express our identity and pass ancestral knowledge from one generation to another.
A Call to Protect Indigenous Languages
Weaving the word. Here I am weaving mochilas.
Language is undeniably the most decisive factor in preventing the disappearance of Indigenous communities. It is the heart of our identity and the key to transmitting traditional knowledge. If we lose our language, we lose the very essence of who we are.
Reviving Indigenous languages is not just about words — it is about preserving our stories, identities, and wisdom. We all have a responsibility to ensure that future generations can speak, think, and dream in the languages of their ancestors. The survival of Indigenous Peoples depends on it.
Dipping my feet in the waters of the crystal-clear rivers in my territory. For my community, it is important to live in harmony with our Haba Nebinyaku (Mother Nature).
Lea esta historia en español / Read this story in Spanish.
Support the Cause: Native languages are fundamental to the physical and cultural survival of Indigenous communities. Supporting the awakening of dormant languages and preserving latent languages is caring for the world’s biocultural diversity.
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Rosa Angélica Ramirez is an Indigenous Kankuama woman from the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, Colombia. A political scientist with a master’s degree in development, she advocates for the voices and leadership of Indigenous youth. She believes that strong and peaceful societies can be built with the help of Indigenous communities.
