In Colombia, Kamëntšá women maintain their ancestral culture through music
Native peoples have their own sound
Originally published on Global Voices
Photo of the group Jashnan, used with their permission.
In the Sibundoy Valley, a mountainous zone of the department of Putumayo in southwest Colombia, Jashnan, a music group composed entirely of Indigenous women of the Kamëntšá people, uses music as a form of recuperating their ancestral culture and strengthening the Kamëntšá language, a language isolate unique in the world.
The Kamëntšá are the ancestral inhabitants of the Sibundoy Valley, which they call Tabanok, meaning “sacred place of origin.” Since time immemorial, Tabanok has been a place of intercultural exchange and contact between the Andean highlands to the west and the Amazonian lowlands to the east. This has given rise to the highly syncretic and unique culture of the Kamëntšá, which features Andean and Amazonian roots as well as unique local elements. Perhaps this is the reason for the high degree of preservation and cultural survival of the Kamëntšá compared to other Indigenous peoples. Even after 70 years of indoctrination and misrule by Capuchin missionaries, Kamëntšá culture remains vibrant today. However, the community continues to face cultural, political, and ecological threats on multiple fronts, such as the construction of roads and extractive infrastructure in the community's ancestral territory.
One of the ways the community has resisted external threats and reaffirmed its right to cultural autonomy and difference is through its colorful musical tradition, part of the Andean-Amazonian genre that combines melodies and sounds typical of their territory.
Read more about female and non-binary musical figures singing about their identity: Five songs to celebrate Indigenous Peoples’ Day
In this interview, Kamëntšá musicians Natalia Jacanamijoy and Angela Jhoana Jacanamejoy share the history and cultural significance of Jashnan—a Kamëntšá word meaning “to heal”—in the context of Kamëntšá cultural survival, the role of women in Kamëntšá society, and the revaluation of ancestral wisdom.
Rowan Glass: When and for what reason was Jashnan formed? How has the group developed since its founding?
Jashnan: Este proceso nace en el seno del territorio ancestral Tabanok (Sagrado Lugar de Origen del pueblo Kamëntšá). Empieza en el año 2021 y se formaliza a principios del 2022. El grupo se formó con varios propósitos: como una herramienta para fortalecer la unidad al interior las familias y de nuestro pueblo Kamëntšá; y como instrumento para el fortalecimiento de nuestros saberes ancestrales, entre ellos la música. Somos mujeres Kamëntšá, de diferentes edades, con diferentes recorridos, este tejido (proceso) nos ha permitido reconocer nuestra esencia como mujeres Kamëntšá, herederas de un gran legado, que nos habla del cuidado a nosotras mismas, al territorio que es la vida misma. Nos hemos sumado en el camino. Ahora somos siete mujeres quienes estamos integrando el grupo musical Jashnan.
Jashnan: This process was born within the ancestral territory Tabanok (Sacred Place of Origin of the Kamëntšá people). It began in 2021 and was formalized in early 2022. The group was formed for several purposes: as a tool to strengthen unity within families and our Kamëntšá people and as an instrument for strengthening our ancestral forms of knowledge, including music. We are Kamëntšá women, of different ages, with different backgrounds, and this process of weaving has allowed us to recognize our essence as Kamëntšá women, heirs of a great legacy, which speaks of caring for ourselves, for the territory that is life itself. We have banded together along the way. Now we are seven women who make up the music group Jashnan.
RG: What is the importance of music within Kamëntšá culture?
J: Los pueblos originarios tienen su propio sonido, y la música está en todo momento, está en los espacios que habitamos, hasta en el mismo sonido de nuestros pasos, en el latir del corazón, esa sensibilidad nos hace seres musicales.
El Pueblo Kamëntšá es sonoro y colorido, la música está presente en la cotidianidad, en la ritualidad, en el territorio, en la chagra [jardín], en el canto de las aves, el sonido propio de los animales, el viento, la lluvia.
Es importante porque hace parte de nosotros mismos, nos permite conectarnos con nuestro corazón, nuestro cuerpo, desde temprana edad hemos estado relacionados con la música, en el vientre escuchando el latido del corazón de nuestra madre, con los sonidos del territorio en los recorridos que nuestra madre hacía por la chagra, escuchando su canto en el Día Grande Bëtsknaté [fiesta Kamëntšá que se celebra el lunes anterior al Miércoles de Ceniza], Uacjnaté [fiesta Kamëntšá relacionada con el Día de Todos los Santos y el Día de Difuntos]. Lo experimentamos posteriormente en los cantos de curación de las abuelas. Es decir, la música ha estado presente siempre y es importante para conectarnos con lo que somos, un pueblo sonoro.
J: Native peoples have their own sound. Music is in every moment, it is in the spaces we inhabit, even in the sound of our steps, in the beating of our heart. That sensitivity makes us musical beings.
The Kamëntšá people are sonorous and colorful. Music is present in everyday life, in rituals, in the territory, in the chagra [garden], in the singing of birds, the sound of animals, the wind, the rain.
It is important because it is part of ourselves. It allows us to connect with our heart, our body. From an early age we have been related to music: in the womb listening to our mother's heartbeat, with the sounds of the territory in the walks that our mother made through the chagra, listening to her singing on the Great Day Bëtsknaté [a Kamëntšá festival celebrated on the Monday before Ash Wednesday] and during Uacjnaté [a Kamëntšá festival related to All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day]. We experienced it later in the healing songs of our grandmothers. In other words, music has always been present and is important to connect us with what we are, a sonorous people.
Photo of the group Jashnan, used with their permission.
RG: Can music be a way to strengthen and recover the Kamëntšá culture and language?
J: Los conocimientos ancestrales han sido transmitidos desde la oralidad y han sido compartidos de generación en generación. La música y el canto son puentes de la oralidad que sabiamente nos permiten fortalecer y recuperar el legado ancestral del Pueblo Kamëntšá; la memoria, la palabra, el tejido, las vivencias, los sentires, los rituales, los lugares sagrados.
J: Ancestral knowledge has been transmitted orally and has been shared from generation to generation. Music and song are bridges of orality that wisely allow us to strengthen and recover the ancestral legacy of the Kamëntšá people: memories, words, weavings, experiences, feelings, rituals, sacred places.
RG: Jashnan is composed solely of women. Why is it important to make music from the perspective of Kamëntšá women?
J: El liderazgo ha estado más asociado a la figura masculina, con la participación de la mujer se empieza a avivar el amor por lo que nos gusta hacer, como mujeres estamos en diferentes roles, en el cuidado del hogar, de la chagra, en el tejido, en lo comunitario y en todos estos espacios no se dispone para poder reivindicar nuestra voz, es importante escucharnos y cantar esto que llevamos por dentro, es una forma de apoyarnos entre todas para romper esquemas y habitar los diferentes espacios.
J: Leadership has been more associated with the male figure, but with the participation of women we begin to revive the love for what we like to do. As women we exist in various roles: caring for the home, in the chagra, weaving, serving the community, and all these spaces are not always available for us to claim our voice. It is important to listen to us and sing what we carry inside. It is a way to support each other, to break the mold and inhabit different spaces.
RG: Jashnan sings sometimes in Spanish and sometimes in Kamëntšá, and the lyrics often represent the Kamëntšá cosmovision. What is the link between language and music?
J: La música es parte fundamental de la ancestralidad, en ella está la identidad del pueblo. Hay letras en español porque no se puede negar un sentir si está en uno u otro idioma, para nosotras es importante la expresión. También cantamos en nuestro idioma como forma de revitalizar la lengua Kamëntšá. También se trabaja de manera comunitaria entre nosotras aprendemos y compartimos esos saberes con otras personas, con más mujeres y niñas de nuestro pueblo.
J: Music is a fundamental part of ancestry; in it is the identity of the people. There are lyrics in Spanish because you cannot deny a feeling if it is in one language or another; what matters to us is the expression. We also sing in our language as a way to revitalize the Kamëntšá language. We also work in a communitarian way among ourselves, learning and sharing this knowledge with other people, with more of the women and girls of our community.
RG: Today many groups in the Kamëntšá community use music as a form of cultural and linguistic strengthening and recuperation. What is the impulse behind this movement?
J: No es para nada desconocido las luchas que hemos debido afrontar los diferentes pueblos indígenas en diferentes momentos de nuestra historia. Desde la colonización se ocasionó una ruptura territorial, espiritual y cultural, son historias de despojo y violencia. Ha sido muy importante lograr que las generaciones presentes en medio de tanta información y factores externos puedan y tengan la oportunidad de conocer y fortalecer el legado Kamëntšá.
Jashnan hace parte de esa nueva apuesta musical en agradecimiento y humildad por las bondades recibidas, muchos de nuestros hermanos y hermanas indígenas están buscando ese mismo propósito y lo están impulsando a través de la música.
“Jashnan” es una palabra que está en lengua Kamëntšá para armonizar, es el camino de conexión con el espíritu, desde que se llega al territorio Tabanok, se siente el espíritu del territorio, que lo conjugan las montañas, los animales, los ríos, quebradas, las plantas y las memoria ancestral del pueblo Kamëntšá e Inga quienes han habitado milenariamente.
J: The struggles that we Indigenous peoples have had to confront at different times in our history are not at all unknown. Colonization brought about a territorial, spiritual, and cultural rupture, with stories of dispossession and violence. It is very important to ensure that the present generations, in the midst of so much information and external factors, have the opportunity to know and strengthen the Kamëntšá legacy.
Jashnan is a part of this new musical commitment, taking our successes with gratitude and humility. Many of our Indigenous brothers and sisters are looking for the same purpose and are promoting it through music.
“Jashnan” is a word which in Kamëntšá means “to harmonize.” It is the path of connection with the spirit. From the moment you arrive to the territory of Tabanok, you feel the spirit of the territory, compounded by the mountains, animals, rivers, streams, plants, and the ancestral memory of the Kamëntšá and Inga people who have inhabited the territory for millennia.
RG: What do you want people unfamiliar with the Kamëntšá community to know about it? What impression do you want to leave through your music?
J: Como mujeres del pueblo Kamëntšá sentimos que lo más importante es reconocernos como hijos de la madre tierra, ella es nuestra fuente principal que nos da la vida, y que somos seres en constante cambio y conexión con el espíritu.
Nuestra propuesta nace en el territorio Tamabioy, en sus letras y cantos lleva la esencia de la mujer, del tejido, el cuidado de las plantas y semillas, el cuidado del territorio y el trabajo comunitario.
Nos gustaría que el mundo entero conozca nuestra sonoridad, nuestro color, nuestro tejido, nuestro territorio.
J: As women of the Kamëntšá people, we feel that the most important thing is to recognize ourselves as the children of mother earth—that she is the source that gives us life and we are beings in constant change and connection with the spirit.
Our project was born in the territory of Tamabioy. In its lyrics and songs are carried the essence of women, weaving, care for plants and seeds, care for the territory, and the work of our community.
We would like the whole world to know our sonority, our color, our weaving, our territory.
Jashnan's first studio recording was recently posted on YouTube; listen to it here.