VISION

Yubarta and the Emberá Katío

AWE is supporting a community of Emberas that have been displaced from their territory by war, and continue to be menaced by the guerrillas and the paramilitary that have occupied their territory.

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The Emberá Katío community is just one of the Emberá tribes that live in Colombia. They have a population of around 38,000 and are located mainly in the departments of Antioquia, Chocó and Córdoba.  The Emberás approach their spirituality through Jaibanismo: interaction with the jai spirits through their jaibanas, non-hereditary shamans who learn from their already experienced masters about the spiritual magical power from which life, health, sustainability and nature are regulated. The jaibanas perform as traditional doctors and also exercise authority, social control and territorial management. 

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According to their worldview, the world is divided into three subworlds: the world above inhabited by the spirits of the deads, the royal vultures and Karagabi, their cultural hero; the intermediate world where Trutuika and other spirits are found like the mother of water, who take the form of animals; and in the last world, the human beings.

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