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Wayuu Funerals

Strengthen the indigenous Wayuu culture

Help family members bury their deceased in their ancestral land

50CHF

1 Goat for the funeral

500CHF

Transportation deceased

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The indigenous Wayuu people from the Caribbean desert in northern Colombia and Venezuela believe in life after death. The Wayuu believe that they die two times and that is why they bury their deceased twice. The first time, a Wayuu dies is when the soul leaves the body. The second time is a symbolic death, when the soul travels into the cosmos. For this reason, two funerals and wakes are held, the first happens when the person physically dies. The second ten to thirty years after the first funeral, with family members waiting until the flesh is detached from the body. Usually, the older daughter carefully cleans and moves the bones to a smaller coffin.

Death is not the end for the Wayuu.

Living and dying form a cycle that does not end with physical death. But with death, a Wayuu transform into a spirit, a Yoluja, and travels to the land of their ancestors called Jepira. There they reflect and learn from their mistakes in their previous lives.

Jepira is the place where the departed souls dwell until they reach the Milky Way. There, the souls can take the form of rain and thus return to the La Guajira desert. As rain, the deceased bring wealth to their families, as they make the soil nutritious and the animals gain weight again. However, they can also take other forms. 

The conflict

The Wayuu hold the funerals in their ancestral land in the northernmost tip of South America in Alta Guajira, Colombia. They are an important part of their indigenous culture. As the clan of the deceased as well as their acquaintances meet and stick together. Many Wayuu work all their lives to have enough animals for their own burial to take to Jepira.

If a Wayuu indigenous person cannot be buried in his ancestral land, it causes great suffering for the whole family and clan. The Wayuu say that the deceased will not rest in peace if not buried in the family cemetery. Due to lack of support and misunderstandings from the government, the indigenous Wayuu people have no other option but to try on their own to transport their deceased across the 21,000 km2 of the Guajira desert by bicycle or motorcycle for several days.

Our work

Mama Tierra finances the transport of corps from parts of Colombia and Venezuela to Alta Guajira in Colombia to enable the burial of deceased indigenous people in their ancestral lands. In addition, the Mama Tierra team in Colombia arranges the administrative burial documents with the family of the deceased for transportation.

This project allows Wayuu people to follow their rituals, attending UN’s Sustainable Development Goal #10

Location
Uribia, La Guajira, Colombia

Population
194,450

Area
8,200 km2

0.96 %
Count Wayuu people in Colombia and Venezuelan to the total population