Indigenous Agency and Processes of Change: A Decolonial Perspective on the Religious Practices and Beliefs of the Koguis Communities of Muñkuawinmaku

Abstract

This document summarizes central passages from research among the Kogui populations administred by the Asociación de Autoridades Tradicionales Kogui del Magdalena Muñkuawinmaku. The research was carried out in the context of a conflict between the leaders of these populations and those of the Organización Gonawindúa Tayrona. This organization does not recognize the legitimacy of Muñkuawinmaku’s leadership because it was established with the support of authorities educated in evangelical institutions. From this context arises the debate about the legitimacy of governing indigenous territories and preserving their cultural identity. Through an ethnographic, multi-sited, and decolonial methodology, the agency of the populations under the leadership of Muñkuawinmaku has been investigated, questioning the “obsession with traditionality” and its ideological opposition to the reworking of indigenous practices that result in the construction of new relationships with institutions. It is essential for decolonial epistemology to consider the complexity and specificity of the case and to respect the perspectives of indigenous people regarding the rearticulation of their practices and beliefs.