DEAD AND CEREMONIAL RITUALS OF GUAJIROS

By Guillermo Matta and Maryory Contreras

At the interior of the town of Uribia in one of the “rancherías” de Francisco

Epuayu, gathered the family of one of the grand son named Miguel and friends to go
to the cemetery to be raised from the earth from their burial tombs and send them
to “Jepirra” the resting place.
Around forty seven Indians gathered in this small village, after a long procession
of man women an children wearing colorful dresses for such special occasion, it
was a Saturday around 9:00am,
After a short dusty trip to the clan cemetery, Miguel and two other Wayuu start
pounding with chisels and hammers the front of the white concrete structure, while
the family wandered around and the children play in the vicinity of a small tombs
enclosed with wood and metal fences. The entire resting place was surrounding by
cactus and few trupillos the only shade around I this semi desert land, where few
mules were resting with provision of water, and other elements taken from the
“rancheria” of Don Francisco the grand father of Miguel.
The toasted faces of the workers and their strong harms and hand continue pounding
their hammers to break the entrance in the middle of the windswept desert under a
very clean blue sky.
As soon as the brick and concrete structure blow out a vinegar stench dissipated
on the air among the adults looking with curiosity the dark hole, Miguel and his
relatives covered their mouth and noses faces with bandanas and were rubber
surgical globes to pull the remaining brown casket from the tomb.
A rotten colorful “manta” and dried flesh from Miguel grandfather were among the
shroud shaken some bones, and the skull and jaw attached by strings of dry skin
and hair still present in the head. Few other personal things were inside of the
casket, buried with him about fifteen year ago.
This ceremony according to Don Julian the oldest son of don Francisco is practiced
among the Guajiros for several hundred years, and by doing so he say they free the
soul trapped in the earth in the remains of the gasket and confined concrete
structure. They believe that until they dug up and give a second burial to their
dead so they can enter the dreams of the living and hunt them throughout the
night.
The two day ritual bring the clan together to the lawless inhospitable land of the
Guajiro Indians for the last 3,000 years, where their ancestor settle to live from
the sea, and far from the wild animals roaring the forest and jungle of the South.
Most of the family arrived by foot or horses from other regions inclusive from the
towns of the near Venezuela, some of the oldest wearing their loin cloths with
dress shirt, and their white wide brimmed hats or caps to shade the desert sun.
According to Estefany Piayu, the youngest sister of Manuel, she indicates that the
dead can ask for things, or make demands. They want to go to the special Indian
land “Jepirra.”
Only this will happen when in the earth the family comply with their request, if
the family does not give to them a second burial, the dead will come back and
confront the immediate heirs and take away some of the animals, or wandering
around the houses, knocking doors and moving pot and saucepan.

The closet family men organized the exhumed bones and skulls of the old man and
two children buried side by side and placed inside of three different hammocks and
carried in a Procession to be mourned at the “rancheria”, called El Pinar where
Manuel live with her family and few uncles and their wives and children. The
Indian women cry and cover their faces with light veils, while the dust and wind
blow during the trip between the dry shrubs and cactus of the clear pad “trocha”
and the hot sun look down toward the hills of Matajura on the East of plain of (El
Pinar)
After the procession arrived the family older hung the hammock from the post of
the tin roof house, and the woman start fires in different places to make coffee
ad warm the maize “arepas” and under the old trupillo trees the men place wooden
tables and plastic chairs from different colors to seat, while others bring
coolers with “Polar’ a Venezuelan beer ice and few bottles of Old Par whisky to
share with the tribesmen, other walk to the “corral and bring few goats for the
celebration, slaughter them with their knifes, slitting its throat while with a
plastic pan received the blood, later they are skinned and hanged from the trees
while the children ran around singing Guajiro songs and jumping around the corrals
away from the family ceremony.
During this ritual the immediate family take proud of the number animals
sacrificed for this special feast, this gathering is as important as a wedding or
birth, and give an special status to the family of the unburied, where they show
their wealth to the other ancestors coming to this ceremony.

The Indians drink and play “vallenatos” in their portable cassette-player, other
play dominoes and card, along side the 5,000 pesos bills, another inebriated Wayuu
sleep over the chair with a light cigarette in his hand, while I observed from a
table with Manuel the entire fest talking about some the problems, with other clan
on the other side of the asphalt road from Riohacha to Maicao, his brother live in
the area and will talk to the Wayuu Chief to continue the construction of the
railroad stopped by a group of Indians carrying pistol and rifles, the Chief
talked to me that afternoon indicating that Carbocol did no follow the contractual
agreements between his clan and the negotiator send by the Company to settle the
price of the possessions to be purchased within the railroad corridor, where the
Indian has their houses, Jose was one of the Indian blocking the construction by
one of the contractors of Morrison Knudsen, after I explain our position in the
project he understood that we were are not Carbocol, he insisted that by Monday
morning he will need to have an answer. This matter was transmitted to my
superiors and all parties was agreed to meet with Anabela and Jose Monday.

The following day the smell of fried meat, and eggs pull out our bodies from the
hammock, and we seat to have breakfast, the remains of the old man stay in the
same trees, covered with colorful blankets, while some of the children play with
the skulls of the severed goat’s horns.
Music rip the fresh air of the rancheria, woman wandering and cooking to continue
the celebration, according to Ismael Pushaina and educated Wayuu this celebration
is carried out by their ancestor many year before the Spaniard, English and Dutch
pirates put their feet on the Guajira, he figure out around six or seven hundred
year according to his grand father he indicate that the bodies were buried in a
place dug few feet, the excavation covered with special fiber mats and finally
covered with heavy stones, they buried their dead and along place their tools and
fighting bow and arrows, also maize and other grains. After several year were
removed and the bones and ashes placed on a clay container, depositing their tools
and arm, this ceremony was very important and relatives of the dead come to this
unbury bringing food and animals to share and to give to the family of the
ancestor and participate with their drums and flouts for two or three days, at
that time maize chicha was provided to the visitors and they used to keep the fire
day and night until the rest of the mourned were buried again.
The Spanish missioners did not approval this rituals and ceremony, but the Indian
continued doing so until the very present.
Not all the Guajiros believe in Jepirra or the post-mortem ceremonies, but
educated Wajiros respect the call of the elderly family and relatives,
participating during the unbury or in the other phase of this ceremonies.

When a Guajiro is killed by another clan member or for another person from another
family or clan the rituals performed are different to those practiced for some one
that past away for sickness or a natural cause.
When Ismael Uriano from the Taroa zone was killed in Bahia Honda, by another
trafficker and smugglers, I was invited by one of my workers to the burial
ceremony, personally I was very much interested to know the basic procedures to
put the dead man in the cemetery of the clan in the near by village, after hearing
different approach from other Wagiros working with me in the Cerrejon Construction
Project.

We left in my pick up truck with three of the killed relatives, the trip took
several hours, from our camp site, crossing first “la carretera negra” and driving
toward Uribia, we drove West of the Serranias de Cocinas Toward Portete, during
that time under a heavy construction, from the road we could see the pile driving
rig and other support cranes , the sun was getting down, and the camp lights pin-
point each of the white and yellow trailers, setting over the bare sand an rocky
formation of the bay.
We drove for a truck pad toward a rancheria not far from the dark blue sea, where
the
Few trees and lights, created some shades over several trucks and the family of
Ismael and his causing used to live.
Ismael father come out to receive us, he was very polite and very pleased that I
took the time to come and bring her relatives to the funeral.

After diner the men of the house held the body in a hammock that one of the aunts
made for the wedding of Ismael daughter, who was also present wearing a wide black
manta.
The following day around eleven in the morning was scheduled to bury the son of
Don Lauriano Uriano, great part of the family members come when the body was hold
in Uribia hospital facilities, prior to precede with all the legal paper work to
determine the exact causes of the death.
His father purchase a wooden casket to bring the deceased to the clan cemetery,
according to Luis Uriano, that evening they clean the body dress him and bind the
feet so the killer can not travel far, and stick cactus needles in the eyes so
that the killer will go blind.

During the night several “Toyotas” with plates from Venezuela arrived to the
rancheria, they brought with them beer, ice whiskey and flour to make “arepas”
also tropical fruits.

Everyone brought their own hammock and hang them in the corridors of the house, in
one of the outside table was set with beer and liquor in other the men sit around
a large table and they eat fray meat and fry “yucca”, after that, they play card
and drink imported whiskey.
The following morning after a heavy breakfast typical of the Guajiros, people
dressed very well, for the funeral some old women dress on black covering their
faces, and painting their hand with a dark vegetable paint, they seat around the
gasket and cry, according to Luis the family pay this woman to come to the burial.
A little after teen a.m., the procession departed toward the clan cemetery,
allowing to take some pictures I was the only non Guajiro invited to this funeral,
and treated very well by the family of the worker living in the construction camp
of the coal Mine near Cuestecita, the day was warm and from the hills of the road
we could see the blue sea, and the seagulls dance over our heads toward the Bahia
de Portete.

The wind of the semi-deserted land, was blowing toward the East pulling the
reddish- brown dust from the dry formation, and rolling the dry grass toward de
long procession, the children and their mothers walk along as a flock of goats,
behind the man with shovel and others tools to excavate the final place of Martin
the son of Don Manuel.
Luis told me that his brother was in bad company, dealing with the sale of Cocaine
to a group from Maracaibo, Venezuela, some relatives living in Bahia Cocinetas,
the family will take care of the killer.
According to the Guajiro’s law one dead is paid with another dead and this will
stop the family fight.
The, casket was lowered, with two ropes and set at the bottom of the silty
excavation, one of the woman, say something in Guajiro, holding a handful of dry
material and open her hand slowly, while the dirt fall on the top of the coffin,
around her I could her the crying sound of a woman, followed by others, with black
veils, and dark mantas, most of them has their hand painted with a dark brown
paint, including their nails.
Few feet away there was another funeral, an small white casket around eighty
centimeters long, carried by a short heavy man toward an excavation already
prepared near the entrance of the cemetery, there was several horses, donkeys and
mules, tied to a concrete pole.

By the time that this young family buried the child, we were living, most of the
trucks and car left before the people that arrived in horses and walking from
other rancherias, many of them show up to eat lunch, and to pay the final respect
to the family of Martin.

After breakfast we left the rancheria, we stop in Maicao to buy few personal
things, eat lunch at Hotel San Juan, and go back to the Mine Site.

After the rainy season the family of Don Manuel invites me to the wedding of
Martin daughter.
Shake hands, and give their welcome in guajiro…jama uare another’s
Jam, JA, JA uaira I was not a Guajiro, but that was the way to say hello!!

The weeding ceremony was different to those practiced by the Catholic Church, the
Piachi and other important persons in the family are the witness of the exchange
of rings and other gold and silver pieces given to the bride.