Merging with the Mamos: A Conscious Camino with Colombia’s Indigenous Communities with Santy of Jaguar Siembra

Today’s guest, Santiago Roa Duque (aka ‘Santy’), transports us to the cloud forests of the Sierra Nevada: a sacred land located on the northern coast of Colombia. He extracts some of the wisdom he learned during his pilgrimages with the Mamos: the spiritual leaders of the Kogi, Wiwa, Arhuaco, and Kankuamo tribes.

He explains the ancestral ethics and mission of the different tribes to protect the natural world, from the long and laborious time it takes to become a Mamo and the indigenous adornments they use to how they’ve evolved to interact with modern civilization through trusted connections. These include himself and the incredible message he received during a life-changing encounter in the depths of the jungle which took two years to decode and relay to the rest of the world. 

As we weave together our individual stories and interactions with the Mamos, Santiago also shares his current mission to bring the earth back to ecological homeostasis through planting trees, cultivating specialty coffee and cacao, and documentary film-making.

One key takeaway from this episode is that everyone can connect to Mother Earth with intentionality and heightened awareness. He brings this idea full circle at the end when he gives everyone spiritual homework to honor the divine transaction between humanity and this glorious planet. 

The Ceremonial Offering

Santy gives us the task of finding a moment to immerse in nature so that we can visualize our heart as gold and give spiritual payment of the gold energy to the ancient beings and Mother Earth. 


We talk about:

  • Santy growing up in Bogota, Colombia and reconnecting to his ancient roots in the Sierra Nevada as an adult

  • Sharing space with the Mamos on a pilgrimage

  • What it takes to train to become a Mamo

  • Payments to Earth and how the indigenous communities give back to the planet

  • The ceremony of using poporo, a hand-crafted wooden instrument with potent power

  • The valuable lessons learned from the Mamos

  • How you can support the cause


Resources:


Guest Bio:

Santiago Roa Duque, is a creative director, producer, photographer, and permaculture practitioner from Colombia working in environmental, social, and cultural topics. Founder of Jaguar Siembra,  he focuses on creating cultural projects and food forests, and planting trees to preserve nature and tell the stories of our native people’s ancient wisdom.

Alyson Charles