essay
Funerary customs and religious symbolism among the Kogi
native south americans : ethnology of the least known continent • Boston • Published In 1974 • Pages: 289-301
By: Reichel-Dolmatoff, Gerardo.
Abstract
The first part of this article is a detailed description of an Ika funeral that was administered by a Kogi priest and observed by the ethnographer, Reichel-Dolmatoff. In the second part, the author refers to Kogi cosmology to explain the symbolism used in the ceremony. In the funeral, the corpse is tied into a foetal position and sewn into a cotton shroud. A section of rope is tied to the hair, its end extending outside the bag. The priest uses the rope to position the corpse in the grave, with the head pointing to the east where the sun is reborn each day. It is then buried with the end of the rope tied to a pole above the ground. The priest returns to the gravesite nine days later to yank the rope free. According to Reichel-Dolmatoff, the ritual symbolizes the deceased's cosmic rebirth from the Mother Goddess, whose uterus represents the universe, to another world.
- HRAF PubDate
- 1997
- Region
- South America
- Sub Region
- Northwestern South America
- Document Type
- essay
- Evaluation
- Creator Type
- Ethnologist
- Document Rating
- 5: Excellent Primary Data
- Analyst
- Ian Skoggard ; 1996
- Field Date
- circa 1960s
- Coverage Date
- circa 1960s
- Coverage Place
- Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, Colombia
- Notes
- Gerardo Reichel-Dolmatoff
- LCCN
- 73016694
- LCSH
- Kagaba Indians