article
The loom of life: a Kogi principle of integration
Journal of Latin American lore • 4 (1) • Published In 1978 • Pages: 5-27
By: Reichel-Dolmatoff, Gerardo.
AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
This article is a rich ethnographic account of the symbolic importance of weaving in Kogi culture. Unlike neighboring tribes, the Kogi do not buy ready-made clothes, but continue to grow their own cotton, spin their own yarn and weave their own cloth, and make their own clothes. The symbolism of weaving permeates all aspects of Kogi culture and serves as an unifying element to Kogi life. The sun in its daily cycles and between the solstices weaves the Great Fabric of Life on the loom that is the Mother Goddess. The narrow ray of light that is allowed to penetrate a temple's roof traces in the course of a year a square 'fabric' on the floor, sanctifying the temple. The shape of the loom serves as a key pattern and mnenomic device for local geography, locations of ceremonial centers, lineage histories and relationships, and eschatological concerns. Weaving is also a metaphor for sexual intercourse and procreation: only men weave and the loom represents a woman's body with the uterus at its center.
- SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
- Semantics
- Cordage
- Woven and other interworked fabrics
- Religious beliefs
- Priesthood
- Sexuality
- cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
- Kogi
- HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document
- 1997
- RegionThe area the document pertains to
- South America
- Sub RegionThe more specific area the document pertains to, which is located within the Region
- Northwestern South America
- Document TypeMay include journal articles, essays, collections of essays, monographs, or chapters/parts of monographs
- article
- Evaluation
- Creator TypeThe type of person writing the document, e.g. Ethnographer, Missionary, Archaeologist, Folklorist, Linguist, Indigenous Person, and so on.
- Ethnologist
- Document Rating A ranking done by HRAF anthropologists based on the strength of the source material on a scale of 1 to 5, as follows: 1 - poor; 2 - fair; 3 - good, useful data, but not uniformly excellent; 4 - excellent secondary data; 5 - excellent primary data.
- 5: Excellent Primary Data
- AnalystThe HRAF anthropologist who subject indexed the document and prepared other materials for the eHRAF culture/tradition collection
- Ian Skoggard ; 1996
- Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
- 1976-1977
- Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
- not specified
- Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
- Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta
- NotesAdditional notes
- G. Reichel-Dolmatoff
- Includes bibliographical references (p. 27)
- LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
- 75648807
- LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
- Kagaba Indians