article
The Great Mother and the Kogi universe: a concise overview
Journal of Latin American lore • 13 (1) • Published In 1987 • Pages: 73-113
By: Reichel-Dolmatoff, Gerardo.
AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
In this article, Reichel-Dolmatoff presents several detailed versions of Kogi cosmology and mythology. The Kogi supreme deity is the Great Mother, Haba Gaulcovang, who creates the universe by concentrating her thought on a ninefold structure which then becomes the four upperworlds and four netherworlds, and between them, the world of humans. At first the Mother Goddess is an androgynous figure who impregnates herself to begin creation. She produces many sons and daughters, among them are the sons who become lords of the seven points of the universe. Each lord is a founder of a human lineage and is also identified with a specific color, animal, dress and soil type. The Great Mother also creates the temple which is a model of the universe and is used as a mnemonic device in Kogi discourse to instruct, discuss, or contemplate Kogi cosmology, cosmogeny, social organization and moral life. The article also includes a discussion of sacred objects called sewa, which are basically rights to property that are granted by priests.
- SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
- Architecture
- Religious and educational structures
- Cosmology
- Mythology
- Spirits and gods
- Sacred objects and places
- Priesthood
- 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
- 1950-1980
- Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
- 1950 - 1980
- 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. 112-113)
- LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
- 75648807
- LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
- Kagaba Indians