Ecotrackers en la protección de la cultura Tzáchila

Chiguilpe es una comunidad de los indígenas Tzachilas, dentro de la Ciudad de Santo Domingo. Ellos defienden los últimos bosques tropicales húmedos de la Costa. Ectrackers ayuda a desarrollar un turismo inteligente para mantener la cultura y la biiodiveridad. (Chiguilpe is the community of the Tzachila natives, in the city of Santo Domingo. They defend the last tropical rainforests on the coast. Ecotrackers helps to develop intelligent tourism to maintain their culture and biodiversity.)

Thursday, April 05, 2007

CELEBRATE TSACHILA NEW YEAR IN CHIGUILPE!

CELEBRATE TSACHILA NEW YEAR IN CHIGUILPE!

14-15-16 April

The fifteenth of April of 2007, the Tsáchila communities celebrate their Kasama.
Kasama is the Tsáchila word for ´new day´ or ´new year´ and is celebrated by over 2000 Tsáchilas around the month of April.

Following the tradition of their ancestors, after a few weeks of preparation, on Friday night, community members meet each other in the Comunidad de Chiguilpe for a cleansing ritual. Starting at midnight, Tsáchilas purify their bodies under supervision of a shaman, using a mix of plant abstracts and water and washing themselves in the river.

The next morning, the community of Chiguilpe will be the meeting point and the centre from which all Tsáchilas depart to a nearby, larger place. Here, the new chief, elected on the second of April, will be inaugurated. The rest of the day and night will be filled with music and dances.

posted by eco rastreadores @ 10:26 AM