It was fascinating meeting a few of the men from the Bora indigenous community. We spoke to Gordy for around 4 hours and I felt we got a real insight into his perspectives on life.
A snapshot of key historical events
The Bora today are a much smaller population than in the pre-colonial era. Today there are only around 2000 Bora in total, although the village we visited was tiny, with just 6 families, or around 30 people.
There were three significant historical events that Gordy mentioned:
The Spanish invasion and colonisation of South America from 1492-1832 which resulted in an indigenous population decline of around 80%, primarily due to the introduction of new infectious diseases by the Spanish, and death resulting from slavery. Gordy referenced this, but of course the details of how this specifically impacted the Bora are probably lost in the mists of time.
The Colombia–Peru War (or the Leticia War) in 1932-33 which led to the Bora being displaced from their ancestral lands. Gordy clearly felt this was a devastating period for the Bora, leading to children being taken to Orphanages and forced to speak only Spanish. He said this resulted in the Bora almost losing their language.
The use of Bora land by paramilitaries during the Civil War between the FARC and other guerrilla groups on the one hand and the Government, Paramilitaries and crime syndicates on the other hand which led to the Bora being displaced again. Gordy said they didn´t feel under threat of violence from the paramilitaries, but this did lead them to moving to the area they are now living in.
Modern life
Clearly some of the Bora ways of life have persisted while others have adapted to take advantage of modern opportunities.
Today, the Bora wear modern clothes, use mobile phones, and receive and spend money. They no longer pursue a nomadic lifestyle. Children are educated, some to university level, and some move away to follow a typical modern lifestyle. People also make use of modern medicine when necessary (more on this below). While the Bora are proud to have and use their own language, Spanish is actually their first language, and their indigenous language is intentionally being kept alive and re-learned.
Traditional Heritage
Gordy was very proud of the Bora cultural heritage, passed down through the generations via story-telling, music, dance and special celebrations. The day we were there, they were preparing for a big celebration, with dancing and music set to last through the night. That´s why there were no women or children around – they were all getting ready for the big night. He picked a pod from the Achiote tree and showed us how the red pigment would be used to decorate people´s faces. Then he showed – and demonstrated – the musical instruments, set to traditional songs that would feature heavily in that night´s celebrations.
Gordy also showed us a picture on his phone of a new-born baby covered with a type of mineral that makes their skin a deep blue-black colour, and fluffy bits of cotton (which grows locally). This ritual protects the baby from evil spirits.
The houses in the village are traditionally built, using local materials gathered from the surrounding forest. Some palms, which had been prepared ready to be used for roofing, were drying in the sun.
The use of a Chagra to grow crops in 2-year cycles is also very traditional, though originally it would have been associated with a nomadic lifestyle. This perhaps explains why an older Chagra, now partially re-grown is right next to the village, while the land that is currently being cultivated is around 20 a minute walk away.
Creation Story
Gordy outlined the Bora creation story, as it has been passed down from generation to generation. As he narrated, he drew three concentric circles on the ground with a stick. These circles represent the three main spheres of life:
The Inner circle represents the visible world. The creator introduced man to this world, full of plants, animals, rivers, and mountains, to learn from the life around him.
The middle circle represents the shadow world which is not clear to see. This is where things like diseases or infections lie, and also obscures connection to the outer circle.
The outer circle represents the spiritual world. This is where people can find the answers to their problems. The Bora believe that taking Mambe (toasted and crushed Coco leaves) helps them reach through the shadow world to this outer spiritual sphere. Sometimes people will ask questions of Gordy, and Gordy will “connect” to the spiritual realm to try to find the answers.
The Knowledge
All the indigenous guides we used in the Amazonas region were proud of their knowledge of local plants, and Gordy was no different. I read recently that scientists have been able to compile data from some 40,000 plants of known uses by traditional communities around the world, as sources of medicine, food, shelter, poisons, narcotics and more.
In terms of medicine, Gordy explained how there were two types of illness: 1. traditional illnesses where traditional medicines were effective, and 2. introduced illnesses such as Smallpox, Covid and Cancer, where no local medicine had been discovered or developed. Gordy himself had been treated for cancer around 5 years ago, and had a prolonged stay in hospital during that time. Thankfully he feels fine now.
Covid hit this community particularly badly. In a way, the community is closer to Manaus in Brazil in terms of community ties and transport links, than it is to Bogota. So unfortunately, Covid spread from Manaus along the Amazon to Leticia and the surrounding towns and villages. Sadly, the Bora lost the three remaining elders of the village to Covid, including both Gordy´s own parents.
The Daily Grind
Gordy gave me a very precise run down of his daily schedule. It goes like this:
4am – Get up, and got to the river for a dip / to freshen up
5am – Eat breakfast
6am – got to the Chagra to tend the plants or into the forest to forage or collect wood
3pm – eat lunch
4 pm – collect and prepare medicinal plants
6pm – everyone gets together in the maloca (communal timber building). Spend time with the kids telling stories and chatting
8 pm – kids go to bed. Adults stay up chatting
10pm – women go to bed. Men stay up chatting
1am – Men go to bed
When I recounted this to my friend, she said its not that strict and in fact people just sleep when they feel tired and eat when they feel hungry. Certainly, people don´t all eat at the same time – that is very much a Western tradition. The one constant is that they seem to take Mambe throughout the day which staves off hunger and gives them energy. I asked Gordy if it was a hard life and he said no… despite seemingly only getting 3 hours of sleep a night!
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