The more I get to know their customs and traditions, the more proud I feel of our native peoples (Wayùu or guajiros) as Alijuunaa ( townspeople) that they call us, in five (5) parishes of our Casa Grande, my city, Maracaibo.
This ethnic group with whom I have cohabited in many areas of my life, recently gave us a wonderful weekend to the ladies' committee, where I do live in different social works for my city, of the company where he is a consultant of industrial projects, my husband.
They taught us how marriage is, Wayùu, the ritual of the second wake, Eirukuu (the clans), the custom of mediating and the word, Majayuraa which is the transformation from a girl to a woman... beliefs that they maintain and defend above all.
Every time we visit the Wayùu rancherias, they are (hamlets or settlements) indigenous, in the Venezuelan guajira, we celebrate with them, and recognize their cultural and social value.
On this visit, the Alijuunaa, the whites, the people of the city as they, the guajiros call us, we enjoyed the typical Yonna or chicha Maya dance, it was a magical Saturday, we took advantage of buying handmade craft by them the Wayùu women.
Indigenous women are a sign of commitment, of love, for their culture, for their families and their peoples, courageous, full of wisdom. My respect for those women make art with their hands, delighted and in love with their craftsmanship.
Indigenous women are the midwives in their village, and they are carriers of wisdom, protectors, healers and guardians of their culture, making their knowledge be transmitted from generation to generation, including their Wayuunaiki, the Wayùu language.
Indigenous Women, I express my respect and admiration for your unattainable and daily work to maintain your cultural values, transmit it to your families and the rest of the communities. They have played and will continue to play an important role in our society, thanks to their strength, wisdom and wonderful identity and cultural roots.
Let's highlight their role in our society as human rights, defenders and their great work to preserve, day by day, their traditions
For me to attend these altruistic, cultural, social activities whenever I can on weekends, through reflection, the exchange of experiences and key knowledge for the development of our society, I commit myself together with this committee of ladies to continue supporting their struggle for their rights, to preserve their heritage culture and support our Wayùu people.
From this wonderful indigenous experience I learned that when you educate a man, you educate a child, but when you educate a woman you are educating a family.
I am so excited to share these cultural and social activities with the ladies' committee. In addition, they make me feel alive and with purposes in mind.
Thanksfull for this weekend experience with the Wayùu culture, in my city.
Janitze
Any images in this post are taken with my iPhone 12, the Infinix pro-note 30 or with the camera eighties Rolleiflex 2.8 f, and edited with Canva
Icons by: Icofinder
Separator made with Canva by @janitzearratia
Translation with |DeepL