Mokana history. A chapter of history in the Colombian Caribbean region

Abstract

This article discusses the history of Mokana an ethnic group living in the departments of Atlantico and Bolivar, Colombia S:A.. Its history is the process of the native american peoples conquered by fire and sword by the Europeans and then manipulated and betrayed by the creole. In the historical process of acculturation, or union or contact of cultures, which underwent Mokana ethnicity, was the fusion of ethno-cultural elements and the emergence of new proto-ethnic groups that initiated the way for the formation of actual ethnicity of Mokana. This contact element is manifested in some form of syncretism or survival of the diverse cultural elements. The latter is particularly true for the descendants of Zenues, Mokana and Kankuamo, currently living in San Andrés de Sotavento (Sucre), Puerto Colombia, Malambo, Usiacurí, Baranoa and Tubará (Atlantic), and Antanquez (Cesar), respectively. These Native Americans lost their language and much of their customs, but retain original cultural traits of their ancestors, do not substantially differ from the customs and faiths of the regional peasantry. Currently the Mokana´s has been stripped of their land, their language and much of their culture, but with the colombian constitution of 1991 opened up new social spaces for several of these ethnic groups to claim the Amerindian identity and some social justice, long denied by the dominant ethnic group.