Paez people
Encyclopedia
The Paez, also known as the Nasa, are a Native American
people who live in the Andes Mountains of Colombia
.
built missions among the Paez and began the work to convert them to Christianity
. Jesuits had originally tried to convert the Paez, but failed. However, the Lazarists met some success. The Paez developed a syncretic form of Roman Catholicism that absorbed their indigenous religion
. For example, the Paez still have shamans but many have also become Roman Catholic priests.
of the Andes, the Paez build their homes
using brick
, metal
, cement
and wood
. The Paez women raise and shear sheep for wool
. They clean the wool, spin yarn
from it, dye
it and knit clothes and blankets for their families.
for wrongs is strict in the Paez culture. In June 2000, the Paez whipped an adulterious tribal leader and his mistress 17 strokes with a knotted leather whip. "As a Paez Indian," the flogged tribal leader said, "I'm proud to have received this punishment because it is glorifying my race." Stripping the one being punished of his clothing and dunking him in a cold mountain lake is another form of punishment -- this was done to Senator Jesus Pinacue, a Paez who defied the community by supporting a political candidate in a presidential vote.
, which has been going on for the past 41 years. They have about 7000 men and women who stand guard in their territory armed with nothing but ceremonial three-foot batons. They persuade the fighting forces of both sides to leave their land. One of the Paez leaders said "getting involved in war hurts our culture, our language, our ways."
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
people who live in the Andes Mountains of Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
.
Religion
In the early 1900s, LazaristsLazarists
Congregation of the Mission is a vowed order of priests and brothers associated with the Vincentian Family, a loose federation of organizations who claim St. Vincent de Paul as their founder or Patron...
built missions among the Paez and began the work to convert them to Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
. Jesuits had originally tried to convert the Paez, but failed. However, the Lazarists met some success. The Paez developed a syncretic form of Roman Catholicism that absorbed their indigenous religion
Religion
Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to...
. For example, the Paez still have shamans but many have also become Roman Catholic priests.
Climate adaptation
Since they live in the cold climateClimate
Climate encompasses the statistics of temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, wind, rainfall, atmospheric particle count and other meteorological elemental measurements in a given region over long periods...
of the Andes, the Paez build their homes
Homes
Homes may refer to:*the plural form of "home";*an abbreviation of "homie".HOMES may refer to:*a mnemonic for remembering the names of five Great Lakes....
using brick
Brick
A brick is a block of ceramic material used in masonry construction, usually laid using various kinds of mortar. It has been regarded as one of the longest lasting and strongest building materials used throughout history.-History:...
, metal
Metal
A metal , is an element, compound, or alloy that is a good conductor of both electricity and heat. Metals are usually malleable and shiny, that is they reflect most of incident light...
, cement
Cement
In the most general sense of the word, a cement is a binder, a substance that sets and hardens independently, and can bind other materials together. The word "cement" traces to the Romans, who used the term opus caementicium to describe masonry resembling modern concrete that was made from crushed...
and wood
Wood
Wood is a hard, fibrous tissue found in many trees. It has been used for hundreds of thousands of years for both fuel and as a construction material. It is an organic material, a natural composite of cellulose fibers embedded in a matrix of lignin which resists compression...
. The Paez women raise and shear sheep for wool
Wool
Wool is the textile fiber obtained from sheep and certain other animals, including cashmere from goats, mohair from goats, qiviut from muskoxen, vicuña, alpaca, camel from animals in the camel family, and angora from rabbits....
. They clean the wool, spin yarn
Yarn
Yarn is a long continuous length of interlocked fibres, suitable for use in the production of textiles, sewing, crocheting, knitting, weaving, embroidery and ropemaking. Thread is a type of yarn intended for sewing by hand or machine. Modern manufactured sewing threads may be finished with wax or...
from it, dye
Dye
A dye is a colored substance that has an affinity to the substrate to which it is being applied. The dye is generally applied in an aqueous solution, and requires a mordant to improve the fastness of the dye on the fiber....
it and knit clothes and blankets for their families.
Punishment
PunishmentPunishment
Punishment is the authoritative imposition of something negative or unpleasant on a person or animal in response to behavior deemed wrong by an individual or group....
for wrongs is strict in the Paez culture. In June 2000, the Paez whipped an adulterious tribal leader and his mistress 17 strokes with a knotted leather whip. "As a Paez Indian," the flogged tribal leader said, "I'm proud to have received this punishment because it is glorifying my race." Stripping the one being punished of his clothing and dunking him in a cold mountain lake is another form of punishment -- this was done to Senator Jesus Pinacue, a Paez who defied the community by supporting a political candidate in a presidential vote.
Pacifists
The Paez are currently pacifists, refusing to enter into Colombia's armed conflictColombian Armed Conflict
The Colombian armed conflict or Colombian Civil War are terms that are employed to refer to the current asymmetric low-intensity armed conflict in Colombia that has existed since approximately 1964 or 1966, between the Colombian government and peasant guerrillas such as the Revolutionary Armed...
, which has been going on for the past 41 years. They have about 7000 men and women who stand guard in their territory armed with nothing but ceremonial three-foot batons. They persuade the fighting forces of both sides to leave their land. One of the Paez leaders said "getting involved in war hurts our culture, our language, our ways."