According to anthropologist Reichel Dolmatoff, the celebration of Corpus Christi in Atánquez suggests a connection with the pre-Hispanic solar cult, demonstrating the identification of Christ with the sun.
During the procession, participants kneel before the altar and make petitions to the Blessed Sacrament, such as asking for life and health or remembering a deceased dancer. They also make promises in case a petition is fulfilled.
The procession during Corpus Christi is an important part of the celebration, in which the Blessed Sacrament is carried and different groups of dancers participate.
The divine representation and the use of maracas to warn against the evil one, symbolize the resistance of the natives against the Spanish colonization.
The "pagamento points" in the celebration of Corpus Christi in Atánquez. It is mentioned that the pagamentos dispersed in the town continue defining one of the axes of the dancers' routes to make their petitions where some of them kneel in an attitude of concentration and pray with their eyes closed.
It is described that the cross-shaped machete can ward off apparitions and that it is used to control the irruption of the past and tradition into the world of the living.
The dancers enter the church from the front, so as never to turn their backs to the monstrance, and leave through the main door.
The three participating dances the celebration of Corpus Christi in Atánquez
The Negros are distinguished by their hats adorned with colorful flowers and their wooden machetes. They wear leather guaireñas on their feet, which they use to mark the rhythm in the alternating steps of their dance. In the mysterious places, the verses of the Negros evoke the obligation to comply with the tradition of the feast. Finally, in the sacred places, the captain of the palenque recalls biblical passages or sings promises and prayers for the life and health of the dancers.
The Cucambas cover their bodies with strips made from iraca palm and wear hanging vegetable scraps from their necks to their knees. Their dance resembles the fluttering of birds in the Sierra and is accompanied by the sound of maracas and drums. They wear large feather headdresses and bird beaks on their heads, and colorful ribbons peek out at the level of their faces.
The Diablos represent the ancestral Sixquiyani, who took possession of the bodies of the Diablos and now manifest themselves and challenge their descendants. During the festival, the Diablos wear masks with depicted faces and dress in brightly colored costumes. They carry castanets in their hands and bells on their feet. Their dance is strong and menacing, accompanied by the sound of a drum and a reed instrument.
The celebration of Corpus Christi is dedicated to the Eucharist, which represents the body of Christ represented by people of Atanquez on an altar as a pagamento.
Oral tradition is an important part of Kankuamo culture and is used to transmit stories, knowledge and values from one generation to the next.
The dancers visit the cemetery at noon to communicate with their ancestors. There, they invoke them in their final resting place, touch them, and sing to them. Additionally, the cemetery is considered a special place by the dancers and is a fundamental point in the procession during the festival.
The dancers visit the cemetery at noon to communicate with their ancestors. There, they invoke them in their final resting place, touch them, and sing to them. Additionally, the cemetery is considered a special place by the dancers and is a fundamental point in the procession during the festival.
It can be deduced that this practice of visiting the cemetery is related to the veneration and respect for the ancestors and the memory of the deceased members of the Kankuamo indigenous community.
The process of reethnicization in Atánquez refers to the recovery of the cultural and ethnic identity of the Kankuamo community, which had been affected by the influence of the dominant culture and the loss of their ancestral traditions and beliefs. This process involves the recovery and revaluation of the community's own cultural knowledge and practices, as well as the construction of an ethnic and cultural identity that allows them to assert themselves as a people and resist cultural assimilation.
