The Wayuu tribe are known as the people of the sun, sand and wind. They have been living in the La Guajira desert, coming from the Amazon rainforest, since around 150 A.D. They are unique because women own homes and run the family while the men work with the animals and land. Each community has an informal leader who makes the decisions. They are often direct descendants of previous leaders. Their culture combines legends, myths, stories, traditions and customs. They are known for their beautiful hand woven items crafted by Wayuu women.
Searching for the Marks of the Asho´ojushi is centered around the revitalization of traditional Wayuu tattoo—using ink made from ash and a cactus spine. The purpose of Wayuu tattoo revitalization is to strengthen the spirituality and identity of Wayuu youth as a strategy against the violence and displacement they face due to resource extraction and the armed conflict in their territory.
They intend to accomplish the following:
- Create different productions including 6 podcasts, 6 video spots, 2 documentary videos, and 1 photo article.
- Organize two Wayuu traditional tattoo gatherings.
- Hold a Regional Impact tour to distribute the multimedia productions to schools, organizations and local media in Wayuu territory.
- Create a document about the entire project with key information of the Wayuu tattoo artists, as a resource for the collective memory of the Wayuu.
