Being a woman is not easy. It has taken obstacles, inequality and battles through the years. Being a woman means love, hard work and dedication. What does it mean to be a woman in the Wayuu Community?
The Role of Women in Wayuu Society
Women have a leading role in the Wayuu Community, their role is more important than men’s role. Women’s value is so important that when a girl is born, Wayuu people make a celebration. The birth of a girl is a blessing, because women have the gift of offspring. Thanks to women, Wayuu Community continues to exist despite adversities, its culture survives, and it is spread worldwide.
Wayuu women are the ones who share with the world the art Wayuu through their crafts. The art of weaving is an activity related to the essence of life and to the vision of the world of Wayuu women. They create pieces of art through the art of weaving they learn in an early age. Through these pieces of art, Wayuu women tell stories of the indigenous community, they reflect the universe, they weave dreams and they express emotions and believes. In the weaving, there is the essence of the culture, of the history and of philosophy of Wayuu Community.
Being a woman in Wayuu Society
Being a woman in the Wayuu Community means being strong, being a leader, and being responsible of the house, of children and of the wealth of family and of the community. Wayuu women are proof that women are not the weak sex, because they are the active part of society, they are the ones that educate the children, that manage house and that support the local economy through their work made with devotion and passion. Wayuu women are the ones who push Wayuu society, the ones who study. Many of them have attended university and they fight for their dreams. Wayuu women are the ones who do not give up. On the opposite, men are passive. Wayuu women are responsible for the education of children and they teach and pass on the culture of the Wayuu Community. They begin to weave in an early age, but they learn the techniques and the designs of weaving when they become teenagers, during “encierro”, a time when Wayuu girls become strong and independent Wayuu women.
Social battles of Wayuu Women
Moreover, Wayuu women are the ones who fight for their rights, for the human rights of their people and for the ethnic rights. They are the ones who fight against the injustices, facing the indifference of society and of the government. In 2006, the Organization Sütsüin Jieyuu Wayuu was created: this Fuerza de Mujeres Wayuu de la Guajira (FMW) was created with the objective of showing the violation of human rights against Wayuu Community. Through this association, Wayuu women have denounced the big energetic projects and the difficult conditions of Wayuu Community due to it.
In this mother-centric society and in this women’s universe, woman has a mystic role, being considered as a connexion with the spirit and the art of weaving connects the woman with the cultural heritage of Wayuu, to the knowledge of the community and to the region of La Guajira.