EL JAJAÑ DE LA INSTITUCIÓN ETNOEDUCATIVA RURAL BILINGÜE ARTESANAL KAMËNTSÁ BIYÁ DEL MUNICIPIO DE SIBUNDOY, ALTO PUTUMAYO, COLOMBIA

Abstract

The traditional homegarden or Jajañ, of the Bilingual Rural Educational Institution Kamëntsá Biyá (IERBAK), in La Vereda Las Cochas, municipality of Sibundoy, Alto Putumayo, Colombia, was visited. For this research, members of the educational community contributed through their participation and action, including students from the research group “Kabëngbe Jwabn Jenëng” (“Sowers of Our Thought”), parents, fathers and mothers, teachers, and key informants. A knowledge dialog was established on the names and traditional uses of wild and cultivated plant species. The information was complemented by open and in-depth interviews, participant observation, collection, herborization, and bibliographic consultation. A total of 120 species belonging to 46 families were reported, highlighting: Poaceae, Rosaceae and Asteraceae for their use in indigenous food and as forages; Asteraceae, Solanaceae, Amaranthaceae, Fabaceae and Lamiaceae are used in traditional and magical-religious medicine. In the biocultural memory of the indigenous people, the plant diversity of the Jajañ is recognized as the cradle of thought, worldview and survival of the Kamëntsa-Biya culture.