Description
This piece represents Dākhi Drūa Dākhi Mō Dē, which translates to the ancestral land and the path to the mountain. The Emberā-Chamí people still hold very strong ties to their ancestral lands. The members of the tribe still living in their territory, live in harmony with the planet, and in a self-sustaining way. Mother Earth provides the essential things for survival: food, shelter and medicine, and the people honor and respect her through their customs, rituals and traditions. Honouring their ancestral land and a longing to return, for those that are no longer there, are recurring themes in Emberā-Chamí philosophy, symbology and art, as their identity is tightly linked to their original land.
The colors have specific meanings to the Emberā-Chamí. White, chïtör, symbolises peace, light and purity. Green, parā, symbolises nature. Yellow, chikuarā, represents the sun, gold, abundance and happiness.