Remnants of the colonial past in Colombia and liberation
theology of Abya Yalla
Vidya Bhushan Rawat
Colonialism spread all
over the world not by merely subjugating the native and indigenous communities
physically but also suppressing their culture and language while imposing its
own value system. The impact of Church and Christianity in spreading the European
order in Latin America is well known but always kept as ‘international secret’.
It is also a fact that the later stage,
Church became the biggest force in bringing peace and order in the country. It
also became the symbol of the resistance against the colonial power. The
beautiful church that I visited in central Bogota, also witness to various
processes of change that Colombia had undergone since 15th century
till date. Established by some Spanish merchants later it becomes the symbol of
Colombian national identity.
Veracruz
Church of the Veracruz
stand taller near the Bolivar Square and is a reminder of the history of
Christianity in Colombia. My dear friend Juan Manuel Quinche, took time off
from his busy schedule to accompany me to have a city walk in the old Spanish
area of Bogota. Apart from the grand Bolivar Square and lively streets, this
Church is known for its grandeur and historical connection with Colombia’s
independent movement. It started in 1631 with Veracruz Brotherhood
This church is actually the national
identity of Colombia as num
erous heroes of the independent movement are buried
there. It is said that b
etween
June and November 1816, approximately 80 heroes of Colombia's independence were
shot dead during the Spanish reconquest and were buried in this church, since
the Brotherhood of Veracruz was responsible for assisting those executed and
burying them in the grave of this church.
Inside church
looked more amazing. It is a history church that way. Flags of different
countries ‘emerged out’ of Gran Colombia are flying high apart from a Vatican
Flag. Interestingly, Gran Colombia included Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador and
Panama.
Juan gives me the
details, ‘the flags, from left to
right, those correspond, to Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, (I think the yellow and
white is one from the dioceses -which is the religious territorial authority
elected by the Pope-), Colombia, Venezuela and I think Chile of what I remember.
They are the flags of what intended to be 'The big Colombia', the big nation
promoted by Simón Bolívar and other liberators that followed him. And as
Veracruz was a church where the many heroes of the independence war were
buried, those flags are also a memory of that idea’.
A military person
too, is there inside the church, as this is an important national monument.
Arnold Perez, welcome me and Juan. He can’t speak English but Juan act as my
interpreter. ‘Where are you from and what made you visit here’, he says. I am
from India and want to see this historical church. ‘Are you a Christian, he asks.
I am a humanist and respect all the faiths, I said. I have tremendous respect
for the Christians for the amount of work they have done in our country, I says
particularly in the field of health, education and developmental work. Arnold,
give me details about how important this church is in the life of Colombian
people as it is witness to the resistance movement against the colonial power.
I tell him that it is a grand church and beautiful one. I proudly show us the
Vatican flag too. He listens to my interaction carefully and feel humbled by my
appreciation. Finally, he says, ‘All religion speak of peace and equality’. He
tells Juan to show me other places too.
It is evening time
so there is not much public inside the church but there are several individuals
who are there praying with their heads bowed down. Suddenly, an old woman appears
in front of the idol of Jesus Christ. She bows for some moment and then come
towards me. I don’t know what she wanted but she just holds my hand. With tears
in her eyes, she asks me to pray for the well being of the leader of opposition
in her country who had been shot at a couple of days earlier. I told her that I
am from India but definitely wish the leader early recovery.
Though Simon
Bolivar is the most iconic leader of this country yet in the modern time, it is
Gabriel Garcia Marquez who made Colombia known in our part of the world with
his extraordinary writings. Just a few hundred meters away from the famous
Bolivar square is a beautiful library and Book shop in memory of Marquez. What
impressed me in the streets in and around Bolivar Square was the numerous books
being sold which suggest that literary tradition flourishing in this part of
the world.
Plazoleta Del
Rosario
As I walk through
the lively yet crowded streets in and around the Bolivar Square, I come across
beautiful traditional Spanish style houses. As we walk onward, it is Rosario
Square or locally known as Plazoleta del Rosario established on August 6th,
1974 to remember the ‘Spanish heritage’ of the city. In 2017, the government of
Colombia put it in historical perspective with installing a statue of ‘founder’
of Bogota Gonzalo Jimenez de Quesada. There was no statue now. When I was taking
some photograph of this place, suddenly Juan narrated me an interesting story.
He says that this place has a tall statue of Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada,
considered to be the founder of Bogota. On May 7, 2021, a wide protest by an
indigenous community protested against government policies and toppled the
statue. Perhaps, that was the time when anti colonial protests in various
places in the United States too found, idols and statues of various European
‘explorers’ in USA, UK and elsewhere got demolished by indigenous communities as
well as other such native movement who felt that all these European explorers
were not really ‘explorer’ but oppressors of the native indigenous communities.
Juan says, Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesasa was a Spanish conqueror that proclaimed
himself a founder of Bogotá, on August 6, 1538, as Santa Fe de Bogotá (a city that was actually founded
over an indigenous Muisca territory called Bacatá). He and his acquaintances
decided to change the name and to initially put it 'Santa Fe de Bogotá' (like
The Holy faith of Bogotá). He is also known for being one of those who
participated in El Dorado (The Gold) search, which means an exploration where
they tried to search a ton of gold under the water and in the territory nearby
to Bacata (with the stealing s and dispossession s associated to it). Gold and
mineral exploration was one of the basic targets of those who voyaged through
Antarctic Ocean to reach this part of the world. Moreover, that exploration
would not have been possible without dispossessing the native communities. Juan
is a human right defender who has studied in Sweden and Norway but his heart is
in defending his native people’s rights as his parents belong to the peasantry.
Juan says, during
COVID-19 times, the was a national riot because of the injustices that came to
be more explicit due to the pandemic. Bogotá was once the centers for protests
against the extreme right government which we had at that time. Indigenous
communities came and joined protest from different social classes. On that
scenario they were protesting once in the main downtown squares and in the one
where Gonzalo de Jiménez was -which is located just in front of the Rosario
University (i.e. one of the most conservative universities in our country,
where many of our former presidents became lawyers)-, a group decided to take
down the statue of Gonzalo Jiménez de Quezada, as it was happening in other
parts of the country. Due to the popularity of the action, some of the people
tried to call the main avenue which was next to it Misak Avenue (which is the
name of one of the indigenous groups that participated in taking down the
statue) instead of Jiménez Avenue, as it was called before. Nowadays the statue
hasn't come back, mainly because we don't want it there at all. Citizenship
wouldn't let it to arrive once again’.
Actually, when
people face brutalities of the system for long, they realise that the system
they have inherited is over 200 years old and therefore all those who are the
symbols of those injustices face the wrath of the people, resulting in the
‘breaking’ of those ‘statues. While this is a debatable issue whether people
should be demolishing those symbols of wrongs or oppression but it is a fact
that they have survived for long because of the patronage of the ruling elite.
Explorers or
Invaders
Colombia was named
after Christopher Columbus even when he did not travel this country, it is
named after him and this explains how the history of a country is erased or
reconstructed. Christopher Columbas Day is celebrated on Second Monday to
commemorate the arrival of the explorer in the Americas on October 12th,
1492. The popular narrative imposed on us is that Columbus ‘discovered’ America
as if it did not exist before 1492.
It was almost the
same time when Vasco Da Gama arrived in India from Lisbon, Portugal on May 20th,
1498 on the cost of Calicut in Kerala. For years, we were given to memorise the
story that it was Vasco Da Gama who ‘discovered’ India. Again, the same
question as if India did not exist before that. Now, Europe had knowledge,
power and understanding. They were writing our history and ‘teaching’ us
‘culture’ too but now people have realized and that is why they question. The
native historians everywhere can’t term these people as merely ‘explorer’ but
invaders and oppressors. The Indigenous students in various Universities all
over the world are now seeking explanation and many decided not to celebrate
‘Columbus Day’ but as Indigenous People’s Day. History has become the crucial factor
to build our future. Colonialists used it for their benefit and now the
‘nationalists’ too doing the same. However, history can give us good lesson as
we do not live in history but can build our future based on the lessons we have
from these incidents.
Just on the back
of this historical structure, we are at the gates of a university known as
Universidad del Rosario, initially known as Colegio Mayor de Nuestra Señora
del Rosario was established on October 19. 1653 by Fray Cristóbal de Torres,
Archbishop of Santafé de Bogotá. The University is considered to be the oldest
university in Columbia and has a strong catholic root brought by the Spanish
colonisers. It was started as a college to educate the Spanish settlers with
particular aim in governance and theology. So, governance and religion went
together to protect the colonial interests. In 1704, it was converted into full
university offering courses on law, theology and Philosophy. The university
became the biggest ‘coaching’ centre for the European American settler elite in
Colombia who influenced political and cultural lives of Colombia. It was really
not the place where the native indigenous people could study. The University
was clearly a colonial project to provide elite government officers for running
the country.
Juan says, ‘the Universidad del Rosario was founded
in 1653 by Friar Cristóbal de Torres, is one of the oldest institutions of
higher education in Colombia. It is one of the universities that historically
defended the conservative side of the Catholic Church, as well as its approach
to education. Since its inception, it has sought to hold its classes in a
cloistered setting and present itself as an educational center for the
country's political elite. Proof of this is that the Universidad del Rosario
has had nine Colombian presidents as graduates, making it the university with
the most presidents in the country. It was so conservative that the Universidad
Externado was created in 1886 to represent a private university more open to
the public. It has also attempted to limit the use of public space; for
example, they planted bushes around the statue in front of it (which was later
torn down) where students from other popular universities would gather. Now,
given its poor results in international exams and corruption scandals, one of
its 'most reputable' careers, which is law, today has one of the lowest
enrollment rates in known private universities.’
This is how the
colonial projects worked. Assault people, control their education, deny them
quality education, create a servile class which could protect the interest of
the Spanish empire and suppress it further from the massive religious
propaganda in the rural areas through religion as ‘liberation theology’. The
protests or rebellion was brutally suppressed. And it was not merely physical
oppression or suppression but also emotional enslavement too. Here religion
played in important role as it came as ‘liberator’ for the oppressed also. For
years, the indigenous people were not allowed to have ‘communion’ but it was Fray Cristóbal de Torres, who governed
this Archbishopric in 1636, that is, one hundred years after the Spanish
European conquest, was the first to resolve to grant Communion to the native
Indians.
Unbroken structure of the Colonial Empire and vision of a
Greater Colombia
Ironically, the biggest hero of the anti-colonial movement in
Colombia Simon Bolivar. named his country as Colombia. Bolivar Square has the
powerful standing statue of Simon Bolivar who dreamt of a Greater Colombia
which include present day Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador and Panama as its core
constituent but his vision was to unite and organize the entire Spanish
speaking territories under one umbrella that included certain parts of Peru as
well as Bolivia but it was not possible due various internal rivalries and
issues. Bolivar passed away in 1830 and idea of a Greater Colombia got
dissolved in 1831 with the formation of different states. Bogota’s most popular
public square is dedicated to Simon Bolivar and it is named as Bolivar Square
and is surrounded by various historical buildings, a cathedral and old
markets. It was declared
a Colombian National Monument on October 19, 1995. It was built in 1539 under
the name Plaza Mayor and was also the place where the Independence Cry was
proclaimed on July 20, 1810. There is a bronze statue of Simon Bolivar created
by the Italian artist Pietro Tenerani in 1846. This is considered to be the first
public monument of Bogota city.
While Simon Bolivar is undoubtedly the greatest anti colonial
hero almost revered in this part of the world yet like many other former
colonies, his administration too functioned on the foundation of the former
colonial empires. When you have bigger focus on ‘external’ things, there is
little time for resolving domestic crisis. The result was Colombia faced bigger
challenges at the domestic front with inequality grew rapidly and urban elite
of ‘settlers’ continue to control the land resources of the country. The result
was violent insurgency all over the country in the form of communist armed
resistance which got subdued only once the government signed a Peace Accord
with them in 2016 with active support and assistance from Cuba.
Liberation theology of Abya Yala
It was important for the church to delink itself from the
horrific past and its association with the colonial regime that inflicted
greater wound on the psyche of the native communities particularly the
Indigenous people in the Latin America. By associating with the masses and
their struggle, the Church was able to win the heart of the people and today
won the confidence of the former Communists too.
As the church does not have a glorious history everywhere
particularly in this region but by continuous association with the local
communities helped it continuously evolved over the years. It might have come
as an agent of the colonial powers at many places but it continues to grow at
its own and provided space to the dissenting voices and that is how the church
in Colombia became the symbol of National liberation as well as national
integration. Today, it also has presence among the indigenous communities who
speak up against the colonial project. I call it the power of Christianity
which learn and unlearn many things over the year and stood up with the most
marginalized. It is no surprising that Vatican and Popes have spoken openly
against the violence. Despite Western hypocrisy on Gaza and Palestine issue, it
is Pope who stood taller and condemn the invasion on Gaza and spoke for the
rights of the marginalized elsewhere. That way, Christianity liberated itself
from being mouthpiece of the western empires and found accepted from the most
marginalized world over.
In the Latin America, Christianity is trying to somehow
dissociate with the power history of the colonial empire which erased native
culture, traditions and languages of the native people here. The church is now
‘reframing
the Christian message grounded in the people and not power, grounded in
ancestry, not acclaim, and grounded in historical context, not in silence’[i].
As the Indigenous communities in the Americas are exposing the
barbarianism of the colonialism and looking for their ancestry and feeling
proud of it so are the Christians attempting to be part of the side of the
native. Today, the term ‘Abya Yala is used by the indigenous ethnic communities
in north and South America to refer to the landmasses generally known as the
Americas/America. Abya Yala is a term derived from the Guna language of the
Kuna people indigenous to Panama and Colombia translating to ‘land of fertile
blood’. Although exclusively originating within the indigenous Kuna people of
Panama and Colombia, Abya Yala is also used by several contemporary indigenous
people such as the Mapuche of Chile, the Quechua of Peru and the Mexica of
Mexico’[ii].
As the issue of Abya Yala gain traction among the native
indigenous people across the Latin America, the Church too have developed a
Abya Yala theology which accordingly ‘is Christian thought analyzed through a
decolonizing lens and embracing a multicultural and multiethnic continent, from
which God speaks and liberates all from colonized oppression.[iii]’
Christianity in the beginning was ‘Inextricably linked with
colonial and settler thinking is the vision of land and nature as a resource
that exists only for extractive purposes. However, understanding Abya Yala Theology
is reimagining the harmonious relationship between the land, their children,
and all creation’[iv].
Perhaps being part of Abya Yala’s native people’s identity and
assertion issues, Christianity is rediscovering itself in the oppressed communities
and regions where their track record has been nothing but an enabler of
plunder, loot and destruction of the identity and civilization of the
indigenous people by the Colonizers. Today,
it is standing hand in hand with the oppressed masses of Colombia and working
towards an everlasting peace that follow the framework of Abya Yala.
References:
[ii] https://library.cfa.harvard.edu/abya-yala
[iii] Yenny Delgado
and Claudio Ramirez, Abya Yala Theology, Decolonizing the Christian message from a native
perspective, https://publicatheology.org/2022/04/06/abya-yala-theology/
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