Paez people

Paez people
Name	Páez
Native name	Nasa
Population	~75,000–100,000
Regions	Cauca Department, Huila Department, Tolima Department, Putumayo Department
Languages	Páez (Nasa Yuwe), Spanish
Religions	Indigenous beliefs, Roman Catholicism, Protestantism
Related	Pastos, Quillacingas, other Andean groups

Paez people are an indigenous group of southwestern Colombia, primarily in the departments of Cauca, Huila, Tolima and parts of Putumayo. They refer to themselves as Nasa and maintain strong territorial, linguistic and cultural continuity despite pressures from the Spanish Empire, Colombian Republic, and decades of armed conflict involving entities such as the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia and the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia. The Páez have distinctive social institutions, a tonal language classified within the Paezan languages hypothesis, and enduring ritual practices centered on ancestral lands in the Andes.

Name and identity

The autonym Nasa contrasts with the exonym Páez used in colonial records linked to Sebastián de Belalcázar's campaigns and later Viceroyalty of New Granada. Identity is expressed through territorial claims such as the Resguardo system recognized after the Law 89 of 1890 precedents and through communal authorities like traditional cabildos interacting with entities including the Ministry of Interior and the ONIC. Nasa identity is reinforced by leaders such as community governors and spokespeople who engage with institutions like the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues.

History

Pre-contact Nasa societies occupied Andean valleys and highlands linked to exchanges with groups such as the Pastos and Quillacingas. The arrival of Spanish conquistadors under figures like Sebastián de Belalcázar and administrative frameworks of the Viceroyalty of Peru and later the Viceroyalty of New Granada transformed land tenure and labor relations. In the 19th and 20th centuries, interactions with the Colombian state, landowners, and missions from organizations such as the Catholic Church reshaped Nasa life. During the late 20th century, violence linked to the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and paramilitary blocs including the AUC produced massacres and displacement, prompting legal actions before courts like the Constitutional Court of Colombia and appeals to international bodies such as the Inter-American Court of Human Rights.

Language

The Nasa speak Nasa Yuwe, a language traditionally classified in proposals like the Paezan languages grouping and analyzed by linguists affiliated with institutions such as the Instituto Caro y Cuervo and universities including the Universidad del Cauca and Universidad Nacional de Colombia. Nasa Yuwe features phonological and morphosyntactic properties documented in grammars and dictionaries produced by researchers and community educators with support from NGOs like Survival International and the Smithsonian Institution's programs. Bilingual education initiatives interact with policy instruments under the Ministry of Education and frameworks such as the ILO Convention 169 on indigenous rights.

Society and culture

Social organisation rests on extended kinship networks, cabildos, and traditional authorities mirrored in other Andean societies like the Kichwa and Aymara. Ceremonial life involves ritual specialists who perform rites connected to sacred sites such as mountain shrines, riverine locations in the Cauca River basin, and collective festivals comparable to celebrations observed by groups interacting through trade routes to Popayán and Pasto. Material culture includes weaving, basketry, and agricultural implements produced locally and exchanged in municipal markets like those in Toribío and Patía. Cultural revival movements collaborate with cultural institutions including the Ministry of Culture and academic centers to publish oral histories and documentary films showcased at venues such as the Festival de Cine de Cartagena.

Economy and livelihoods

Traditional livelihoods combine subsistence agriculture—maize, potatoes, beans—and agroforestry on Andean slopes with artisanal production sold at regional markets in Cauca and Huila. Some communities engage in coffee production linked to cooperatives and certification initiatives involving organizations like Fairtrade International and national cooperatives. Economic pressures from land dispossession and illicit crop economies tied to the history of coca cultivation have driven mobilization and alternative development programs coordinated with agencies such as the United Nations Development Programme and Colombian rural development programs. Remittances and urban migration to cities such as Cali, Bogotá, and Medellín also affect household economies.

Religion and spiritual beliefs

Religious life blends ancestral cosmologies with Catholic and Protestant influences introduced by missionaries from institutions like the Society of Jesus and evangelical denominations. Ceremonies emphasize reciprocity with the earth and sacred beings; ritual specialists perform offerings at huacas and mountain sanctuaries and manage calendars that intersect with Catholic feast days regulated historically by local parishes in towns such as Santander de Quilichao. Spiritual governance often interfaces with legal recognition of sacred territories in processes before agencies like the Colombian Institute of Rural Development (INCODER) and environmental authorities including the Alexander von Humboldt Biological Resources Research Institute.

Contemporary issues and politics

Contemporary Nasa politics address land restitution under laws like the Victims and Land Restitution Law and advocacy against extractive projects promoted by corporations and state agencies. Leaders have sought protection through instruments at the Constitutional Court of Colombia and brought claims to bodies such as the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. Grassroots mobilization has resulted in mobilities including marches to Bogotá and negotiations with administrations like those of recent Colombian presidents. Challenges include displacement, environmental threats from mining concessions and hydroelectric projects, and efforts to implement intercultural education via partnerships with universities such as the Universidad del Cauca and international NGOs including Amnesty International and the World Bank's rural programs.

Category:Indigenous peoples in Colombia