Color production in indigenous Colombian communities: a reflection of identity and partnership with the territory

The aim of this research project is to record and document the ancestral techniques still used in the extraction and manufacture of pigments and dyes by several indigenous communities in Colombia. This approach complements current knowledge on the subject. In order to understand these techniques and their significance, the historical, social and cultural context related to this theme are investigated, as the symbolism of the materials and their roles within the communities. Through the study of these materials, the nature of the bond that unites communities to their territory  is questioned: can we say that pigments and dyes are part of the visible aspects that materialize the bonds of partnership and co-creation with a territory? Does each community living in a specific ecosystem materialize, through colors and pigments, its own language? The investigation of the technical and symbolic data of materials is participatory. In collaboration with the communities, the manufacturing processes and symbolic data are documented by the creation of videos, interviews and didactic written supports, enabling the intergenerational transmission of knowledge. Continuity in the use of techniques is studied through historical bibliographical sources dealing with the nature of materials in conjunction with archaeological knowledge associating cave paintings. This project is part of several ongoing processes: in particular, it resonates with a broad-based movement within regional and national indigenous organizations, aimed at reactivating millennia-old knowledge. To this end, it is important for them to forge collaborations with the academic and university worlds.