Witches and Apparitions in Cuchilla de Buenavista: Other Ways of Remembering the Conflict

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Published: Nov 10, 2020
Keywords:
Memorias, conflicto armado, territorio, Boyacá, apariciones, Memories, armed conflict, territory, Boyacá, appearances

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María Angélica Garzón
Universidad Pedagógica y Tecnológica de Colombia
Diana Marcela Bernal
Universidad Pedagógica y Tecnológica de Colombia

Abstract

This article reflects on the construction of memories of the conflict from a regional perspective through a device elaborated by the population to activate its own remembering: the apparition of witches. The article explores the case of La Cuchilla de la Buenavista, located in the province of Lengupá (Boyacá, Colombia). The article uses oral stories to expose and analyze recollection strategies, which are recreated by magical beings who act as witnesses and guardians of what happened, and who inhabit places defined by violence. In the conclusion we explore how the witches of Buenavista can reconfigure time, the body, and the linearity of life-death through their witchcraft: allowing remembrance of violent act.s

Article Details

Issue
Vol. 56 (2020)
Section
Articles
Author Biographies

María Angélica Garzón, Universidad Pedagógica y Tecnológica de Colombia

Doctor in Human and Social Sciences from the National University of Colombia. Sociologist and Master in Sociology. Researcher at the Interdisciplinary Group for Archaeological and Historical Research. Interested in the issues of memory reconstruction, return migrations and social conflicts. Professor at the Pedagogical and Technological
University of Colombia UPTC.
Orcid: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1753-1476

Diana Marcela Bernal, Universidad Pedagógica y Tecnológica de Colombia

Diana Marcela Bernal Monroy is a lawyer with a Master's degree in Cultural Heritage from the Pedagogical and Technological University of Colombia, a researcher at the Interdisciplinary Group of Archaeological and Historical Research GIIAH, co-founder of the Fundación Región Museo de la Provincia de Lengupá, and a grant holder of the call 733 of 2015 of the Government of Boyacá and Colciencias to advance their postgraduate studies. Her research addresses the categories of tangible and intangible heritage found within the royal roads that run through the province of Lengupá in the department of Boyacá (Colombia).