Guanguara
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
The Kogi Indians of the Sierra Nevada de Santa
Marta (Colombia) call their coca hayo) a word that
comes from the Tairona language. They distinguish
three ((species" of coca) each of which belongs to
one of the tribes of the region. The Kamkuama
tribe) which has now either disappeared or
become extinct) cultivated a type of coca that had
long leaves. The Kogi plant a variety with small
leaves) and the Ika a type with tiny leaves (cf.
Erythroxylum novogranatense). It is said that the
ancestors) i.e.) the Tairona) planted or harvested a
tree named guangwira or guangwila in the
paramos (high marshes) that had cocalike leaves
with similar effects (Reichel-Dolmatoff 1985)
1:87*; Uscategui M. 1959) 281 f.*). Unfortunately,
the botanical identification of this tree is unknown.
It may simply have been another wild species of
the genus Erythroxylum.