Nabusimake: The Land Where The Sun is Born, a Calm Colombian Version of Tolkien’s Shire in a Daily Dose of Peace
A Daily Dose of Peace. Each week, I focus on Love, Joy, and Peace in the world languages. January’s second week focuses on Aruaco or Arhuaco spoken in Colombia in South America.
Tanʉ
As if when we come together
calm pervades
“tanʉ” with a ʉ
a barred u
or a high central rounded vowel
pronounced oo
as in goose [ɡʉːs]
means we in Comanche
of North America
and calm in Aruaco
a language of Colombia
in South America
“Nabusimake” The Land Where the Sun is Born
I imagine a mood board for Arhuaco
an endangered language of Colombia
where calm is said “tanʉ”
Gently winding paths along river banks
five cows carry on their way
down to a ford in the river
stopping every morning for a drink
they seem to know
this is the path they are meant to take
as a mist rises over the plants
as the first rays of the sun heat the valley
Around a bend in the path
a short muscular man silently glides past me
in a long pristine white robe
carrying several tatty woven bags
silently taping out a series of patterns
a stick on the lip of a gourd
“Du.” “How are you?”
he mutters the same response
carries on along the path
Long before the Spaniards arrived
Arhuaco, an indigenous people whose ancestors
call “Nabusimake” the capital and spiritual center
of the Arhuaco people.
roughly translates as “the land where the sun is born”
this peaceful haven deep in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta
mountain inhabitants see the center of the universe
the cradle of creation in a Colombian version of Tolkien’s Shire
in awe of the silence and overwhelming aura of peace
calm pervades you if you spend time in Nabusimake
- Found Poetry by Kimberly Burnham from SeeColombia.Travel and ChrisBellTravel
Aruaco: Aruaco (arh) Arhuaco, Bintuk, Bíntukua, Bintucua, Ica, Ijca, Ijka, Ika, and Ike, a Chibchan, Arwako–Chimila, Arwako, Arhuaco (Ika) Colombia, Kuna–Colombian language — “Kʉmechʉn” (calm down, cease), “Kʉmechi” (calm down, cease, Spanish calmarse, cesar), “Ɉwa Kʉmechʉn nuko?” (is your blood calming, Spanish Se le esta calmando la sangre?), “Re’kʉssen” (switch, control an emotion, Spanish cambiar (modo de una persona), controlar una emocion), “Re’kussey” (switch, control an emotion, Spanish cambiar (modo de una persona), controlar una emocion), “Tanʉ re’kussʉn” (calm down, Spanish tranquilizarse), “Tanʉ” (calm, Spanish tranquilo), “Tanʉ na’zarin” (I was calm, Spanish Yo estaba tranquilo) — Colombia.
Originally Published in Peace Poetry Dictionary, The Meaning of Peace and Calm in 5000 Languages on January 12, 2021.
