Towards a philosophical interpretation of the symbolic ritual organization of the Kichwa Saraguro people, Ecuador

Abstract

The symbolic ritual organization of the native peoples has been deliberately ignored because the Western Civilizational Paradigm and its science considers it invalid.  In this sense, we have outlined the main objective of demonstrating that it is possible to recover a philosophical interpretation of the symbolic ritual organization of the Kichwa Saraguro people.To carry out this work we used the research and learning method called "Relational Symbolic Experiential" that has been used in the Pluriversidad Amamwtay Wasi. This implies recovering the voice of the original Saraguro sages, contributing with their point of view through conversations. These conversations can be compared to the focus group technique. We have preliminarily concluded, based on the research developed, that several original philosophical principles that governed the Tawantinsuyo, are present and in force in the Kichwa Saraguro People, for example: the existence of a reversal/dual symbolic ritual organization, the validity of the Hanan and Urin elements in the ritual-territorial organization and the validity of an agro-festive and lunisolar calendar.