Inculturation and education in Inga and Kamça native communities. The capuchin presence

Abstract

his article is registered in the research work of the Universitary Institution CESMAG, specifically in the Inti Rumi (Sun Stone) research group, in the research line of: inventory, registration, and interpretation of cultural heritage. Methodologically, a naturalistic paradigm is established with a qualitative interpretive approach applying the historical hermeneutic method, supported it by documentary analysis (primary and bibliographic sources), field visits and interviews. The aim of the text is to reflect on how the missionary work of the Capuchin Minor Friars Order had presence in the territory of the Upper Putumayo (Sibundoy valley) since colonial times, a work linked with native peoples and specifically the Inga and Kamçá communities, and thanks to which, these ethnic ancestral groups maintain their own culture and languages. Thus, an approach to the concept of inculturation or inculturization, of recent size, but whose content is not new, especially for the Capuchins,is established. The main Capuchin mission was and is nowadays to evangelize; thanks to the awareness of the importance of education, they acted on the safeguarding of the original languages and thereby contributed to their maintenance and that of their culture. The educational mission continues until today, leaving its mark on the colombian territory and the continent.