Photo Gallery

Separated from the Central Cordillera by the alluvial plains of the Rio Magdalena and the Rio Cauca, the isolated mountain range of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta rises in the far north of Colombia. It reaches a height of 5,776 metres at Pico Cristóbal Colón. Dense tropical mountain and cloud forest covers the slopes up to over 3,000 metres; the snow line lies between 4,700 and 5,100 metres. - Book: Picture 14 - Colombia - 1977

The photograph shows a traditional settlement of the Kogi indigenous community, with its characteristic conical huts, in the mountainous region of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta in Colombia. The typical roofs are made of natural materials such as straw or grass, adapted to the warm and humid to cool mountain climate of the Cordillera. – Colombia – 1977

The Kogi Indians live in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta. In the picture, the elongated building on the right is the men’s house, where the men live whilst they are in the village. The round houses, which are also thatched, serve as accommodation for the women and children. The Kogi meet only at certain times, about twice a month, for ceremonial celebrations in the villages; the rest of the time they spend – living separately by gender in two huts – in their fields, where they grow maize, cassava, bananas, pumpkins, sugar cane and beans. Whatever they cannot produce themselves, they exchange for chickens, pigs and other produce. - Book: Picture 15 - Colombia - 1977

A boy from the Kogi indigenous people, who live largely in isolation and preserve their centuries-old traditions. Traditionally, the Kogi make their own clothes on looms using natural fibres or cotton, as can be seen in this portrait. – Colombia – 1977

The traditional clothing of the Kogi is characterised by distinctive features. The woven tunic is made from hand-woven, natural fabric. Whilst adult Kogi traditionally wear entirely pure white clothing as a symbol of the purity of nature and the ‘Great Mother’, children’s garments often still feature coloured stripes (such as the earthy shades of red, yellow and black shown in the picture). A wide, robustly woven strap from a traditional shoulder bag (mochila) runs across the shoulder. – Colombia – 1997

A young Kogi mother wearing her jewellery. The Kogi are an indigenous community who live a secluded life in the mountains of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta in northern Colombia. The heavy, multi-layered necklaces made of colourful glass and natural beads, as well as the simple, white clothing made from hand-woven cotton, are deeply characteristic of their culture. - Book: Image 17 – Colombia – 1977

A boy from the Kogi tribe. The Kogi regard themselves as the ‘elder brothers’ of humanity. They see it as their sacred duty to preserve the ecological and spiritual balance of the Earth. They refer to the rest of modern humanity as the ‘younger brothers’ who are destroying the planet. - Book: Image 18 – Colombia – 1977

The floor of the Cauca Rift Valley, situated at an altitude of 800 to 1,100 metres, rises gradually towards the south, reaching an altitude of 1,760 metres at Popayán and continuing through the increasingly narrow Paria Rift Valley as far as the border with Ecuador. The picture shows the rift zone south-west of Popayán. - Book: Picture 34 - Colombia - 1977

Deforestation in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta in northern Colombia. – 1977