Zirichu

10:13 Jan 11, 2019
Spanish to English translations [PRO]
Art/Literary - Poetry & Literature
Spanish term or phrase: Zirichu
Hello, I hope you can help.

I am translating part of a novel by a Colombian author and came across the word "Zirichu."
The word may be from one of the indigenous languages of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Maria, as it is used in a list that describes the 39 points that delineate the Línea Negra - the boundaries of the indigenous people's territory. The context is as below:

...del río Guachaca hasta llegar al parque Tairona, Madre del oro, del parque Tairona a Chengue, Madre de la sal, del Parque Tairona hasta llegar a Taganga, madre del Zirichu,...
Sally Barclay
United Kingdom
Local time: 20:34


Summary of answers provided
4Zirichu (sea shells)
Charles Davis


  

Answers


1 hr   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
Zirichu (sea shells)


Explanation:
I think you should probably keep the name as it is, but if you want to add the meaning, it is this.

Here are the minutes of a meeting with indigenous inhabitants of the Sierra to establish the points of the "Línea Negra". The relevant one here is no. 25, Java Jelekun:

"25. Java Jelekun. Del Parque Tayrona hasta llegar a Taganga, Madre del Zirichu."
http://www.urosario.edu.co/jurisprudencia/catedra-viva-inter... (foot of p. 127, p. 154 of file; it's a big file).

And this is from a text about Taganga as a "pueblo ancestral":

"25. JAVA JELEKUN que va del Parque Tayrona hasta Taganga es la madre del ZIRICHO, el Ziricho son las conchas del MAR que se recogen para quemarlas con cal y depositar esa mezcla en el poporo para mambear."
http://www.docentes.unal.edu.co/grnemogas/docs/7_Andreis_tr.... (p. 24)

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Note added at 1 hr (2019-01-11 11:44:04 GMT)
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Footnotes to the above:

"Poporo is a device used by indigenous cultures in present and pre-Columbian South America for storage of small amounts of lime. It consists of two pieces: the receptacle, and the lid which includes a pin that is used to carry the lime to the mouth while chewing coca leaves. Since the chewing of coca is sacred for the indigenous people, the poporos are also attributed with mystical powers and social status.
In Colombia, poporos are found in archeological remains from the Chibcha, Muisca, and Quimbaya cultures among others."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poporo

(By the way, I think the indigenous languages in this area of Colombia belong to the Chibcha group, and "zirichu" is presumably a word in a Chibcha language.)

Mambear: from mambe:

"El mambe [...] es un polvo que se obtiene de tostar, moler y cernir las hojas de coca amazónica (Erythroxylum coca var. ipadu) [...] mezclándolas generalmente con cenizas de Cecropia [...] como aditivo alcalino. [...]
[...] [E]l objetivo de mambear coca no es solamente hacer uso de la sustancia y sus efectos para cuidar el cuerpo, también entraña una función social.
Del acto de mambear, deriva la palabra mambeadero [...] que es utilizada en Colombia para referirse a un espacio ritual, por lo general en una maloca en la amazonía, para reunirse, intercambiar la palabra y tomar decisiones, mientras se hace del uso del mambe y del ambil."
https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mambe

So apparently they burn these sea shells (zirichu) mixed with lime and mix the resulting ash with toasted coca powder for (ritual) chewing.

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Note added at 1 hr (2019-01-11 11:46:19 GMT)
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Fascinating stuff. Maybe these sea shells are thought to carry some kind of wisdom?

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Note added at 1 hr (2019-01-11 11:51:28 GMT)
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By the way, according to the Diccionario de americanismos:

"mambearse.
I. 1. intr. prnl. Ar. juv. Drogarse."
http://lema.rae.es/damer/?key=mambear

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Note added at 3 hrs (2019-01-11 14:10:59 GMT)
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It's a pleasure, Sally. I love this kind of thing.

Some confirmation here of the custom:

"3.2.5 Taller 5: Conociendo la Sierra Nevada. Culturas y sociedad
[...]
el poporo utilizado en el mambeo de la hoja de coca mezclada con caracucha (concha de mar), resaltando la importancia para el hombre en su conexión con la madre tierra y las deidades pertenecientes a su cosmogonía [...]
el uso de conchas para hacer cantos a la madre tierra es representación de agradecimiento"
http://repositorio.pedagogica.edu.co/bitstream/handle/20.500... (p. 72)

I also found this on Facebook (Centro Cultural Casa del Patrimonio de Taganga):

"“Te traigo Ciricho” además de ser una actividad cultural ancestral, basada en el trueque o intercambio que realizaban comunidades indígenas de la sierra nevada de Santa Marta para los que el ciricho (conchas de moluscos) era un material valioso, fue retomada con una nueva simbología, intercambio de saberes y conocimiento para su rescate y difusión.
el encuentro de saberes fue en en el resguardo ARHUACO hallado en el corregimiento de Guachaca, el dia domingo 6 de Noviembre, propiciado con la familia Villafane, presidida por el mamo Camilo Villafañe. esta actividad fue el cierre de este proceso,y modelo para futuras experiencias."
https://d.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1187186598079896...

Charles Davis
Spain
Local time: 21:34
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 296
Notes to answerer
Asker: Thank you so much for this - it is fascinating - I've done a lot of research for this into the Wayuu tribes and also the peoples (4 groups) of the Sierra Nevada, found mambear, found poporo, found an online Wyunaiki dictionary, but drew a blank with Zirichu - probably because it will be from Ika or one of the other languages of the Sierra Nevada rather than La Guajira.

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