The Andean Cosmovision Sumak kawsay has its origins in the indigenous cultures of the entire Andean region and the Amazon jungle. This worldview assumes that nature is alive and humans are part of an interdependent community that includes all life forms. There is no separation of nature and man, nothing exists in isolation. Man is seen as part of living nature.
Sumak kawsay is lived duality
Everything has its partner, and that partner gives meaning to the other as a complement. This community is completely dependent on what nature offers: fertile soil, healthy water, rich flora and fauna. Sumak Kawsay represents the idea that the collective well-being of the community is achieved through harmony with nature.
In the indigenous Andean worldview, development is not associated with material wealth. This way of life represents one of the most important alternatives to "Western" ideas of development, which emphasize profit, commercialization and endless growth. Man is not at the top of creation, he does not have the God-given right to dominate nature and put it in his service place.
Vivir Bien (live well)
In 2009, at the World Social Forum in Belém (Brazil), the guiding principle "We don't want to live better, we want to live well" was originated.
"Vivir Bien" or "Good Living" means living to the fullest. It means knowing how to live in harmony with the cycles of Mother Earth, the cosmos of life, history and balance with all forms of existence. And that is exactly the way, because first it means life and then living together. One cannot live well when others are miserable or when Pachamama (Mother Nature) is harmed.
Sumak kawsay and his call to "Buen Vivir" could mean more than a myth for humanity, even if there is still a long way to go to resolve the ecological and human crisis
Sumak kawsay - the 13 principles for living well
The ethnic groups of Latin America do not share the western vision that there is a beginning and an end (alpha and omega), but believe in the dimension of "infinity" and the dimension of "integrity".
Everything is interconnected, as are the 13 principles of the good life:
• Suma Manq' aña (know how to eat) ...
Knowing how to eat means not filling up your stomach pointlessly, but eating healthy food. Every new moon is fasted.
• Suma Umaña (know how to drink) ...
Know how to drink. Drinking begins with the ch'alla, one gives a drink to Mother Earth, Pachamama, by pouring some of the drink on the ground.
• Suma Thokoña (know how to dance) ...
Knowing how to dance allows one to form relationships and connections with the cosmos. Being able to dance means knowing and showing an interest in traditions, rituals and knowing social norms.
Knowing the dances confirms the individual's belonging to a community. And all this, of course, without forgetting fun, pleasure and games.
• Suma Ikiña (know how to sleep) ...
Know how to sleep. One should sleep for two days: this means falling asleep before midnight to get both: The energies of the night and of the morning of the following day, the energies of two days.
• Suma Irnakaña (know how to work) ...
Know how to work. For the indigenous people, work is not suffering, but joy. Activities should be carried out with passion and intensity (Sinti pacha).
• Suma Lupiña (Know how to meditate) ...
Knowing how to meditate means entering into a process of introspection. Silence balances and harmonises, balance is restored through one's own silence (Amiki). Being connects with the tranquility of the environment (Ch'uju) and this in turn creates serenity.
• Suma Amuyaña (know how to think) ...
Know how to think. The decisive factor is not only the reflection of the rational, but also of the emotional world.
• Suma Munaña, Munayasiña (know how to love and be loved)
The knowledge of how to love and be loved.
Suma Ist´aña (know how to listen)
Knowing how to hear. It's not just listening with your ears, it's perceiving, feeling and listening with your whole body.
Suma Aruskipaña (good speech)
The knowledge of good speech. Before you speak, you should first empathize with the other person and think about it.
Suma Samkasiña (know how to dream)
Know how to dream. Here one proceeds from the principle that everything begins in the dream, the dream is the beginning of reality. Through dreams we perceive life and dreaming means projecting life.
Suma Sarnaqaña (know how to walk)
If you can walk, you don't get tired. In doing so, we must be aware that one never walks alone; We walk with the wind, we walk with Mother Earth, we walk with Father Sun, we walk with Mother Moon, we walk with our ancestors and with many other beings.
Suma Churaña, suma Katukaña (know how to give and know how to receive)
Receiving and giving. Realize that life is the combination of different beings and forces. Everything flows in life: the interaction of the two forces "giving" and "taking" creates life. One should know how to give in blessing and how to give thanks for all that one receives. Gratitude means knowing how to receive.
With Sumak kawsay we take different paths to reach the same goal: to live in dignity and peace. One should give up the idea that "happiness" or rather "Vivir Bien" is a fixed point at the end of a path. No, the whole thing is followed by the realization that the good life itself is the way.