places]; that those places have also in some way become less sacred […]. [This] enforced process means that all that affective relationship, or that symbolic or spiritual relationship cannot be developed.” 189 178. Maximiliano Ruiz indicated that the religion and culture have “been almost entirely lost.” Witness Rodrigo Villagra Carron explained the difficulties experienced by the members of the Community in their male and female initiation rites,190 as well as the gradual loss of shamanism.191 179. Their languages are another characteristic of the cultural integrity of the members of the Community. During the public hearing, Maximiliano Ruiz stated that, on the Salazar Ranch, they were only taught to speak Spanish or Guaraní, rather than their own languages. Similarly, upon being asked by the Commission during the hearing whether she spoke the Sanapaná language, Antonia Ramírez said that she did, but that her children and her grandchildren did not speak Sanapaná, only Guaraní. 180. Also, the lack of their traditional lands and the limitations imposed by the private owners has had an impact on the means of subsistence of the members of the Community. Hunting, fishing and gathering have become increasingly more difficult, resulting in the indigenous people deciding to leave the Salazar Ranch and relocate in “25 de Febrero” or in other places, thus separating part of the Community (supra para. 75 to 77, 79 and 98). 181. All these effects increased with the passage of time and increase the perception of the members of the Community that their claims are not being addressed. 182. In brief, this Court observes that the members of the Xákmok Kásek Community have suffered diverse effects on their cultural identity produced, above all, by the lack of their own territory and the natural resources found on it, which represents a violation of Article 21(1) of the Convention in relation to Article 1(1) thereof. These effects are one more example of the insufficiency of the merely “productive” conception of the land when considering the conflicting rights of the indigenous peoples and the private owners of the lands claimed. 189 Testimony of Rodrigo Villagra Carron, supra note 17. 190 During the public hearing, witness Rodrigo Villagra Carron explained the initiation rites: For example, the male rite, which entails a Shaman or the Cayá begins to sing all night and people are invited to attend. First, this must be a good season, a good season when the people can collect sufficient fruit and food to invite people to a large feast. In this initiation process, the young men have to eat certain plants, which mean they may faint […] and they are watched over by a shaman or several of the main shamans, and they control the power, the knowledge that is in the plants, which will then allow the plant to possess the knowledge that will give it healing properties. […] [I]t is like a social festivity where […] a shaman is singing and, at the same time, the women and men are dancing […]. The men dress up with feathers and paint themselves, and several neighboring villages come. This allowed for social integration that reduced conflict levels, because it was a feast. […] There were sports competitions, and table games […] sports, specific dances that allowed not only social integration with other villages, but also between men and women. 191 Regarding shamanist practices, witness Villagra Carron indicated that: The reality is that today there are far less shamans. For example, in the [“Huanca”] ritual, which is when people are initiated who may come to obtain that knowledge, […] this entails having access to specific places, were the plant is located, or where studies are carried out, far from the people, because it is a dangerous study owing to the implications of the process suffered by the initiated. [Consequently], there are not more initiated shamans. […] [T]he last shamans are dying. 41

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