Indigenous peoples of South America
Indigenous peoples of South America are divided into peoples of the lowlands and peoples of the Andes . The terms ( South American ) Indians or Indios for all these peoples are widespread, but can be perceived as offensive by people with such names . The indigenous population of South America is often divided into language families, such as Quechua , Aymara , Tupi or Mapuche , but the members of these language families do not necessarily see themselves as belonging together.
Political situation
Similar to the indigenous peoples of Mesoamerica and the Caribbean , indigenous peoples also form in most of the states of South America, such as B. the indigenous peoples of Argentina or the indigenous peoples of Brazil , only a minority and predominantly live in poverty . However, they have a significant proportion of the population in Ecuador , Bolivia and Peru .
Only a few indigenous peoples have made it until their language is recognized as an official language , such as the Guaraní ( Paraguay ) and, more recently, the Aymara (Bolivia) and Quechua (Peru, Bolivia).
The indigenous peoples of South America have each founded national organizations through which they represent their interests. In 1984 the COICA (Coordinadora de las Organizaciones Indígenas de la Cuenca Amazónica) was founded as the umbrella organization of the Amazon peoples, an amalgamation of various indigenous organizations of the Amazon countries. The Agenda Indígena Amazónica currently serves as a strategic model for the struggle for indigenous rights. As self-representation, this is a counter-proposal to authorities that should take care of the protection of the indigenous peoples on the state side, but who are much more dominated by the political will of the state. The example of FUNAI clearly shows how such authorities can alienate themselves from their actual task.
In the 1990s there was a strong mobilization of indigenous movements across Latin America. This led to far-reaching constitutional changes in Colombia (1991), Peru (1993), Bolivia (1994), Ecuador (1998) and Venezuela (1999), in which the specific cultural rights of the indigenous peoples were recognized. In addition, Convention 169 of the International Labor Organization , which recognizes the cultural rights and limited autonomy of indigenous peoples, has been signed by almost all Latin American governments: Colombia (1991), Bolivia (1991), Peru (1994), Guatemala (1996), Ecuador (1998), Brazil (2002) and Venezuela (2002).
In recent years, some indigenous people have managed to take on important roles in the political landscape, such as the Peruvian ex-president Alejandro Toledo , the Peruvian president Ollanta Humala or the first indigenous president of Bolivia, Evo Morales . Due to the traditional strong alliances of the economically strong white elite with right-wing political movements, indigenous politicians are almost always on the left side of the political spectrum, although in the case of Ollanta Humala they are associated with a strongly nationalist ideology. With this assignment only the physical characteristics of Toledo and Humala are taken into account. Both culturally belong to the Mestizos.
In Brazil , where the peoples of the Amazon basin are practically unlawful and exposed to silent displacement and the clearing of the jungle is progressing rapidly, their situation has improved somewhat in recent years. Bishop Erwin Kräutler from the Diocese of Xingu played a part in this, and his commitment to environmental protection and human rights was recognized by the Xingu indigenous group in September 2010 with the Right Livelihood Award . The prize money will be used to finance legal proceedings against the huge power plant project of the Belo Monte dam , among other things . The indigenous organizations hope that the violation of Brazilian environmental laws can now be prevented by international attention.
history
The history and even the present of numerous peoples, especially in the rainforest area, is largely unknown, although many ethnographies have already been written on various ethnic groups in South America. It was not until mid-June 2011 that authorities confirmed the existence of a previously unseen uncontacted tribe with around 200 relatives. The village is located in the Javari Valley near the border with Peru and was sighted by FUNAI during an overflight over the area. Uncontacted tribes are among the most vulnerable people in the world, as they have no resistance to diseases such as flu, measles, etc. It is therefore strictly forbidden to contact them, especially since they defend themselves against it by using armed force. This defense is probably based on the experience that more than half of the peoples who have made contact in the past were killed by the diseases mentioned. 24 of these peoples are officially recognized in Brazil, another 44 are suspected by ethnologists.
Cultures
(compare main cultural area South America according to Hunter and Whitten)
The indigenous cultures of South America are very diverse, among other things due to the enormous differences in climate and landscape - and thus the realities of life - in a geographical area that stretches from the Caribbean coast to Tierra del Fuego and from the high plateau of the Andes to the mouth of the Amazon.
The early attempts to delimit different cultural areas by Otis Mason in 1896 (8 areas) or Clark Wissler in 1912 (5 areas), in contrast to the North American cultural areas, could not prevail.
It was not until the 1940s that Julian Steward designed a classification for the Handbook of South American Indians (12 areas), which was adopted in 1978 by the German ethnologist Mark Münzel in a slightly modified form (11 areas). In contrast to North America, many indigenous elements are still formative in Latin America today.
The commonalities in the history of the indigenous population of South America consist primarily in the experience of submission and the loss of cultural identity in the context of colonialism by the Iberian nations Spain and Portugal and their successor nations.
| Cultural area | Habitat and similarities | Example ethnies and nations |
|---|---|---|
| Around the Caribbean | Tropical savannahs , humid u. Rainforests: mostly sedentary farming (corn, beans, pumpkins, cassava, potatoes); often chiefdoms , influences from the southern and Central American high cultures, heterogeneous , striving for prestige | Kuna , Emberá , Paez , Achagua , Chibcha , Ika , ( Guahibo ) |
| Central Andes | Andean highland steppes : sedentary crop rotation - agriculture and irrigation terraces (potatoes, as well as an enormous variety of crops), llama breeding; theocratic states, Inca tradition, Ayllu village structure, Pachamama , Spanish-ind. Costumes | Quechua , Aymara , Kolla , Huanca , Atacameño , |
| Patagonia | dry moderate open landscapes u. temperate deciduous and coniferous forests of the Andes: semi-sedentary farming (maize, beans, potatoes), gathering (araucaria fruits) and hunting (guanaco and rhea, marine mammals), later cattle breeding (llama, cattle, horse); egalitarian hordes , former South American cavalry warriors , Bola | Mapuche , Picunche , Huilliche , Tehuelche , Puelche , ( Het ) |
| Chaco | Tropical dry forests and the like Thorn savannah : semi-sedentary fruit collectors, later mounted warriors, fishing, little shifting cultivation ; egalitarian groups or tribal societies | Wichí , Guaycurú , Toba , Chiriguano , Ayoreo , Terena |
| Llanos | Inconsistent “ marginal groups” in retreat areas, nomadic or semi-nomadic hunters and gatherers until the beginning of the 20th century, rarely rudimentary farming or horticulture; egalitarian hordes | Moist savannahs and Monsoon forests : Wayapopihíwi , Otomaken , Achagua |
| Paraná | subtropical wet forests u. Dry steppes : Mbyá , Bororo , Kaingang , Aché | |
| fire land | temperate coastal rainforests u. Magellanic Tundra : Selk'nam , Yámana , Chonos , Qawasqar | |
| Andes eastern edge | tropical highland rainforest: slash and burn cultivation (maize, cassava, wide variety) and hunting; egalitarian hordes, Inca influence or hostility | Shuar , Huaorani , Shipibo , Asháninka , Machiguenga , |
| Guyana | mixed dry u. humid tropical landscapes: semi-sedentary farming (manioc), hunting, fishing; Chiefdoms, influences of the two high cultures | Caribs , Arawak , Waiwai , Ye'kuana , Yanomami , Waimiri |
| Amazonia | tropical lowland rainforest: mostly semi-sedentary horticulture (papaya, guava, avocado), shifting cultivation (cassava), hunting, fishing and trade; mostly chiefdoms, frequent conflicts with neighboring groups, unity of nature / culture , intens. Ceremonial life | Ticuna , Munduruku , Cinta Larga , ( Nambikwara ), ( Maku ) |
| Eastern Brazil | Tropical savannas: semi-sedentary slash-and-burn farming (cassava), collecting, hunting and fishing; Tribal societies, dialectical religions | Xavante , Kayapó , Botokuden , Xerente , ( Guaraní ) |
High cultures
In contrast to the advanced cultures of Central America , there was no script in the present sense in South America in pre-Columbian times according to the current state of research . According to the current state of knowledge, the Inca knot font Quipu consisted exclusively of digits and was mainly used to record statistical data. Recent research claims that the Tocapu patterns woven in textiles were also used in a similar manner to writing.
The peoples of Peru , after the beginning of the cultivation of maize and the introduction of pottery around 2000 BC, were considered to be " high cultures " . Beginning of metalworking around the year 1 (first gold , then copper and silver ). Bronze has been processed since around 1000.
religion
Reports on the original religions of South America can be found primarily in reports from European missionaries and travelers. However, numerous archaeological sites also offer an insight into the religious spiritual world of the residents. To put it simply, animistic traditions coexisted in the Andean region with forms of organized priestly religion in the interests of the state (Inca sun cult ), while the latter element is absent among the peoples of the lowlands.
Elements of indigenous worldview ( Pachamama , Sumak kawsay ) found a central place in the new constitutions of Ecuador and Bolivia in 2008 and 2009 . There they are linked with the goal of sustainable development .
See also
- List of South American indigenous peoples
- Skull manipulation among indigenous peoples of Latin America
literature
- Hartmut-Emanuel Kayser: The rights of the indigenous peoples of Brazil - historical development and current status . Shaker Verlag , Aachen 2005, ISBN 3-8322-3991-X .
- Esteban Krotz : folklore, assimilation, criticism of civilization. On the situation and prospects of the Latin American Indian population . In: Journal for Latin America . tape 44/45 , 1993, ISSN 0049-8645 , pp. 19-33 .
- Claude Lévi-Strauss : Sad Tropics . Suhrkamp Verlag, Frankfurt 1978, ISBN 3-518-57206-7 .
- Wolfgang Müller : The Indians of Latin America. An ethnostatistical overview . Dietrich Reimer Verlag, Berlin 1984, ISBN 3-496-00760-5 .
- Luis Pericot y García: America indígena . Volume 1: El hombre americano - Los pueblos de América . Salvat, Barcelona 1936, pp. 593-732.
- Frank Semper: The rights of the indigenous peoples in Colombia . SEBRA-Verlag, Hamburg 2003, ISBN 3-9805953-7-4 .
- South america . In: Frank Salomon (Ed.): The Cambridge history of the native peoples of the Americas . tape 3 . Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 1999, ISBN 0-521-33393-8 .
Web links
- North and Mesoamerican languages
- GTZ: Indigenous Peoples in Latin America & the Caribbean
- Climate alliance of European cities with indigenous peoples of the rain forests
- Yawalapiti - Living in harmony with nature ( Memento from May 19, 2012 in the Internet Archive )
- Very detailed overview of Brazilian indigenous peoples (Portuguese / English)
- Indigenous peoples in Colombia (Spanish)
- List of indigenous peoples
- Information on various indigenous peoples in South America from the human rights organization Survival International
Remarks
- ↑ The names of the areas have been shortened sensibly for reasons of space. The area boundaries were made with the much more accurate map of the National Geographic Society. Map: Indians of South America. ( Page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. National Geographic Society, Washington DC, 1982 reconciled.
- ↑ Ethnic groups in brackets differ significantly from the described cultural area
Individual evidence
- ↑ Olaf Meier cold: Politics of Indigeneity in the Andean Highlands. Indigenous Social Movements and the State in Ecuador, Bolivia, and Peru (1940-2015) . In: Eva Gerharz, Nasir Uddin, Pradeep Chakkarath (eds.): Indigeneity on the move . Berghahn, New York 2018.
- ↑ Interview from October 4, 2010.
- ↑ Brazil confirms existence of an uncontacted people
- ↑ The Seattle Post recently reported: Michael Astor: Brazil says uncontacted Amazon tribe threatened , May 30, 2008 ( Memento of the original from June 3, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. .
- ↑ Wolfgang Lindig, Mark Münzel: The Indians. Volume 2: Central and South America. 3. Edition. dtv Wissenschaft, Munich 1985, p. 10.