article

Slaves without masters?: Arawakan dynasties among the Chiriguano (Bolivian Chaco, sixteenth to twentieth centuries)

Ethnohistory53 (4) • Published In 2006 • Pages: 689-714

By: Combès, Isabelle, Lowrey, Kathleen.

Abstract
The Chiriguano are the product of a Guaraní invasion of the more numerous Chané, an Arawakan tribe that had previously settled the region. Some scholars have depicted this as a violent process, with the former enslaving the latter and in some accounts even eating them. The author instead suggests that an Arawakan ethos of accommodation would have led to a process whereby the Chané absorbed the Guaraní, exchanged women with them, and produced a hybrid population that came to be known as the Chiriguano. Furthermore, the author argues that centrifugal political forces within Amazonian tribes could not long accommodate the social hierarchy inherent in a slave society.
Subjects
Identification
Theoretical orientation in research and its results
Historical and archival research
Historical reconstruction
Cultural participation
Cultural identity and pride
Linguistic identification
Ethnic stratification
Chief executive
culture
Chiriguano
HRAF PubDate
2024
Region
South America
Sub Region
Southern South America
Document Type
article
Evaluation
Creator Type
Ethnologist
Document Rating
4: Excellent Secondary Data
5: Excellent Primary Data
Analyst
Ian Skoggard; 2023
Field Date
not applicable
Coverage Date
1555-2006
Coverage Place
Tarija, Chuquisaca, and southwestern Santa Cruz departments, Bolivia
Notes
Isabelle Combès ; Kathleen Lowrey
Includes bibliographical references (p. 711-714)
LCCN
57043343
LCSH
Chiriguano Indians