Contribution to the ethnography and linguistics of the Uro Indians of Ancoaqui (Bolivia)

Métraux, Alfred; Reynolds, Priscilla

article

Contribution to the ethnography and linguistics of the Uro Indians of Ancoaqui (Bolivia)

Journal de la Société des Americanistes de Paris, n.s. • 27 • Published In 1935 • Pages: HRAF ms: 1-25 [Original: 75-110 , 4 end plates]

By: Métraux, Alfred, Reynolds, Priscilla.

Abstract
This source presents a succinct account of the material culture, social organization and religion of an Uru community of Ancoaqui (Iru-Itu) on the banks of the Desaguadero River, some twenty-five kilometers south of the Bolivian port of Guaqui. The author, accompanied by Professor A. Posnánsky, visited the village for a period of one week in June, 1931, for the primary purpose of obtaining some cross-cultural linguistic data for his Chipaya dictionary. In the process of collecting this information, observations were made on other aspects of Uru culture, forming the content of this source. In his discussion of material culture the author describes dwellings and their furnishings, fishing and fishing equipment, fowling, agriculture (or lack thereof), construction of native boats (balsas), mat and rope making, and dress. The few aspects of social organization noted consist of a listing of clans and moieties, and a few brief notes on community leadership. Religion is approached in terms of customs related to the Pačamama or "earth mother." Additional brief paragraphs discuss native mythology, the general "character" of the Uru, and linguistics. The end plates have been renumbered for simplicity of reference.

Cultural identity and pride