article
Contribution to the study of the Uru or Kot'suñ Indians
Travaux de l'Institut Francais d'Etudes Andines • 1 • Published In 1949 • Pages: HRAF ms: 1-51 [Original: 145-209 ]
By: Vellard, Jehan A. (Jehan Albert), Reynolds, Priscilla.
AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
This important, though limited, source is the first of a series of articles by Vellard and his associates resulting from a long range, multi-disciplinary research project centering upon the Lake Titicaca region of the Andes. A significant part of the author's own research focused on the Uru of Iru-Itu. He says he first visited the Uru in 1938 and claims to have remained in steady contact with during his stay in Bolivia from 1940 to 1944 (in a later publication he notes that he made frequent trips to Iru-Itu between 1940 and 1954). The article opens with a short but crucial discussion of the devastating impact upon Uru life of the severe drought which struck the area from 1940 to 1945, resulting in the virtual extinction of the Uru as an ethnic group. The bulk of the article that follows is in two major sections: linguistic and cultural data; and physical anthropology, consisting principally of anthropometric and serological data (with a detailed list of the inhabitants of Iru-Itu in 1942). The first section contains a series of Uru language texts from two elderly male informants on various topics, followed by an analysis of each consisting of a free translation, a commentary, and linguistic notes. Topics are primarily about the manufacture of balsa boats, fishing, hunting waterfowl, funeral customs, and various beliefs and attitudes. Particularly interesting comparisons are made between Uru and Chipaya texts from the standpoint of linguistics and cultural emphases.
- SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
- Cultural identity and pride
- Speech
- Linguistic identification
- Cultural participation
- Community structure
- Inter-community relations
- Inter-ethnic relations
- Fishing
- Ethnosociology
- Ethnometeorology
- General character of religion
- Organized ceremonial
- Acculturation and culture contact
- cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
- Uru-Chipaya
- HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document
- 2014
- RegionThe area the document pertains to
- South America
- Sub RegionThe more specific area the document pertains to, which is located within the Region
- Central Andes
- Document TypeMay include journal articles, essays, collections of essays, monographs, or chapters/parts of monographs
- article
- Evaluation
- Creator TypeThe type of person writing the document, e.g. Ethnographer, Missionary, Archaeologist, Folklorist, Linguist, Indigenous Person, and so on.
- Anthropologist
- Document Rating A ranking done by HRAF anthropologists based on the strength of the source material on a scale of 1 to 5, as follows: 1 - poor; 2 - fair; 3 - good, useful data, but not uniformly excellent; 4 - excellent secondary data; 5 - excellent primary data.
- 5: Excellent Primary Data
- AnalystThe HRAF anthropologist who subject indexed the document and prepared other materials for the eHRAF culture/tradition collection
- Robert O. Lagacé ; 1966
- Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
- 1938-1944
- Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
- 1938-1944
- Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
- southern Lake Titicaca area, La Paz department, Bolivia
- NotesAdditional notes
- Jehan Vellard
- Translation of: [Contribution à l'étude des Indiens Uru ou Kot'suñs]
- Translated for the HRAF files by Priscilla Reynolds in 1966
- Not translated for the Files: language texts on page 151-169
- Includes bibliographical references
- LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
- Uru Indians