Ayoreo

Paola Canova

Ayoreo (singular), Ayoreode (plural), Zamuco, Zatienos, Caitpotorades, Morotocas, Ugaraños, Yanaiguas, Guaranocas, Pyta Yobai

The Ayoreo are a group of foragers who roamed the Gran Chaco region of Paraguay and Bolivia previous to their permanent ‘contact’ in the mid-1960s. The limits of their ancestral territory were: the mountain ranges of the Chiquitanía to the north and the Mennonite Colonies of the central Chaco region to the south; to the west the Parapetí and Grande rivers and to the east the Paraguay River. The center of their territory was located in the area of the salt pans by Cerro San Miguel on the Paraguay-Bolivia border. They were divided in several subgroups, the largest of which were the Direquene-gosode, Guidai-gosode, Garai-gosode, and Totobie-gosode.

In 2013, the Ayoreo population numbered approximately 5,600 individuals. In 2012, the total population living in Bolivia was 2,656 scattered among twenty-nine villages. Of these villages, nineteen are located in rural areas, while ten were in peri-urban and urban areas. In Paraguay, by 2012 there were 2,481 Ayoreo individuals established in twenty-six rural villages or comunidades indígenas located in two departamentos of the Chaco region: Alto Paraguay (968 individuals) and Boquerón (1,513 individuals) (DGEEC 2012). In addition, there are two urban settlements in the Mennonite Colonies of Boquerón: Guidai Icha and Olería. Neither of these settlements is legally recognized and their populations fluctuate (Canova 2011). In Alto Paraguay the Ayoreo have three settlements legally recognized that are located on the Paraguay River near the town of Carmelo Peralta. There is also a small group of Ayoreo still living in so-called voluntary isolation, in the northern Chaco region, scattered along the border with Bolivia.

The Ayoreo—along with the Ishir indigenous peoples—belong to the Zamuco linguistic family. Their predecessors, known as Zamucos, were first mentioned in the Jesuit Cartas Annuas of 1717-1718 by Jesuit father Hervas, who classified them according to their dialects into four different groups: Zamucos and Zatienos, Caitpotorades, Morotocas, and Ugaraños. According to Sušnik (1964), the Zamucos of the eighteenth century might have been related to the sixteenth century Tamacocis who themselves paid tribute to the Chiriguanos.

The Ayoreo only came to be known as such during the mid-twentieth century; prior to that they lived in small groups that derived their names from the places they inhabited. As mentioned above, they have been linked to the eighteenth century Zamucos who had their hunting grounds south of the region of Chiquitos.₁ By 1716, Jesuits led the missionization of the provinces of the Zamucos. Initially they established the mission of San Ignacio de Zamuco, which only lasted until 1723 due to the harshness of the environment and hostilities between Zamuco groups. With the aim of breaking intertribal hostilities, the Jesuits re-settled some small Zamuco groups at San José mission (1723-1738). However, all efforts to Christianize the Zamuco were abandoned in 1750. By that time, some had been sent to the mission of Sagrado Corazón de Jesus, where they were absorbed, over time, by the intense process of assimilation or "chiquitanization” (Sušnik 1964).

Since at least the sixteenth until the twentieth century, the Ayoreo have had a continuous presence along the northern Paraguay-Bolivia border. This region, located in the area of the saltpans of Cerro San Miguel, has been considered the center of Ayoreo territory since even before the arrival of the Jesuits. During the early twentieth century, internal conflicts and warfare increased among the Ayoreo, fueled by more frequent incursions by outsiders (military and civil) into their territories. During this time period two large and important confederacies were established: the Direquedejnai-gosode or "people from the following day" in the northern Ayoreo territory and the Guidai-gosode or "people from the villages" to the south. These groups engaged in warfare against each other. Pressure on the northern group was such that in 1947 it finally drove them to make contact with missionaries of the New Tribes Mission on the Bolivian side of the border.

After the expulsion of the Jesuits, and over the following century, the Zamuco were 'erased' from history. By the early nineteenth century travelers to the region made references to groups of Zamucos, albeit under other names. Individuals such as the Franciscan priest and missionary Jose Cardús, as well as the French naturalist Alcide D’Orbigny (who visited several former Jesuit missions in eastern Bolivia between 1831-1832), made reference to the Yanaigua and Guaranoca groups, who can be possibly traced to current Ayoreo (Kelm 1964).

In Paraguay, Ayoreo were contacted and settled in mission stations during the 1960s. Catholics of the Salesian order were the first to make contact, in 1962. They settled members of the Garai-gosode group in mission station Puerto María Auxiliadora. With the support of the Mennonites, The New Tribes Mission contacted the Guidai-gosode and Totobie-gosode starting in 1966. They settled first in mission station Cerro León, from where they moved to mission station Faro Moro and later mission station Campo Loro, the latter by the Mennonite Colonies of the central Chaco region.

During pre-mission times, economic activities took place according to an annual cycle, divided into two different periods according to religious and ecological criteria. During the puyak eami, or “period of the prohibited world” (May to August), which partially coincided with the dry season (approximately May to December), the Ayoreo lived as nomads, mostly hunting and gathering (including produce from the previous planting season). After that, the time of the uomi eami or “free world” (September to April) would start and mark the beginning of the putaningai or planting season, during which they cultivated different varieties of squash, beans, corn and tobacco (approximately September to December). During this period, the Ayoreo settled in degui or semi-permanent villages. Notably, they organized agricultural activities in a way that would not interfere with the continuation of their foraging activities. At the end of the sekere, or harvesting season, (approximately December to April) they would break up into smaller groups and resume roaming their territories (Bórmida and Califano 2003 [1978]).

Today, subsistence agriculture continues to be part of Ayoreo livelihood although to a much lesser degree. Most villages have communal plots where they grow watermelon, squash and beans for household consumption only.

Nowadays, the Ayoreo rely primarily on wage labor for the maintenance of their livelihoods. In Paraguay, Ayoreo work mostly in ranching/agricultural jobs such as clearing pasture lands and building fences. Additional income comes from the sale of firewood, charcoal, wood products and handicrafts.

The division of labor has traditionally been according to gender. During pre-mission times, women played an important role in the productive sphere alongside men. They would accompany their partners on hunting trips to collect honey and plant fibers. Women were responsible for the production of common articles such as covers and carrying bags. Men’s activities focused on hunting and warfare. In the camps, both were responsible for the exchange and redistribution of hunted goods and cultivation of the vegetable garden together with their partners.

Recently, men have become the main providers of cash income through wage labor. Women’s roles have been relegated to the domestic sphere: cooking and child rearing are now their main activities.

Crafts produced had utilitarian purposes, such as pottery, and hand or loom woven textiles made from dajudie (Bromelia hieronymi) fiber.

The Ayoreo never had a sense of private ownership of land, rivers and mountains. However, local groups had specific hunting grounds within which they moved until settled in mission stations starting in the late 1940s in Bolivia and mid-1960s in Paraguay.

The Ayoreo system of descent is patrilineal. Kin members can be united by consanguinity or clan affiliation. Ayoreo have seven different exogamous clans: Chiquenoi, Posorajai, Pikanerai, Cutamurajai, Jurumine, Dosapei, and Etacore. Each clan has a mythical origin related to a Jnani Bajai or “Original Being.” There are goods associated with each clan and there is a hierarchy ascribed to each clan, recognized by all Ayoreo. Clan affiliation can also take place through adoption. Relations between clan members are mediated through practices of exchange and reciprocity.

Teknonymy is widely used among Ayoreo to refer to children and grandchildren. For parents, the suffix -de is added to the name of the child to refer to the father, and the suffix -date is added to refer to the mother; e.g. Parojai-de (the father of Parojai), and Parojai-date (the mother of Parojai). For grandparents the suffix –dakide is added to the name to refer to the grandfather (e.g. Parojai-dakide, the grandfather of Parojai), and -kode to the grandmother (e.g. Parojai-kode, the grandmother of Parojai). The use of teknonymy expresses respect although it does not necessarily force individuals to discontinue the use of their given name.

The Ayoreo refer to the act of marrying using the verb extension -ijina, “to accompany.” There is no ritual associated with marriage other than moving into the spouse’s household. It is common for young couples to marry and leave their partners several times before settling permanently with someone. Most marriages of young people undergo an implicit trial period. As long as the couple does not bear children, the marriage can be terminated without social sanction. Presently, marriages are exclusively monogamous, although prior to permanent contact polygamy was practiced by asutedie or chiefs.

The jogasui, or extended family, is the fundamental Ayoreo economic unit and is structured according to either agnatic or cognatic relations. Its members live in spatial proximity within the guidai or village. They are bound by practices of reciprocity and redistribution, which continue to be the two paramount values for the reproduction of social relations between families and larger households. Sharing items that range from food to working tools occurs on a daily basis. Women make decisions on how to redistribute and/or reciprocate goods, with the endorsement of the husband. While living away from the village, a member of an extended family can continue to be part of his/her jogasui as long as he/she keeps affective as well as economic ties to it.

No inheritance rules are observed by the Ayoreo. Most individual possessions are buried with the owner upon death.

The first life stage is that of disi or child, which lasts until about twelve years of age. The transition away from childhood for girls was symbolically marked by their first period and the use of a dajudie (bromeliad fiber) skirt. At this time, females became known as gapu gatoi or “girl with hair” (pl. gapudie gatodé). The term (which continues to be used despite the fact that this aesthetic practice is no longer observed) makes reference to letting the hair grow for the first time as they transitioned from childhood to adolescence (up to that age children would shave their heads). This was the stage during which young women began to experiment sexually, although still under parental control. At this time, both sexes increasingly contributed to the economic tasks of the household. Young men or jnacare gatodé relocated in order to spend most of their nights at the center of the camp in the jnacare iguijnai or “young men's hut” together with others of their age. It was here that they received the visits of young women. During this time, young men started to accompany relatives to learn how to hunt, but they were not yet involved in warfare and killings.

By age seventeen, adolescent girls or gapu gatodé transitioned again into becoming full gapu or young women (pl. gapudie). During this stage they were allowed for the first time to engage their sexuality in an independent and non-apprehensive way, without parental control. Sexual flirting and courting was, and still is, initiated exclusively by women. Men expected young women to move from one partner to another, a practice that was seen as neither morally nor socially suspect, but rather constitutive of a woman's sexual sense of self (Canova 2014). The next stage, full womanhood or manhood, is not achieved with marriage but with the birth of the first child.

While exchange and reciprocity are considered leveling mechanisms in the egalitarian societies of the Paraguayan Chaco, in the case of the Ayoreo exchange and reciprocity were—and continue to be— paramount to sustaining relations of domination and hierarchy within their social structure. While in the economic sphere this served to further an “egalitarian” access to material goods and resources, in the social sphere, it allowed the maintenance of social hierarchy. The jogasui, or extended family, continues to play a fundamental role in this process as the keeper of social power and prestige.

Despite being considered an ‘egalitarian society,’ the Ayoreo have a hierarchical model of social structure organized around prestige and social standing. During pre-mission life, men achieved social standing either by becoming an asute (chief) or narijai (shaman). The former was more important in hierarchical order, but was not exclusionary. The main quality of the asute was his courage, while for the shaman it was his power or ujopie. Both employed their status to protect their village and group. As a result of intense missionization, shamans were mostly eradicated by the 1980s. An individual could also gain social prestige by knowing therapeutic songs, or by being a good hunter. Late adulthood continues to be considered the time during which Ayoreo men reach the peak of their knowledge, influence and prestige.

The role of asute (chief) was prohibited to women, and female shamans were rare. The prestige and influence of a woman would grow with that of her partner. To achieve this, her conduct—along with that of her family—had to be exemplary. In the absence of her husband and other leaders, she would be in charge of making decisions relevant to the group. In addition, she had to distinguish herself by her personal abilities, such as being a good counselor to young women, raising children, and having an aptitude for handiwork.

The Ayoreo have never had a unified political organization; they instead lived divided into local groups. Each local group was comprised of eighty to one hundred members, and moved within its own particular territory. They received their name according to a defining feature or event in the region within which they moved. Rather than being monolithic, these groups and the territories they occupied were fluid and underwent both fusions and divisions according to specific situations or events. While some groups had friendly relations with each other, there were ongoing hostilities between other groups, and oftentimes a number of groups would submit to the leadership of one group to engage in warfare. Fischermann (2001) identified over fifty local groups during the 1970s. In Paraguay current groups include, among others: the Ducode-gosode, Garai-gosode, Totobie-gosode, Odocobui-gosode, Tie-gosode, Ñamocode-gosode, Ijnapui-gosode, Amome-gosode, Aboroe-gosode, and Erape pari-gosode.

Social control was customarily acquired through taboos expressed through mythology, shamans, and the leadership of the asute or chief. Before dying, the Jnani Bajade (“Original Beings”) left prohibitions, precepts, or precautions to be considered regarding specific situations similar to those in which they found themselves, resulting in the protagonist’s eventual death and transformation in the mythical narrative. Ayoreo referred to the proscriptions left by the Jnani Bajade as puyak or “that which is prohibited” (pl. puyade[/n]). These prohibitions surfaced in all aspects of Ayoreo life and were expressed in distinct ways that included relations to people and relations to things. They even had a temporal dimension; there were times of the year that were considered charged with innumerable taboos. Due to intense Christianization the observance of myriad taboos have been discontinued.

Warfare was a salient aspect of Ayoreo culture. Its main goal was to elevate masculine prestige and potency. Secondary to this, warfare provided opportunities to acquire goods or captives, although such practices were only occasional and not widespread. Young men were socialized into warfare by participating in forays starting at the age of fifteen to seventeen. However, they would not be directly involved in killings until later in their lives. The number of foe killed would give a warrior the status of chief, socially the most prestigious, and the highest ideal of masculinity. For this, an individual was expected to kill not only animals considered to have mythical potency, such as jaguars, but also Ayoreo enemies and white people, the killing of which conferred the highest degree of prestige (Bormida and Califano 2003 [1978]).

Guede (Sun) was considered a culture hero, with an important role as a creator. Among his positive traits was the responsibility for maintaining the equilibrium between nature and culture, as well as the granting of peoples' requests. On the other hand, Guede was also responsible for many sicknesses (Idoyaga Molina 1998). Eventually the role of Guedé in the mythological corpus took a "supremacist" turn, attributed to Jesuit influence among the Ayoreo during the eighteenth century. Jesuits linked the characteristics of Guede with the Christian God, called Dupade, who was eventually also incorporated into the myths (Casalegno 2000).

According to Ayoreo cosmology, in the beginning of time there was no nature/culture divide. The first “Original Beings” who inhabited this world were the Jnani Bajade, non-human entities with humanoid traits who were considered responsible for conceiving and guiding the current world order which Ayoreo people inhabit. Through different experiences, catastrophes and fights, the Jnani Bajade gave way to the current world order which is known by Ayoreo as the time of the Disi Ejode or “the current generation” (Fischermann 2001).

Presumed contradictory practices of Ayoreo often have driven scholars to claim that they only hold Christian values superficially, and that they continue to hold their “traditional” beliefs as the basis of their ethical system. However, Ayoreo ethical practices are co-constructed at the juncture of values derived from Ayoreo customary ontology, and Christian moral norms as well (Canova 2014).

The Jnani Bajade (“Original Beings”) defined social institutions and rules that guide contemporary Ayoreo lives. All moral principles were established as a result of the experiences that the Jnani Bajade collected based on their day-to-day vicissitudes and the problems they encountered in their interactions. Central figures among the Jnani Bajade included Guede (Sun) and Asojna (Nighthawk), both powerful and respected figures. Guede was identified with the daylight regimes of life and Asojna with the nocturnal regimes. The latter was considered one of the most powerful Original Beings, feared but also venerated by the Ayoreo. Asojna established Death, as well as some illnesses. Her role was to sanction the taboos left by her and other Original Beings. The change of seasons was also associated to Asojna; her reappearance after hibernation announced the beginning of the rainy season and her absence indicated the beginning of the sequeré, or dry season. The latter was a time during which the Ayoreo were particularly observant of taboos related to Asojna, as any activity that inadvertently led to her awakening could have fatal consequences for an individual and their group. The beginning of her time, the rainy season, was celebrated with an important ritual in her honor to assure the renovation of nature and its benefits.

Any individual could become a narijai or shaman. But to achieve this, he or she had had to undergo a transformation to acquire an internal potency known as ujopie. The initiation was done through the ingestion of a strong dose of tobacco juice that caused unconsciousness. If the individual did not vomit up the tobacco, the initiation would be considered successful. Shamans were in charge of performing therapeutic treatment through songs, and their role as medicine men/women gave them prestige and respect within their group.

Sickness was considered a result of failing to observe the taboos left by the “Original Beings.” Such prohibitions varied according to age and gender. For women there were many prohibitions related to items with countless negative potencies. For example, it was forbidden to touch leftover thread from the bags they made. In her myth, Bujote, the weaver-bird, declared that any young woman who touched or reused the leftover thread would have arthritis. The use and handling of other artifacts—such as ceremonial objects and items used in warfare—also were potentially dangerous (Bórmida 1973). There were additional prohibitions related to other aspects of life, such as food and water intake, especially during pregnancy.

Therapeutic treatment included protective songs known as paragapidi that were used to ward off sickness from the village, household or individual. Songs known as sarode were used to treat or cure sicknesses of supernatural origin.

For the Ayoreo, death was foretold by specific signs, related primarily to animal behavior, and individuals could sometimes recognize impending death. Upon death, the body of the individual was buried in a grave with all belongings, such as sandals, bags, and feathers. There were no designated places of burial. According to Ayoreo cosmology, upon death an individual transitions from the numi or terrestrial plane to the naupie or subterranean world inhabited by the dead. As part of the mourning process, crying was performed by the extended family. During this period the surviving spouse would cut their hair and burn a mark on their body.

The culture summary was written by Paola Canova in June, 2016.

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