Wichí
Encyclopedia
The Wichí are an indigenous people of South America
. They are a large group of tribes ranging about the headwaters of the Bermejo River
and the Pilcomayo River
, in Argentina
and Bolivia
.
language family. The total number of speakers can only be estimated; no reliable figures exist. Comparing several sources, the most probable number is from 40 to 50,000 individuals. The Argentine National Institute of Statistics and Censuses
(INDEC) gives a figure of 36,135 for Argentina only.
In Rosario, the third biggest city of Argentina, there's a community of about 10,000 wichi people, all of them fluent in whichi, and some native speakers. There are even a couple of bilingual primary schools.
For Bolivia, Alvarsson estimated between 1,700 and 2,000 speakers in 1988; a census reported 1,912, and Diez Astete & Riester (1996) estimated between 2,300 and 2,600 Weenhayek in sixteen communities.
According to Najlis (1968) and Gordon (2005), three main dialects can be distinguished in the Wichí group: southwestern or Vejós (Wehwós), northeastern or Güisnay (Weenhayek) and northwestern or Nocten (Oktenay). Tovar (1981) and other authors claim the existence of only two dialects (northeastern and southwestern), while Braunstein (1992-3) identifies eleven ethnical subgroups.
The Wichí language is predominantly suffix
ing and polysynthetic
; verbal words have between 2 and 15 morphemes. Alienable and inalienable possession
is distinguished. The phonological inventory is large, with simple, glottalized
and aspirated stop
s and sonorant
s. The number of vowel
s varies with dialect (five or six).
and Franciscan
missionaries
of the 17th and 18th centuries. The first mission came in 1690, but it was unsuccessful. In 1771 the Franciscan Mission of Zenta found a better reception. However, with the decline of the Spanish power these missions also fell into decay.
The Wichí territory does seem to have changed since the 18th century, when the first precise information on their existence and location were known. Their neighbors in the Pilcomayo River area were the Toba
, and their lands on the Bermejo River extended from the current town of Embarcación, Salta, to a region north of current town of Castelli in the Chaco Province.
According to Father Alejandro Corrado, a Franciscan of Tarija, the Wichí were nomadic; their houses were light structures scattered in the jungle. Corrado claims the Wichí lived chiefly upon fish and algarroba, that is, the fruit of the local algarrobo tree (usually identified with Prosopis alba
or South American mesquite
), as well as honey-locust, but "they ate anything that was not poison
ous, even rat
s and grasshopper
s". From the algarroba they were said to prepare an intoxicating liquor (this is probably aloja, produced by fermentation
of the sugar-loaded patay paste inside the fruit). The ripening of the algarroba was celebrated by a ceremony.
Also in Corrado's words, among the Wichí "everything is in common". He claimed that there was a division of tasks, the men occupying themselves with fishing
or occasional hunting
with bow or club, and the women doing practically all the other work.
As for religious belief
, Corrado wrote that the Wichí medicine men
fight off disease
"with singing and rattle", that the Wichí believe in a good spirit
and a bad spirit, and that the soul
of the deceased is reincarnated
in an animal.
The Pentecostal Church of Sweden
started working within the Wichí community in the early parts of the last century which resulted in that a vast majority of the Weenhayek's are Christians. The fact that the terms of possessions and ownership does not exist within the community has made this conversion quite easy. Everyone owns everything (and nothing) together just as the Bible
talks about was the case with the first churches as well. There are other facts that has helped the contextualisation of the gospel
, like the Weenhayek being fishermen (in the Pilcomayo River
) just as some of the deciples of the bible
. These facts has made it possible for the Weenhayek to maintain their unique cultural identity and traditions in spite of also embracing faith in Christianity.
became desertified
by deforestation
, introduction of cattle
and, more recently, by the introduction of alien crops (soybean
). A study made in 1998 by a graduate student from Clark University
, Worcester, MA
based on satellite
photo surveys showed that between 1984 and 1996 20% of the forest has been lost.
The Wichí were affected by the recession
that lasted from 1999 to 2002, but their relative economic self-sufficiency, their physical isolation and the lack of recognition on the part of the authorities largely diminished the impact of the crisis, which was circumscribed on inflation
in the price of certain goods they cannot produce (such as sugar and red meat, replaceable by wild honey and fish) and on problems with the supply of medicines and healthcare.
For many years, the Wichí have been struggling to get legal titles to the land they traditionally own, constantly seized and fenced by non-indigenous cattlers and farmers. Their main claims are centered in two large public land areas in eastern Salta, known as Lote 55 (about 2,800 km²) and Lote 14. The Wichí rights to that land have been recognised by law, but no practical enforcement actions have been taken by the Salta provincial government.
At the beginning of 2004, the government of Salta decided to lift the protected status of the General Pizarro Natural Reserve, an area of 250 km² in the Anta Department inhabited by about 100 Wichí, and sell part of the land to two private companies, Everest SA and Initium Aferro SA, to be deforested and planted with soybean
. After months of complaints, legal struggle, and a campaign sponsored by Greenpeace
, on 29 September 2005 (after an exposure in a popular TV show) a group of Argentine artists, actors, musicians, models, environmental groups and Wichí representatives arranged a hearing with Chief of Cabinet Alberto Fernández, Director of the National Parks Administration Héctor Espina and President Néstor Kirchner
himself. The national government promised to discuss the matter with Salta governor Juan Carlos Romero.
On 14 October 2005 the National Parks Administration and the government of Salta signed an agreement to create a new national protected area in General Pizarro. Of the approximately 213 km² comprised by the new reserve, the Wichí will have the right of use of 22 km², and they will own 8 km².
peoples, were semi-nomad
ic. Even today and despite transculturation, there is a fairly large number of montaraces (nomadic) communities or clans. Each Wichí village has its own territory, but usually a few communities share the use of the overlapping areas. Each community consists of one or more clans. Wichi society is matrilocal, i.e., people belong to their mothers' clans; upon marriage
, men move to their wives' villages. Individuals and families of some of the neighboring peoples like the Iyojwaja (Chorote), Nivaklé, Qomlek (Toba
) and Tapy'y (Tapieté
) often live amongst the Wichí, sometimes marrying into their society.
They build small mud houses with roofs made of leaves and branches, well adapted to the high temperatures of summer that can reach 50 °C (120 °F). During the dry season (winter) they depend on fishing in the Bermejo and Pilcomayo rivers, and cultivate corn
, pumpkin
s, beans and watermelon
s during summer. Throughout the year the Wichí hunt deer
s (Cervidae) like "guasuncho" (Mazama goauzoubira) and "corzuela roja"(Mazama americana), armadillo
s (Dasypus, Tolypeutes and Euphractus genii), rabbit
s ("tapetí", Sylvilagus brasiliensis), several types of iguana
and peccaries
(Tayassu albirostris, Tayassu tajacu); search for wild honey
and gather fruits. For centuries they have used the strong fibers of chaguar
(Bromelia serra, Bromelia hieronymi) for weaving
nets, purses and other textile objects; some communities base a substantial part of their economy in selling chaguar handicrafts.
The most popular game among the Wichí is a team sport called `yaj ha`lä, which resembles lacrosse
. Games usually last from dawn to dusk without interruption, and are agreed between clans. The magical significance of the game is lost, but it is still a subject of heavy gambling
: rival clans bet animals, clothes, seeds and horses on the outcome of the game.
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
. They are a large group of tribes ranging about the headwaters of the Bermejo River
Bermejo River
The Bermejo River is a river in South America that flows from Bolivia to the Paraguay River in Argentina. The river is generally called Bermejo in spite of its different names along its way, but it also has its own Native American names; in Wichí it is called Teuco, and in Guaraní it is called Ypitá...
and the Pilcomayo River
Pilcomayo River
The Pilcomayo River is a river in central South America. At long, it is the longest western tributary of the Paraguay River. Its drainage basin is in area, and its mean discharge is ....
, in Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
and Bolivia
Bolivia
Bolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...
.
Population
At present, a number of Wichí groups can be found in Argentina and Bolivia, distributed as follows:- Argentina:
- 18 groups in the north-west of ChacoChaco ProvinceChaco is an Argentine province located in the north of the country, near the border with Paraguay. Its capital is Resistencia on the Paraná River opposite the city of Corrientes...
, about 180 km north-west of the town of Castelli. - Many communities in FormosaFormosa ProvinceFormosa Province is in northeastern Argentina, part of the Gran Chaco Region. Its northeast end touches Asunción, Paraguay, and borders the provinces of Chaco and Salta to its south and west, respectively...
, departments of Bermejo (15 communities), Matacos (10 communities), Patiño (7 communities) and Ramón Lista (33 communities). - Other communities are located in SaltaSalta ProvinceSalta is a province of Argentina, located in the northwest of the country. Neighboring provinces are from the east clockwise Formosa, Chaco, Santiago del Estero, Tucumán and Catamarca. It also surrounds Jujuy...
, departments of San Martín (21 communities), Rivadavia (57 communities, some of them with just a few individuals), Orán, Metán (2 communities) and Anta (3 communities), being the latter three more isolated; and in JujuyJujuy ProvinceJujuy is a province of Argentina, located in the extreme northwest of the country, at the borders with Chile and Bolivia. The only neighboring Argentine province is Salta to the east and south.-History:...
, departments of Santa Bárbara, San Pedro and Ledesma.
- 18 groups in the north-west of Chaco
- Bolivia: Gran Chaco province, Tarija Department, on the Pilcomayo RiverPilcomayo RiverThe Pilcomayo River is a river in central South America. At long, it is the longest western tributary of the Paraguay River. Its drainage basin is in area, and its mean discharge is ....
, 14 communities living in the area from (and including) the town of Villa Montes up to D'Orbigny, in the Argentine border.
Wichí language
Wichi is the most widely spoken language of the MatacoanMatacoan languages
Matacoan is a language family of northern Argentina, western Paraguay, and southeastern Bolivia.-Family division:...
language family. The total number of speakers can only be estimated; no reliable figures exist. Comparing several sources, the most probable number is from 40 to 50,000 individuals. The Argentine National Institute of Statistics and Censuses
National Institute of Statistics and Census of Argentina
National Statistics and Censuses Institute is the Argentine government agency responsible for the collection and processing of statistical data...
(INDEC) gives a figure of 36,135 for Argentina only.
In Rosario, the third biggest city of Argentina, there's a community of about 10,000 wichi people, all of them fluent in whichi, and some native speakers. There are even a couple of bilingual primary schools.
For Bolivia, Alvarsson estimated between 1,700 and 2,000 speakers in 1988; a census reported 1,912, and Diez Astete & Riester (1996) estimated between 2,300 and 2,600 Weenhayek in sixteen communities.
According to Najlis (1968) and Gordon (2005), three main dialects can be distinguished in the Wichí group: southwestern or Vejós (Wehwós), northeastern or Güisnay (Weenhayek) and northwestern or Nocten (Oktenay). Tovar (1981) and other authors claim the existence of only two dialects (northeastern and southwestern), while Braunstein (1992-3) identifies eleven ethnical subgroups.
The Wichí language is predominantly suffix
Suffix
In linguistics, a suffix is an affix which is placed after the stem of a word. Common examples are case endings, which indicate the grammatical case of nouns or adjectives, and verb endings, which form the conjugation of verbs...
ing and polysynthetic
Polysynthetic language
In linguistic typology, polysynthetic languages are highly synthetic languages, i.e., languages in which words are composed of many morphemes. Whereas isolating languages have a low morpheme-to-word ratio, polysynthetic languages have extremely high morpheme-to-word ratios.Not all languages can be...
; verbal words have between 2 and 15 morphemes. Alienable and inalienable possession
Possession (linguistics)
Possession, in the context of linguistics, is an asymmetric relationship between two constituents, the referent of one of which possesses the referent of the other ....
is distinguished. The phonological inventory is large, with simple, glottalized
Glottalization
Glottalization is the complete or partial closure of the glottis during the articulation of another sound. Glottalization of vowels and other sonorants is most often realized as creaky voice...
and aspirated stop
Stop consonant
In phonetics, a plosive, also known as an occlusive or an oral stop, is a stop consonant in which the vocal tract is blocked so that all airflow ceases. The occlusion may be done with the tongue , lips , and &...
s and sonorant
Sonorant
In phonetics and phonology, a sonorant is a speech sound that is produced without turbulent airflow in the vocal tract; fricatives and plosives are not sonorants. Vowels are sonorants, as are consonants like and . Other consonants, like or , restrict the airflow enough to cause turbulence, and...
s. The number of vowel
Vowel
In phonetics, a vowel is a sound in spoken language, such as English ah! or oh! , pronounced with an open vocal tract so that there is no build-up of air pressure at any point above the glottis. This contrasts with consonants, such as English sh! , where there is a constriction or closure at some...
s varies with dialect (five or six).
History
Much of the information available about the history of the Wichí comes from JesuitSociety of Jesus
The Society of Jesus is a Catholic male religious order that follows the teachings of the Catholic Church. The members are called Jesuits, and are also known colloquially as "God's Army" and as "The Company," these being references to founder Ignatius of Loyola's military background and a...
and Franciscan
Franciscan
Most Franciscans are members of Roman Catholic religious orders founded by Saint Francis of Assisi. Besides Roman Catholic communities, there are also Old Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, ecumenical and Non-denominational Franciscan communities....
missionaries
Mission (Christian)
Christian missionary activities often involve sending individuals and groups , to foreign countries and to places in their own homeland. This has frequently involved not only evangelization , but also humanitarian work, especially among the poor and disadvantaged...
of the 17th and 18th centuries. The first mission came in 1690, but it was unsuccessful. In 1771 the Franciscan Mission of Zenta found a better reception. However, with the decline of the Spanish power these missions also fell into decay.
The Wichí territory does seem to have changed since the 18th century, when the first precise information on their existence and location were known. Their neighbors in the Pilcomayo River area were the Toba
Toba (tribe)
The Toba are an ethnic group in Argentina, Bolivia and Paraguay. They are part of a larger group of indigenous inhabitants of the Gran Chaco region, called the Guaycurues. As of 2005, there are 47,951 Toba in Argentina, living in the provinces of Chaco, Formosa and Santa Fe.The Toba name themselves...
, and their lands on the Bermejo River extended from the current town of Embarcación, Salta, to a region north of current town of Castelli in the Chaco Province.
According to Father Alejandro Corrado, a Franciscan of Tarija, the Wichí were nomadic; their houses were light structures scattered in the jungle. Corrado claims the Wichí lived chiefly upon fish and algarroba, that is, the fruit of the local algarrobo tree (usually identified with Prosopis alba
Prosopis alba
Prosopis alba is a South American tree species that inhabits the center part of Argentina, the Gran Chaco ecoregion and part of the Argentine Mesopotamia. It is known as Algarrobo Blanco in Spanish, which means "white carob tree"...
or South American mesquite
Mesquite
Mesquite is a leguminous plant of the Prosopis genus found in northern Mexico through the Sonoran Desert and Chihuahuan Deserts, and up into the Southwestern United States as far north as southern Kansas, west to the Colorado Desert in California,and east to the eastern fifth of Texas, where...
), as well as honey-locust, but "they ate anything that was not poison
Poison
In the context of biology, poisons are substances that can cause disturbances to organisms, usually by chemical reaction or other activity on the molecular scale, when a sufficient quantity is absorbed by an organism....
ous, even rat
Rat
Rats are various medium-sized, long-tailed rodents of the superfamily Muroidea. "True rats" are members of the genus Rattus, the most important of which to humans are the black rat, Rattus rattus, and the brown rat, Rattus norvegicus...
s and grasshopper
Grasshopper
The grasshopper is an insect of the suborder Caelifera in the order Orthoptera. To distinguish it from bush crickets or katydids, it is sometimes referred to as the short-horned grasshopper...
s". From the algarroba they were said to prepare an intoxicating liquor (this is probably aloja, produced by fermentation
Fermentation (food)
Fermentation in food processing typically is the conversion of carbohydrates to alcohols and carbon dioxide or organic acids using yeasts, bacteria, or a combination thereof, under anaerobic conditions. Fermentation in simple terms is the chemical conversion of sugars into ethanol...
of the sugar-loaded patay paste inside the fruit). The ripening of the algarroba was celebrated by a ceremony.
Also in Corrado's words, among the Wichí "everything is in common". He claimed that there was a division of tasks, the men occupying themselves with fishing
Fishing
Fishing is the activity of trying to catch wild fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping....
or occasional hunting
Hunting
Hunting is the practice of pursuing any living thing, usually wildlife, for food, recreation, or trade. In present-day use, the term refers to lawful hunting, as distinguished from poaching, which is the killing, trapping or capture of the hunted species contrary to applicable law...
with bow or club, and the women doing practically all the other work.
As for religious belief
Religion
Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to...
, Corrado wrote that the Wichí medicine men
Medicine man
"Medicine man" or "Medicine woman" are English terms used to describe traditional healers and spiritual leaders among Native American and other indigenous or aboriginal peoples...
fight off disease
Disease
A disease is an abnormal condition affecting the body of an organism. It is often construed to be a medical condition associated with specific symptoms and signs. It may be caused by external factors, such as infectious disease, or it may be caused by internal dysfunctions, such as autoimmune...
"with singing and rattle", that the Wichí believe in a good spirit
Spirit
The English word spirit has many differing meanings and connotations, most of them relating to a non-corporeal substance contrasted with the material body.The spirit of a living thing usually refers to or explains its consciousness.The notions of a person's "spirit" and "soul" often also overlap,...
and a bad spirit, and that the soul
Soul
A soul in certain spiritual, philosophical, and psychological traditions is the incorporeal essence of a person or living thing or object. Many philosophical and spiritual systems teach that humans have souls, and others teach that all living things and even inanimate objects have souls. The...
of the deceased is reincarnated
Reincarnation
Reincarnation best describes the concept where the soul or spirit, after the death of the body, is believed to return to live in a new human body, or, in some traditions, either as a human being, animal or plant...
in an animal.
The Pentecostal Church of Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
started working within the Wichí community in the early parts of the last century which resulted in that a vast majority of the Weenhayek's are Christians. The fact that the terms of possessions and ownership does not exist within the community has made this conversion quite easy. Everyone owns everything (and nothing) together just as the Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
talks about was the case with the first churches as well. There are other facts that has helped the contextualisation of the gospel
Gospel
A gospel is an account, often written, that describes the life of Jesus of Nazareth. In a more general sense the term "gospel" may refer to the good news message of the New Testament. It is primarily used in reference to the four canonical gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John...
, like the Weenhayek being fishermen (in the Pilcomayo River
Pilcomayo River
The Pilcomayo River is a river in central South America. At long, it is the longest western tributary of the Paraguay River. Its drainage basin is in area, and its mean discharge is ....
) just as some of the deciples of the bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
. These facts has made it possible for the Weenhayek to maintain their unique cultural identity and traditions in spite of also embracing faith in Christianity.
Current threats
Wichí have traditionally lived from hunting, fishing and basic agriculture. Since the beginning of 20th century, significant portions of their traditional land have been taken over by outsiders, and what was once a grasslandGrassland
Grasslands are areas where the vegetation is dominated by grasses and other herbaceous plants . However, sedge and rush families can also be found. Grasslands occur naturally on all continents except Antarctica...
became desertified
Desertification
Desertification is the degradation of land in drylands. Caused by a variety of factors, such as climate change and human activities, desertification is one of the most significant global environmental problems.-Definitions:...
by deforestation
Deforestation
Deforestation is the removal of a forest or stand of trees where the land is thereafter converted to a nonforest use. Examples of deforestation include conversion of forestland to farms, ranches, or urban use....
, introduction of cattle
Cattle
Cattle are the most common type of large domesticated ungulates. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae, are the most widespread species of the genus Bos, and are most commonly classified collectively as Bos primigenius...
and, more recently, by the introduction of alien crops (soybean
Soybean
The soybean or soya bean is a species of legume native to East Asia, widely grown for its edible bean which has numerous uses...
). A study made in 1998 by a graduate student from Clark University
Clark University
Clark University is a private research university and liberal arts college in Worcester, Massachusetts.Founded in 1887, it is the oldest educational institution founded as an all-graduate university. Clark now also educates undergraduates...
, Worcester, MA
Worcester, Massachusetts
Worcester is a city and the county seat of Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. Named after Worcester, England, as of the 2010 Census the city's population is 181,045, making it the second largest city in New England after Boston....
based on satellite
Satellite
In the context of spaceflight, a satellite is an object which has been placed into orbit by human endeavour. Such objects are sometimes called artificial satellites to distinguish them from natural satellites such as the Moon....
photo surveys showed that between 1984 and 1996 20% of the forest has been lost.
The Wichí were affected by the recession
Argentine economic crisis (1999-2002)
The Argentine economic crisis was a financial situation, tied to poilitical unrest, that affected Argentina's economy during the late 1990s and early 2000s...
that lasted from 1999 to 2002, but their relative economic self-sufficiency, their physical isolation and the lack of recognition on the part of the authorities largely diminished the impact of the crisis, which was circumscribed on inflation
Inflation
In economics, inflation is a rise in the general level of prices of goods and services in an economy over a period of time.When the general price level rises, each unit of currency buys fewer goods and services. Consequently, inflation also reflects an erosion in the purchasing power of money – a...
in the price of certain goods they cannot produce (such as sugar and red meat, replaceable by wild honey and fish) and on problems with the supply of medicines and healthcare.
For many years, the Wichí have been struggling to get legal titles to the land they traditionally own, constantly seized and fenced by non-indigenous cattlers and farmers. Their main claims are centered in two large public land areas in eastern Salta, known as Lote 55 (about 2,800 km²) and Lote 14. The Wichí rights to that land have been recognised by law, but no practical enforcement actions have been taken by the Salta provincial government.
At the beginning of 2004, the government of Salta decided to lift the protected status of the General Pizarro Natural Reserve, an area of 250 km² in the Anta Department inhabited by about 100 Wichí, and sell part of the land to two private companies, Everest SA and Initium Aferro SA, to be deforested and planted with soybean
Soybean
The soybean or soya bean is a species of legume native to East Asia, widely grown for its edible bean which has numerous uses...
. After months of complaints, legal struggle, and a campaign sponsored by Greenpeace
Greenpeace
Greenpeace is a non-governmental environmental organization with offices in over forty countries and with an international coordinating body in Amsterdam, The Netherlands...
, on 29 September 2005 (after an exposure in a popular TV show) a group of Argentine artists, actors, musicians, models, environmental groups and Wichí representatives arranged a hearing with Chief of Cabinet Alberto Fernández, Director of the National Parks Administration Héctor Espina and President Néstor Kirchner
Néstor Kirchner
Néstor Carlos Kirchner was an Argentine politician who served as the 54th President of Argentina from 25 May 2003 until 10 December 2007. Previously, he was Governor of Santa Cruz Province since 10 December 1991. He briefly served as Secretary General of the Union of South American Nations ...
himself. The national government promised to discuss the matter with Salta governor Juan Carlos Romero.
On 14 October 2005 the National Parks Administration and the government of Salta signed an agreement to create a new national protected area in General Pizarro. Of the approximately 213 km² comprised by the new reserve, the Wichí will have the right of use of 22 km², and they will own 8 km².
Wichí society
Wichí, as other hunter-gathererHunter-gatherer
A hunter-gatherer or forage society is one in which most or all food is obtained from wild plants and animals, in contrast to agricultural societies which rely mainly on domesticated species. Hunting and gathering was the ancestral subsistence mode of Homo, and all modern humans were...
peoples, were semi-nomad
Nomad
Nomadic people , commonly known as itinerants in modern-day contexts, are communities of people who move from one place to another, rather than settling permanently in one location. There are an estimated 30-40 million nomads in the world. Many cultures have traditionally been nomadic, but...
ic. Even today and despite transculturation, there is a fairly large number of montaraces (nomadic) communities or clans. Each Wichí village has its own territory, but usually a few communities share the use of the overlapping areas. Each community consists of one or more clans. Wichi society is matrilocal, i.e., people belong to their mothers' clans; upon marriage
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
, men move to their wives' villages. Individuals and families of some of the neighboring peoples like the Iyojwaja (Chorote), Nivaklé, Qomlek (Toba
Toba (tribe)
The Toba are an ethnic group in Argentina, Bolivia and Paraguay. They are part of a larger group of indigenous inhabitants of the Gran Chaco region, called the Guaycurues. As of 2005, there are 47,951 Toba in Argentina, living in the provinces of Chaco, Formosa and Santa Fe.The Toba name themselves...
) and Tapy'y (Tapieté
Tapieté
Tapieté is a subdialect of Eastern Bolivian Guaraní spoken by 33 Paraguayans , 100 Argentines, and 70 Bolivians. It is also known as Guasurango, Guasurangue, Tirumbae, Yanaigua, Ñanagua, and Nandeva....
) often live amongst the Wichí, sometimes marrying into their society.
They build small mud houses with roofs made of leaves and branches, well adapted to the high temperatures of summer that can reach 50 °C (120 °F). During the dry season (winter) they depend on fishing in the Bermejo and Pilcomayo rivers, and cultivate corn
Maize
Maize known in many English-speaking countries as corn or mielie/mealie, is a grain domesticated by indigenous peoples in Mesoamerica in prehistoric times. The leafy stalk produces ears which contain seeds called kernels. Though technically a grain, maize kernels are used in cooking as a vegetable...
, pumpkin
Pumpkin
A pumpkin is a gourd-like squash of the genus Cucurbita and the family Cucurbitaceae . It commonly refers to cultivars of any one of the species Cucurbita pepo, Cucurbita mixta, Cucurbita maxima, and Cucurbita moschata, and is native to North America...
s, beans and watermelon
Watermelon
Watermelon is a vine-like flowering plant originally from southern Africa. Its fruit, which is also called watermelon, is a special kind referred to by botanists as a pepo, a berry which has a thick rind and fleshy center...
s during summer. Throughout the year the Wichí hunt deer
Deer
Deer are the ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. Species in the Cervidae family include white-tailed deer, elk, moose, red deer, reindeer, fallow deer, roe deer and chital. Male deer of all species and female reindeer grow and shed new antlers each year...
s (Cervidae) like "guasuncho" (Mazama goauzoubira) and "corzuela roja"(Mazama americana), armadillo
Armadillo
Armadillos are New World placental mammals, known for having a leathery armor shell. Dasypodidae is the only surviving family in the order Cingulata, part of the superorder Xenarthra along with the anteaters and sloths. The word armadillo is Spanish for "little armored one"...
s (Dasypus, Tolypeutes and Euphractus genii), rabbit
Rabbit
Rabbits are small mammals in the family Leporidae of the order Lagomorpha, found in several parts of the world...
s ("tapetí", Sylvilagus brasiliensis), several types of iguana
Iguana
Iguana is a herbivorous genus of lizard native to tropical areas of Central America and the Caribbean. The genus was first described in 1768 by Austrian naturalist Josephus Nicolaus Laurenti in his book Specimen Medicum, Exhibens Synopsin Reptilium Emendatam cum Experimentis circa Venena...
and peccaries
Peccary
A peccary is a medium-sized mammal of the family Tayassuidae, or New World Pigs. Peccaries are members of the artiodactyl suborder Suina, as are the pig family and possibly the hippopotamus family...
(Tayassu albirostris, Tayassu tajacu); search for wild honey
Honey
Honey is a sweet food made by bees using nectar from flowers. The variety produced by honey bees is the one most commonly referred to and is the type of honey collected by beekeepers and consumed by humans...
and gather fruits. For centuries they have used the strong fibers of chaguar
Chaguar
Chaguar is the common name of several related species of South American plants of the family Bromeliaceae, among them Bromelia serra, Bromelia hieronymi, Deinacanthon urbanianum and Pseudananas sagenarius, which are non-woody forest plants with sword-shaped evergreen leaves, resembling yucca...
(Bromelia serra, Bromelia hieronymi) for weaving
Weaving
Weaving is a method of fabric production in which two distinct sets of yarns or threads are interlaced at right angles to form a fabric or cloth. The other methods are knitting, lace making and felting. The longitudinal threads are called the warp and the lateral threads are the weft or filling...
nets, purses and other textile objects; some communities base a substantial part of their economy in selling chaguar handicrafts.
The most popular game among the Wichí is a team sport called `yaj ha`lä, which resembles lacrosse
Lacrosse
Lacrosse is a team sport of Native American origin played using a small rubber ball and a long-handled stick called a crosse or lacrosse stick, mainly played in the United States and Canada. It is a contact sport which requires padding. The head of the lacrosse stick is strung with loose mesh...
. Games usually last from dawn to dusk without interruption, and are agreed between clans. The magical significance of the game is lost, but it is still a subject of heavy gambling
Gambling
Gambling is the wagering of money or something of material value on an event with an uncertain outcome with the primary intent of winning additional money and/or material goods...
: rival clans bet animals, clothes, seeds and horses on the outcome of the game.
See also
The Wichí people speak three languages in addition to Spanish.- Wichí Lhamtés VejozWichí Lhamtés VejozWichí Lhamtés Vejoz is a Mataco-Guaicuru, Wichí language spoken by 25,000 people in Argentina. Speakers are located in the northern states of Formosa, Salta, Jujuy and Chaco....
- Wichí Lhamtés GüisnayWichí Lhamtés GüisnayWichí Lhamtés Güisnay or Wiznay is a Wichí language spoken by 15,000 Wichi people in Argentina.The Wichí languages are predominantly suffixing and polysynthetic; verbal words have between 2 and 15 morphemes. Alienable and inalienable possession is distinguished. The phonological inventory is...
- Wichí Lhamtés NoctenWichí Lhamtés NoctenWichí Lhamtés Nocten is a Wichí language spoken in Argentina by 100 people and 1,911 people in Bolivia in Northcentral Tarija southwest of the Pilcomayo River valley and also in the Pirapo mountain range.-External links:*...
External links
- Wichi language (research, documentation and education in Argentina)
- Wichi Vocabulary List (from the World Loanword Database)
- Comparative Wichi Swadesh vocabulary list (from Wiktionary's Swadesh list appendix)
- INDEC National Institute of Statistics and Censuses of Argentina.
- Grupo Sacham
- Chacolinks - Support for the Wichi people of Argentina (reports on the conservation of the language, culture, lands, etc. of the Wichí)
- To Argentina's Wichi, economic collapse means little, from Latin American Studies; taken from The Washington TimesThe Washington TimesThe Washington Times is a daily broadsheet newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States. It was founded in 1982 by Unification Church founder Sun Myung Moon, and until 2010 was owned by News World Communications, an international media conglomerate associated with the...
, August 13, 2002. - Survival 2002, a report on current threats to the Wichí's rights.
- The Art of Being Wichi, a Norwegian film that is currently being made on the Wichi Indians by Corax Videoproduksjon as.
- Greenpeace. 22 August 2005. Burning of forest lands in Salta (picture gallery).
- About the General Pizarro Natural Reserve:
- Fundación Ambiente y Recursos Naturales. Programa Control Ciudadano del Medio Ambiente. Caso: Desafectación de Reserva Provincial General Pizarro (provincia de Salta).
- Greenpeace. July 2005. Razones por las que no debe destruirse la Reserva de Pizarro (Salta).
- Biodiversidad en América Latina. Argentina: la Reserva de Pizarro a punto de desaparecer. 26 September 2005.
- Página/12 newspaper, 30 September 2005. El reclamo wichí llegó a la Rosada.
- Página/12 newspaper, 15 October 2005. La reconquista de Pizarro.
- Book article Hufty, M. (2008). Pizarro Protected Area: A political ecology perspective on land use, soybeans and Argentina’s nature conservation policy.