Afro-Bolivian monarchy

Last updated
King of the Afro-Bolivians
Rey Afroboliviano (Spanish)
Escudo Real Afroboliviano.svg
Incumbent
ReyJulioPinedo.png
Julio I
since 18 April 1992
Details
Style His Majesty
Heir apparent Prince Rolando Julio
First monarch Uchicho
Formation1823
Website casarealafroboliviana.org

The Afro-Bolivian Royal House (Spanish: la Casa Real Afroboliviana) is a ceremonial monarchy recognized as part of the Plurinational State of Bolivia, which does not interfere with the system of the Presidential republic in force within the country. It was established in 1823 with the coronation of King Uchicho and is centered in Mururata, a village in the Yungas region of Bolivia. The monarchy is treated as a customary leader of the Afro-Bolivian community. The powers of the Afro-Bolivian king are similar to those of a traditional king, representing the Afro-Bolivian community. The current Afro-Bolivian monarchs are King Julio Pinedo and Queen Angélica Larrea.

Contents

History

The components of this royal house are the descendants of an old African tribal monarchy that were brought to Bolivia as slaves. [1] The founding monarch, Uchicho, was allegedly of Kongo and Senegalese origin, and was brought to the hacienda of the Marquis de Pinedo, in the area of Los Yungas in what is now La Paz Department. Other slaves allegedly recognized him as a man of regal background (a prince from the ancient Kingdom of Kongo) when seeing his torso exposed with royal tribal marks only held by royalty. [2] He was crowned in 1823, and was succeeded by Bonifaz, who adopted the surname of Pinedo, the plantation owner. [2] Bonifaz was succeeded by Don José and Don Bonifacio, the latter of whom was born in 1880 and crowned in 1932. [2] When Bonifacio died in 1954, the house was led by his oldest daughter Doña Aurora Pinedo. Because of the lack of a male heir, the kingdom was left without a king for 38 years. [3] Aurora's oldest son, Julio Pinedo, was given the title of king in 1992. [2] His wife, Angélica Larrea, became queen upon her husband's ascension.

The Royal House was officially recognized by the Bolivian state in 2007 with the public coronation of Julio, the current King of the Afro-Bolivian community, which was done by the authorities of the La Paz Department. [4] [2] They are a ceremonial monarchy, similar to a traditional tribal chiefdom, and have no police force nor do they collect taxes from citizens. [2]

King Julio has a son, Prince Rolando, who was born in 1994. By 2021 he was studying law at the Universidad de Los Andes in La Paz and preparing for his prospective role as king, stating that his ambitions were to "keep pushing forward to make the Afro-Bolivian community more recognised and visible, the way my father has done until now". [2]

List of monarchs

The heir apparent is the present king's nephew and adopted son, Crown Prince Rolando Julio Pinedo Larrea.

Order of Merit

Flag of the Afro-Bolivian monarchy Flag Afrobolivian.svg
Flag of the Afro-Bolivian monarchy

King Julio I established a dynastic order and order of merit, named in honor of the first Afro-Bolivian king, on 5 January 2012. [5] The Afro-Bolivian king serves as the sovereign Grand Master of the dynastic order, called the Royal Order of Merit of Prince Uchicho (Spanish: Gran Cruz de la Real Orden del Mérito del Príncipe Uchicho). [5] The order is awarded by the monarch motu proprio , at the proposal of the representative authorities of the Afro-Bolivian community, or by the request of the interested party upon presenting a succinct list of the merits acquired in favor of the Royal House or the community and the documentation that accredits them. [5]

The Royal Order of Merit of Prince Uchicho's governance:

The degrees of the order are:

Notable recipients of the order include Bishop Juan Vargas y Aruquipa; Miguel Dongil y Sánchez; Francisco Manuel de las Heras y Borrero; Prime Minister John Baptist Walusimbi of Buganda, Prince David Alexander Ssimbwa of Buganda, and Prince Daudi Kintu Wasajja of Buganda. [5]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prince regent</span> Prince who rules in place of a monarch due to incapacity or absence

A prince regent or princess regent is a prince or princess who, due to their position in the line of succession, rules a monarchy as regent in the stead of a monarch, e.g., as a result of the sovereign's incapacity or absence.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Order of merit</span> Honorific order that is conferred by a sovereign entity

An order of merit is an honorific order that is conferred by a state, government, royal family, or other sovereign entity to an individual in recognition of military or civil merit. The historical background of the modern honours system of orders of merit may be traced to the emergence of chivalric orders during the Middle Ages.

Pinedo may refer to:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Afro-Bolivians</span> Ethnic group in Bolivia

Afro-Bolivians, also known as Black Bolivians, are Bolivians who have predominantly or total Sub-Saharan African ancestry and therefore the descriptive "Afro-Bolivian" may refer to historical or cultural elements in Bolivia thought to emanate from their community. It can also refer to the combining of African and other cultural elements found in Bolivian society such as religion, music, language, the arts, and class culture. The Afro-Bolivians are recognized as one of the constituent ethnic groups of Bolivia by the country's government, and are ceremonially led by a king who traces his descent back to a line of monarchs that reigned in Africa during the medieval period. They numbered 23,000 according to the 2012 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Julio Pinedo</span> Afro-Bolivian king

DonJulio Bonifaz Pinedo is the ceremonial king of the Afro-Bolivian community of the Nor Yungas province, crowned in 1992, forty years after the death of the previous king, his grandfather Bonifacio Pinedo. His coronation took place during a Catholic ceremony in the chapel at the hacienda of the Marquis de Pinedo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bonifacio Pinedo</span> Afro-Bolivian king

DonBonifacio Pinedo was the King of the Afro-Bolivians from 1932 to 1954. As the ceremonial king, he presided over religious festivities celebrating Saint Benedict the Moor and was responsible for matchmaking in the Afro-Bolivian community. His role was suppressed during the Bolivian National Revolution.

Prince Daudi Kintu Wasajja, also called David Wasajja, is a prince of Buganda, the largest traditional kingdom in Uganda.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mónica Rey Gutiérrez</span>

Adalberta Mónica Rey Gutiérrez is an Afro-Bolivian cultural leader and activist whose anthropological research helped pass legislation for formal recognition of Afro-Bolivians as an ethnic category in the census of the country. After serving as an educator and cultural activist for many years, she went to work in the government. She is currently a supranational delegate in the Plurinational Legislative Assembly of Bolivia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jorge Medina</span> Bolivian politician (1968–2022)

Jorge Medina Barra was a Bolivian civil rights activist and politician who served as a member of the Chamber of Deputies from La Paz, representing its special indigenous circumscription from 2010 to 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ancelma Perlacios</span> Bolivian politician (born 1964)

Ancelma Perlacios Peralta is a Bolivian cocalera activist, politician, and trade unionist who served as senator for La Paz from 2015 to 2020.

Mururata is a village in the tropical valleys of the Bolivian Yungas. It is a centre of Afro-Bolivian culture and the seat of the ceremonial Afro-Bolivian monarchy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Angélica Larrea</span> Afro-Bolivian Queen

DoñaAngélica Larrea de Pinedo is the Ceremonial Queen of the Afro-Bolivians, as the wife of Ceremonial King Julio Pinedo. She twice served as the mayor of Mururata.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aurora Pinedo</span> Ceremonial Princess-Regent of the Afro-Bolivians

DoñaAurora Pinedo was the Princess Regent of the Afro-Bolivians from 1954 to 1992. As her father, Bonifacio I, had no male heirs, she succeeded him as princess regent following his death in 1954.

DonRolando Julio Pinedo y Larrea, Crown Prince of the Afro-Bolivians is a Bolivian lawyer and a member of the Afro-Bolivian royal family. He is the current heir to the Afro-Bolivian throne and Grand Chancellor of Africa of the Royal Order of Merit of Prince Uchicho

Uchico was the first King of the Afro-Bolivians. He was captured and brought to Bolivia as a slave around 1820. He was crowned as Afro-Bolivian king in 1823.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Juan Vargas Aruquipa</span> Bolivian prelate of the Catholic prelate

Monsignor Juan Vargas y Aruquipa is a Bolivian prelate of the Catholic Church. He served as the Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Coroico from 1997 to 2022. Prior to his post as diocesan bishop, he served as an auxiliary bishop in Coroico and as a titular bishop of the Titular See of Bita. During his time as bishop, he was one of Bolivia's only two Catholic bishops of indigenous descent. He is the president of Unidad Académica Campesina-Carmen Pampa.

Prince Alexander David Ssimbwa was a Ugandan royal, diplomat, and revolutionary. He was born a prince of the Kingdom of Buganda as the son of King Daudi Cwa II. In the 1960s, he was arrested during the Mengo Crisis for allegedly conspiring against President Milton Obote. Following his release from prison in 1971, Ssimbwa served as the Ugandan Ambassador to China during the administration of President Yoweri Museveni.

John Baptist Walusimbi is a Ugandan politician and engineer who served as the Katikkiro of the Kingdom of Buganda from 2008 to 2013.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Miguel Dongil y Sánchez</span> Spanish historian and official of the Afro-Bolivian monarchy

Miguel Dongil y Sánchez, Duke of Dongil is a Spanish historian and academic. He was appointed by King Julio I of the Afro-Bolivians to serve as the Communications Advisor for the Afro-Bolivian monarchy and as Grand Chancellor of Europe of the Royal Order of Merit of Prince Uchicho. He was ennobled by Julio I, becoming the Duke of Dongil.

DonFrancisco Manuel de las Heras y Borrero, Duke of the Royal City of Mururata, Baron de Heras was a Spanish historian, aristocrat, and civil servant.

References

  1. ↑ Rodríguez, Andres (January 19, 2018). "El retorno del rey negro boliviano a sus raíces africanas". El País– via elpais.com.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Busqué, Jordi (11 March 2021). "Bolivia's little-known tribal kingdom". www.bbc.com. Retrieved 16 March 2021.
  3. ↑ Blair, Laurence (6 December 2017). "Bolivia's Afro king leads a long-neglected group stepping out of the shadows". The Guardian . Retrieved 4 October 2024.
  4. ↑ "Web Oficial de la Casa Real Afroboliviana". www.casarealafroboliviana.org (in Spanish).
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "Real Orden del Mérito". Afro-Bolivian Royal House. Retrieved 3 May 2024.
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