Afro-Bolivians

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Afro-Bolivians
Afroboliviano
Afrobolivianwoman.jpg
An Afro-Bolivian woman dressed in traditional Andean clothing in Coroico
Total population
23,330-100,000 [1]
Regions with significant populations
Los Yungas
Languages
Spanish
Religion
Catholicism • Traditional
Related ethnic groups
West Africans, Central Africans, Afro-Latin Americans and Bolivians

Afro-Bolivians are Bolivian people of Sub-Saharan African heritage 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. [1]

Contents

History of slavery in Bolivia

Map of the Trans-Atlantic slave trade. Slaves from Bolivia were often bought from port cities of the Spanish colonies. African Slave Trade.png
Map of the Trans-Atlantic slave trade. Slaves from Bolivia were often bought from port cities of the Spanish colonies.

In 1544, the Spanish Conquistadors discovered the silver mines in a city now called Potosí, which is on the base of Cerro Rico. They began to enslave the natives as workers in the mines. However, the health of the natives working in the mines became very poor, so the Spanish began to bring in enslaved Sub-Saharan Africans to work in the mines. Slaves were brought as early as the 16th century in Bolivia to work in mines. [2] In Potosí during the 17th century 30,000 Africans were brought to work in the mines from which the total population of Potosí which numbered around 200,000. [3] Slaves were more expensive in Bolivia then other parts of the Spanish colonies costing upwards to 800 pesos. [4] This was due to the fact that they had to be bought from slave ports in the coastal region of the Spanish empire and had to trek from cities like Cartagena, Montevideo, and Buenos Aires to Bolivia. [5]

The National Mint where mills would press silver ingots, extracted by slave labor, to make coins. 20170808 Bolivia 1416+20 Potosi sRGB (37949205862).jpg
The National Mint where mills would press silver ingots, extracted by slave labor, to make coins.

Slaves were put to work in difficult conditions. Some slaves working in the mines survived no more than a few months. Initially, the slaves were not used to working at such a high altitude. Many of these Native and African workers' lives were cut short because of the toxic smelter fumes and mercury vapors they inhaled while working the mines. Slaves worked in the mines for 4 months on average. As such they had to be blindfolded upon leaving the mines to protect their eyes, which had become adapted to darkness. [6]

The mine of Cerro Rico where both Indigenous and African slave labor was used to mine for precious metals. Theodoor de bry.jpg
The mine of Cerro Rico where both Indigenous and African slave labor was used to mine for precious metals.

Although it was a requirement for Natives and Africans over 18 years of age to work in the mines for 12-hour shifts, younger children were still reputed to be put to work in the mines. These children worked fewer hours; however, they were still exposed to the same extremely harsh conditions of all the miners, including asbestos, toxic gases, cave-ins, and explosions. It is estimated that as many as eight million Africans and Natives died from working the mines between 1545, when the Spaniards first put the Natives to work, until 1825, the end of the colonial period. [7]

A coca plantation in the Yungas region of Bolivia in 1924 where historically cultivation had been done using slave labor. In the coca region of the Yungas, Bolivia. (5665325660).jpg
A coca plantation in the Yungas region of Bolivia in 1924 where historically cultivation had been done using slave labor.

Many newly brought slaves died due to harsh conditions and weather. The Spaniards' way of fortifying the slaves against the conditions in the mines was to provide them with coca leaves to chew. By chewing coca leaves, the slaves numbed their senses to the cold, as well as dampening the feeling of hunger and alleviating altitude sickness. [8] Just like the mines of Potosí, coca plantations became a cash-crop of the region. Thousands of slaves were shipped to cultivate and process coca leaves on Haciendas, like the ancestors of Julio Pinedo. [9]

The Yungas

MtDNA haplogroups and continental ancestry based on AIMs. Samples are from Yungas (left) and Tocana (right). MtDNA haplogroups and continental ancestry in samples from Yungas region within Bolivia.PNG
MtDNA haplogroups and continental ancestry based on AIMs. Samples are from Yungas (left) and Tocaña (right).

After their emancipation in the year 1827 (although its enforcement being postponed to 1851), [10] Afro-Bolivians would relocate to a place called the Yungas. The Yungas, which is not far north from the city of La Paz, is where most of the country's coca is grown. In parts of the Yungas such as Coroico, Mururata, Chicaloma, Calacala-Coscoma, and Irupana are a large number of Bolivians of African heritage. Before the Bolivians relocated to the Yungas, it was a place mostly inhabited by indigenous Aymara people and mestizos (European and Native mixed people). [11]

Culture

Saya music

Afro-Bolivian saya group called The Tigers of Africa in a Celebration of the Afro-descendants in La Paz, Bolivia (April 2018). Celebracion del decenio de afrodescendientes, La Paz abril de 2018 .jpg
Afro-Bolivian saya group called The Tigers of Africa in a Celebration of the Afro-descendants in La Paz, Bolivia (April 2018).

The biggest African influence in Bolivian culture is Saya music or La Saya. The word saya originates from Kikongo nsaya, referring to the act of singing while performing communal work.[ citation needed ] Although Saya is growing in popularity in Bolivia it is still very misunderstood. The reason for this lack of understanding of saya is because the interpretation of the instruments as well as the rhythm is very peculiar. It involves Andean instruments incorporated with African percussion. The primary instrument is the drum, which was passed on by their African ancestors, along with gourds, shakers, and even jingles bells that are attached to their clothing on the ankle area. [12]

An example of a traditional Afro-Bolivian saya mask. Saya afro.jpg
An example of a traditional Afro-Bolivian saya mask.

During the performance of saya, the Afro-Bolivians wear Aymara style clothing. The women wear a bright multi-colored blouse with ribbons, a multi-colored skirt called a "pollera", with a "manta" (back cover) in their hand, and a bowler hat. The men on the other hand, wear a hat, feast shirt, an Aymara style sash around the waist, woolen thick cloth pants called "bayeta pants", and sandals. [13]

An Afro-Bolivian girl in traditional clothing dancing saya in Coroico. Coroico P1010119mod.jpg
An Afro-Bolivian girl in traditional clothing dancing saya in Coroico.

Every rhythm of Saya begins with the beating of a jingle bell by the Caporal (foreman) who guides the dance. This Caporal (also called capataz) guides the dancers with a cudgel (whip) in hand, decorated pants, and jingle bells near the ankles. The women, who have their own guide during this dance, sing while moving their hips, shaking their hands, as well as dialoguing with the men who play the bass drum and coancha. [14]

Caporales

Caporales dancers in modernity from Bolivia. (2016) Caporales de Puno.jpg
Caporales dancers in modernity from Bolivia. (2016)

Caporales is a dance popular in the Andean region of Bolivia. It gained popularity in 1969 by the Estrada Pacheco brothers, inspired by the character of the 'Caporal' or "overseer" of which, historically black slaves, usually mixed race, wore boots and held a whip, the dance originates from the region of the Yungas in Bolivia. However, elements of the dance (such as the costumes) were of European origin. [15]

Morenada

An example of a Morenada costume from Bolivia showcased at the International Slavery Museum. Morenada costume, International Slavery Museum (1).JPG
An example of a Morenada costume from Bolivia showcased at the International Slavery Museum.

Morenada is a folkloric dance in Bolivia. The dance originated with sufferings of the African slaves brought to Bolivia in order to work in the Silver Mines of Potosí. The enormous tongue of the dark masks was meant to represent the physical state of these mines workers and the rattling of the Matracas are frequently associated with the rattling of the slaves' chains and satirizing "white men". [16] [17]

Language

Afro-Bolivians have traditionally maintained their own creole language, with links to earlier Bozal Spanish. [18] [19]

Afro-Bolivian monarchy

Cultural flag of Afro-Bolivians and the Afro-Bolivian Monarchy Flag Afrobolivian.svg
Cultural flag of Afro-Bolivians and the Afro-Bolivian Monarchy

The Afro-Bolivian Royal House is a ceremonial monarchy officially recognized as part of the Plurinational State in Bolivia. The royal family are the descendants of an African noble line that was brought to Bolivia as slaves. [20] 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 [21] ) when seeing his torso exposed with royal tribal marks only held by royalty; he was later crowned in 1823. The monarchy still survives today and the current monarch, King Julio Pinedo, is a direct descendant of Uchicho. [22]

Keeping the culture

A poster of an Afroyunguera (Afro-Bolivians from Las Yungas) Cultural Program focusing on preserving cultural rhythms and expressions. Programa de la Velada Cultural afroyunguera.jpg
A poster of an Afroyunguera (Afro-Bolivians from Las Yungas) Cultural Program focusing on preserving cultural rhythms and expressions.

Although these Afro-Bolivians were free, they still had a difficult battle in trying to maintain their culture. Many elements of their culture began to disappear and become endangered. They had to fight very strongly against the colonial aggression and exclusion of their post-emancipation culture. Aspects such as feasts, their creole language (that has since decreolized), religion that survived through colonialism have since gone extinct, culturally, although fragments remain. [23] Afro-Bolivians due to isolation from much of Bolivia speak a dialect of Bolivian Spanish, akin to African-American Vernacular English in the United States. [24] [25] [19] [18] Afro-Bolivians, in addition to being Roman Catholic incorporate elements of African diasporic religions such as rituals in the Macumba and Voodoo religions have influence their practice of Christianity, mainly prevalent in the towns of Chicaloma and Mururata. [26] One of the ways that they were able to hold on to this culture was through their music and dance. Musical traditions such as dances, instruments, and techniques with ancestral origin in Sub-Saharan Africa, to the present day define Afro-Bolivian identity. [27] [28]

Afro-Bolivians today

An Afro-Bolivian child from Coroico. Coroico P1010112mod.jpg
An Afro-Bolivian child from Coroico.
Angelica Larrea, wife of King Julio Pinedo, and Queen of the Afro-Bolivian community in 2012 AfrobolivanQueen.jpg
Angélica Larrea, wife of King Julio Pinedo, and Queen of the Afro-Bolivian community in 2012

It has been estimated that 25,000 Afro-Bolivians live in the Yungas. They are proud of their culture and have fought to preserve it. In fact, in the town of Mururata, the Afro-Bolivians managed to maintain their traditional culture, to the point of maintaining a continuous Afro-Bolivian monarchy currently led by Julio Pinedo. Afro-Bolivians spread to the east in Cochabamba and Santa Cruz de la Sierra.[ citation needed ]

An Afro-Bolovian man and child from Tocana. Pista esportiva de Tocana amb l'escola al fons02.jpg
An Afro-Bolovian man and child from Tocaña.

Despite the Afro-Bolivian community fervently working to preserve their culture, many Afro-Bolivians have reported experiencing severe racism and feelings of isolation from society due to intolerance. Laws that actually criminalize racism and discrimination in Afro-Bolivia have slowly been ratified as the first anti-discriminatory law (law 45) was passed in 2010 and was met with violent protesting and rioting. In 2009 President Evo Morales added amendments to the national constitution that outlined the rights of Afro-Bolivians and guaranteed the protection of such liberties. The amendments also generally extended to indigenous peoples and officially recognized Afro-Bolivians as a minority group in Bolivia despite them not being included in the national census three years later. In addition to the country's constitution being updated in 2009, President Morales created the Vice Ministry for Decolonization to create policies that criminalize racism while working to improve literacy and create better race relations in Bolivia. The Vice Ministry for Decolonization also works to dismantle colorism and racism influenced by European colonization while also promoting the philosophy of "intercultural-ity" in which citizens of the nation recognize every ethnic groups' traditions and cultural practices as contributions to society.[ citation needed ]

Notable Afro-Bolivians

Politics

Ceremonial monarchy

Government

  • Ancelma Perlacios, politician and activist who was the first Afro-Bolivian to serve in the Senate.
  • Mónica Rey Gutiérrez, supranational delegate to the Plurinational Legislative Assembly of Bolivia
  • Jorge Medina, member of the Chamber of Deputies of Bolivia

Activism

Sports

Basketball

Sports Shooting

Soccer

See also

Related Research Articles

The music of Bolivia has a long history. Out of all the Andean countries, Bolivia remains perhaps the most culturally linked to the indigenous peoples.

Peruvian music is an amalgamation of sounds and styles drawing on Peru's Andean, Spanish, and African roots. Andean influences can perhaps be best heard in wind instruments and the shape of the melodies, while the African influences can be heard in the rhythm and percussion instruments, and European influences can be heard in the harmonies and stringed instruments. Pre-Columbian Andean music was played on drums and string instruments, like the European pipe and tabor tradition. Andean tritonic and pentatonic scales were elaborated during the colonial period into hexatonic, and in some cases, diatonic scales.

Afro–Latin Americans or Black Latin Americans are Latin Americans of full or mainly sub-Saharan African ancestry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Caporales</span> Traditional Bolivian dance

The Caporales is a traditional Bolivian dance originated in Los Yungas of La Paz. Caporales were created and presented to the public for the first time in 1969 by the Estrada Pacheco brothers, who were inspired in the character of the 'Caporal' who is the overseer of the black slaves and was usually mixed race, wore boots and held a whip, a dance that belongs to the region of the Yungas, Bolivia. The dance, however, has a prominent religious aspect. One supposedly dances for the Virgin of Socavón and promises to dance for three years of one's life. Caporal or caporales today is a folklore dance very popular in the festivities of not only Bolivia, but also Argentina, Chile, Peru, Spain and the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carnaval de Oruro</span> Religious festival in Oruro, Bolivia

The Carnival of Oruro is a religious and cultural festival in Oruro, Bolivia. It has been celebrated since the 18th century in the Peruvian virreynato. Originally an indigenous festival, the celebration later was transformed to incorporate a Christian ritual around the Virgin of Socavón. The carnival is one of UNESCO's Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity.

Pinedo may refer to:

The Morenada is an Andean folk dance whose origins are still under debate. This dance is practiced mainly in Bolivia as well as in Peru and in recent years with Bolivian immigration in Chile, Argentina and other countries.

<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.

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

Afro-Chileans are Chilean people of African descent. They may be descendants of slaves who were brought to Chile via the trans-Atlantic slave trade, or recent migrants from other parts of Latin America, the Caribbean or Africa.

The Saya is a music and dance that originated in Los Yungas-Chicaloma Bolivia. The artform's name comes from the Kikongo term nsaya, which means communal work led by a singing voice, akin to a work song. The Saya's instrumentation and dance also reflects the influence of traditional Andean music.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bolivians</span> People identified with the country of Bolivia

Bolivians are people identified with the country of Bolivia. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Bolivians, several of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being Bolivian.

<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">Afro-Bolivian monarchy</span> Ceremonial monarchy in Bolivia

The Afro-Bolivian Royal House 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.

<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.

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.

References

  1. 1 2 "Censo de Población y Vivienda 2012 Bolivia Características de la Población". Instituto Nacional de Estadística, República de Bolivia. p. 29. Archived from the original on 2021-08-01. Retrieved 2020-03-27.
  2. ↑ "Afro-Bolivians". Minority Rights Group. Retrieved 2021-07-28.
  3. ↑ "Potosí Silver Mines". Atlas Obscura. Retrieved 2021-07-28.
  4. ↑ "Afro-Bolivian - Afropedea". www.afropedea.org. Archived from the original on 2022-11-28. Retrieved 2021-07-28.
  5. ↑ "The Real Histories Directory - Slavery in Latin America". www.realhistories.org.uk. Retrieved 2021-07-28.
  6. ↑ Johnson, Charlotte (2014-02-24). "The South American slave trade". Manchester Historian. Retrieved 2021-07-28.
  7. ↑ Zieber, Anna (6 September 2018). "A History of the Potosi Mines in Bolivia: Discovery, Wealth, Slavery and Death in the Shadow of Cerro Rico | World History" . Retrieved 2021-07-28.
  8. ↑ "Afro-Bolivian - Afropedea". www.afropedea.org. Archived from the original on 2021-07-28. Retrieved 2021-07-28.
  9. ↑ "Bolivia's Afro king leads a long-neglected group stepping out of the shadows". the Guardian. 2017-12-06. Retrieved 2021-07-28.
  10. ↑ "Afro-Bolivians | Encyclopedia.com". www.encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 2021-07-28.
  11. ↑ "Afro Bolivia – Freedom Is Mine" . Retrieved 2021-07-28.
  12. ↑ "Traditional Bolivian Music Types: Western Bolivia. Andean Music and Dances". BoliviaBella. Retrieved 2021-07-28.
  13. ↑ Céspedes, Gilka Wara (1993). ""Huayño," "Saya," and "Chuntunqui": Bolivian Identity in the Music of "Los Kjarkas"". Latin American Music Review / Revista de Música Latinoamericana. 14 (1): 52–101. doi:10.2307/780009. ISSN   0163-0350. JSTOR   780009.
  14. ↑ "Saya -- What you teach your kids about the world MATTERS". Online education for kids. Retrieved 2021-07-28.
  15. ↑ "Danzas autóctonas de Bolivia". 2012-02-22. Archived from the original on 2012-02-22. Retrieved 2021-07-28.
  16. ↑ "Morenada – Bolivia Marka". boliviamarka.com. Retrieved 2021-07-28.
  17. ↑ "Morenada | Bolivian dance". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 2021-07-28.
  18. 1 2 Lipski, John M. "El lenguaje afroboliviano: apuntes lingüísticos" (PDF) (in Spanish). Retrieved 23 November 2021.
  19. 1 2 "Palenquero creole and the decreolization of Bolivian Spanish" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2011-06-24.
  20. ↑ El retorno del rey negro boliviano a sus raíces africanas - El País
  21. ↑ Busqué, Jordi. "Bolivia's little-known tribal kingdom". www.bbc.com. Retrieved 2021-03-16.
  22. ↑ "The story of Julio Pinedo, a farmer from Kongo who has been king of Afro-Bolivians since 1992". Face2Face Africa. 2021-04-27. Retrieved 2021-07-28.
  23. ↑ Sessarego, Sandro (16 August 2013). "Historical Afro-Bolivian creole and culture". Journal of Pidgin and Creole Languages. 28 (2): 363–407. doi:10.1075/jpcl.28.2.04ses. Archived from the original on 2021-07-29. Retrieved 2021-07-29.
  24. ↑ "Más de 500 palabras serán la base de la lengua afroboliviana - La Razón". 2018-07-01. Archived from the original on 2018-07-01. Retrieved 2021-07-29.
  25. ↑ "Afrobolivianos recuperarán su lengua y cultura - La Razón". 2018-07-01. Archived from the original on 2018-07-01. Retrieved 2021-07-29.
  26. ↑ "Portal de la Amazonia Boliviana". amazonia.bo. Retrieved 2021-07-29.
  27. ↑ "Afro-Bolivians | Encyclopedia.com". www.encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 2021-07-29.
  28. ↑ negression.com, Kalisha at (2017-04-24). "An Interview with Maya Jensen, Filmmaker behind 'Solidarity in Saya: An Afro-Bolivian Music Movement'". negression. Retrieved 2021-07-29.
  29. ↑ "Web Oficial de la Casa Real Afroboliviana".
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