Aymaras: who they are, history and characteristics of this culture

The Aymara are one of the most famous Amerindian peoples worldwide.. They are one of the few whose language exceeds a million speakers, as well as being well known for their use of the coca plant and raising alpacas and llamas.

They live in the high Andes, they wear colorful clothes with their characteristic hat and they have a history and fascinating culture that has survived not only the Spanish conquest but also a previous one, that of the incas.

Next we are going to delve deeper into the aimaras as an ethnic group, we will discover their history, their cultural elements, their language and their particular conception of time.

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Who are the aimaras?

The aimaras, also written "aymara", are a group of indigenous people living mostly in the Andean highlands of Bolivia and Peru, found mostly near Lake Titicaca. They have inhabited this region since pre-Columbian times, currently spreading between western Bolivia, northwestern Argentina, southeastern Peru and northern Chile. They are also called "collas" although this name should not be confused with the ethnic group of the same name that lives in northern Chile and northwestern Argentina.

This ethnic group has had a history marked by constant changes due to peoples dominant, among the most important the conquest by the Incas in 1430 and the subsequent colonization Spanish. Before these events, they were divided into several independent states that were concentrated above all in the current republics of Peru and Bolivia.

Although it is not known exactly which was the oldest Aymara country proper, It is suspected that its predecessor, the Tiahuanaco civilization, inhabited the region around 2000 BC. c., being considered as the first aimara or "protoaimaras" state. However, throughout most of their history the Aymara have lived in twelve separate kingdoms, weak point that was strategically exploited by the Incas and that made them end up being their minions. The last independent Aymara nation was that of Lupacas in 1400.

Upon being incorporated into the Inca Empire, these peoples underwent a strong degree of acculturation, something much later and intense than the Spanish conquest of 1535.. However, with the arrival of the Europeans they would go through another acculturation, which occurred in colonial times. With the subsequent independence of Latin American countries, the aimaras have been under the jurisdiction of the republics of Modern Peru and Bolivia, as well as part of Chile and Argentina, being under political regimes that have treated them very different.

The origin of his name

The term "aimara" appears during colonial times and is of very uncertain origin. In fact, the ancestors of the current aimaras never called themselves in this way and the Incas called them "collas".

It was not until 1559 that Juan Polo de Ondegardo y Zárate, a Spanish viceregal chronicler, called them “aymaras” based on linguistic information collected in the Collao region. By extension, their language ended up being called “aymara” as well, although they themselves called it “jaqi aru” (literally “humanity” and “language”).

His story

It is believed that the current Aymara people as an ethnic group more or less aware of itself and with an identity that has survived to this day It has its origins in what has been called the Aymara Lordships or the Twelve Kingdoms., which existed around 1200 and 1400 AD. c. However, we could go back to even earlier times, between 500 and 1000 AD. C, when there was a culture called Wari, although it is also suspected that the Tiahuanaco culture of 2,000 BC. c. is related to this town.

These kingdoms spread throughout the Andes, expanding their radius of influence and doing so more or less independently. Since they did not respond to a centralized political power and they all wanted to gain control in the region, the conflicts between them, despite being culturally brothers, were constant.

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heyday

The heyday of the Aymara as citizens of independent states was very brief because in a very short time they were invaded by their neighbors, the Incas. The aimaras were in full expansion in 1450 when the Incas began to create the "Tawantin suyu", that is, the Inca Empire. Given the great power of the Incas, who built a very well organized empire with an overwhelming military structure, the Aymara ended up being swallowed up and their kingdoms became just a few more links in the long and extensive state organization inca.

Decay

Together with the Inca domination, less than a century later the European conquest would be added, accelerating the decline of the aimaras. In 1532 several Spanish invaders led by Francisco Pizarro arrived in the lands of the then Inca Atahualpa. This event marked the beginning of the end of the empire and, in turn, the decline of culture Aymara that were becoming dominated by a distant European state with which they could do almost nothing. nothing.

Spanish colonists settled in the lowlands of present-day Chile, Bolivia, Peru, and Argentina, places more fertile and suitable for their crops, displacing the aimaras to the highlands and foothills Although over the centuries they would regain influence in lands they had previously inhabited, It would not be until the 20th century when they would once again have a real weight in their homelands, especially thanks to their recognition as an ethnic group to be protected. and promote in Bolivia and Peru.

cultural elements

Aymara culture has kept many pre-Columbian features alive, combined with Spanish characters. Their case is quite peculiar because, due to the fact that they ended up living in the highest parts of the Andes and had relative cultural isolation, their more purely indigenous features survived the 500 years after the conquest, plus their language has remained quite alive though minoritized.

rituals

As we mentioned, the Aymara have very well preserved customs of pre-Columbian origin which, in turn, have been combined with the Catholic doctrine of the Spanish colonizers. They have kept alive an autochthonous substratum by incorporating a Christian layer into it, forming a very interesting Catholic and indigenous Christian worldview that makes their religious rituals something unique and particular.

The indigenous traits are expressed very clearly in patron saint festivities such as the celebration of Holy Week and the Day of the Dead, Christian-based festivals but to which very purely Aymara elements have been incorporated. All these community festivals are celebrated in the Christian temple and in the cemetery, being directed by the Catholic priest. As with the rest of Latin Americans, baptism, marriage and extreme unction are essential.

worldview

There are many Aymara legends and they reflect the rich oral tradition of this people, being transmitted from parents and grandparents to children and grandchildren orally. References to wildlife and landscapes are common in these narrations, intermingling with common life, giving foundation to the concepts of duality, complementarity and reciprocity seen as the ordering principles of the cosmos of aimaras

The aimara worldview can be understood from an idea: the adaptation and understanding of the nature of the Andes. They make the natural environment something sacred and see everything as something dual: male and female, day and night, above and below... but these concepts are not opposite in the sense that they fight each other to seek hegemony, but are part of a whole, they complement each other and one cannot exist without the other. In fact, despite the fact that her vision is dual, these opposites form a tripartite range of possibilities: p. e.g., male, female and male with female.

All the opposites combine and form a third alternative. In this way, the Aymara conceive in their worldview the existence of three spaces.

• The Arajpacha: land above, “heaven”. Maintenance of the ideal cosmos.
• The Akapacha: the land where the Aymara live. Maintenance of the cultural world.
• The Manqhapacha: earth within, "hell". Maintenance of chaos

A fundamental idea in the Aymara worldview is that of Pachamama, Mother Earth.. The aimara priests perform rituals and thank Pachamama for his blessing, which is understood as the starting point of everything together with the god Tata-Inti. When rituals are performed to this deity, they usually look towards the Sun or upwards, understanding that from above, that is, the sky, come the mystical powers of gods and spirits which, introduced into the Christian faith, remain important to the culture of the aimaras

Feeding

Since time immemorial, the diet of the aimaras has been made up of products from the land, since Its main economic activity has been agriculture.. Tubers such as potatoes and cassava, grains such as corn and quinoa, legumes such as beans (beans) and broad beans as well as a wide variety of other products such as garlic, chili, peanuts, paprika and pumpkin.

They also eat derivatives of their crops, including chuño, a food made from dehydrated potatoes in the particular climatic conditions of the Andean highlands.

They collect and cultivate herbs with which they make infusions, many of which they attribute medicinal properties to. Among these herbs is the well-known coca plant (Erythroxylum coca) with which they practice the acullico, that is to say, to consume this vegetable in a sacred way and also used for altitude sickness. Being a sacred vegetable in Inca times, its use was restricted to the high elites of the empire and its consumption was punishable by death for the rest of the social hierarchy.

the aimaras They are also known for raising llamas and alpacas, very characteristic camelids of the Andean landscape.. These animals are raised for their nutritious meat, which is consumed in the form of jerky, thin pieces of meat salted and dried in the sun and that can be kept for a long time, ideal for long trips through the mountain ranges of the Andes.

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the Wiphala

The Wiphala is the name by which the characteristic Aymara quadrangular flag of seven colors is known.. This banner has become one of the national symbols of Bolivia and is believed to have its origins in the ancestral Aymara, although this remains an open debate. In fact, many Aymara organizations and various social movements use the Wiphala in demonstrations and political demands, as well as being used in religious and cultural ceremonies.

Conception of time

One of the most striking aspects of the Aymara language is its peculiar conception of time when it comes to describe it, which contrasts with the Spanish that both Aymara and other citizens of the Andes speak.

In most Indo-European languages, time is treated as going backwards, that is In other words, we imagine the past behind us, the present in ourselves and the future in front of us. our. Instead, In the Aymara language it happens the other way around, with the future placed behind them and the past and present in front.. For them, the future is something they don't know yet, which is why it is behind them, something they cannot see, while the past and present, as they have lived it, they put it in front of them, “seeing it”. It should also be noted that in their language time is divided into two, not three, that is, they have "future" and "non-future", the past and present entering the latter category.

aimara language

The language of this town is Aymara, the most widely spoken language of the aimaraic or jaqi family of languages ​​along with jacaru and cauqui. This language has various variants between Peru, Argentina, Chile and Bolivia, being in the latter country the majority Amerindian language spoken by 18% of its population. It is a language with many speakers, reaching 2 million. However, despite several efforts to give it strength and vitality, it is considered to be in a vulnerable situation for the future.

Currently, The largest Aymara populations are found in the Bolivian departments of La Paz and Oruro and with a presence in the north of the department of Potosí. There are some populations in Cochabamba and Chuquisaca. In Chile it is speaking in the Great North, in areas of Arica, Parinacota and Tarapacá. In Peru it is concentrated in the areas near Lake Titicaca, in the department of Puno, and also in the departments of Moquegua and Tacna. In Argentina it is spoken in the province of Jujuy and parts of Salta.

Vocabulary and expressions in Aymara

Like all Amerindian languages, Aymara is a language rich in vocabulary and expressions, but it has received multiple influences from Spanish.. Next we will see a few words and expressions in Aymara, both purely pre-Columbian and of European origin:

• Good morning - sum uru
• Good afternoon - sum jayp'u
• Good night - sum aruma or arama
• What is your name? - Sutimaja cradle?
• Where are you from? - Cauquitaatasa?
• Where are you going? - Cauquirusa string?
• Where you come from? - Cauquitsa juta?
• How are you? - Camisatassa?
• I'm fine - Hualiquithua
• Do you feel better? -Walikijtati?
• See you tomorrow - Ccarurucama
• How old are you? - Caucca maranitasa?
• You want to eat? Mancaña muntati?
• I'm more or less, and you? - naya jani sumamajsti, jumasti?

Bibliographic references:

• Buechler, Hans C. (1980) The Masked Media: Aymara Fiestas and Social Interaction in the Bolivian Highlands. Approaches to Semiotics, 59. The Hague: Mouton. ISBN 90-279-7777-1
• Buechler, Hans C., and Judith-Maria Buechler (1971). The Bolivian Aymara. Case studies in cultural anthropology. New York: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston. ISBN 0-03-081380-8
• Eagen, James (2002) The Aymara of South America, First peoples. Minneapolis: Lerner Publications Co. ISBN 0-8225-4174-2
• Miles, Lynden & Nind, Louise & Macrae, C. (2010). Moving Through Time. Psychological science. 21. 222-3. 10.1177/0956797609359333.