Ayoreo

{{Short description|Indigenous people of Bolivia and Paraguay}} {{for|the language|Ayoreo language}} {{Infobox ethnic group |group = Ayoreo |image = MapaAyoreosAislados.jpg |caption = Ayoreo Groups in Voluntary Isolation |population = 4,789<ref name="ReferenceA">Unión de Nativos Ayoreo de Paraguay & Iniciativa Amotodie 2013</ref><ref name="Censo2012">{{cite web |url=http://inecloud.ine.gob.bo/owncloud/index.php/s/w2ZCFwI7qJrwTwD/download |title=Censo de Población y Vivienda 2012 Bolivia Características de la Población |page=29 |website=Instituto Nacional de Estadística, República de Bolivia |access-date=2020-03-27 |archive-date=2021-08-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210801173154/https://inecloud.ine.gob.bo/owncloud/index.php/s/w2ZCFwI7qJrwTwD/download |url-status=dead }}</ref> |region1 = {{flag|Paraguay}} |pop1 = 2,600 |ref1 = <ref name="ReferenceA"/> |region2 = {{flag|Bolivia}} |pop2 = 2,189 |ref2 = <ref name="Censo2012" /> |languages = [[Ayoreo language|Ayoreo]] • [[Spanish language|Spanish]] |religions = Traditional Religion • [[Christianity]]<ref name=ethno>[http://www.ethnologue.com/language/AYO "Ayoreo."] ''Ethnologue.'' Retrieved 5 Sept 2013.</ref> |related = |footnotes = }}

The '''Ayoreo''' (Ayoreode,<ref>{{harvnb|WRM|2005}}</ref> Ayoréo, Ayoréode) are an [[Indigenous people of the Gran Chaco]].<ref>[[#fPcN04|fPcN 2004]], 0:25</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Bremen|2000|p=275}}</ref> They live in an area surrounded by the [[Paraguay River|Paraguay]], [[Pilcomayo River|Pilcomayo]], [[Parapetí River|Parapetí]], and [[Río Grande (Bolivia)|Grande]] Rivers, spanning both [[Bolivia]] and [[Paraguay]].<ref name=":6" /> There are approximately 5,600 Ayoreo people in total.<ref name=":6" /> Around 3,000 live in Bolivia, and 2,600 live in Paraguay.<ref name=":6" /> Traditionally [[nomad]]ic [[hunter-gatherer]]s, the majority of the population was sedentarized by [[missionary|missionaries]] in the twentieth century.<ref name=":6" /> The few remaining [[uncontacted peoples|uncontacted]] Ayoreo are threatened by [[deforestation]] and loss of territory.<ref name=":6" />

==Name and language== The Ayoreo people are known by numerous names including Ayoré, Ayoreode, Guarañoca, Koroino, Moro, Morotoco, Poturero, Pyeta Yovai, Samococio, Sirákua, Takrat, Yanaigua and Zapocó.<ref name=":11">{{Cite web|url = http://www.ethnologue.com/language/ayo|title = Ayoreo|access-date = March 30, 2015|website = Ethnologue|publisher = SIL International}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title = The Case of the Ayoreo|publisher = International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs (IWGIA)|year = 2010|isbn = 978-99953-898-2-6|location = Paraguay}}</ref> In the Ayoreo language, Ayoreo means “true people,” and Ayoreode means "human beings."<ref name=":12" /><ref name=":8">Infantas 2012</ref>

They speak the [[Ayoreo language]], which is classified under [[Zamucoan languages|Zamucoan]], a small language family of Paraguay and Bolivia. A grammar and dictionary have been published for the language, and 20% of the Ayoreo are literate.<ref name=":11" /> Tsiracua is a dialect of Ayoreo.<ref name=":11" />

==History== The Ayoreo were first contacted when the [[Society of Jesus|Jesuits]] started the [[San Ignacio de Zamucos|San Ignacio Zamuco]] mission in the 1720s to convert the people to Catholicism.<ref name=":2">Glauser 2011</ref><ref name=":3">Hindery 2003</ref> The mission was abandoned in the 1740s, and the Ayoreo were left alone until the 1900s.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3" /><ref name=":4">Sciscioli 2003</ref> The [[Chaco War]] (1932-1935) between Bolivia and Paraguay brought 100,000 troops to their territory, as well as new diseases.<ref name=":4" /><ref name=":1">Bessire 2008</ref> Both countries viewed the Ayoreo as a problem, and from the 1940s until the 1970s the Paraguayan soldiers could be freed from service for killing an Ayoreo.<ref name=":4" /><ref name=":1" /> Ayoreo children were stolen during this time, including a twelve-year-old named Iquebi who was taken to be put in an exhibit.<ref name=":4" /><ref name=":1" /> In the 1940s the Santa Cruz-Corumba railroad was built in Ayoreo territory, making the territory and people easier to access.<ref name=":1" />

Christian missionaries made contact with the Ayoreo in the late 1940s, first with the northern groups in Bolivia and then with the southern groups in Paraguay.<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":1" /> The missionary groups were [[Catholicism|Catholic]], [[Mennonite]], and [[Evangelicalism|Evangelical]], including the [[New Tribes Mission]].<ref name=":6">Unión de Nativos Ayoreo de Paraguay & Iniciativa Amotodie 2013</ref><ref name=":3" /><ref name=":5">Chiquenoi 2013</ref> Missionaries used force and manipulation to remove the Ayoreo from their land to various mission stations in the late 1950s.<ref name=":6" /><ref name=":5" /> Afterwards, the land was purchased for cattle farming.<ref name=":6" /><ref name=":5" /> The missionaries also brought diseases such as measles to the Ayoreo, leading to the death of many people.<ref name=":6" /> While at the mission stations, the Ayoreo had to adopt a [[sedentary lifestyle]] and give up their culture, including their religion, appearance, music, and diet.<ref name=":6" /><ref name=":1" /> The missionaries sometimes convinced the Ayoreo living at the missions to find uncontacted Ayoreo in the forest to sedentarize and convert.<ref name=":6" /><ref name=":1" /> [[Protestant]] missionaries led these ventures from 1979-1986 to find the Totobiegosode group, which led to international protest.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":5" /> In December 1986, a group of Ayoreo people in contact went into the forest to find uncontacted Ayoreo to evangelize, but the incident turned violent, resulting in five deaths.<ref name=":4" /> The Totobiegosode also attacked a group of workers in their territory in June 1998.<ref name=":4" /> In 2010, an expedition in search of new species of plants and insects, organized by the [[Natural History Museum, London|Natural History Museum]] in London, was suspended when concerns were raised that Ayoreo people might be encountered and disturbed.<ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-11762531 Museum halts Paraguay mission after fears over tribe], BBC News, 15 November 2010</ref>

== Culture == [[File:Ornament worn down back, Ayoreo people - South American objects in the American Museum of Natural History - DSC06045.JPG|thumb|100px|Ayoreo parrot feather ornament, [[AMNH]]]] The Ayoreo are divided into seven clans, with each clan having a particular last name associated with it.<ref name=":2" /> The Ayoreo have a deep connection to ''Eami'', their collective territory.<ref name=":6" /> They are nomadic hunter-gatherers, but in the rainy season they plant small amounts of crops, including corn, beans, and squash.<ref name=":9">Guillermo 2008</ref><ref name=":7">Halon 2004</ref> They hunt anteaters, pigs, tortoises, and monkeys in the forest and collect honey from the [[Quebecois tree]].<ref name=":6" /><ref name=":9" /><ref name=":7" /> They also have a form of [[shamanism]].<ref name=":5" /> Shamans can be either gender and are known as {{transliteration|ayo|disdain}}.<ref name=":4" /> Chiefs, called {{transliteration|ayo|asutes}}, are exclusively men chosen for killing the most people or animals.<ref name=":4" /> Music is an integral part of Mayoress culture, and songs are passed down over time.<ref name=":7" /> The Ayoreo tend to be monogamous.<ref name=":4" /> There are records of [[infanticide]] where babies are buried alive for various reasons, such as when a baby is born to a woman who is not in an established relationship.<ref name=":4" />

The Ayoreo were traditionally organized into over 50 autonomous, flexible local groups.<ref name=":6" /> The most widely known group is the Totobiegosode (people from the place where collared peccaries ate their gardens).<ref name=":1">Bessire 2008</ref> Other groups include the Garaigosode (those who live in the lowlands), the Tacheigosode (the people from the region of abundant agouti), the Direquedéjnaigosode (the people who arrived the other day), and the Guidaigosode (those who live in villages);<ref name=":6" /><ref name=":4" /> Ducodegosode (People of the Graves); Tiegosode (People of the River)<ref>[https://ayore.org/culture/oral-history/oidabiade-ayore-were-one-nation-in-the-beginning/ AYORÉ.ORG] Retrieved on 27 March 2021.</ref>

== People in contact == Ayoreo people in contact are struggling with poverty and discrimination, especially in the cities.<ref name=":6" /><ref name=":8" /> There are few jobs, so people often work as day laborers in construction or gardening.<ref name=":6" /><ref name=":8" /><ref name=":9" /> Youth have few opportunities, so there is a need for scholarships in hopes that education will allow them to escape the current poverty.<ref name=":6" /><ref name=":9" /> Members sometimes turn to begging or prostitution in order to survive.<ref name=":8" /><ref name=":10">López-Entrambasaguas, Granero-Molina, and Fernández-Sola 2013</ref> Ayoreo prostitutes are at a high risk for HIV, and they sometimes hide their condition and do not seek treatment in order to avoid discrimination from their community.<ref name=":10" /> The Ayoreo often live in settlements together, such as the Degüi Community in Santa Cruz.<ref name=":6" /><ref name=":8" /> However, the settlements tend to be slums with poor conditions, such as houses made of mud and cane.<ref name=":6" /><ref name=":8" /> Discrimination is especially prevalent in the healthcare system, where Ayoreo people have to wait for extended periods of time to be seen, which can lead them to avoid seeking treatment.<ref name=":8" /><ref name=":10" /> In 2010, a group of Ayoreo-Atetadiegosode people in contact decided to return to their ancestral land to live a traditional lifestyle, and other groups may follow.<ref name=":6" />

== Groups in voluntary isolation == As of 2013, there were about 100 uncontacted Ayoreo in 6 to 7 groups, including the Ayoreo-Totobiegosode.<ref name=":6" /> They are the only extant uncontacted tribes in South America not living in the [[Amazon Rainforest|Amazon]].<ref>{{cite news|title = Chaco deforestation by Christian sect puts Paraguayan land under threat|url = https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/oct/05/chaco-paraguay-deforestation|last = Vidal|first = John|date = October 5, 2010|newspaper = guardian.co.uk}}</ref> Three groups are in the Northern region of the [[Gran Chaco]] on the border of Bolivia and Paraguay in the areas of [[National Parks in the Chaco, Paraguay|Médanos del Chaco National Park]], [[National Parks in the Chaco, Paraguay|Defensores del Chaco National Park]], and [[:es:Cerro chovoreca|Chovoreca]].<ref name=":6" /> The other three to four groups are in the Southern region of the territory.<ref name=":6" />

UNAP (Unión Nativa Ayoreo del Paraguay) lists six threats to Ayoreo living in voluntary isolation: cattle farming and deforestation, sale and allocation of Ayoreo territory, searches for oil, missionaries seeking contact, collection of resources from their territories (illegal under Paraguayan law), and violation of their territory by various groups.<ref name=":6" /> Cattle farming and the subsequent deforestation is often illegal under Paraguayan law, destroys territory and resources such as water, and increases the chance of unwanted contact.<ref name=":6" /> Various Paraguayan laws give the Ayoreo the right to ownership over the land they live on, which prohibits people from entering or selling the land, yet about eight million hectares is still redistributed.<ref name=":6" /> People with title to the land according to the law of Paraguay often claim no one lives on their land, despite evidence proving otherwise.<ref name=":6" /> Oil testing on Ayoreo territory reportedly disturbs the people there, risks contact, and violates the Ayoreo’s right to consultation and land ownership.<ref name=":6" /> By trying to evangelize the Ayoreo, missionaries risk spreading diseases and violate Paraguayan laws protecting indigenous peoples from contact.<ref name=":6" /> UNAP says the collection of resources takes necessities from the people living in the territory, while entry into Ayoreo land can displace the people living there, with both activities creating risk of contact.<ref name=":6" />

== The Areguede’urasade == Seventeen Ayoreo-Totobiegosode people made contact in 2004 due to extensive deforestation in their territory.<ref name=":9" /><ref>"Seventeen Ayoreo--Totobiegosode Indians from the last uncontacted indigenous group in South America outside the Amazon Basin have emerged." ''Geographical'' June 2004: 13. ''Academic OneFile''. Web. 1 Apr. 2015.</ref> The group called themselves Areguede’urasade, meaning the band of Areguede.<ref name=":12">Bessire 2014</ref> While they were living in the forest, they struggled to avoid contact, forced to flee from any sign of outsiders, and had to communicate by whistles to keep from being heard.<ref name=":12" /> They sometimes had to camp in the small patches of forest remaining around cattle pastures.<ref name=":12" /> Lucas Bessire recorded one story of the time before contact from a member of the Areguede’urasade describing traumatic experiences:<blockquote>“We saw tracks. {{lang|ayo|Cojñone}} [the Ayoreo term for white people], Strangers. Where? It was hot. We ran far. Faaar. Swollen tongues. We cried. Crawling low. A water tank. It was full. One {{lang|ayo|Cojnoi}}. Fat. A red shirt. Blood in the water. Trembling underneath. We ran.”<ref name=":12" /></blockquote>The Areguede’urasade were contacted by another group of Totobiegosode who were sedentarized in 1986 by the New Tribes Mission.<ref name=":12" /> When the two tribes became one, the Areguede’urasade were forced to give up their culture, convert to Christianity, and perform servile tasks for the initial Totobiegosode group.<ref name=":12" /> Significant health issues were seen among members as a result of their treatment after contact.<ref name=":12" />

==Political representation== In Bolivia, the Ayoreo people are represented by the organization CANOB (Central Ayorea Nativa del Oriente Boliviano).<ref name=":0">Braunstein, José, and Norma C. Meichtry. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=ISzI6iJoKGYC&pg=PA106 Liderazgo, representatividad y control social en el Gran Chaco]''. [Corrientes]: Editorial universitaria de la Universidad nacional del Nordeste, 2008. 106</ref> CANOB has its main office in Santa Cruz de la Sierra.<ref name=":0" /> CANOB has four titles to [[Native Community Lands]], whose populations range from 157 to 384 people.<ref>Fundación Tierra (2011). ''Territorios Indígena Originario Campesinos en Bolivia: Entre la Loma Santa y la Pachamama''. La Paz: Fundación Tierra.</ref> In 2002 an Ayoreo organization was founded in Paraguay, UNAP (Unión Nativa Ayoreo del Paraguay or the Union of Ayoreo Natives of Paraguay) that has its headquarters at the frontier between the Campo Loro and Ebetogué regions.<ref name=":0" /> Mateo Sobode Chiquenoi and Yacamái Chiquenoi are former UNAP presidents who have written in defense of the Ayoreo in isolation and shared their personal stories.<ref name=":2" /> The two organizations have held joint meetings due to the transnational nature of the Ayoreo territory.<ref name=":6" /> The Totobiegosode are represented by their own organization, OPIT (Organización Payipie Ichadie Totobiegosode or the Payipie Ichadie Totobiegosode Organization).<ref name=":6" /> There is also an organization that specifically represents Ayoreo communities around the Paraguay River, Consejo de Líderes de Alto Paraguay.<ref name=":6" /> Various [[non-governmental organization]]s (NGOs) support Ayoreo organizations, such as APCOB, GAT (Gente, Ambiente, Territorio), which works with OPIT.<ref name=":6" /> UNAP and the NGO Iniciativa Amotocodie (IA) monitor Ayoreo territory to confirm the presence of groups in isolation through signs such as holes cut in trees to collect honey.<ref name=":6" />

== Local groups == Local Ayoreo groups:<ref>[https://ayore.org/ayo/culture/oral-history/oidabiade-ayoreode-uaguedie-iode/ AYORÉ.ORG] Retrieved on 5 May 2021.</ref><ref>[https://pueblosoriginarios.com/sur/chaco/ayoreo/ayoreo.html Ayoreo] Retrieved on 5 May 2021.</ref>

{{div col}} * Amomégosóde * Atetadiegosode * Cochóigosode * Diequedejnaigosode (Unirequedéjnagosode) * Ducodégosode * Eampepaigosode * Gatebuigosode * Guedogosode * Ijnapuigosode * Jachaigosode * Ñamacodegosode * Pajogosode * Tiégosode * Totobíegosode * Tujnoigosode * Tunupegosode * Uechamitógosóde

Ayoréo, [[Paraguay]]: * Amomégosóde * Chabotódiegosóde * Cutérepajógosode * Dajeguéogosóde * Ducodégosode * Erãpeparígosóde * Guidaigosode * Tiégosode * Totobíegosode

Ayoréo, [[Bolivia]]: * Carábiagosode * Cochocoigosode * Cucójnaigosode * Direquedéjnagosipísode (Unirequedéjnagosode) * Dorojobiégosóde * Jachaigosode * Jnupedógosóde * Pajogosode * Picádebúigosóde * Tiequedéjnagosóde * Tiquijnachúigosóde * Togarógosóde * Tuijnaigosode * Uechamitógosóde {{div col end}}

== Notes ==

== References ==

* {{cite book |last=Bremen |first=Voker von |chapter=Dynamics of Adaptation to Market Economy among the Ayoréode of Northwest Paraguay |pages=275–286 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1srv3__c1j8C&pg=PA275 |editor1-last=Schweitzer |editor1-first=Peter P. |editor2-last=Biesele |editor2-first=Megan |editor3-last=Hitchcock |editor3-first=Robert K. |title=Hunters & Gatherers in the Modern World. Conflict, Resistance, and Self-Determination |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1srv3__c1j8C |publisher=Berghahn Books |year=2000 |isbn=1-57181-101-X }} * Bessire, Lucas B. (2008, Spring). Isolation. Cultural Survival Quarterly, 32, 38-45 * Bessire, Lucas B. (2014). ''Behold the Black Caiman: A Chronicle of Ayoreo Life.'' University of Chicago Press. * Chiquenoi, M. S. (2013). The Ayoreo People. In P. Lambert and A. Nickson (Eds.), ''The Paraguay Reader: History, Culture, Politics'' (342-347). Durham; London: Duke University Press. * {{cite video |people=fPcN Germany |title=Gran Chaco: The wilderness die |url=http://fpcn-global.org/content/Gran-Chaco-The-wilderness-die-2004-43min-German-language |date=2004 |publisher=Friends of Peoples close to Nature |medium=Documentary |format=Both downloadable and streamed video |language=de |ref=fPcN04 |access-date=2009-04-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090510071633/http://www.fpcn-global.org/content/Gran-Chaco-The-wilderness-die-2004-43min-German-language |archive-date=2009-05-10 |url-status=dead }} * Glauser, B. (2011). Being indigenous: the concept of indigeneity, a conversation with two Ayoreo leaders. In S. Venkateswar and E. Hughes (Eds.), ''The Politics of Indigeneity: dialogues and reflections on indigenous activism'' (21-44). London; New York: Zed. * Guillermoprieto, A. (2008, 07). Bolivia's New Order. National Geographic, 214, 88-95, 97-98, 100-103. * Hindery, D. L. (2003). Multinational oil corporations in a neoliberal era: Enron, shell, and the political ecology of conflict over the cuiaba pipeline in Bolivia's chiquitania * Infantas, A. (2012, December 18). Bolivia's Ayoreo Indians, Devoured by the City. IPS – Inter Press Service. * {{cite web |author=Iniciativa Amotocodie |title=The Ethnic Group of the Ayoreo |year=2005–2007 |url=http://www.iniciativa-amotocodie.org/en/sif/the-ayoreo.html |access-date=2009-04-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110726180719/http://www.iniciativa-amotocodie.org/en/sif/the-ayoreo.html |archive-date=2011-07-26 |url-status=dead }} * López-Entrambasaguas, O. M., Granero-Molina, J. and Fernández-Sola, C. (2013). An ethnographic study of HIV/AIDS among Ayoreo sex workers: cultural factors and risk perception. ''Journal of Clinical Nursing''. 22(22-23), 3337–3348. * Sciscioli, A. (2003). Paraguay: 'Those Who Live in the Land of the Peccary'. Global Information Network. * {{cite journal |last=Sebag |first=Lucien |author-link= Lucien Sebag|title=Le chamanisme ayoréo |journal=[[L'Homme]]|location=Paris |year=1965a |volume=5 |pages=5–32 |language=fr |url=http://www.persee.fr/web/revues/home/prescript/article/hom_0439-4216_1965_num_5_1_366686 |issue=1|doi=10.3406/hom.1965.366686 }} * {{cite journal |last=Sebag |first=Lucien |title=Le chamanisme ayoréo (II) |journal=[[L'Homme]]|location=Paris |year=1965b |volume=5 |pages=92–122 |language=fr |url=http://www.persee.fr/web/revues/home/prescript/article/hom_0439-4216_1965_num_5_2_366715 |issue=2|doi=10.3406/hom.1965.366715 }} * {{cite web |author=Survival International |title=The Ayoreo-Totobiegosode |year=2009 |url=http://www.survival-international.org/tribes/ayoreo |publisher=Survival International • The movement for tribal peoples }} The site includes news, images, songs. * {{cite web |author=Survival International |title=Before contact — on the run |url=http://www.survival-international.org/campaigns/uncontactedtribes/ontherun |access-date=2009-05-01 |archive-date=2009-09-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090908103355/http://www.survival-international.org/campaigns/uncontactedtribes/ontherun |url-status=dead }} * Unión de Nativos Ayoreo de Paraguay & Iniciativa Amotodie (2013). D. M Rubio and C. E. F. Calvo (Eds.), Indigenous People in Voluntary Isolation and Initial Contact. * {{cite web |author=WRM |title=Paraguay: Two pieces of good news for the Totobiegosode and for Humanity |date=July 2005 |publisher=World Rainforest Movement |url=http://www.wrm.org.uy/bulletin/96/Paraguay.html |access-date=2009-04-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080704200621/http://www.wrm.org.uy/bulletin/96/Paraguay.html |archive-date=2008-07-04 |url-status=dead }}

== External links == {{Commons category|Ayoreo people}} * {{cite video |people=fPcN Germany |title=Gran Chaco: The wilderness die |url=http://fpcn-global.org/content/Gran-Chaco-The-wilderness-die-2004-43min-German-language |date=2004 |publisher=[[Friends of Peoples Close to Nature]] |medium=Documentary |format=Both downloadable and streamed video |language=de |access-date=2009-04-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090510071633/http://www.fpcn-global.org/content/Gran-Chaco-The-wilderness-die-2004-43min-German-language |archive-date=2009-05-10 |url-status=dead }} * {{cite video |title=Ayoreo man recounts first encounter with bulldozer |format=streamed video |publisher=Survival International |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k0O0aeINaHk |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211220/k0O0aeINaHk |archive-date=2021-12-20 |url-status=live}}{{cbignore}} * {{cite web |title=The Ayoreo-Totobiegosode |url=http://www.survival-international.org/tribes/ayoreo |publisher=Survival International • The movement for tribal peoples}} The site includes news, images, songs.

[[Category:Hunter-gatherers of South America]] [[Category:Indigenous peoples in Bolivia]] [[Category:Indigenous peoples in Paraguay]] [[Category:Indigenous peoples of the Gran Chaco]] [[Category:Uncontacted peoples]]