Afro-Bolivians Explained

Group:Afro-Bolivians
Native Name:Afroboliviano (Spanish)
Flag:Flag Afrobolivian.svg
Flag Caption:Flag of the Afro-Bolivian Monarchy
Population:23,330 (2012 census)[1]
0.23% of the Bolivian population
Popplace:Los Yungas
Langs:Spanish
Rels:Catholicism • Traditional
Related:West Africans, Central Africans, Afro-Latin Americans and Bolivians

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.[2]

History of slavery in Bolivia

Slaves were brought as early as the 16th century in Bolivia to work in mines.[3] 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.[4] Slaves were more expensive in Bolivia then other parts of the Spanish colonies costing upwards to 800 pesos.[5] 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.[6]

Slaves were put to work in difficult conditions.[7]

Many newly brought slaves died due to the weather. Coca leaves helped with 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

Their move occurred during the year 1827 (although its enforcement being postponed to 1851),[10] The indigenous Aymara people and mestizos lived in the Yungas before the Afro-Bolivians.[11]

Culture

Saya music

See main article: Saya (art form).

The word saya originates from Kikongo Kongo: nsaya, referring to the act of singing while performing communal work.[12]

Caporales

See main article: Caporales.

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.[13]

Morenada

See main article: Morenada.

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".[14] [15]

Language

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

Afro-Bolivian monarchy

See main article: 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.[16] 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[17]) 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.[18]

Keeping the 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.[19] 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.[20] [21] [22] [23] 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.[24] Musical traditions such as dances, instruments, and techniques with ancestral origin in Sub-Saharan Africa, to the present day define Afro-Bolivian identity.[25] [26]

Afro-Bolivians today

They maintain their traditional culture, to the point of maintaining a continuous Afro-Bolivian monarchy currently led by Julio Pinedo at Mururata. Afro-Bolivians spread to the east in Cochabamba and Santa Cruz de la Sierra.

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.

Notable Afro-Bolivians

Politics

Ceremonial monarchy

Government

Activism

Sports

Basketball

Sports Shooting

Soccer

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Características de la Población – Censo 2012 . Population Characteristics – 2012 Census . 103 . 30 April 2021 . Instituto Nacional de Estadística . es . 30 April 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210430223857/https://bolivia.unfpa.org/sites/default/files/pub-pdf/Caracteristicas_de_Poblacion_2012.pdf#page=105 . live.
  2. Web site: Censo de Población y Vivienda 2012 Bolivia Características de la Población . 29 . Instituto Nacional de Estadística, República de Bolivia . 2020-03-27 . 2021-08-01 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210801173154/https://inecloud.ine.gob.bo/owncloud/index.php/s/w2ZCFwI7qJrwTwD/download . dead .
  3. Web site: Afro-Bolivians. 2021-07-28. Minority Rights Group. en-GB. 2021-07-28. https://web.archive.org/web/20210728222441/https://minorityrights.org/minorities/afro-bolivians/. live.
  4. Web site: Potosí Silver Mines. 2021-07-28. Atlas Obscura. en. 2022-01-17. https://web.archive.org/web/20220117060615/https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/potosi-silver-mines. live.
  5. Web site: Afro-Bolivian - Afropedea . 2021-07-28 . www.afropedea.org . 2022-11-28 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221128074417/http://www.afropedea.org/afro-bolivian . dead .
  6. Web site: The Real Histories Directory - Slavery in Latin America. 2021-07-28. www.realhistories.org.uk. 2021-01-28. https://web.archive.org/web/20210128151338/https://www.realhistories.org.uk/articles/archive/slavery-in-latin-america.html. dead.
  7. Web site: Johnson. Charlotte. 2014-02-24. The South American slave trade. 2021-07-28. Manchester Historian. en-GB. 2021-07-28. https://web.archive.org/web/20210728222442/https://manchesterhistorian.com/2014/south-american-slave-trade/. live.
  8. Web site: Afro-Bolivian - Afropedea. 2021-07-28. www.afropedea.org. 2021-07-28. https://web.archive.org/web/20210728222440/http://www.afropedea.org/afro-bolivian. dead.
  9. Web site: 2017-12-06. Bolivia's Afro king leads a long-neglected group stepping out of the shadows. 2021-07-28. the Guardian. en.
  10. Web site: Afro-Bolivians Encyclopedia.com. 2021-07-28. www.encyclopedia.com. 2021-07-28. https://web.archive.org/web/20210728222439/https://www.encyclopedia.com/humanities/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/afro-bolivians. live.
  11. Web site: Afro Bolivia – Freedom Is Mine. 2021-07-28. en-US. 2021-07-28. https://web.archive.org/web/20210728222449/https://www.freedomismineofficial.com/afro-bolivia/. live.
  12. Web site: Traditional Bolivian Music Types: Western Bolivia. Andean Music and Dances. 2021-07-28. BoliviaBella. 2010-06-14. https://web.archive.org/web/20100614215324/https://www.boliviabella.com/bolivian-music-types.html. live.
  13. Web site: 2012-02-22. Danzas autóctonas de Bolivia. 2021-07-28. https://web.archive.org/web/20120222053509/http://www.unet.univie.ac.at/~a9750175/spanisch/caporales.htm. 2012-02-22.
  14. Web site: Morenada – Bolivia Marka. 2021-07-28. boliviamarka.com. 2016-11-21. https://web.archive.org/web/20161121145720/http://boliviamarka.com/Dances/Morenada. dead.
  15. Web site: Morenada Bolivian dance. 2021-07-28. Encyclopedia Britannica. en. 2021-07-28. https://web.archive.org/web/20210728225231/https://www.britannica.com/art/morenada. live.
  16. Web site: El retorno del rey negro boliviano a sus raíces africanas - El País . 2021-07-28 . 2020-11-09 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201109032859/https://elpais.com/cultura/2018/01/19/actualidad/1516326396_507680.html . live .
  17. Web site: Busqué. Jordi. Bolivia's little-known tribal kingdom. 2021-03-16. www.bbc.com. en. 2021-03-16. https://web.archive.org/web/20210316185523/http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20210310-bolivias-little-known-tribal-kingdom. live.
  18. Web site: 2021-04-27. The story of Julio Pinedo, a farmer from Kongo who has been king of Afro-Bolivians since 1992. 2021-07-28. Face2Face Africa. en.
  19. Sessarego. Sandro. Historical Afro-Bolivian creole and culture. live. 2021-07-29. Journal of Pidgin and Creole Languages. 16 August 2013 . 28 . 2 . 363–407 . 10.1075/jpcl.28.2.04ses . English. https://web.archive.org/web/20210729012820/https://benjamins.com/catalog/jpcl.28.2.04ses . 2021-07-29 .
  20. Web site: 2018-07-01. Más de 500 palabras serán la base de la lengua afroboliviana - La Razón. 2021-07-29. https://web.archive.org/web/20180701222253/http://www.la-razon.com/sociedad/palabras-base-lengua-afroboliviana_0_1902409852.html. 2018-07-01.
  21. Web site: 2018-07-01. Afrobolivianos recuperarán su lengua y cultura - La Razón. 2021-07-29. https://web.archive.org/web/20180701222310/http://www.la-razon.com/sociedad/Afrobolivianos-recuperaran-lengua-cultura_0_1876012407.html. 2018-07-01.
  22. Web site: Palenquero creole and the decreolization of Bolivian Spanish.. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20110624115652/http://www.lingref.com/cpp/hls/13/paper2471.pdf . 2011-06-24 .
  23. Web site: Lipski . John M. . El lenguaje afroboliviano: apuntes lingüísticos . 23 November 2021 . es.
  24. Web site: Portal de la Amazonia Boliviana. 2021-07-29. amazonia.bo. 2021-07-29. https://web.archive.org/web/20210729012829/http://amazonia.bo/indigena_completa.php?codigo_enviado=RezYpXkXFSsQegbKkZL3PiAeJijMJNp5jcSH5pZZBUg=. live.
  25. Web site: Afro-Bolivians Encyclopedia.com. 2021-07-29. www.encyclopedia.com. 2021-07-28. https://web.archive.org/web/20210728222439/https://www.encyclopedia.com/humanities/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/afro-bolivians. live.
  26. Web site: negression.com. Kalisha at. 2017-04-24. An Interview with Maya Jensen, Filmmaker behind 'Solidarity in Saya: An Afro-Bolivian Music Movement'. 2021-07-29. negression. en. 2021-07-29. https://web.archive.org/web/20210729012820/https://negression.com/2017/04/24/an-interview-with-maya-jensen-filmmaker-behind-solidarity-in-saya-an-afro-bolivian-music-movement/. live.

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