The Qulla (
Quechuan
Quechua (, ; ), usually called ("people's language") in Quechuan languages, is an indigenous language family spoken by the Quechua peoples, primarily living in the Peruvian Andes. Derived from a common ancestral language, it is the most widely ...
for ''south'', Hispanicized and mixed spellings: ''Colla, Kolla'') are an
indigenous people
Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...
of western
Bolivia
, image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg
, flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center
, flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...
,
Chile
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...
, and
Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
living in west of
Jujuy
San Salvador de Jujuy (), commonly known as Jujuy and locally often referred to as San Salvador, is the capital and largest city of Jujuy Province in Argentine Northwest, northwest Argentina. Also, it is the seat of the Doctor Manuel Belgrano Depa ...
and west of
Salta Province
Salta () is a province of Argentina, located in the northwest of the country. Neighboring provinces are from the east clockwise Formosa, Chaco, Santiago del Estero, Tucumán and Catamarca. It also surrounds Jujuy. To the north it borders Boliv ...
. The 2004 Complementary Indigenous Survey reported 53,019 Qulla households living in Argentina.
[ They moved freely between the borders of Argentina and Bolivia.][ Their lands are part of the ]yungas
The Yungas (Aymara ''yunka'' warm or temperate Andes or earth, Quechua ''yunka'' warm area on the slopes of the Andes) is a bioregion of a narrow band of forest along the eastern slope of the Andes Mountains from Peru and Bolivia, and extends into ...
or high altitude forests at the edge of the Amazon rainforest
The Amazon rainforest, Amazon jungle or ; es, Selva amazónica, , or usually ; french: Forêt amazonienne; nl, Amazoneregenwoud. In English, the names are sometimes capitalized further, as Amazon Rainforest, Amazon Forest, or Amazon Jungle. ...
.[
]
History
The Qulla have lived in their region for centuries. Sillustani
Sillustani is a pre-Inca cemetery on the shores of Lake Umayo near Puno in Peru. The tombs, which are built above ground in tower-like structures called chullpas, are the vestiges of the Qulla people, who are Aymara conquered by the Inca Empir ...
is a prehistoric Qulla cemetery in Peru
, image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg
, image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg
, other_symbol = Great Seal of the State
, other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal
, national_motto = "Fi ...
, with elaborate stone ''chullpa
A ''chullpa'' is an ancient Aymara funerary tower originally constructed for a noble person or noble family. ''Chullpas'' are found across the Altiplano in Peru and Bolivia. The tallest are about high.
The tombs at Sillustani are most famou ...
s''. Several groups made up the Qulla people, including the Zenta, and Gispira. The Qulla came into contact with Spaniards in 1540. They resisted Spanish invasion for many years but ultimately lost the Santiago Estate to the Spanish. One particularly famous rebel leader was Ñusta Willaq, a female warrior who fought the Spanish in 1780. With Argentinian independence in 1810, the situation of the Qulla people did not improve and they worked for minimal wages.
On 31 August 1945, Qulla communities in the northwestern Argentine provinces of Jujuy
San Salvador de Jujuy (), commonly known as Jujuy and locally often referred to as San Salvador, is the capital and largest city of Jujuy Province in Argentine Northwest, northwest Argentina. Also, it is the seat of the Doctor Manuel Belgrano Depa ...
and Salta
Salta () is the capital and largest city in the Argentine province of the same name. With a population of 618,375 according to the 2010 census, it is also the 7th most-populous city in Argentina. The city serves as the cultural and economic ce ...
, through a group of representatives, sent a note to the National Agrarian Council demanding the restitution of their lands, in compliance with previous laws. On 17 January 1946 President Edelmiro Julián Farrell
Edelmiro Julián Farrell Plaul (; 12 February 1887 – 21 October 1980) was an Argentine general. He was the ''de facto'' president of Argentina between 1944 and 1946.
Farrell had a great influence on later Argentine history by introducin ...
signed the expropriation decree. But as funds for the necessary land surveys and paperwork were in progress, the direction of the Council passed to other people, who blocked them. In 1946, Qulla people joined the Malón de la Paz, a march to the capital of Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the RÃo de la Plata, on South ...
to demand the return of their lands.
In the 1950s, Qulla people worked in the timber industry on their ancestral lands.[
In 1985, the Argentinian government officially recognized the indigenous peoples of that country by Law 23303.][ A ]cholera
Cholera is an infection of the small intestine by some strains of the bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea that lasts a few days. Vomiting and ...
epidemic took a toll on the Qulla population in the late 20th century.[ In August 1996, many Qulla people occupied and blocked roads to their traditional lands but were violently stopped by the police. On 19 March 1997, the Qulla people finally regained legal possession of the Santiago Estate.][
]
Today
In the Province of Salta, Northern Argentina, Qullamarka is the Coordinating Platform for five different Qulla organizations, including the Kolla Tinkunaku Community is a grassroots organization, which represents four Qulla communities. Two other organizations represent Qulla rights in Argentina: Centro Kolla in Buenos Aires and the Indianista de los Pueblos Kollas. Because they traditionally held their land in common, the Qulla do not have titles of ownership to their lands, which has resulted in displacement. However, the Qulla participate in Argentinian government and hold local elected positions in their region.
The Additional Survey on Indigenous Populations, published by the National Institute for Statistics and Census, gives a total of 600,329 people out of some 40 million in Argentina who see themselves as descending from or belonging to an indigenous people.
For a number of reasons the different indigenous organisations do not believe this to be a credible survey. Firstly, the methodology used in the survey was considered inadequate, as a large number of indigenous people live in urban areas, where the survey was not fully conducted. Second, many indigenous people in the country hide their identity for fear of discrimination. Moreover, when the survey was designed in 2001, it was based on the existence of 18 known peoples in the country, but now, there exist more than 31 groups. That increase reflects a growing awareness amongst indigenous people in terms of their ethnic belonging.
As many Argentinians believe that the majority of the indigenous have died out or are on the verge of doing or that their descendants have assimilated into Western civilisation many years ago, they hold the idea that there are no indigenous people in their country. The use of pejorative terms likening the indigenous to lazy, idle, dirty, ignorant and savage are part of the everyday language in Argentina. Those stereotypes have forced many indigenous people, over the years, to hide their identity to avoid racial discrimination.
Language
The Qulla speak Northwest Jujuy Quechua or Qulla, a dialect of South Bolivian Quechua
South Bolivian Quechua, also known as Central Bolivian Quechua, is a dialect of Southern Quechua spoken in Bolivia and adjacent areas of Argentina, where it is also known as ''Colla''. It is not to be confused with North Bolivian Quechua, which is ...
, which is a variety of Southern Quechua
Southern Quechua ( qu, Urin qichwa, es, quechua sureño), or simply Quechua (Qichwa or Qhichwa), is the most widely spoken of the major regional groupings of mutually intelligible dialects within the Quechua language family, with about 6.9 mil ...
, one of the Quechuan languages
Quechua (, ; ), usually called ("people's language") in Quechuan languages, is an indigenous language family spoken by the Quechua peoples, primarily living in the Peruvian Andes. Derived from a common ancestral language, it is the most widely ...
.[ The Qulla of the northern Altiplano near Titicaca, however, appear to have originally spoken the ]Puquina language
Puquina (or Pukina) is a small, putative language family, often portrayed as a language isolate, which consists of the extinct Puquina language and Kallawaya, although it is assumed that the latter is just a remnant of the former mixed with Que ...
, also the likely main language of the Tiwanaku
Tiwanaku ( es, Tiahuanaco or ) is a Pre-Columbian archaeological site in western Bolivia near Lake Titicaca, about 70 kilometers from La Paz, and it is one of the largest sites in South America. Surface remains currently cover around 4 square kilo ...
culture during the Middle Horizon period.
Notable Qulla people
* Ñusta Willaq, female military leader who fought the Spanish in 1780
*Alejandro Vilca
Alejandro Ariel Vilca (born 5 July 1976) is an Argentine activist, garbage worker, trade unionist and politician, active in the Socialist Workers' Party (PTS). A member of the indigenous Qulla people, Vilca was elected to the provincial legisl ...
, socialist activist and politician
See also
* Qulla Kingdom
The Colla, Qolla or Qulla Kingdom was established in the northwestern basin of the Titicaca, one of the Aymara kingdoms that occupied part of the Collao plateau after the fall of Tiwanaku. In the mid-15th century the Collas possessed a vast ter ...
* Qullasuyu
Qullasuyu (Quechua language, Quechua and Aymara language, Aymara spelling, ; Hispanicized spellings: ''Collasuyu, Kholla Suyu'') was the southeastern provincial region of the Inca Empire. Qullasuyu is the region of the Qulla and related specifica ...
* Collao
Notes
External links
"Kolla Indians Fight to Protect Their Land."
InterPress Service
"The Andes"
a 2019 Deutsche Welle television program interviewing several Kolla people in a Puna region of northern Argentina, narrated in English
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kolla People
Quechua
Indigenous peoples in Argentina
Indigenous peoples in Bolivia
Indigenous peoples in Chile
Indigenous peoples of the Andes
qu:Qulla