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 '' chullpas''. 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

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 Río 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, which is a variety of Southern Quechua, 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, also the likely main language of the Tiwanaku 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

Notes

External links