Tobatí
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Tobatí is a city in
Tobatí District Tobatí District is the second largest district of Cordillera Department, Paraguay, with 23,191 inhabitants.Direccioón General de Estadística, Encuentras, y Censos. Censo Nacional de Población y Viviendas 2002. The main city is Tobatí Tobatà ...
in the
Cordillera Department Cordillera () is a department in Paraguay. The capital is the city of Caacupé. History During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries this area of the country was going through a serious crisis due to population bellicosity of the Indians f ...
,
Paraguay Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to th ...
. The population of the city is 9,688.Direccioón General de Estadística, Encuentras, y Censos. Censo Nacional de Población y Viviendas 2002.


History

Tobati was founded in June 1539 by
Domingo Martínez de Irala Domingo Martínez de Irala (; c. 1509 Bergara, Gipuzkoa – c. 1556 Asunción, Paraguay) was a Spanish Basque people, Basque conquistador. He headed for America in 1535 enrolled in the expedition of Pedro de Mendoza and participated in the foundi ...
. There are various opinions as to the meaning of the town's name. One is from the Spanish definition of the word, referring to the rocky terrain, consisting largely of limestone. Another is that it is the combination of the
Guaraní language Guaraní (), specifically the primary variety known as Paraguayan Guarani ( "the people's language"), is a South American language that belongs to the Tupi–Guarani family of the Tupian languages. It is one of the official languages of P ...
words "tova," meaning "face" and "tí," meaning "nose," or together - "nose on the face." The third option is that the name is a combination of the Guaraní words, tova, and morotí - referring to an indigenous legend of a white faced warrior priest who would come to lead the tribes into a glorius era.Teofilo Caceres Vega. ''Tobati: Tava - Pueblo - Ciudad''. One of the greatest heroes in Paraguayan history, the "Liberator of Paraguay," Captain Pedro Juan Caballero hailed from Aparypy, Tobati. Captain Caballero was the leader of the
Paraguayan War for Independence Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to th ...
from
Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...
, and is known as a very able military tactician. Caballero continued to serve his country after the War for Independence as one of the members of the governing Junta of Paraguay until the ascension of the "Perpetual Dictator," Doctor
José Gaspar Rodríguez de Francia José Gaspar Rodríguez de Francia y Velasco () (6 January 1766 â€“ 20 September 1840) was a Paraguayan lawyer and politician, and the first dictator (1814–1840) of Paraguay following its 1811 independence from the Spanish Viceroyalty of ...
. Tobati was the subject of two very well known and respected sociological studies and books. The first is titled, ''Tobati: A Paraguayan Town'', by Helen and Elman Service. The second is titled ''Tobati : tradicion y cambio en un pueblo paraguayo'', by Diego Hay.


Religion

As with most Paraguayan towns, Tobatí is predominately
Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
. There are small
Evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide Interdenominationalism, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being "bor ...
,
Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only (believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compete ...
, and
Jehovah’s Witnesses Jehovah's Witnesses is a millenarian restorationist Christian denomination with nontrinitarian beliefs distinct from mainstream Christianity. The group reports a worldwide membership of approximately 8.7 million adherents involved in ev ...
communities present in the town as well. The town is divided into Barrios, generally named after Saints, and feast days of the Saints are celebrated in their respective Barrios as neighborhood events. The religious life of the town centers around the feast day of Mary of the
Immaculate Conception The Immaculate Conception is the belief that the Virgin Mary was free of original sin from the moment of her conception. It is one of the four Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church, meaning that it is held to be a divinely revealed truth w ...
, the Patron Saint of Tobatí, on December 8. The church in Tobatí contains the holy relic carving of the Virgin Mary of Immaculate Conception, which was carved by an indigenous convert to Christianity hundreds of years ago. This Indian was pursued by his tribe to be put to death for his conversion to Christianity. As he hid behind a tree the Indian prayed to the Holy Mother for protection in turn for his devotion and promise to create an icon to glorify her. The tribe passed him by unnoticed and he subsequently carved two statues of the Holy Virgin. One resides in the church in Tobati, and the other in the Basilica in neighboring Caacupe.


Culture and artwork

Tobatí is renowned throughout Paraguay for the woodworking, ceramics, and sculptures of its artisans. One artisan in particular,
Don Zenón Páez Don, don or DON and variants may refer to: Places *County Donegal, Ireland, Chapman code DON * Don (river), a river in European Russia * Don River (disambiguation), several other rivers with the name *Don, Benin, a town in Benin * Don, Dang, a v ...
is world-renowned.


Economy

The major industry and income source for Tobatí is the production of building materials. The majority of roofing tile and bricks supplying Paraguay have their origin in the many factories in Tobati. Additionally, much of the Tobateño production is exported to neighboring Argentina and Brazil. While some factories are modernized and run off electric machines and kilns, and some employ a mixture of modern and traditional methods, the vast majority are traditional operations. First, the clay for the products is milled in wooden churns powered by horses or mules walking in circles around the mill. Workers then form the tiles and bricks in hand molds and place them in the sun to dry. In the final step the products are cooked in wood fired kilns for 24 hours or more.


Team Tobati

Each year, a community service trip consisting of approximately 100 students from the
Kingswood-Oxford School Kingswood Oxford School is a private school located in West Hartford, Connecticut instructing day students in grades 6 through 12 with a college preparatory curriculum. Originally two separate schools, Kingswood School and Oxford School for boys a ...
in West Hartford, Connecticut travel down to Tobatí. The group originated due to the organization of one instructor at the school, Ron Garcia, whose family is from Tobatí and who still has many family members in the town. Team Tobati sends a large group of students and health care professionals each year over spring break to Tobatí, Paraguay on a public service trip to work with rural villages in providing access to health care and education. The group also sends smaller contingents of students and medical professionals at various times during the year. Additionally, Team Tobati has funded an artisan village and an educational institute, which are maintained year-round.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tobati Tobatí District