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The Chamacoco people (Ishír) are an indigenous people of Paraguay."Orientation - Chamacoco."
''Countries and Their Cultures.'' Retrieved 10 Dec 2011.
Some also live in Brazil. The Chamacoco have two major divisions, the Ebytoso, who lived along the
Paraguay River The Paraguay River (Río Paraguay in Spanish, Rio Paraguai in Portuguese, Ysyry Paraguái in Guarani) is a major river in south-central South America, running through Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay and Argentina. It flows about from its headwaters i ...
, and the Tomáraho, who traditionally lived in the forests. The Ebytoso converted to Christianity, while the Tomáraho have lived in marginal areas in order to preserve their traditional world views and lifeways. In the 1980s the Instituto Nacional del Indigena (INDI) resettled the Tomáraho in a community called Puerto Esperanza with the Ebytoso.Mendoza, Marcela
"The Aesthetics and Performance of the Ishir of Paraguay."
''A Contre Corriente.'' Vol. 5, Number 1. Feb 2007: 310–413. Retrieved 11 Dec 2011.


Name

The Chamacoco are also known as the Ishiro, Yshiro, Jeywo, Yshyro, Xamicoco, Xamacoco, or Yshyr people. Their autonym is Ishír. The term ''ɨshɨr'' (also spelled ''Ishir'' or ''Yshyr'') properly means 'person', but now is also used with the meaning of 'indigenous' in opposition to the Paraguayan people, who are called ''Maro''.Ciucci, Luca 2013

Quaderni del Laboratorio di Linguistica della Scuola Normale Superiore n.s. 12


Population

According to the 2002 census the population yshyr in Paraguay that identified themselves as ysyr was 1571 people, mainly located in the district of
Fuerte Olimpo Fuerte Olimpo () is a city in Paraguay. It is the capital of the department of Alto Paraguay. Straddling the river Paraguay which forms the border with Brazil, Fuerte Olimpo is Paraguay's northernmost departmental capital, located over 830  ...
in
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 ...
, being the largest migrant group which is in the district
Ygatimí Villa Ygatimí is a town founded in 1715 in the Canendiyú department of Paraguay Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country ...
(85 in 2002). According to data from the
brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
ian ''Social and Environmental Institute (ISA)'', in 1994, 40 individuals were living in the Indian Reservation of Kadiwéu in
Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
. During the 80's, the yshyr were displaced from their lands and relocated by the ''National Indigenous Institute of Paraguay'' (INDI) confining them to small riparian areas. In 1986 the tomáraho were moved from San Carlos to Potrerito, to land belonging to the ybytoso, and later were given land in Maria Elena.


Language

Yshyr (chamacoco) people speak the yshyr, a Zamuco language. The designation "chamacoco" is probably related to "chamóc" or "zamúc," the ethnonym for the group of the Zamuco Family. The language is called ''Yshyr ahwoso'' (also spelled ''ɨshɨr ahwoso'') by the speakers. Yshyr language was studied and described by the
Jesuits , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders = ...
in the eighteenth century, and includes the dialects ''tomáraho'' (or ''tomaraxa''), ''ybytoso'' (or ''ebitoso'') and ''orio''.Glosario de lenguas indígenas sudamericanas, Edgardo Civallero, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba
/ref> In 1930 it was estimated that about 2000 people spoke some variety of language. The speakers of the variants ''ybytoso'' and ''orio'' were estimated at 800 in 1970, while fewer than 200 people spoke Tomáraho in that times. The yshyr language is considered endangered by the
UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
and could disappear in a few generations, under pressure from the culturally dominant languages in the region, like Spanish and guaraní. The language shows remarkable morphological similarities with Ayoreo.Ciucci, Luca 2009
Elementi di morfologia verbale del chamacoco.
''Quaderni del Laboratorio di Linguistica'' n.s. 8
Ciucci, Luca 2013. ''Inflectional morphology in the Zamucoan languages''. Pisa: Scuola Normale Superiore. Ph.D. Thesis. Possessed nouns agree in person with the possessor.Ciucci, Luca 2010
La flessione possessiva del chamacoco
''Quaderni del Laboratorio di Linguistica'' n.s. 9,2
Chamacoco presents rare para-hypotactical structures, also documented at an early stage of many romance languages.Bertinetto, Pier Marco & Luca Ciucci 2012
Parataxis, Hypotaxis and Para-Hypotaxis in the Zamucoan Languages.
''Linguistic Discovery'' 10.1. 89-111.


History

Several ''ysyr'' groups lived in the
Gran Chaco The Gran Chaco or Dry Chaco is a sparsely populated, hot and semiarid lowland natural region of the Río de la Plata basin, divided among eastern Bolivia, western Paraguay, northern Argentina, and a portion of the Brazilian states of Mato ...
in the nineteenth century, both inside the territory, and settled on the banks of the
Paraguay River The Paraguay River (Río Paraguay in Spanish, Rio Paraguai in Portuguese, Ysyry Paraguái in Guarani) is a major river in south-central South America, running through Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay and Argentina. It flows about from its headwaters i ...
. The ''ybytosos'' (or ''ebitosos'') have lived for centuries along the Paraguay River, the ''tomárahos'', lived inside the
Gran Chaco The Gran Chaco or Dry Chaco is a sparsely populated, hot and semiarid lowland natural region of the Río de la Plata basin, divided among eastern Bolivia, western Paraguay, northern Argentina, and a portion of the Brazilian states of Mato ...
and until the 1970s were believed to be hostile.Chase Sardi, Miguel (1971). ''La Situación Actual de los Indígenas del Paraguay'' Suplemento Antropológico, Vol. 6, Nos. 1–2. Universidad Católica, Asuncion, 1971. During the
Chaco War The Chaco War ( es, link=no, Guerra del Chaco, gn, Cháko ÑorairõParaguay 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 ...
an soldiers against the Bolivians, but when the war ended, they lost their territories and had to negotiate ethnic survival with the Paraguayan settlers. The remaining ''tomáraho'' were living in debt slavery in the remote ''San Carlos'' logging camp—and were dying from disease, neglect, and starvation. Whereas the ''ebytoso'' had abandoned their rituals as a result of pressure from evangelical missionaries belonging to the
New Tribes Mission Ethnos360, formerly known as New Tribes Mission (NTM), is an international, theologically evangelical Christian mission organization based in Sanford, Florida, United States. Ethnos360 has approximately 2,300 missionaries in more than 20 nation ...
, the ''tomáraho'' still practiced the boys initiation ceremony and had retained a detailed knowledge of myth and shamanism.Renshaw, Jonathan (2007)
''Article University of Pittsburgh Press''
/ref> “''Now our territory is that of the company''”, a ''tomáraho'' man said, “''we live there but it isn’t ours; it does not belong to us and has become an enemy place that is killing us off. Before we were brave and strong, but cohabitation with
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 ...
ans has tamed us''” The Tomáraho worked in the logging camps of the tannin company Carlos Casado and barely survived, ill and malnourished. Their first contact with the ''ebytoso'' was in 1981, when ''Bruno Barrás'' and ''Guillermo Mallero'', Ishir from
Fuerte Olimpo Fuerte Olimpo () is a city in Paraguay. It is the capital of the department of Alto Paraguay. Straddling the river Paraguay which forms the border with Brazil, Fuerte Olimpo is Paraguay's northernmost departmental capital, located over 830  ...
, walked to ''San Carlos'' to carry out the first National Indigenous Census. When ''Escobar'' visited the ''tomáraho'' in 1985 they numbered only 87 people. These groups are now on the verge of disappearing due to the poverty resulting from the transformation of their habitat, degradation of natural resources, and the pressure out of the expansion of economic activity. Young people move to the cities of
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 ...
and
Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
, abandoning their beliefs and often denying their origin to avoid being victims of discrimination. In 2009, only three ''ybytoso'' communities had legal status and own land, the ''tomáraho'' community and has legal status and allocated land without legal property ( DGEEC, 2004) with a total of 25,828 hectares. The largest populations are in Puerto Diana and Puerto Esperanza, the smallest in Puerto Caballo.Atlas de las Comunidades Indígenas en el Paraguay
(2004) DGEEC - Dirección General de Estadística, Encuestas y Censo de Paraguay


Economy

Traditionally, the Chamacoco were
hunter-gatherers A traditional hunter-gatherer or forager is a human living an ancestrally derived lifestyle in which most or all food is obtained by foraging, that is, by gathering food from local sources, especially edible wild plants but also insects, fungi, ...
. Currently, they farm and raise animals, such as sheep, goats, pigs, cows, horses, and poultry. They work as ranch hands, day laborers, and domestic servants. They create crafts for sale such as baskets, wood carvings, and other creations. Yshyr dissident groups, known as "yacareceros" are engaged in
alligator An alligator is a large reptile in the Crocodilia order in the genus ''Alligator'' of the family Alligatoridae. The two extant species are the American alligator (''A. mississippiensis'') and the Chinese alligator (''A. sinensis''). Additiona ...
poaching, a prohibited activity, to survive. "''contingents of fifteen to twenty men leave in canoes up the river, and interns by the marshlands of río Negro. They hunt for a month, sleeping in their boats and exposed to all dangers:
brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
ian rangers , most of them ex-convicts, use to shoot to kill before asking''". Martín Caparrós "''La Selva Esmeralda''" First magazine year 4 Nr. 44, May 1990


Mythology

While stories told by ''ybytoso'' differ from that from '' Tomáraho'' in many respects, the "Big Myth" yshyr can be summarized as follows: On the occasion of traveling through the jungle, a group of yshyr women met the ''ahnapzöro'' (or ''anapsoro''), powerful and terrible gods, strange-looking, that had no factions in their faces. Each of them had different unique characters, covered with feathers, hair, or strange colors. The ahnapsoro lived then with yshyr, and taught them to hunt, use tools, and initiated them in their ritual ceremonies.Escobar, Ticio (2007
''The Curse of Nemur: In Search of the Art, Myth, and Ritual of the Ishir''
University of Pittsburgh Press. Pittsburgh, PA
After a while the coexistence of men and gods became difficult, reaching a crisis with the death of some young people in the harsh initiation ceremonies. Then ''Eshönewörta'' (or ''Ashnuwerta''), a leading ahnapzoro, showed the yshyr the vulnerability of the ahnapzoro, so they could kill them by beating them at the ankle, as that there they had there throat. In a short time all the anapsor had been exterminated. only two survived the slaughter: ''Eshönewörta'' and the fearsome ''Nemur'', who escaped. When Nemur felt the human drawing up on him, they were already in the place called ''Karcha Balut'' he scooped up a snail from the soil or pulled it from his body's thick plumage (depending on the versions) and with an extravagant gesture produced a raging river that sprouted out of its shell. The man and the anapser, separated by the river known today as the
Paraguay river The Paraguay River (Río Paraguay in Spanish, Rio Paraguai in Portuguese, Ysyry Paraguái in Guarani) is a major river in south-central South America, running through Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay and Argentina. It flows about from its headwaters i ...
, "exchange words" for the last time. "''You can run, but your destiny is to remain forever alone''", pronounces Syr, standing on the riverbank. "''Your people are numerous''", replies Nemur from the opposite bank, "''but they will be forever obliged to follow the words. If they fail, sickness, hunger, and enemies will decimate then until the last Kytymaraha (name of the clan of Syr) is extinguished''". There is another mythical institution that promotes the balanced use of natural resources: the figure of the ''Master of the Animals''. Every animal has its master its ''balut'', ''spokesperson'', who simultaneously facilitates hunting and severely sanctions its excess.


Notes


Further reading

*Escobar, Ticio. ''The Curse of Nemur: In Search of Art, Myth, and Ritual of the Ishir.'' Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 2007. .


External links


Chamacoco artwork
National Museum of the American Indian
Biblioteca Virtual de Paraguay
Paraguay Virtual Library
Centro de Artes Visuales Museo del Barro
Mud Museum, Visual Arts Center (Paraguay) {{DEFAULTSORT:Chamacoco Indigenous peoples in Brazil Indigenous peoples in Paraguay Indigenous peoples of the Gran Chaco Hunter-gatherers of South America