León Cadogan (29 July 1899 – 30 May 1973) was a Paraguayan ethnologist who made significant contributions to the study of

Guaraní language Guarani (Avañe'ẽ), also called Paraguayan Guarani, is a language of South America that belongs to the Tupi–Guarani branch of the Tupian language family. It is one of the two official languages of Paraguay (along with Spanish), where i ...

and

culture Culture ( ) is a concept that encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and Social norm, norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, Social norm, customs, capabilities, Attitude (psychology), attitudes ...

Childhood and studies

León Cadogan was born in

Asunción Asunción (, ) is the capital and the largest city of Paraguay. The city stands on the eastern bank of the Paraguay River, almost at the confluence of this river with the Pilcomayo River. The Paraguay River and the Bay of Asunción in the north ...

a few months after his Australian parents, John Cadogan (Welsh origin) and Rose Stone (Polish father and Irish mother) who previously used the name Rose Summerfield by her first marriage, came to

Paraguay Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay, is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the Argentina–Paraguay border, south and southwest, Brazil to the Brazil–Paraguay border, east and northeast, and Boli ...

as part of a group of a few hundred people who migrated there in 1893 and 1894.Kevin Murray
"Why Paraguay? Australia in the Latin mirror"
in ''Art Monthly,'' #209, May 2008, pp. 39-42. Retrieved 2010-02-04. Led by the mercurial and stridently racist William Lane, the group created New Australia (near the town of

Coronel Oviedo Coronel Oviedo (), locally simply known as Oviedo, is a city in east-central Paraguay. It is the capital of the Caaguazú Department, about 150 kilometers east of Asunción, and was founded in 1758. The city has a population of about 52,400 ( ...

), a

utopia A utopia ( ) typically describes an imagined community or society that possesses highly desirable or near-perfect qualities for its members. It was coined by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book ''Utopia (book), Utopia'', which describes a fictiona ...

n colony espousing

socialism Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

teetotalism Teetotalism is the practice of voluntarily abstaining from the consumption of alcohol, specifically in alcoholic drinks. A person who practices (and possibly advocates) teetotalism is called a teetotaler (US) or teetotaller (UK), or said to b ...

and the

ethnocentrism Ethnocentrism in social science and anthropology—as well as in colloquial English discourse—means to apply one's own culture or ethnicity as a frame of reference to judge other cultures, practices, behaviors, beliefs, and people, instead o ...

that had already produced an official White Australia policy in their homeland. The New Australia colony soon collapsed in dissension, and its members obtained freehold land instead. A fire in his parents' home in 1904 forced the Cadogan family to leave the colony. They settled in Villarrica, a town with a German-speaking population substantial enough to warrant a newspaper, ''Villarrica-Actual'', that publishes in Spanish and German. Attending that city's German-language school, León, who had previously learned English, Spanish, and Guaraní, learned German as well. He was 18 when he began working as a clerk for the cold-storage facilities of Swift & Co.'s slaughterhouse in the Zevallos Cué barrio of

. Through a friendship struck up with the Frenchman Emile Lelieur, he learned French and gained the opportunity to read classic authors, to learn elementary mathematics and the use of

logarithm In mathematics, the logarithm of a number is the exponent by which another fixed value, the base, must be raised to produce that number. For example, the logarithm of to base is , because is to the rd power: . More generally, if , the ...

s. In 1919 he moved to

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

, and two years later his restless spirit led him to the jungles of Caaguazú, where he worked harvesting yerba maté. Absorbed by the rugged and primitive environment, he became interested in the life of the Guaraní people. Cadogan studied, published and became an authority on Mbyá Guaraní, Ava-Guaraní, Pai-tavytera, and Ache-guayaki — various Guaraní tribes living in the forests of eastern Paraguay. Cadogan was accepted as a member of the Mbya-Guaraní and initiated under the spiritual name of "Tupa Kuchubi Veve" ("One who flies like a whirlwind"). The Mbya-Guarani had a secret, esoteric religious language unknown to the world until his initiation. Following the traditions of the group, he kept this name secret until his death. Cadogan published several studies of the language, religion and culture of the Guaraní, becoming a recognized authority of this group. One of his most famous works is '' Ayvu Rapyta,'' a collection of religious traditions of the Mbya-Guarani. His works were published in academic publications in

Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and the USA. In 1949 President Felipe Molas López appointed him "Protector of Indians", but he later lost favour with the thuggish dictator

Alfredo Stroessner Alfredo Stroessner Matiauda (; 3 November 1912 – 16 August 2006) was a Paraguayan politician, army general and Military dictatorship, military dictator who ruled as the 42nd president of Paraguay from 15 August 1954 until his overthrow in 19 ...

who tried to politicize and dismantle the organization protecting the indigenous group. Cadogan died in 1973 after forty years dedicated to the Guaraní cause and denunciation of the systemic persecution and abuse they had been subjected to. His library was donated to the Catholic University of Asunción. Pursuant to municipal ordinance 9513/76, a street near his home was named after him. Paraguayans consider him one of the 100 most important people of the millennium. Léon Cadogan's son Rodger Cadogan currently heads the Fundación Léon Cadogan, an organization that continues to advance the goals of Paraguay's Guaraní people.

Major publications

* Ayvu Rapyta, Textos miticos de los Mbya-Guarani del Guaira (Boletim No. 227 - ''Antropologia'', No. 5. University of São Paulo, 1959) *Diccionario Mbya-Guarani Castellano (Biblioteca Paraguaya de Antropologia - Vol. XVII, Fundacion "Leon Cadogan" Ceaduc Cepac. Asunción, 1992) *Nuevas observaciones acerca del origen de los Guayaki. (''Jornadas Internacionales de Arqueologia y Etnografia'', Buenos Aires, 1960) Suplemento Antropológico, Universidad Católica, revista del centro de estudios antropológicos. Vol.XXXIV no.2 diciembre 1999 ISSN 0378-9896 Homenaje a León Cadogan en el centenario de su nacimiento ( Contains Bio-Bibliography of Leon Cadogan)

Notes

Sources

* "The Indians of Paraguay." Branislava Súsnik and Miguel Chase-Sardi * "One Hundred Paraguayans of the Twentieth Century." Fascicules collectibles last minute

External links

centenary of the birth of Leon Cadogan

* Portal Guaran�

. A peculiar People . Gavin Souter. Register in Australia, National Library of Australia. Registry number Aus-68-1177 SBN207 95037 7 {{DEFAULTSORT:Cadogan, Leon 1899 births 1973 deaths Paraguayan ethnologists Paraguayan non-fiction writers Paraguayan people of Australian descent Paraguayan people of Polish descent Paraguayan people of Irish descent Paraguayan people of Welsh descent 20th-century Paraguayan male writers People from Asunción 20th-century non-fiction writers Male non-fiction writers