Yuracaré (also called Yurujare, Yurucare) are Bolivian

indigenous people There is no generally accepted definition of Indigenous peoples, although in the 21st century the focus has been on self-identification, cultural difference from other groups in a state, a special relationship with their traditional territ ...

living on 2,500 square kilometres along the Chapare River watershed in

Cochabamba Department Cochabamba (, , ), from Quechua ''qucha'' or ''qhucha'', meaning "lake", ''pampa'' meaning "plain", is one of the nine departments of Bolivia. It is known to be the " granary" of the country because of its variety of agricultural products from ...

and

Beni Department Beni (), sometimes El Beni, is a northeastern Departments of Bolivia, department of Bolivia, in the lowlands region of the country. It is the second-largest department in the country (after Santa Cruz), covering 213,564 square kilometers (82,458 ...

, in the

Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...

n Lowlands of the

Amazon Basin The Amazon basin is the part of South America drained by the Amazon River and its tributary, tributaries. The Amazon drainage basin covers an area of about , or about 35.5 percent of the South American continent. It is located in the countries ...

. The Yuracaré reside not far from

Santa Cruz de la Sierra Santa Cruz de la Sierra (; ), commonly known as Santa Cruz, is the largest city in Bolivia and the capital of the Santa Cruz Department (Bolivia), Santa Cruz department. Situated on the Pirai River (Bolivia), Pirai River in the eastern Tropical ...

and

Cochabamba Cochabamba (; ) is a city and municipality in central Bolivia in a valley in the Andes mountain range. It is the capital (political), capital of the Cochabamba Department and the list of cities in Bolivia, fourth largest city in Bolivia, with ...

, among the forests and plains near the

Andes The Andes ( ), Andes Mountains or Andean Mountain Range (; ) are the List of longest mountain chains on Earth, longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range ...

. They are among the residents of the Yuracaré Native Community Land (TCO), the Yuqui TCO, the Isiboro Sécure National Park and Indigenous Territory, the Chiman Indigenous Territory, and the Multiethnic Indigenous Territory I. The Yuracare language is a

language isolate A language isolate is a language that has no demonstrable genetic relationship with any other languages. Basque in Europe, Ainu and Burushaski in Asia, Sandawe in Africa, Haida and Zuni in North America, Kanoê in South America, and Tiwi ...

, and is believed to be spoken in

by between 500 and 2,500 people. There are about 400 families in the Cochabamba Department and 62 Yuracare households in the

. The Yuracaré, who are one of approximately 35 Bolivian indigenous groups, traditionally bury their dead along with their bow and arrows, as it is a belief that the dead go to a place underground where game is plentiful.

Modern issues

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a state university system, system of Public university, public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. The system has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration o ...

's IFRI, along with the Center for the Study of Economic and Social Reality (CERES), has done research among the Yuracaré regarding the way the Yuracaré manage their forests. The organization helped the Yuracaré develop a forest management plan and receive official land titles to their territory by 1996, and in 1998 the Bolivian government officially approved the management plan. This was the first time in Bolivian history that an indigenous group was granted concessionary forest management rights. Further, the IFRI said that the natives' forest management practices increase the amount and size of fruiting trees. The Yuracaré find it important to maintain the forest because certain trees bear the fruit that is necessary in attracting the game that they hunt and of which they live off. Like other indigenous groups in Bolivia, the Yuracaré have faced major problems stemming from cultural issues in recent years. Some background: Bolivia is South America's poorest nation, and the native populations there are the most financially deprived of all. Having remained isolated over the years, authentic native traditions have still survived, while evolving under Catholic (in this case, the

Jesuits The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

of Paraguayan

Reductions Reductions (, also called ; ) were settlements established by Spanish rulers and Roman Catholic missionaries in Spanish America and the Spanish East Indies (the Philippines). In Portuguese-speaking Latin America, such reductions were also ...

) and Spanish influences. The proliferation of the Spanish language has led to disconnect and even friction between native tongues and Spanish-speakers.

Globalization Globalization is the process of increasing interdependence and integration among the economies, markets, societies, and cultures of different countries worldwide. This is made possible by the reduction of barriers to international trade, th ...

has been a major issue, as the Yuracaré have rejected privatization that has been implemented with encouragement from the U.S., to some amount of success.

References

External links

DoBeS : General information about the Yuracaré people
* Paradisec has a collection of open access materials tha
includes Yuracaré language materialsCeres Bolivia (in Spanish)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yuracare people Ethnic groups in Bolivia Beni Department Cochabamba Department Indigenous peoples in Bolivia Indigenous peoples of the Amazon

Modern issues

See also

References

External links