The Chorotes Indians in the Bolivian Chaco;

0 !

0 ;

7 i

5

6

6
0
7

ii THE

CHOROTES INDIANS

IN THE

BOLIVIAN CHACO

A PRELIMINARY REPORT

DEDICATED TO

THE XIVIS INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF AMERICANISTS
AT STUTTGART 1904

BY

ERIC VON ROSEN

STOCKHOLM

S

STOCKHOLM

IVAR H«aGSTR5MS BOKTRYCKERI A. B.
1904.

1^

.^v-^

.^^'^

^*^*°;-,t^^ ■

sV

THE UNIVFRSITY LIBRARY

UNIVERSITV Of CALIFORNIA, SAN OI£QQ

LA JOLU. CALIFORNIA

THE

CHOROTES INDIANS

IN THE

BOLIVIAN CHACO

A PRELIMINARY REPORT

DEDICATED TO

THE XIVIM INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF AMERICANISTS
AT STUTTGART 1904

BY

ERIC VON ROSEN

STOCKHOLM

S

STOCKHOLM

IVAR H;€GGSTROMS BOKTRYCKERI A. B.
1904.

)(?IUO^

Photographs by the author.

V

.:^

(f"a-

f(

.- J

■\ vV^r

A.

^^' o

MAF

OF THE

ARGENTINA-BOLIFIA

FRONTIER COUNTRY,

SHOWING

THE Route and Places
OF Investigation

OF

THE SWEDISH

CORDILLER-CHACO

EXPEDITION

IN 1901—1902.

Q Archaeological finds.

5 Ethnographical researches.

— Route of the Expedition.

f - " y y f , , . . »._

Gen.StaiMtMtst.

Digitized by the Internet Archive

in 2007 with funding from

IVIicrosoft Corporation

http://www.archive.org/details/chorotesindiansiOOroseiala

D,

uring the Swedish expedition to South America,
1901 — 1902, under the leadership of Baron Erland Norden-
skiold, I came into contact with some of the Indian tribes
who, free and independent, roam about in the forests and
deserts of El Gran Chaco, and who are still in possession
of the larger portion of this vast region. It is true that
both the Bolivian and Argentine Governments attempt, step
by step, by founding new settlements and colonies, to add
more territory to civilization, but the difficulties which meet
new settlers are frequently so great that they are obhged
to desert their new homes and return to more hospitable
parts. Furthermore, many have succumbed under water-
famine, fevers, and attacks from the numerous Indian tribes
of the Chaco.

From these tribes, who still constitute the real popu-
lation of the Chaco, I had an opportunity of making collec-
tions from the Chorotes, the Chiriguanos, the Tobas, and the
Tapietes. From the Mataco Indians Baron Nordenskiold had
made a valuable collection before I joined the expedition.
I will now try to give a short description of the first of the
aforesaid tribes, namely the Chorotes Indians, who are practi-
cally unaffected by any civilization, and are therefore very
suitable as a type of a nomad Chaco people.

In the literature concerning the Chaco, there is not
much information to be found in regard to the Chorotes.
The French traveller, M. Thouar, has, in his work » Explo-
rations dans I'Amerique de Sud», given some stray informa-

tions in regard to this Indian tribe, whom he found on the
upper course of the Pileomayo, but as yet no complete
description of the Chorotes has been pubUshed, and besides
the collection which I succeeded in making, and which is
now incorporated into the Swedish Ethnographic Riks-
museum, there are but a few stray objects from this tribe
in European museums. Several expeditions have, how-
ever, come into contact with these tribes of Indians, and Cre-
vaux was murdered in 1880 by the Chorotes and the Tobas,
who made a common attack on him; and Ibarreta became the
victim of the Indians in 1900, when he attempted to explore
the course of the Pileomayo River. It has not yet been
ascertained, for certain, which tribe committed the latter
deed, but it is probable that it was the Toba or the Tapietes
tribes. An old Mataco Chief, whom I asked if he knew
anything about the fate of Ibarreta, said that Ibarreta, when
he reached the point where the Pileomayo spreads out in
great swamps, was taken sick and was for some time cared
for by the Tapietes Indians, but that they, when he finally
began to be too much trouble for them, murdered him while
he was asleep.

The Chorotes are a rather tall people. Ry measure-
ments I have found the average height of the men to be
170 cm., and that of the women about 152 cm. Of course
I have not been able to make a sufficient number of measure-
ments, and therefore these figures must be regarded as only
approximate. The shape of the cranium is dolichocephal,
and Professor Retzius, who kindly undertook the description
of the skeletons and skulls which were collected by the
expedition, says that none of the Chorotes craniums show
signs of deformation. Roth men and women are strongly
built, although the chest seems to be sunken and the abdomen
rather large (PI. I, PI. II, Fig. 1). Older individuals are
frequently quite fat. The hair is coarse and jet-black, eyes

dark brown and skin chocolate brown, considerably darker
among older individuals than among younger.

Both sexes develop early, and girls (PL III & PI. IV)
are considered marriageable at about 13, the boys at about
15 years of age. Polygamy only occurs among the rich;
thus the Cazikes have quite a number of wives. Parents
seem to cherish great love for their children (PI. V), w^ho,
when they are small, are carried by their mothers in a sling
on the back. As a sign that the boy has attained man-
hood, his ears are pierced, and cylindrical wooden pegs are
inserted in the holes. Later on, these are exchanged for
larger ones, and still later on for still larger, and therefore
the ear-laps of older individuals are frequently distended to
enormous dimensions (PL VI). The same custom exists,
according to Dr. Koch*), among the Lengua Indians, who live
on the Rio Paraguay, and who have more similarities to
the Chorotes than any other Chaco tribe. This is very remark-
able, since they inhabit entirely distinct territories and are
separated from each other by nearly the whole Chaco with
its different tribes of Indians, but it is largely accounted for
by the strong tendency of the Chaco tribes to roam about,
and it is probable that the Lenguas and Chorotes have for-
njally been in close touch with each other. It is quite
certain that the Chorotes have of late moved in a westerly
direction, and I found this tribe much further west than
their territory has hitherto been supposed to extend. Be-
sides the aforesaid ear-pegs, tatooing is considered a sign
of puberty, and individuals of both sexes are tatoocd, but
the ear-pegs are exclusively reserved for the men. The
tatooing, which is almost entirely done on the face, is of
different patterns, and is executed by means of cactus spines,

•) Koch, Th. Die Lenguas-Indianer in Paraguay. Globus, LXXVIII,
1900, n:is 14 & 15. — Also: Hautrey. The Lengua Indians of the Para-
guayan Chaco. Journ. Anlhr. Inst. Gr. Brit. & Irehmd. XXXI. 1901. p.
280—209.

6

or sharp bone-awls. The pigment used is soot. Both men
and women are frequently painted. The usual color is red
and is prepared from the seeds of Caesalpiuia melanocarpa.
For smearing on the paint, the fin-ray of a Siluroid is fre-
quently used.

The men go almost naked (PI. VII). A fringed leather
belt or a woolen cloth worn round the loins is the usual
dress (PI. VIII & PI. IX). In colder weather, however, they
wrap themselves up in large woolen mantles, frequently
with interwoven stripes of different colors. The women wear
a light, usually blue cloth, open along one side, and held
together at the shoulder with a cactus spine. Young boys
and girls always go naked. Although the Chorotes have no
great fancy for clothes, which is easily explained by the fact
that they live in an extremely warm and dry climate, they
are all the more fond of ornaments of all possible kinds;
and I do not believe that any Chaco tribe can compete with
them in this respect. But contrary to what is the case in
Europe, among the Chorotes it seems that only the men are
victims of the fancy for ornaments. If an ornament is found
on any member of the fair sex, it is of the simplest nature,
but I must, alas, admit that this token of the simplicity of
the Chorotes women has its origin in the rather egoistical
disposition of the men, which prevents them from giving
away any ornament which can enhance their own appearance.
Among the ornaments used I may mention the frontal bands,
of bird-skin or wool, under which ostrich plumes or other
feathers are inserted. These plumes or feathers are fre-
quently cut in different patterns (PI. II, Fig. 2). It was,
however, impossible for me to ascertain whether the diffe-
rent modes of cutting the feathers had any symbolic meaning
or not. Furthermore, network-caps and hoods, frequently
studded with carved pieces of shell, necklaces, all the way
up to 15 meters long, consisting of strung discs of mollusk

shell, necklaces with spangles of mother-of-pearl taken from
river mussels, bracelets and anklets of leather or down, and
finger rings made of lizard skin. These rings are made in
an original manner. A slice about 2 mm. thick is cut out
of the Uzard's tail at the point where it is of the same
thickness as the finger which is to bear the ring. After the
flesh has been poked out of the slice, the ring is ready.

As regard cleanhness, the Chorotes are nowhere near
as filthy as their neighbors the Matacos (PI. X), but the
frequent scarcity of water in the Chaco causes the clean-
liness of the Chorotes to be in direct proportion to the existing
water supply. They devote special care to the hair, but
have evidently much difficulty in keeping it free from vermin,
notwithstanding that they diligently comb it with "toothed
fish-jaws (PI. XI, Fig. 1), which have to act as a substitute
for fine-combs. Combs of wood (PI. XVIII, Fig. 1) and
bamboo-splints also occur. The beardgrovvth is very shght,
and all hairs on the lips, chin, and other parts of the body
are carefully pulled out. The women wear the hair hanging
loose. This is also generally the case with the men, who,
however, frequently use to bring the hair together in the
back of the neck, and wind it tight, to a length of about
20 cm., so that is forms a kind of pigtail. It is a'so a
very common custom to insert a lock of a conquered enemy's
hair, wound into a pigtail (PI. XVIII, Fig. 2), under the
frontal band.

The Chorotes live together in villages, and every vil-
lage has its chieftain, but this chieftain is subordinate to a
tribe-chieftain in common for all the villages. Chieftainship
is hereditary, and the chieftains seem to be highly esteemed
and to be vested with extensive authority. Thus, for in-
stance, it is only necessary to get the consent of the chief-
tain in order to have the members of the tribe execute any
work desired. As the Chorotes are a nomad-tribe, their

8

huts are of very simple nature. A few tree-branches about
3 meters long are stuck m the earth, with the thick end
downward, so that they enclose a circle of about 2 meters'
diameter. The tops of the branches are then tied together,
so that a bee-hive shaped frame is made (PI. XI, Fig. 2),
and when this framework is covered with palm-leaves and
grass, the hut is finished (PI. VII). The opening of the hut
is made so large that a person can pass through it in a
crouching position. The huts are frequently built so near
each other that they can be united by means of a very
short, covered passage, and several huts are sometimes thus
connected. The Chiriguanos, who are residentiary, have
much finer huts, both as regards size and construction, and
for the sake of comparison I will show a few pictures of
them (PI. XII, Fig. 1 & 2).

In the Chorotes huts we do not find many household
.utensils, a few bowls of gourd-rinds (PI. XVIII, Fig. 8),
mortars of palm-wood with pestles of the bone-hard wood
of Bulnesia Sarmienti, mussel-shells used as spoons, and
a few roughly made vessels of burnt clay, are all that we
find. Tne clay vessels lack ornaments and cannot be com-
pared with the fine pottery of the Chiriguanos. For transport-
ing the household utensils in moving, which is one of the
duties of the women, large, network bags are used, which
are made of fibres from the Chaguar plant (Bromelia Serra),
which is very common in the Chaco. Small bags of the
same material are generally carried by the men, who keep
in them diverse small articles, such as tobacco-pipes and
utensils for producing fire by friction. The fire-utensils of
the Chorotes consist of two sticks (PI. XVIII, Fig. 3 & 4),
of different length, taken from a certain species of liana, of
the Asclepiadaceae. When fire is wanted, the smaller stick
(Fig. 4), which is generally only about 5 cm. long, is in-
serted in the end of an arrow-shaft, after which the other

9

stick (Fig. 3), generally about three times as long, in which
there are several small concavities (and as is usual in South
America, always with a notch at one side), is pressed firmly
against the ground with the left foot. The first-mentioned
stick is now placed upright in one of the small concavities,
after which the arrow-shaft is dexterously twirled between
the hands (PI. XIII). The fine dust formed and caused to
glow by the friction of the two sticks is collected in the
lateral notch and serves as tinder. Dry grass is laid on
the glowing tinder-dust and is blowed into a flame. In this
way the Chorotes make fire in about 30 seconds.

The Chorotes live by hunting and fishing and by collec-
ting esculent roots and fruits found in the woods. The fruit
of the aforesaid Chaguar plant (Bromelia Serra) is an espe-
cially important article of food with these Indians. I do
not believe that the Chorotes can brew any intoxicating
drink, but their neighbors, the Chiriguanos are experts in
making the alcoholic drink, cMcha (PI. XIV). The only
article of gratification used by the Chorotes is doubtless
tobacco, w^hich is smoked in straight reeds or cylindrical,
wooden, tubes, resembling cigar-holders (PI. XVIU, Fig. 5).
Fish can only be caught in the larger water-courses, as for
instance Rio Pilcomayo (PI. XV, Fig. 1), since in the Chaco
all small water-courses dry up in the dry season. The
fishing-tackle used is generally nets made of chaguar yarn.
Fishing is also done with hook and line, although more
seldom. Since the Chorotes do not use either boats or
canoes, they are obliged either to wade or swim when they
set their nets, and in so doing they expose themselves to
being badly torn or mutilated by a fish with sharp teeth
which infests the larger rivers of the Chaco. This fish
(a Serrosahno, called by the settlers »palometre»), frequently
bites round pieces of flesh from the bodies of the Indians,
and many Indians carried large scars after such bites (PI.

10

VI). On the other hand, the species of alligator, Caiman
.sclerops (PI. XV, Fig. 2), which is most frequent in the
Chaco, seldom attacks human beings.

In the hunt, the bow and arrow are used exclusively
(PI. XVI). The bow, which has a length of about 17 deci-
meters, is made of a very hard kind of wood, and is fur-
nished with a string of twisted hide. The arrows are long
and frequently lack feather guides. If there are any, they
are only two, short and wide, and each consisting of half a
feather placed on edge. The heads are of wood or iron; in the
former case they are made of some very hard kind of wood,
and frequently provided with barbs. In hunting smaller
mammals and birds, arrows are used with blunt, club-shaped
heads of wood, which prevent injuring the skin of the game,
and besides, such arrows will not slick in the trunks or
branches of trees and thus be lost. Poisoned arrows are
not used.

The bow and arrow are the most important weapons,
and in order to protect themselves from arrows, the Cho-
rotes, when on the war-path, wear a kind of shirt of mail
made of Chaguar-fibre. These shirts are quite heavy, and
are very closely woven, or braided, and prevent arrows
from entering the body. Similar shirts, although of much
thinner quahty, are in use among several Chaco tribes, but
are worn exclusively as a protection against the cold. It
is quite common among all Chaco tribes to shoot fire into
the villages of the enemy by means of burning arrows.
Near a sugar plantation which we passed, two Indian tribes
had become enemies and shot at each others villages all
night with burning arrows. Our expedition arrived at the
plantation the next day, and thus we missed a very fine
spectacle. In hand to hand combats, the Chorotes use short
clubs (Fig. 1) of a heavy kind of wood, which they know
how to handle with great skill. The Chorotes can, ho-

11

wever, hardly be called brave, since they try to avoid figh-
ting enemies of equal strength. If, however, they are so
numerous that there is no doubt of victory, their w^arrior
spirit is aroused, but they always try first to lull the enemy
into security, so as to surprise him
and win an easy victory. Thus the
Chorotes and Toba tribes had in the
most friendly and peaceful manner car-
ried on barter with the Crevaux expe-
dition, until, at a preconcerted sign,
they took out their clubs and began the
massacre, which ended in the annihila-
tion of the expedition.

All heavy work is done by the
women, w^hile the men pass the time
with hunting and fishing or with playing.
A common game consists in throwing
four rectangular wooden chips on the
ground. The chips are flat on one side
and convex on the other (PI. XVll, Fig.
6 & 7), and the value of the throw de-
pends on how many chips lie with the
convex side upwards. The scores are
kept by sticking arrows in the ground
(PI. XVII, Fig. 1.) Quite a large number
of men take part in the game at once.
A hockeylike play (PI. XVII, Fig. 2) is
also very common. The clubs, or bats,
are bent palm-leaf stalks and the balls
are cut out of palm-wood. The stakes
are generally necklaces of discs of
mollusk shell. In Chaco these necklaces
are the usual legal tender, and serve as a
kind of unit of value among the Chorotes. Fig. i.

12

The musical talent is not highly developed among the
Chorotes. Their musical instruments, with the exception of
a kind of magic drum, consist only of flutes of bone and
wood. On these they can produce four or five different
notes, but I was never able to distinguish any particular
melody. A kind of disc-shaped whistles of wood are carried
as ornament on the breast, and with them they can make
very shrill, far-sounding notes.

The Chorotes believe in spirits, both good and bad,
but the good spirits, who are considered to be harmless,
receive very little attention, while great respect is shown to
the evil spirits, since they are believed to cause sickness
and other misfortunes, and in order to scare away these
troublesome spirits, magic dances are arranged. The men
of the tribe assemble by night around a fire in the village
and dance to a monotonous song. In order to frighten the
spirits, they make as much noise as possible with rattles
and magic drums. The rattles are made of gourd-rinds,
frequently carved with ornaments, in which are placed
stones, pieces of metal, and seeds. In nearly all rattles
examined by me I have found these three articles, which
are probably supposed to have some magic influence. The
magic drums consist of an earthen pot covered with skin,
and the pot is generally partly filled with water to give the
desired tone to the drum.

When a member of the tribe dies, he is buried in a
grave near the village, usually in a sitting posture, and it
is customary to place beside him a bowl of water and a
bowl of food, so that he will not lack viaticum. After the
burial death-dances are performed to protect the deceased
from evil spirits. All this goes to prove that the Chorotes
beheve in a life after this.

Their neighbors, the Chiriguanos, whose customs have
been described by several explorers, beheve that the soul

13

after death goes to the Kmgdom of the Great Spirit, Tumpa,
where he is allowed to enjoy all worldly pleasures, only in
a magnified degree. But no joy lasts for ever. When the
spirit has lived for some time with Tumpa, he is obliged to
return to the earth and wander about in the shape of a
fox. When the fox dies, the spirit is transferred to a rat,
and wiien the rat at last also dies, the spirit takes posses-
sion af a branch of an old tree in the forest. The tree at
last falls from old age, and as the branch slowly decays,
the spirit simultaneously looses consciousness, and is for
ever dead. It is possible that the Chorotes have a similar
conception of the life to come.

The language of the Chorotes seems to differ essentially
from that of the surrounding Indian tribes. I will here
give a few examples.

Chorotes. Matacos. Tobas.

Sun Kileh Ichuala Tahigua.

Fire Hoat. Eitach Dolle

Ear Sitote Untjate Kanektela

Nose Sitnethue Enhnus Kadimick

The Chiriguanos and Tapietes speak Guarani, and most
of the Chaco tribes are able to speak a little of this lan-
guage, which in the Chaco plays the role of a kind of
diplomatic language.

In contrast to the Matacos, the Chorotes did not appear
to be any lethargic or degenerated race. The contrary,
indeed! I had the opportunity of observing them during
their housework, on their hunts, while playing games, and
they always seemed wide-awake and interested.

As to their future, it is not probable that they will
form any important conslituent part of the population of
the country when civilization once gets a firm foothold hi
this part of Chaco. It is true that Indian-hunters have

14

succeeded in bringing Chorotes Indians to the sugar planta-
tions to cut sugar-cane or to serve the white men in some
other manner, but it has then happened that this tribe, hke
so many other aborigines, only adopt the bad qualities of
the white men, and it is almost certain that, through the
effects of alcohol and contageous diseases, they gradually
will become extinct.

PI. I.

Chorotes Indian.

PI. II.

1. Chorotes men and women. — 2. Chorotes Indians with ornaments.

PI. III.

Chorotes girls.

PI. IV

Chorotes girl.

PI. V.

Chorotes mother with child.

PL VI.

Chorotes Indian with scar on upper arm from bite of a »paIometre» fish.

PI. vii.

Chorotes Indian in front af his hut.

PI. VIII.

Chorotes Indian with mantle about his hips.

PI. IX.

r^^^

j^^Hbi^ ^

^

^^^^^^^^^^^^QI^^K^ r .

1

It-^

tk^. fH^* '

^^^^^^BM^K^%il

^
f

*^'^^^

^^jIhhI

^^^^■^^^.w '1 JP

\

.^

m^^i

^^BK9^^^- > - f ' »- ' '/^'-i^B^^PV^^p

\

^1

'

ft

u-

t/>.

t...^

p^«^';-:'\ -"^v. ,ff^ai!i

w

., -

'^

-.■'

^'.v- w'-^?r"'"' ^

, .■ *" ' "^/ ■*'" r

/*■ • •>•_

. L -^

Chorotes boy and girl.

PI. X.

Mataco Indian.

PI. XI.

1. Chorotes woman combing her husband. — 2. Chorotes hutframes.

PI. XII.

1, 2. Chiriguano huts.

PI. XIII.

Chorotes Indian making fire by friction.

PI. XIV

Chiriguano Indians in front of their hut. In foreground a frame with pellets of
chewed maize being dried for preparation of chicha.

PI. XV

I

1.

1. Rio Pilcomayo. — 2. Alligator. (Caiman sclerops).

PI. XVI.

Chorotes Indian shooting with bow and arrow.

PI. XVII.

1. Choroles Indians playing a game, marking scores with arrows.

2. Chorotes boys playing a kind of hockey.

PI. XVIII.

3. 4.

2.

1. Wooden comb. - (2/.,) — 2. Ennemy's hairlock, a trophy, used as an ornamonl.

- (-/a) — 3 0. 4. Fire utensils. - (2/.,). — 5. Tobaccopipe. - (2/3). — (5 o. 7. Wooden

chips used in a game. - (2/g). — V. Calabashbowl. - (Va)-

«irii ixu«:Bi'«'!®'"*y ®* California

4of hV.^II" regional library facility

405 HHg-^ Avenue. La. Angeles. CA SoSi'^ia

Return this material to the library

from which It was borrowed.

UC SOUTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITY

A 000 756 607 8

University oi

Southern I

Library p