Concept in Definition ABC

The Wichís ethnic group inhabits the territories of the Gran Chaco, which includes northwestern Argentina, southern Bolivia and the western region of Paraguay. This ethnic group is also known by the term Mataco. Like many other names, the denomination wichís means people or town.

Refering to language of this ethnic group, its speakers call it Wichí Lhamtés. In relation to their ethnicity, there are three hypothesis: a Patagonian origin, another Amazonian and a third Andean.

A people that has lost its cultural identity

In their origins they led a semi-nomadic life and were dedicated to hunting, fishing and farming. His dwellings were made of wood covered with mud and animal skin. In their clothing, the use of the Patagonian quillango stood out, a garment that is made from different animal skins sewn and painted with intense colors.

Like the rest of the indigenous peoples, the cacique was the leader of the Wichí communities. However, as a consequence of Spanish domination, they gradually lost their identity as a people.

Currently, women of this ethnic group manufacture fabrics and dedicate themselves to the elaboration of ceramic pieces. Men make wood carvings. The utensils created are used in the context of the home or are marketed.

Due to the deforestation process of the Gran Chaco, many of its original inhabitants have been forced to abandon their lands. In Argentina, a large part of this ethnic group lives in the villages of emergency, some informal settlements that are characterized by their conditions of misery.

A historically subdued ethnic group

In 1626 the first contact between the natives and the Spanish took place. The military and explorer Martin de Ledesma Valderrama founded the first city in the Argentine Chaco (Currently it is the city of Libertador General San Martín and was originally called Fort Ledesma).

At the end of the 19th century, the Wichís were persecuted and forced to perform forced labor to collect sugar cane and cotton and to cut down trees. These abuses provoked a violent reaction from the indigenous people in Colonia Rivadavia in Argentina.

Since the 1980s, this indigenous people has claimed the government Argentine recognition of their rights to the lands they historically occupy. East movement vindictive is especially active in the Argentine province of Salta.

Photo Fotolia: Matyas Rehak