Members of Indian societies constitute more than half of the population in Bolivia’s central Andes

Members of Indian societies constitute more than half of the population in Bolivia’s central Andes

ANDEAN MUSIC, SYMBOLIC DUALISM AND
COSMOLOGY
Max Peter Baumann
Members of Indian societies constitute more than half of the population in Bolivia’s central Andes

1• Most live in small rural settlements on mountain plateaus (altiplano) and in the valleys of the cordilleras at an altitude of 2,500 to 4,500 meters above sea level, for which reason they are sometimes called “highland Indians.” The Spanish term indio (Indian) is a denomination from outsiders and refers today primarily to the semantic, cultural, and social feeling of solidarity among these groups. The Indios speak at least one of the Indian languages as their mother tongue, and feel bound to the traditional Andean cultural heritage.

Following the land reform of 1953, the term Indio was replaced in Bolivia by the now customary term of campesino (peasant or farmer). The majority of this rural population lives from farming and stockbreeding. They grow various kinds of potatoes, corn, wheat, quinoa (a kind of barley), and beans. These vegetables and livestock such as llama, sheep, cows and pigs today make up their staple diet. The numerically largest language groups of the Andean Highlands are the Quechua- and Aymara-speaking farmers. For the sake of simplicity, Indios or indigenous peoples who speak one of these languages are designated here as Quechuas or Aymaras, using the Spanish plural. In Bolivia Quechua is primarily spoken in the departments of Cochabamba, Oruro, Potosi, and Chuquisaca, as well as in some provinces of the department of La Paz. Quechua is the runa simi (language of the people), which has evolved from the classical Quechua of the Inca Empire (1438-1537). The Aymara language has survived in the vicinity of the pre-Inca ritual sites at Tiwanaku near Lake Titicaca.

The Aymaras or Kallas live primarily on the altiplano of La Paz and Puno as well as in relatively large areas in the departments of Oruro and Potosi. Many musical terms and concepts stemming from Aymara seem to have been transmitted to the Quechuas, who also use them (cf. Baumann 1979, 1982a, [forthc]). In addition to the Aymaras and Quechuas, a smaller group of Indios known as the Chipayas still survive near Lake Coipasa in linguistic and cultural isolation. Today their language, Chipaya, is spoken by less than a thousand people.

It is assumed that the Chipayas, together with the Urus of Lake Titicaca, were among the first settlers of the Central Andes (Baumann 1981b:171). The Callawayas (Kallawayas in Quechua) hold a unique position within the Quechua-speaking provinces of Bautista Saavedra, Muiiecas and parts of the provinces of Tamayo and La Paz. Among the Callawayas, ap

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According to this article, the most remarkable feature of Bolivian rural music is the strong association of various musical instruments, tone colors and tunings which match with the festive calendar and agricultural cycle. Here, music is supposed to be only played during specific contexts. This is because of people’s beliefs that some musical sounds are associated with climatic conditions. From the article, we go on to learn…………..

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