Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
European contact, the Chaco groups displayed much variation among
themselves.
From study of the Inca it is known that people from the Gran Chaco
came to the border villages of the Andean empire to barter animal skins
and ostrich and egret feathers for ornaments of gold, silver, and copper.
Through trade, these same Andean products found their way east and
south to the hunting groups on the Pampas. Few peoples of the Chaco
cultivated crops, the Guaná being one of the exceptions, for they culti-
vated root crops, especially the cassava plant, and tobacco. The Guaná
dried and crushed tobacco into a coarse powder, which they smoked
in pipes.
Each of the seven major and numerous minor cultural and linguis-
tic groups in the Gran Chaco maintained rituals representing beliefs
about their relation to the cosmos. Certain rites of manhood and
menstruation initiated youth into full participation in village affairs.
Like all other indigenous groups, the people of the Chaco were poly-
theistic. Good and evil spirits existed everywhere, in nature, in ani-
mals, and in the heavens, so that the shamans had to chant and lead
dances in order to placate the harmful spirits and bring good luck to
the camp. The knowledge of herbs and the art of chanting confirmed
the authority of the male, and in some cases female, shamans in cur-
ing the sick.
Each clan in the Chaco divided gender tasks: The men followed
athletic and warrior pursuits, and the women, domestic and reproduc-
tive roles. Women constructed the temporary shelters, wove baskets,
and made crude pottery. Monogamy prevailed among most men; only
the headmen had more than one wife. The warriors honed their skills
at warfare by hunting deer, peccaries, tapir, jaguars, and nutria. Boys
customarily fished with bows and arrows. Besides using tobacco, all
groups consumed
chicha.
As was true among other nomadic peoples, the typical Chaco hunt-
ing band of 50 to 100 members made major decisions by consensus.
The chieftain merely carried out the decisions of the band's adult
males. Although individuals may have attempted to live in concert
with nature in so far as possible, these hunting groups never existed
in peace and harmony among themselves. Seasonal variations in the
availability of game and even the slightest variation in rainfall left the
hunters vulnerable to feast or famine. These factors placed the small
bands under constant pressure to expand their living space and to raid
and conduct warfare with neighboring groups. These nomadic hunt-
