AFRO-ECUADORIANS: HISTORY, CHARACTERISTICS, COMMUNITIES, CULTURE - BIOLOGY - 2025

The Ecuadorians are born in Ecuador descendant of African slaves population. They arrived in the country in the 16th century and their history in Ecuador began on the coast and mountains of the north of the country. They lack documentary reinforcements about their history, which is based above all on collective memory.

Since 1998, Ecuador included in its Constitution the definition of a multicultural and multiethnic nation. Afro-Ecuadorians came to have visibility and recognition as actors in society, gaining in collective rights.

Network of young Afro-Ecuadorians from the ancestral territory of Chota, La Concepción, Salinas and Guallupe. By Network of Afro-Ecuadorian youth

Poverty and exclusion continue to be decisive in their lives. They demand that their participation in the different historical events of the country be investigated. Awareness about the existence and relevance of the Afro-Ecuadorian ethnic group is practically nil in Ecuador.

As a result of the start of the Program for the Development of Indigenous and Black Peoples (PRODEPINE), in 1998, there were no figures that specified the number of blacks and mulattos in Ecuador. Censuses of these communities began in 2001, but certain information gaps remain. They currently constitute about 5% of the population of Ecuador.

Origin and history

The arrival of the Africans in Ecuador occurred during several stages. It was first with the founding of the cimarrón movement, which arrived between the years 1550 and 1560. They arrived as a result of the shipwreck of several boats that left Panama bound for Peru. Some slaves were originally from Mozambique and Angola.

The maroons achieved freedom and constituted their own populations. Most of them settled in Esmeraldas, although they migrated over time. The maroons controlled the region from Puerto Viejo to Buenaventura, so it was not an easily accessible area for the Spanish.

In 1690 another group of Africans came to Ecuador from West Africa to work on cotton and cane plantations owned by the Jesuits. The carabalíes were imported by the English from the Gulf of Biafra.

With the expulsion of the Jesuits from all the territories of the Crown, the black slaves changed owners. Some became the property of the King of Spain.

By the years 1748 and 1760, the maroons were no longer a resistance for the Crown and a second entry of slaves began, who fled the Barbacoas mines in Colombia. At this stage, Mandingas (Gambia), Africans from Congo, arrived in Ecuador.

Abolition of slavery

In 1851 the legal abolition of slavery was decreed in Ecuador, by a decree of the Supreme Chief José María Urbina y Viteri. Almost a year later the Slave Freedom Protection Board was created, ratifying the imposed measure.

In order not to harm the slave owners, the government abolished taxes on some products, but Afro-Ecuadorians did not receive any compensation for the years of slavery.

At the beginning of the 20th century, blacks continued to enter Ecuador, especially due to the construction of the Durán-Quito railway. President Eloy Alfaro hired an important group from Jamaica to work as laborers.

There are some important Afro-Ecuadorian characters in the history of Ecuador, but the cimarrón Alonso Illescas has special importance. Considered the most important hero of the freedom of the Afro-descendant population, even recognized by the National Congress of Ecuador in 1997. Illesca founded the Zambo kingdom, a government that worked by the coalition between the indigenous and the Africans.

Characteristics of Afro-Ecuadorians

Afro-descendant communities are identified by having Anglo-Saxon surnames, although some adopted the Spanish surnames of their owners. Much of their communities are located in the northwestern part of the country, which borders the Pacific Ocean.

Their language is Spanish, but they use some words with African origin. The Afro-Ecuadorian population, especially that of the coast, began to be located mainly in rural areas, although migrations to urban areas are increasingly frequent.

Different laws and organizations are responsible for ensuring the rights of Afro-Ecuadorians today. In 1978 Jaime Hurtado became the first Afro-descendant to be part of the National Parliament of Ecuador.

The Afro-Ecuadorian National Confederation was created, where the 24 provinces of Ecuador are represented and watches over the interests in human, economic and civil rights of the descendants of Africans in Ecuador.

In the 1998 Constitution, the promise was made to create laws that would allow the granting of titles to ancestral zones, but at no time is it defined which areas qualify as Afro-Ecuadorian Territorial Circumscriptions (CTA). No degree has yet been awarded.

For 24 years, Afro-Ecuadorians were censored in Esmeraldas since, by decision of the authorities, marimba was prohibited.

Afro-Ecuadorian communities of Ecuador

Afro-Ecuadorian communities are located particularly on the Coast (Esmeraldas, El Oro, and Guayas), in the Sierra (Imbabura, Pichincha and Carchi) and in eastern Ecuador (Sucumbíos). Cities like Guayaquil and Quito show a strong presence of Afro-descendants, due to migrations from rural towns to the city.

The history of the Africans in Ecuador begins on the north coast, who arrived during the colonial period and entered the country through that area. The province of Esmeraldas is the most representative in the income of blacks. In the Valle del Chota, slaves were vital to work the fertile lands of this region.

While on the South Coast the presence of black slaves was massive in the 16th century. In Guayaquil, the purchase and sale of slaves was carried out to later be distributed throughout the region, making the Port of Guayaquil a mandatory point of passage and a symbol of the times of slavery.

In the Sierra, Afro-descendant groups have been present since the city of Quito was founded in 1534. At the hands of Sebastián de Benalcázar, Afro-descendant communities were part of the conquest and foundation of the new city of Quito.

Oriente, for its part, collected Afro-descendants who migrated from Esmeraldas, Guayaquil and groups from Colombia. They represent migrations of recent data and are mainly concentrated in the province of Sucumbíos.

Culture and customs (gastronomy, traditions, clothing)

The culture and customs of the Afro-Ecuadorian communities maintain some African characteristics, but there are some differences between the communities of the Sierra and the groups of the coast of the country.

The most visible face of the culture of the Ecuadorian Afro-descendants is their music, which is born from using marimbas and bass drums. The north coast of Ecuador is where the musical traditions were most preserved, since it kept its African roots stronger.

In the Sierra the bomba del chota was established more, a rhythm that is characterized by the use of guitars and drums, with greater influence from indigenous and mestizo communities.

In the religion of the Afro-descendant communities in Ecuador there is a notable absence of African cults, unlike other areas of the continent. They use particular songs in Catholic Masses in the case of Esmeraldas; Although the population is mostly Catholic, on the coast they do not have the custom to marry because they do not consider civil or ecclesiastical union as something irreversible.

The festival of San Antonio is very popular because it serves to bring the whole family together. Drums are played, they pray, they invoke the dead, and they sing. It is a tradition that seeks family union and transmit the Afro culture to the new generations.

Clothing and gastronomy

Although it has practically disappeared, the clothes are usually light. Women are characterized by the use of long, white skirts, blouses at the level of the navel and scarves to cover their heads. Afro-Ecuadorian men are distinguished by wearing knee-high pants and hats to protect from the sun.

The food that defines Afro-Ecuadorians has a very strong link with what they get from nature. They tend to keep up with what they get from fishing and farming.

Banana, coconut, encocados and casabe are present in the dishes of Afro-Esmeralda communities. In the Chote Valley you can get rice with beans, cassava and rice chichas.

References

1. Afro-Ecuadorians: from slaves to citizens. A view from the current claims. (2019). Recovered from academia.edu
2. Encyclopedia of Afro-Ecuadorian Knowledge. (2009). (1st ed.). Quito. Recovered from discover.ec
3. Guerrero, F. (2019). Indigenous and Afro-Ecuadorian Population in Ecuador: Sociodemographic Diagnosis from the 2001 Census. Santiago: United Nations. Recovered from repository.cepal.org
4. History of the black peoples of Ecuador. (2019). Recovered from abacus.bates.edu
5. Rangel, M. (2019). Public policies for Afro-descendants Institutional framework in Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru. Santiago: United Nations. Recovered from repository.cepal.org