ATACAMEÑOS: CHARACTERISTICS, RELIGION, ECONOMY, CLOTHING - HISTORY - 2025

The Atacameños are a South American indigenous civilization native to the Andean desert oases of northern Chile and northwestern Argentina. Self-styled lican antai, this culture has about 12,000 years of history.

In this sense, the Atacameños, a name given by the Spanish conquerors, was originally populated by hunter-gatherers in the area from the salt lake of Atacama to the altitudes of the Andes.

Native Atacameños

Later, its first settlers formed the Culture of San Pedro, which flourished between 500 BC. C. until 300 d. C., around the Toconao oasis. Between 300 and 900 AD. C., numerous small communities were formed there.

Before Inca domination in the 15th century, the culture of the Atacameños was strongly influenced by the Tiwanaku culture. With the arrival of the Spanish, their language, the cunza, and a good part of their culture were lost.

In fact, the last person to speak the Cunza language passed away more than sixty years ago. Only a few phrases and names of places and hills (about 1,100 words) remain as testimony of its existence.

Today, the descendants of these first settlers can still be found in the Antofagasta region, particularly near Calama and San Pedro de Atacama.

However, over the last few years, members of this ethnic group have undergone a process of adaptation and integration with other cultures. Among these, its assimilation to the Aymara culture stands out.

However, for some years now, efforts have been made to revive the ancestral rights and traditional customs of this people. Many of his successors are actively involved in maintaining his culture.

characteristics

The Atacameños, or likan antai, are recognized as one of the original peoples of the Chilean nation, and belong to the so-called Andean cultures.

According to the 2002 census, this ethnic group ranks third in terms of population size (with 3%), behind the Mapuches (87%) and the Aymara (7%).

In the pre-Hispanic period, the Atacameños lived grouped in small hamlets made of mud, quisco wood and volcanic stone. In the oases, streams and irrigated valleys they cultivated their gardens and fields, and raised their livestock.

By the arrival of the conquerors, the population was already reduced to the peripheral areas, along the eastern edge of the Great Salar de Atacama. The arrival of other invading peoples on his territory had pushed him there.

At present, they maintain traditional agricultural technology, especially with regard to water handling. They have also preserved the agrarian-pastoral lifestyle and some relevant ceremonial practices.

On the other hand, community work is part of Atacameño social life. Its members actively participate in public work, which includes the construction of infrastructure or cleaning of canals, among others.

Location

The Atacameño people inhabit the villages located in the oases, valleys and ravines of the Loa province, in the Chilean region of Antofagasta. They are divided into two sectors: the basin of the Salar de Atacama and the basins of the Loa river.

Similarly, there are small populations in the northwest of Argentina, in the highlands of Salta and Jujuy, and in the southwest of the Altiplano of Bolivia.

Language

The language of the Atacameños was known in specialized literature as Atacameña, Kunza, Licanantay, and (u) lipe. Being a small and disintegrated community, it did not withstand the impact of colonization and began to die out.

In the middle of the 20th century, the final extinction occurred. To date, the Atacameños were concentrated in the towns around the Great Salar de Atacama: Caspana, San Pedro de Atacama, Toconao, Peine and Socaire, among others.

In the 1950s, this became practically a ritual language, especially for the ditch cleaning ceremony.

In it, there are songs in Kunza along with formulas of salutation and toasts in Spanish (these are recited by heart).

Music

The cauzúlor, the talatur and the carnival - two indigenous rituals and one mestizo - provide the basis for the musical practice of the Atacameños. Dedicated to the fertility of the land and the abundance of water, they are milestones in the agrarian cycle.

In addition, they also perform rituals during the patron saint festivals and cattle marking, just like the Aymara. The songs are sung in kunza in native rituals; this and Spanish are used in carnival.

In mid-August, in Caspana, the cauzúlor celebrates the end of the community cleaning of the waterways, built in pre-Hispanic times. This ritual shows the importance of water in oasis agriculture.

For the Atacameños, water embodies music and they learn ritual melodies by listening to the flow of water. They express gratitude and pray for abundance, fertility, peace, and community prosperity.

Between August and October, in Peine and Socaire, the talétur praises the water, invoked to irrigate the earth. For its part, carnival is a rite of celebration of the harvest. It takes place around Ash Wednesday in Atacama and Loa.

In Chile, the Andean carnival is a rural phenomenon, practiced by the Aymara and Atacameño communities of the highlands and the foothills. Its syncretism is shown in the Indian and Spanish musical characteristics.

Dances

In the religious festivals of San Pedro there are very old dances, including the achaches. The dancers are dressed as birds with feathers and yellow and red pants, and other bright colors.

Similarly, there is the Catimbano. This is danced by two men, one plays the guitar and the other the drum. Behind them is a row of men who dance and wear an awl.

This dance is said to represent two birds that take care of their chicks. For this reason, they dance with bows, and the achache plays the role of the older chicken or the father.

Another of the Atacameño dances is the chara-chara. In this dance, a couple of dancers carry cattle on their shoulders. Her choreography recounts the activities of herding together with the coquetry of the shepherds.

Traditions of the Atacameños

One of the traditional ceremonies of the Atacameños is the cleaning of canals or talatur. This event brings together the owners of the channels with the community. The men do the cleaning, while the women prepare the meals.

The Atacameños get their livelihood and protection from water and land. Therefore, they are of vital interest and importance to the communities.

Also, on August 1 a ceremony is held to thank Pachamama or Mother Earth. A mixture of toasted flour with coca leaves is usually made. This is deposited in the canal when the water is released.

In addition to the coca leaves, the payment to the land is made with wine, lodging (liquor from the Atacameño communities) or alcohol. He is then asked to have abundant rain and a good harvest.

That day, they burn tree leaves, branches and other plant debris that they have collected together since very early in the morning. It is done to "heat the earth", and is part of the ceremonial payment.

Environment

Since pre-Hispanic times, the Atacameño people have survived in one of the driest climates in the world, showing great adaptability.

Thus, the Atacameño populations have occupied a large area, living in small fortified villages near the few existing rivers.

The climate where the Atacameños live is warm, with extreme changes in temperature between day and night. Although small, the amount of rainfall allows the existence of wetlands and groves in the lowlands.

Regarding the flora, some of the plants found in this environment are carob trees (mesquite) and chañares, important in their daily meals. Also, in the area there are resistant shrubs, grasses and yareta.

Additionally, wildlife varies by region and ecosystem. In general, it includes guanacos and vicuñas (from the llama family), Andean foxes, condors, quirquinchos (armadillos), wild geese, among others.

Religion

It can be said that the Atacameños are Catholic, but with a strong influence from their ancestral worldview. Thus, they pay homage to Pachamama, considered the source of prosperity or adversity.

Also, they view the landscape as living entities, embodying various kinds of spirits, such as those of their ancestors, of the hills and mountains and of the canals.

For this reason, they make offerings to the spirits of the mountain (tata-hills) and to the water, (tata-putarajni), as well as to the ancestors (great-grandparents).

This indigenous worldview is combined with Catholicism, to which the Atacameños have converted as a result of Spanish rule. An interesting syncretism can be observed in the iconic churches in the towns of the region.

Furthermore, this Andean-Christian syncretism is manifested in the different local ceremonies, especially in the celebrations of the patron saints.

Each village has its saint, patron of the city. Along with this protector of the community, there are saints worshiped for their miracles. Saint Anthony, for example, is the patron saint of the llama herder.

According to local beliefs, the Virgin of Guadalupe appears in a stream that crosses the village of Ayquina. And - although San Lucas is the patron saint of Caspana - the city celebrates the festival of the Virgen de la Candelaria.

Clothing

In pre-Hispanic times, the dress of the Atacameños followed the Andean tradition: men with slit-necked shirts, women with short dresses, and both sexes with ponchos.

On the other hand, they made blankets with llama wool, and made shirt-like garments of guanaco or vicuña leather. Furthermore, they were famous, like some other Peruvian peoples, for their capes of bird feathers.

Similarly, they used pelican skins for decorative purposes. Commonly, accessories such as rings, pins, earrings, bracelets, pectorals, beads, and pendants were found at archaeological sites.

Also, numerous leather-covered paint boxes have been found. These suggest to the researchers that body painting was a common practice.

Today, the Atacameños only wear their traditional costumes at parties and special celebrations. However, in the mountains they wear the lliclla (woven blanket), taula hat, thick woolen socks and flip flops (typical footwear).

Political and social organization

The Atacameño culture is strongly influenced by the Aymara and Quechua cultures. They share similar modes of social organization, worldviews, religious practices, and customs.

Socially, the Atacameños are organized into units known as ayllus, which can be understood as communities that share the same ancestral roots.

In this way, the members of the same ayllu are strongly linked to each other through family and cultural ties. They decide community issues together and help each other in times of crisis.

The ayllu is a distinctly Andean model. Its base is a community made up of a series of patrilineages located in a territorial domain. Around San Pedro de Atacama, for example, there are about 12 ayllus.

Thus, the model promotes social cohesion through reciprocity, and generates broader relationships by relating to other ayllus.

In turn, each ayllu is made up of a group of ranches or pastoral villages. Each of these is made up of several extended families.

Economy

In the past, in their widely dispersed settlements, the Atacameños grew corn, beans, quinoa, squash, and others with the help of their traditional irrigation systems.

On the other hand, they raised llamas and alpacas, and traded extensively between the coast and the interior, as well as with their neighbors, the Diaguitas, and other Peruvian Indians.

Since the 19th century, many Atacameños dedicated themselves to mining activities, such as the extraction of silver and copper nitrate. A large part of the indigenous population migrated to the urban centers of Chuquicamata and Calama.

However, the collapse of the silver nitrate industry in the early 20th century created an economic crisis whose effects can still be felt to this day.

Recently, the increase in tourism in the Atacama created a new economic opportunity for them. Handicrafts, fruit growing and mining are added to this tourist activity.

References

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