THE 10 CUSTOMS OF THE MOST CURIOUS DIAGUITAS - CULTURE VOCABULARY - 2025

The Diaguitas were a native indigenous people of northern Chile and northwestern Argentina that developed their culture during the 8th and 16th centuries.

The customs of the diaguitas have been highly studied, since they were one of the most advanced pre-Columbian cultures, leaving a legacy of sophisticated agricultural techniques such as irrigation canals, a functional architectural system or ceramic art.

The western diaguitas, or Chilean diaguitas, were located mainly in the transversal valleys, in the middle of a semi-arid environment.

For their part, the eastern diaguitas or Argentine diaguitas lived on the other side of the Andes Mountains, in Argentina, in the provinces that currently correspond to Catamarca, La Rioja and part of the provinces of Salta, Tucumán and San Juan.

The Diaguitas were not a unified people and used a language that varied from one valley to another. Furthermore, his organization was politically fragmented into various headquarters.

The origin of the diaguitas dates back to the archaeological culture known as Complejo El Molle, which existed during the years 300 to 700 BC. Shortly after, this culture was replaced in Chile by the Complejo Las Ánimas culture, which developed between the years 800 to 1000 BC

Diaguitas are known to have emerged around 1000 BC. The classical period of Diaguita culture was characterized by advanced irrigation canal systems for agriculture and by pottery with unique characteristics, with colors painted in black, red and white.

Due to its cultural interest, we will quote below some of the most interesting facts about the customs and way of life of this ancient indigenous society:

Diaguitas customs

1- The diaguitas had different forms of language

According to the geographical place in which they lived, the language with which the diaguitas communicated presented certain variations.

Some of the first historical records, such as the one compiled by Jerónimo de Vivar in approximately 1558, indicate that the diaguitas of the transversal valleys spoke different languages.

The scholar Hernán Carvajal, assures that the Chilean diaguitas did not have different languages, but several dialects that they mastered perfectly. According to this hypothesis, the differences in the lexicon were the main variations between dialects.

Also active Jesuits in western Argentina reported a large number of languages ​​from these peoples.

2- They were called diaguita-calchaquí

The Diaguitas belonged to the same indigenous people, but located in different places in South America such as the provinces of Salta, Catarmarca, Tucumán and La Roja in northeastern Argentina. These areas include a system of valleys and mountains known as the Calchaquíes Valleys, lands in which this people lived.

For their part, the Chilean diaguitas, which were installed between the Atacama and Coquimbo regions of northern Chile, are simply called diaguitas.

3- They developed an advanced system of irrigation canals

The Diaguitas - both the Calchaquíes of Argentina and the Chilean Diaguitas - settled in semi-arid valleys, surrounded by high mountains and snow-capped peaks.

This environment could seem inhospitable and make farming and farming difficult. However, the Diaguitas invented an ingenious system of water accumulation and irrigation techniques, encouraging the desert to flourish.

The existing microclimates in this area allowed the growth of plants such as corn, quinoa and different kinds of potatoes - which are still produced today.

A wide variety of fauna such as llamas, alpacas, vicuñas, armadillos, reptiles, deer, condors, pavitas, agoutis, to name a few; they allowed the population to have meat, leather, feathers, wool and others.

Regarding the flora of the valleys, the carob trees and cacti stand out, which were also used as a source of raw materials.

The Diaguitas intelligently took advantage of the tributaries of the rivers that run down the mountain, in addition to the torrential summer rains, which left fertile sediments for the plantations.

4- They developed advanced agriculture

From 1000 BC, the Diaguitas built large villas that could support more than 300 people in an agricultural community.

Probably, during those years there were also times of war, since two types of buildings can be identified, some designed to live in peaceful communities and other villas fortified with water reserves, silos and agricultural terraces but also reinforced with stones.

The villas were built semi-underground, with materials similar to adobo such as wood, bamboo, clay and straw, with partial ceilings of cactus wood to protect the inhabitants from the intense heat of the area.

5- They built the "pukarás"

The Diaguitas built fortified stone buildings in strategic places, some of them even with water reserves in higher areas.

These constructions allowed them to survive invasions of their enemies with great amount of resources and a lot of creativity.

6- They used all the elements that nature gave them

Living in the high mountains, they developed mining, extracting gold, silver, as well as obsidian, which they used for their spears and arrows. They also got salt from the mines.

In the lower area of ​​the mountains they located their agricultural terraces, which took advantage of the humidity of the rivers that flow down and the sediment of the rains.

They even traded with caravans from the tropical regions, to obtain products such as wax, pumpkins, honey and fruit, and thus have a much more varied diet.

7- They were experts in the art of ceramics

Diaguitas are known for their ceramic art, which is characterized by intricate decoration of geometric figures, straight and zigzag lines, along with triangles embedded in the lines. The preferred colors for the pieces were red, black and white.

The designs were inspired by shamanic visions and many of their designs have feline motifs. They also made masks.

Its pottery can be classified into two types: shoe jugs, which were used in daily life; and the famous duck jug, used for ritual purposes, much finer and more elaborate.

8- They learned how to work with fabrics

The diaguitas made complex pieces and outfits such as tunics, aguayos, ponchos and blankets, made with llama or vicuña wool and dyed with vegetable pigments, extracted from carob (green), cactus flowers (purple) and different resins (brown tones). They also made sandals called “ushutas”.

9- They never cut their hair

Hair was very important to the Diaguitas and they considered cutting someone's hair an offensive act. This is why one of the worst punishments that Spaniards could inflict on them was shaving them.

In general, they decorated their long black hair with braids and pieces of copper, feathers, needles made of cactus wood, horns and silver.

10- They were a patriarchal society

According to their chiefdom system, the organization of the Diaguitas was patriarchal. Power was transmitted from a father to his brother or to a son.

This is also observed in marriage laws, since if a woman is left a widow, she must marry her husband's brother. The marriage was polygamous.

They were also a warrior culture, young people did not marry until they finished their military service and they performed circumcision rites carried out by a shaman at the time of puberty of the boys.

Thus, after this rite, they were elevated to the status of warrior, the courage in battle of a man was what guaranteed his political leadership against the rest of the tribe.

References

1. Diaguita history. Recovered from condorvalley.org.
2. Dictionary of Indian Tribes of the Americas. Vol. 1. Jan Onofrio. Recovered from books.google.cl.
3. Ancient Tribes of Argentina. Recovered from quizlet.com.