Afroboliviano (Spanish) | |
|---|---|
 Flag of theAfro-Bolivian Monarchy | |
 An Afro-Bolivian woman dressed intraditional Andean clothing inCoroico | |
| Total population | |
| 23,330 (2012 census)[1] 0.23% of the Bolivian population | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Los Yungas | |
| Languages | |
| Spanish | |
| Religion | |
| Catholicism •Traditional | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| West Africans,Central Africans,Afro-Latin Americans andBolivians |
Afro-Bolivians (Spanish:Afrobolivianos), also known asBlack Bolivians (Spanish:Bolivianos Negros), areBolivians who have predominantly or totalSub-Saharan African ancestry and therefore the descriptive "Afro-Bolivian" may refer to historical or cultural elements inBolivia thought to emanate from their community. It can also refer to the combining of African and other cultural elements found in Bolivian society such asreligion,music,language, thearts, andclass culture. The Afro-Bolivians are recognized as one of the constituent ethnic groups of Bolivia by the country's government, and are ceremonially led bya king who traces his descent back to a line of monarchs that reigned in Africa during the medieval period. They numbered 23,000 according to the 2012 census.[2]
Slaves were brought as early as the 16th century in Bolivia to work in mines.[3] In Potosí during the 17th century 30,000 Africans were brought to work in the mines from which the total population of Potosí which numbered around 200,000.[4] Slaves were more expensive in Bolivia then other parts of the Spanish colonies costing upwards to 800 pesos.[5] This was due to the fact that they had to be bought from slave ports in the coastal region of theSpanish empire and had to trek from cities likeCartagena,Montevideo, andBuenos Aires to Bolivia.[6]
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Slaves were put to work in difficult conditions.[7]
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Many newly brought slaves died due to the weather. Coca leaves helped with alleviatingaltitude sickness.[8] Just like the mines of Potosí, coca plantations became a cash-crop of the region. Thousands of slaves were shipped to cultivate and process coca leaves on Haciendas, like the ancestors ofJulio Pinedo.[9]
Their move occurred during the year 1827 (although its enforcement being postponed to 1851),[10] The indigenousAymara people andmestizos lived in theYungas before the Afro-Bolivians.[11]
The word saya originates fromKikongonsaya, referring to the act of singing while performing communal work.[citation needed][12]
Caporales is a dance popular in the Andean region of Bolivia. It gained popularity in 1969 by the Estrada Pacheco brothers, inspired by the character of the 'Caporal' or "overseer" of which, historically black slaves, usually mixed race, wore boots and held a whip, the dance originates from the region of the Yungas in Bolivia. However, elements of the dance (such as the costumes) were of European origin.[13]
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Morenada is a folkloric dance in Bolivia. The dance originated with sufferings of the African slaves brought to Bolivia in order to work in the Silver Mines of Potosí. The enormous tongue of the dark masks was meant to represent the physical state of these mines workers and the rattling of the Matracas are frequently associated with the rattling of the slaves' chains and satirizing "white men".[14][15]
Afro-Bolivians have traditionally maintained their owncreole language, with links to earlierBozal Spanish.[16][17]
The Afro-Bolivian Royal House is a ceremonial monarchy officially recognized as part of thePlurinational State inBolivia. The royal family are the descendants of an African noble line that was brought to Bolivia as slaves.[18] The founding monarch,Uchicho, was allegedly ofCongolese (specifically Bakongo) andSenegalese origin, and was brought to the Hacienda of the Marquis de Pinedo, in the area of Los Yungas in what is now La Paz Department. Other slaves allegedly recognized him as a man of regal background (a prince from the ancientKingdom of Kongo[19]) when seeing his torso exposed with royaltribal marks only held by royalty; he was later crowned in 1823. The monarchy still survives today and the current monarch,King Julio Pinedo, is a direct descendant of Uchicho.[20]
Aspects such as feasts, their creole language (that has sincedecreolized), religion that survived through colonialism have since gone extinct, culturally, although fragments remain.[21]Afro-Bolivians due to isolation from much of Bolivia speak a dialect ofBolivian Spanish, akin toAfrican-American Vernacular English in the United States.[22][23][17][16] Afro-Bolivians, in addition to beingRoman Catholic incorporate elements ofAfrican diasporic religions such as rituals in theMacumba andVoodoo religions have influence their practice of Christianity, mainly prevalent in the towns ofChicaloma andMururata.[24] Musical traditions such as dances, instruments, and techniques with ancestral origin inSub-Saharan Africa, to the present day define Afro-Bolivian identity.[25][26]
They maintain their traditional culture, to the point of maintaining a continuousAfro-Bolivian monarchy currently led byJulio Pinedo atMururata. Afro-Bolivians spread to the east inCochabamba andSanta Cruz de la Sierra.[citation needed]
Despite the Afro-Bolivian community fervently working to preserve their culture, many Afro-Bolivians have reported experiencing severe racism and feelings of isolation from society due to intolerance. Laws that actually criminalize racism and discrimination in Afro-Bolivia have slowly been ratified as the first anti-discriminatory law (law 45) was passed in 2010 and was met with violent protesting and rioting. In 2009 President Evo Morales added amendments to the national constitution that outlined the rights of Afro-Bolivians and guaranteed the protection of such liberties. The amendments also generally extended to indigenous peoples and officially recognized Afro-Bolivians as a minority group in Bolivia despite them not being included in the national census three years later. In addition to the country's constitution being updated in 2009, President Morales created the Vice Ministry for Decolonization to create policies that criminalize racism while working to improve literacy and create better race relations in Bolivia. The Vice Ministry for Decolonization also works to dismantle colorism and racism influenced by European colonization while also promoting the philosophy of "intercultural-ity" in which citizens of the nation recognize every ethnic groups' traditions and cultural practices as contributions to society.[citation needed]
| Rank | Province | Percentage | Total population | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Pando | 0.36% | 394 | ||||
| 2 |  Beni | 0.35% | 1,493 | ||||
| 3 |  La Paz | 0.33% | 8,835 | ||||
| 4 |  Santa Cruz | 0.30% | 7,845 | ||||
| 5 |  Tarija | 0.18% | 770 | ||||
| 6 |  Cochabamba | 0.14% | 2,458 | ||||
| 7 |  Chuquisaca | 0.11% | 604 | ||||
| 8 |  Oruro | 0.10% | 490 | ||||
| 9 |  Potosí | 0.05% | 441 | ||||
| Source: Bolivian census 2012[1] | |||||||
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| Geography | |||||||
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| Secondary Afro-American diaspora |
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| Related topics | |||||||
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