 Flag of the Lule people | |
 Approximate pre-contact distribution of the Lule-Vilelan language family. | |
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 3,721[1] (2010) | |
| Languages | |
| Lule language | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Tonocotés,Vilelas |
TheLule people, orLules, are anindigenous people inArgentina. They were originally encountered in the area that is now theSalta Province of Argentina, as well as in nearby areas of modern-dayBolivia andParaguay. They were later displaced by theWichí toward the south of Salta Province, the north-east ofSantiago del Estero Province, and easternTucumán Province. TheLule language is distantly related to theVilela language, and together they form theLule-Vilela language family. Today, 3,721 people in Argentina claim Lule ethnic affiliation, according to the 2010 census.[1]
The Lules lived in the same region as theVilela, and shared many cultural characteristics despite linguistic differences. They also had relationships[clarification needed] with theTonocoté and theMataraes. The Lule people were made up of the following groups: Esistiné, Tokistiné, Oristiné, Axostiné, Tamboriné, Guaxastiné, and Casutiné.
The Lules were generallyhunter-gatherers and therefore lived anomadic lifestyle. However, they also cultivated a wide variety of plants for food, includingmaize,calabaza,potato, andquinoa. Sedentary populations settled down on the western edges of the modern-day city ofSalta. In these settlements, a clearAndean influence on their culture and way of life can be established. One major example of this Andean cultural influence is the domestication of animals in thelamini family for use as pack animals and for the production of wool and meat.
In order to convert them to Christianity, theJesuits founded amission nearSan Isidro de Lules in Tucumán province in 1670. This mission remained active until 1768, when the Jesuits were expelled. During the mission's existence, it often traded and sold the Lule andDiaguita indigenous population of the area to members of the landed oligarchy, plantations, and colonial workshops.
In 1708,Esteban de Urízar, the governor of Tucumán, carried out a punitive campaign against the indigenous peoples of theGran Chaco, including the Lules. Following that campaign, Jesuits from Salta established a mission, San Juan Bautista de Balbuena, next to Fort Balbuena. The mission was home to 400 Lules, primarily from the Esistiné and Tokistiné groups. On August 7, 1715, Father Antonio Machoni moved the mission to Fort Miraflores, establishing the mission of San Esteban de Miraflores on the banks of theSalado River. Thirteen years later, in 1728, natives destroyed the mission in a rebellion; the Lules left the mission and dispersed throughout the land. In 1752, the mission was restored but in a different location, 170 kilometres (110 miles) to the south-east of the city of Salta.[2] After the Jesuits were expelled in 1768, the mission passed intoFranciscan control, but it became permanently abandoned by the turn of the nineteenth century.[3]
The descendants of the Lules have partly, but incompletely, mixed and acculturated into thepredominantly white population and culture of Argentina. In the following settlements, there are a number of residents who identify themselves as belonging to the Lule people:[4]
The 2004-2005 Complementary Indigenous Survey identified 854 Argentines of first-generation Lule descent.[5] The 2010 Argentine Census identified 3,721 individuals who identified as being of Lule ethnicity.[1][6]