Otros Nombres
Otros Nombres
Otros Nombres
GEOGRAPHIC LOCATION
They are located in the Araracuara region, Aduche channel, very close to the banks of the
middle Caquetá river, in the south of the Colombian Amazon. There are some settlements
in the Peruvian region of the Ampi-Yacu river.
LANGUAGE
Andoque is an indigenous American language spoken by a few hundred Andoque
indigenous people in the course of the Caquetá river in Colombia, and currently in decline
in terms of the number of speakers.
In 2000, it was estimated that there were 610 speakers in the Anduche River area,
downstream from Araracuara (Amazon, Colombia); 50 of them were monolingual in that
language. Previously the language had also been spoken spread throughout Peru. 80% of
the speakers are fluent in Spanish.
POPULATION
The population was quickly decimated by the effects of the rubber exploitation that
occurred in past decades. Of the almost 10,000 inhabitants that existed, now there are only
records of 597 people.
CULTURE
Story of his survival:
They traditionally occupied a wide territory that extended from the Monochoa ravine,
above the Araracuara stream to the Quinche ravine, both tributaries of the Caquetá river.
They were divided into relatively autonomous lineages comprising more than 10,000
people; each lineage lived in a maloka, the epicenter of the group's social, spatial, and
ceremonial life.
Ethnohistorical evidences speak of extensive exchange networks between the groups of the
region that inhabited different environments. The Andoque provided stone axes, excavated
in their territory in the framework of complex rituals that placed this activity in an
important place within their worldview and ethnic identity. The scarcity of stone in the
area, as well as access to these tools, gave the group a privileged position for exchange.
Although the expeditions to conquer and colonize the territory in the 17th century by the
Spanish, Portuguese and Franciscans produced great changes in the Amazonian territory,
the cycle of "la cauchería" at the beginning of the 20th century became the most significant
milestone. in its history, generating profound transformations and adaptations in its cultural
life. As a result of this activity, not only did most of the population disappear, but also
metal instruments and merchandise were introduced on a massive scale, new economic
systems were adopted, and different models of authority were promoted.
After the ethnocide, the forced transfer of the population to the Ampi-Yacu river and the
dismantling of society, the few survivors began a complex process of ethnic reconstruction
that is still in force today. Under this framework, once the time of the Arana house and the
Colombian-Peruvian conflict ended, the members of each lineage built new malokas,
formed exogamous and patrilocal units with their own name and, as a demographic
strategy, integrated people from other ethnic groups. . Its economic activity continued to be
the extraction of rubber, incorporating the figure of the patron within its sociopolitical and
cosmological organization.
Historically, the Andoque and other groups in the region have been affected by different
processes of colonization, expansion of the agricultural frontier, and extraction of natural
resources, including cocoa, quinine, and rubber. Likewise, the recent insertion of the region
into the market economy system has configured the cultural dynamics of the ethnic group
and its territory.
Your culture
For the majority of peoples that inhabit the Amazon region, the use of sacred plants
constitutes a fundamental element within their cultural and social life. The Yuruparí is the
most transcendental ritual because it recalls the origins and revives the essential elements of
its worldview.
They traditionally occupied a wide territory that extended from the Monochoa ravine,
above the Araracuara stream to the Quinche ravine, both tributaries of the Caquetá river.
They were divided into relatively autonomous lineages comprising more than 10,000
people; each lineage lived in a maloka, the epicenter of the group's social, spatial, and
ceremonial life.
Ethnohistorical evidences speak of extensive exchange networks between the groups of the
region that inhabited different environments. The Andoque provided stone axes, excavated
in their territory in the framework of complex rituals that placed this activity in an
important place within their worldview and ethnic identity. The scarcity of stone in the
area, as well as access to these tools, gave the group a privileged position for exchange.
There are currently three malokas on his reservation where the highest-ranking people live.
Around them are grouped the houses of the extended families belonging to the respective
patrilineal clans. Gavilán, Venado, Sol, Hormiga Arriera and Cucarrón are the consolidated
clans today. Within their worldview, the maloka continues to be the confluence space for
the social, economic, cultural, and ritual structures of the community. In the social sphere,
the authority falls on the "maloquero" who is in charge of the direction of the ritual life.