AFROBOLIVIANS, A DIFFERENT WORLD

They arrived as slaves in the Caribbean ports as early as 1505 and their mass deportation began in Upper Peru in 1545. The majority of them came from Africa, mainly Congo, Senegal, Angola, Benguela and Biafra.

Until 20 years ago, they showed little in the country. And even today, despite the abolition of slavery in Bolivia during the government of Manuel Isidoro Belzu - more than 150 years ago - the black population in Bolivia feels trapped in ideological and racial discrimination. The exclusion suffered during the last "forgetful" census in 2001, when they were not taken into account in the classification of ethnic groups elaborated by the National Institute of Statistics, is a proof of this "During the conquest, it was not the encounter of two worlds, but that of three worlds. The third world is the African world, "explains the historian Fernando Cajías.

Between 13 and 20 million Africans were taken to the new continent from 1545 to work mainly in mines in subhuman conditions. With the decline of mining, they migrated to the Yungas of La Paz and learned to cultivate the coca leaf while they were still slaves; Then as pongos, they worked in the farms (haciendas) offering five days of work against two for their family, until 2 of August of 1953 abolition of the "pongueaje" and the "mitanaje" Which favored access to the land on which they live today, even though the majority of them do not have title (land).

The Afro-descendant population is currently estimated at around 30,000 people in the country, according to community leaders who claim that they have always been marginalized in development policies and have almost no representativeness; What they are trying to change with their request for inclusion in the new constitution.

Characteristics

Population: 22 000 inhabitants

County: La Paz

North Yungas and Southern Yungas Provinces

Linguistic Family: Spanish with Dialectical Variants Influenced by Aymara

Activities: Crafts, cultivation of coca, coffee, fruit

Culture

The afrobolivians retain strong characteristics of their culture of origin, combined with a natural assimilation of the Aymara people and Christian influence. Their social organization is based on the ethnically closed family unit which demonstrates very strong links between its members due to the existing racial segregation.

The Saya is one of their cultural expressions which preserves part of their ancient traditions of African origin in which they express their social anxieties, their joys, their sorrows and their criticisms, through rhymed verses and intense drum sets to the African rhythm. "The singers of couplets improvise mischievous strophes which collect the expression of group", comments the afro-musician Alido Inofuentes.

Their main activities include agriculture, sales and labor.

"Pongueaje" and "mitanaje: the first term is explained (pongo) and as the second is a form of slavery.