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| Andean peoples | |
|---|---|
| Group | Andean peoples |
| Regions | Andes |
| Languages | Quechua languages, Aymara language, Jaqi languages |
| Religions | Inca religion, Catholic Church, Evangelicalism |
Andean peoples are the indigenous and mestizo populations inhabiting the Andes mountain range across western South America, including parts of Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Chile, and Argentina. Their societies encompass diverse Quechua languages, Aymara language, and numerous Jaqi languages speakers, and they have historical connections with pre-Columbian states such as the Inca Empire and polities in the Tiwanaku and Chavín culture. Contemporary Andean populations engage with national institutions like the Peruvian Congress, Bolivian Constitution of 2009, and regional bodies such as the Andean Community (CAN).
Andean populations span highland and intermontane zones from the Venezuelan Andes to the Patagonian Andes, including ecological zones like the Altiplano, the Yungas, and the Puna grassland. Major urban centers with significant Andean-descended populations include Quito, Lima, Cusco, La Paz, Sucre, and Arequipa, and these communities interact with institutions such as the Central Bank of Peru, Banco Central de Bolivia, and regional universities like the National University of San Marcos and the Universidad Mayor de San Andrés. Ethnonyms and identities vary among groups such as the Quechua people, Aymara people, Kichwa, Chimú, Moche, and Wari, and are contested in legal frameworks like the ILO Convention 169 and policies enacted by the Organisation of American States.
Pre-Columbian history includes cultures and polities such as the Chavín culture, Moche, Nazca culture, Wari, Tiwanaku, Chimú, and the expansion of the Inca Empire (Tawantinsuyu). European contact involved expeditions led by figures tied to the Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire and administrators like Francisco Pizarro and Diego de Almagro, followed by colonial institutions including the Viceroyalty of Peru, the Audiencia of Charcas, and Jesuit missions operated by the Society of Jesus. Independence and republican eras feature actors and events such as Simón Bolívar, José de San Martín, the Battle of Ayacucho, the War of the Pacific, and legal reforms like the Bolivian War of Independence outcomes that reshaped landholding patterns and indigenous rights codified later in the Bolivian Constitution of 2009 and reforms in Ecuador and Peru.
The Andean linguistic map includes the Quechua languages family, the Aymara language, families identified as Jaqi languages, and isolates or small families such as Panoan languages speakers at Andean margins. Important dialect continua include Southern Quechua, Central Quechua, and Kichwa varieties in Ecuador; language policy debates involve institutions like the Ministry of Culture (Peru), Bolivian Plurinational State, and academic centers such as the National University of San Antonio Abad in Cusco. Ethnolinguistic groups include communities labeled as Quechua people, Aymara people, Kichwa people, Cañaris, and smaller groups historically recorded by chroniclers like Pedro de Cieza de León and contemporary anthropologists associated with the Smithsonian Institution and the Institute of Andean Studies.
Andean social structures historically included ayllu-based kinship and communal land systems such as those recorded in Inca Empire administrative sources and colonial archives in the Archivo General de Indias. Communal organization persists in forms recognized by national laws in Peru and Bolivia and is represented in social movements linked to organizations like the Federación Nacional de Mujeres Campesinas, Indígenas, Amazónicas y Asalariadas del Perú (FENMUCARINAP) and unions such as the Central Obrera Boliviana. Material culture includes textile traditions seen in museums like the Larco Museum, metalwork traditions associated with Moche and Wari artifacts, and architectural legacies such as Machu Picchu and the terracing systems documented by archaeologists from the Peabody Museum and the British Museum.
Traditional subsistence systems incorporate vertical archipelagos and reciprocal exchange mechanisms described by Andeanists and exemplified by crops like potato, maize, oca, and livestock such as llama and alpaca. Preindustrial and colonial agrarian structures involved haciendas, encomiendas, and reforms enacted during the Agrarian Reform of Peru and Bolivian National Revolution (1952), while modern economies link to export commodities through firms and markets in Callao, Antofagasta, and commodity chains for copper, silver, and gold. Contemporary rural economies interact with microfinance institutions, cooperatives like those in the Federación Regional de Cooperativas and social enterprises supported by agencies such as the Inter-American Development Bank.
Religious life blends pre-Columbian cosmologies—concepts and ritual practices associated with Pachamama, mountain worship of sacred apus, and rites preserved in the Qhapaq hucha tradition—with Christian forms introduced by missionaries including the Franciscans and Jesuits. Syncretic expressions appear in festivals like the Inti Raymi, the Señor de los Milagros processions, and holy-day practices in parishes of the Catholic Church alongside evangelical growth represented by denominations recorded by the Latinobarómetro and missions linked to the World Council of Churches.
Regional diversity includes highland centers such as Cusco, Puno, and La Paz, coastal-Andean interactions in regions like Chimborazo and Piura, and frontier dynamics near the Amazon Basin with groups such as Shipibo-Conibo influencing cross-cultural exchange. Contemporary issues include indigenous mobilizations like the Marcha por el Agua y la Vida, land rights litigation in national courts and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, debates over extractive projects exemplified by conflicts at Yanacocha and Conga (mining project), urban migration to Lima and El Alto, political representation as evidenced in the Bolivian general election, 2020 and policies under leaders like Evo Morales and Ollanta Humala, and cultural revitalization through bilingual education programs promoted by the Ministry of Education (Peru) and cultural patrimony designations by UNESCO.