The Diaguitas Were an indigenous people of the north of Chile and northwestern Argentina who developed their culture during the eighth and sixteenth centuries.
The customs of the diaguitas have been well studied since they were one of the most advanced pre-Columbian cultures, leaving a legacy of sophisticated agricultural techniques such as irrigation canals, a functional architectural system or ceramic art.
The diaguitas of the west, or diaguitas Chileans, were located mainly in the transversal valleys, in the middle of a semiarid environment.
The eastern diaguitas or Argentine diaguitas lived on the other side of the Andes, in Argentina, in the provinces that currently correspond to Catamarca, La Rioja and part of the provinces of Salta, Tucumán and San Juan.
The diaguitas were not a unified village and used language that varied from valley to valley. In addition, his organization was politically fragmented in several headquarters.
The origin of the diaguitas goes back to the archaeological culture known as El Molle Complex, which existed during the years 300 to 700 BC. Shortly after, this culture was replaced in Chile by the culture Complex Las Animas, that was developed between the years 800 to 1000 a.C.
It is known that the diaguitas emerged around the year 1000 BC. The classical period of diaguita culture was characterized by advanced canal irrigation systems for agriculture and pottery of unique characteristics, with colors painted in black, red and white.
Due to their cultural interest, we will cite below some of the most interesting data of the customs and way of life of this old indigenous society:
Customs of the diaguitas
1- The diaguitas had different forms of language
According to the geographic place in which they inhabited, the language with which the diaguitas communicated presented certain variations.
Some of the earliest historical records, such as the one compiled by Jerome de Vivar in about 1558, indicate that the diaguitas of the transverse valleys spoke different languages.
The scholar Hernan Carvajal, assures that the Chilean diaguitas did not have diverse languages, but several dialects that dominated to the perfection. According to this hypothesis, the differences in the lexicon were the main variations between dialects.
Also the active Jesuits in the west of Argentina reported a great number of languages of these towns.
2 - They were called diaguita-calchaquí
The diaguitas belonged to the same indigenous people, but located in different places of South America like the provinces of Salta, Catarmarca, Tucumán and La Roja in northeastern Argentina. These zones encompass a system of valleys and mountains known as the Calchaquí Valleys, lands on which this village inhabited.
On the other hand, the Chilean diaguitas, that settled between the regions of Atacama and Coquimbo of the north of Chile, are called simply diaguitas.
3- Developed an advanced system of irrigation canals
The diaguitas - both the Calchaquíes of Argentina and the Chilean diaguitas - settled in semi-arid valleys, surrounded by high mountains and snowy peaks.
This environment may seem inhospitable and make cultivation and agriculture difficult. Nevertheless, the diaguitas invented an ingenious system of techniques of accumulation and irrigation of water, encouraging the desert to flourish.
Microclimates in this area allowed the growth of plants such as maize, quinoa and different kinds of potatoes - which are still produced to this day.
A wide variety of fauna such as llamas, alpacas, vicuñas, armadillos, reptiles, deer, condors, pavitas, agouti, to mention a few; Allowed the population to count on meat, leather, feathers, wool and others.
As for the flora of the valleys, carob and cactus, which were also used as a source of raw materials, stand out.
The diaguitas intelligently exploited the tributaries of the rivers that flow down the mountain, in addition to the torrential summer rains that left fertile sediments for the plantations.
4- Developed an advanced agriculture
From 1000 BC, the Diaguitas built large villas that could support more than 300 people in an agricultural community.
Probably, during those years also wartime existed, since two types of buildings can be identified, some designed to live in peaceful communities and other fortified villages with water reserves, silos and terraces of agriculture but also reinforced with stones.
The villas were built semi-underground, with materials similar to the marinade as wood, bamboo, clay and straw, with partial ceilings of cactus wood to protect the inhabitants from the intense heat of the area.
5 - They built the"pukarás"
The Diaguitas built fortified stone buildings in strategic locations, some of them even with water reserves in higher areas.
These constructions allowed them to survive invasions of their enemies with great amount of resources and much creativity.
6- They used all the elements that nature gave them
By living in the high mountains, they developed mining, extracting gold, silver, as well as obsidian, which they used for their spears and arrows. They also got salt from the mines.
In the low zone of the mountains they located their terraces of agriculture, that took advantage of the humidity of the descending rivers and the sediment of the rains.
They even traded caravans from the tropical regions to get products such as wax, pumpkins, honey and fruit, and in this way have a much more varied diet.
7- They were experts in the art of ceramics
Diaguitas are known for their art in ceramics, which is characterized by its intricate decoration of geometric figures, straight lines and zigzag, along with triangles integrated into the lines. The preferred colors for the pieces were red, black and white.
The designs were inspired by shamanic visions and many of his designs have feline motifs. They also made masks.
Their pottery can be classified into two types: the shoe jugs, which were used in everyday life; And the famous duck jug, used for ritual purposes, much finer and more elaborate.
8- They learned the work with fabrics
The diaguitas elaborated complex pieces and garments such as tunics, aguayos, ponchos and blankets, made of llama wool or vicuña and dyed with vegetable pigments, extracted from the carob tree (green), cactus flowers (violet) and different resins ). They also made sandals called"ushutas".
9- Never cut hair
For the diaguitas the hair was very important and considered it an offensive act to cut the hair to some person. That is why one of the worst punishments that the Spaniards could inflict on them was to shave them.
In general, they decorated their long black hair with braids and copper pieces, feathers, needles made of cactus wood, horns and silver.
10- They were a patriarchal society
According to their system of headquarters, the organization of the diaguitas was patriarchal. Power was transmitted from a father to his brother or a son.
This is also observed in the laws of marriage, since if a woman was widowed, she should marry her husband's brother. The marriage was polygamous.
They were also a warrior culture, the young men did not marry until they finished the military service and realized circumcision rites carried out by a shaman at the time of the boys' puberty.
Thus, after this rite, they were elevated to the rank of warrior, the value in battle of a man was what guaranteed his political leadership against the rest of the tribe.
References
- Diaguita history. Retrieved from condorvalley.org.
- Dictionary of Indian Tribes of the Americas. Vol. 1. Jan Onofrio. Retrieved from books.google.cl.
- Ancient Tribes of Argentina. Recovered from quizlet.com.