The Ayoreo Need You

Bulldozers move in on isolated Indians' heartland

The Ayoreo-Totobiegosode Indians live in the Chaco, a vast expanse of dense, scrubby forest stretching from Paraguay to Bolivia and Argentina.

Their territory has been bought by land speculators and ranchers and is now being rapidly cleared.

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The Totobiegosode live in small communities. They grow squashes, beans and melons in the sandy soil, and hunt in the forest. Large tortoises and wild pig are particularly prized, as is the abundant wild honey.

In the forest four or five families will live together in a communal house. A central wooden pillar supports a dome-shaped structure of smaller branches, topped with dried mud. Each family will have its own hearth around the outside; people will only sleep inside if it rains. Those Ayoreo who now live in settled communities live in individual family huts.

The most important Ayoreo ritual was named after asojna, the nightjar; when the bird’s call was first heard it heralded the arrival of the rainy season, and a month of celebrations and festivities. Under the influence of the New Tribes Mission, however, this ritual and many others have been suppressed.