Abipón
The Abipón, also known as the Callaga, were a nomadic indigenous group that inhabited the lower Bermejo River region in the Gran Chaco area of north-central Argentina. Their language belonged to the Guaycuruan family, featuring three distinct dialects. Believed to have settled in the Gran Chaco around 6000 BCE, the Abipón relied on hunting, fishing, and gathering seasonal plants, showcasing a lifestyle deeply connected to their environment. Their social structure was organized around kinship, with roles differentiated by gender and age; women primarily managed the camps and gathered food, while men focused on hunting and warfare.
The Abipón were known for their fierce warrior culture and impressive physical abilities, employing tools such as bolas, lances, and bows. They adorned themselves with various ornaments and tattoos, with high-ranking women often serving as shamans. However, their population drastically declined due to violence, disease, and assimilation after contact with European settlers, including the Jesuits in the mid-18th century. By around 1912, the Abipón as a distinct group had disappeared, marking the end of their rich cultural heritage.
Abipón
Also known as: Callaga.
Date: 6000 b.c.e.-700 c.e.
Locale: Andes, Argentina
Abipón
Also called the Callaga, the Abipón (ah-beh-POHN) were nomadic hunter-gatherers who lived along the lower Bermejo River in the Gran Chaco area of north-central Argentina. Their language group was Guaycuruan, and they spoke three dialects, depending on where they lived. They called themselves either Forest People (Nakaigetergehè), Open Country People (Riikahè), or later, Water People (Yaaukanigá).
The Abipón are believed to be the first people to occupy the Gran Chaco area, arriving from the north by approximately 6000 b.c.e. They hunted, fished, and gathered plants in season. They were roaming nomads, crossing the grassy plains in search of rhea, guanaco, peccary, and jaguar. Social organization was based on kinship groups, and differentiation among members was based primarily on gender and age. Women ran the camps, gathered most of the food, and carried on ritual ceremonies while men hunted and fought. Wealthy, powerful women most often acted as the shamans. Men were organized by the shaman-approved war chief. Limited natural resources in their marginal area as well as the simple tools and materials of their culture led them to be widely scattered and simply organized, although they produced fierce warriors and powerful hunters.
Both men and women made and wore ornaments of horn, wood, bone, thread, and metal. They also could be recognized for their shaved heads and plucked eyebrows. High-ranking women had extensive tattoos. The Abipón could climb, swim, and run with the best and were skilled in the use of bola, lance, and bow and arrow. They scalped their enemies of hair, nose, and ear skin, made pipes and whistles from their bones, and drank from their skulls.
After 700 c.e.
In 1750, when the Jesuits arrived, the Abipón numbered about five thousand members. Their numbers fell by slaughter, disease, and assimilation, and by about 1912, the Abipón had ceased to exist.
Bibliography
Radin, Paul. Indians of South America. New York: Greenwood Press, 1969.
Schobinger, Juan. The Ancient Americans. Armonk, N.Y.: M. E. Sharpe, 2000.
Steward, Julian. Handbook of South American Indians. 7 vols. New York: Cooper Square Publications, 1963.