Recovering histories of hunter-gatherers in the Bolivian lowlands

Zanesco, Alexander; Zanesco, Alexander

doi:https://doi.org/10.3828/hgr.2016.17

Zanesco, Alexander

Hunter Gatherer Research (2016), 2, (2), 221–243.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3828/hgr.2016.17
Language: English
Pages: 23

Abstract

This paper introduces research on the collections of a former Franciscan mission museum in the town of Hall in Tirol, publically accessible for only a few years in the 1930s. Its recently discovered remains along with a remarkable amount of historic photographs and written sources relating to former Tyrolian missions in Bolivia shed light on a period when groups of hunting and gathering Sirionó or Mbia were forced to give up traditional lifeways and adapt to the mission regime. The collection activity and correspondence of missionaries mirror this complex process from a European perspective. It is much harder to extract an indigenous point of view from the sources available. Hence, one aim of this project is to introduce the involved native communities to the existence of these collections in order to initiate a mutual and respectful dispute on a shared history, since the collections are also the heritage of the Franciscan order itself. Likewise, Austrian society is not aware of these events. Whilst recognising the far-reaching ethical issues thrown up by these questions, this paper is an introduction to the project in general.

One of its goals is to introduce new data on the mission´s history by analysing the mainly unpublished archive. While the correspondence and reports express the missionaries’ point of few, they also give many hidden clues to the contemporary situation of the Sirionó, in particular. The ethnographic, photographic and biological collections are being analysed separately, but collection activity is seen as part of a social historic context, with written sources providing historic and ideological backgrounds. Following an integrative approach, source communities are contacted and invited to participate in this process. At best, this will not only result in an intercultural discussion but also lead to cultural processes in which these objects can play a decisive new role.

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