Mythologies of the Atacameño People
The Atacama people, also called Atacameño, are indigenous people from the Atacama Desert and altiplano region in the north of Chile and Argentina and southern Bolivia, mainly Antofagasta Region. According to the Argentinean Census in 2010, 13,936 people identified as first-generation Atacameño in Argentina, while Chile was home to 21,015 Atacameño people as of 2002. Other names include Kunza and Likanantaí. The origins of Atacameño culture can be traced back to 500 AD. The Tiwanaku people were the first known conquerors. At the start of the 15th century, the Atacameño were conquered by the Incan emperor Topa Inca Yupanqui, who introduced a new social order, the Inca sun cult and various customs including coca leaves. The Inca regime constructed roads from the Salar de Atacama to what is now northeast Argentina. In 1536, the first Spanish conquistadors, those of Diego de Almagro, arrived in the area and it was finally annexed under Spanish control in 1557. In the 18th century, the Atacameño Tomás Paniri joined the uprisings led by the Peruvian Túpac Amaru II and the Bolivian Túpac Katari. In 1824, the region became part of Bolivia and in 1883 fell into Chilean hands. In 2007, the Atacameño population was estimated at 21,015 people.
The Atacameños, Atacamans, or licantay, which in their language means ‘the inhabitants of the territory’, are descendents of the extinct San Pedro culture, which can be traced back at least 1500 years. At the start of the fifteenth century, Inka ruler Túpac Yupanqui conquered their territory, bringing new social and political structures and imposing sun worship as the new religion. The new rulers changed some of the old rituals, exchanging the consumption of hallucinogenic plants for the use of Andean coca leaves. The Inkas also expanded their road network into the region, connecting the Atacama salt flat with the Altiplano and mountainous territory of what is now northwestern Argentina. The indigenous population resisted the Spanish conquistadors when they first arrived in 1536, and it was not until twenty years later that the region was pacified through a peace treaty signed at Suipacha. Towards the end of the sixteenth century the Spanish colonial civilization reached the region, bringing evangelization and two controversial customs of the conquistadors: encomiendas, the subjugation of indigenous groups as serfs under a conquistador lord; and mercedes de tierra, huge land grants made to the same Spanish nobles. The town of San Pedro de Atacama became a major political center for the region. The seventeenth century brought major cultural and technological changes to the people of the Atacama Desert. Mules were introduced as beasts of burden, for example, and due to a number of factors the area underwent progressive depopulation.
Venture across the oases and valleys of the Atacama salt basin and Loa River and learn to live off the land like the Atacameños do. The Atacameños are also known as apatamas, alpatamas, kunzas, likan-antai or likanantaí which translates to 'the inhabitants of the land’. For years the communities have made the northwest of Argentina, Chile and Bolivia their homes. Atacameños divide their land into different territories. Each section determines what that land can give back to them. They’ve developed and perfected hydraulic systems to prepare, harvest and utilise these terraces and ravines so that they provide sources of food which is then either sold or eaten. Animals play a vital role in the community. You’ll find llamas, alpacas, sheep, goats and mules. Each provides wool, meat, fur and transportation. When used for transport, they collect firewood and plants, fruits of the carob tree and the chañar which is sold on as flours and drinks to the main cities. Families tend to live within their farms and land. Residing in a stable area of their farm, alongside their herd, ranches and fields. But this can differ from village to village. Like true cultivators, they use the earth’s resources to build their homes. Houses are made from stone, mud and even carob. They store their harvests such as corn, potatoes, quinoa and chañar on their roofs. It’s tradition that when a new home is built, a cross made of red and white wool is hung from the ceiling to ward off evil spirits.
The Atacama people, known as atacameños or atacamas in Spanish and kunzas, likan-antai or likanantaí in the native language, are an indigenous people from the Atacama Desert and altiplano region in the north of Chile and Argentina and southern Bolivia. According to the Argentinean Census in 2010, 13,936 people identified as first-generation Atacameño in Argentina, while Chile was home to 21,015 Atacameño people as of 2002. The origins of Atacameño culture can be traced back to 500 AD. At the start of the 15th century, the Atacameño were conquered by the Inca Topa Inca Yupanqui, who introduced a new social order, the Inca sun cult and various customs including coca leaves. The Inca regime constructed roads from the Salar de Atacama to what is now north east Argentina. In 1512, the first Spanish conquistadors arrived in the area and it was finally annexed under Spanish control in 1556. In the 18th century, the Atacameño Tomás Paniri joined the uprisings led by the Peruvian Túpac Amaru II and the Bolivian Túpac Katari. In 1824, the region became part of Bolivia and in 1883 fell into Chilean hands. In 2007, the Atacameño population was estimated at 21,015 people.
The atacameños are a South American indigenous civilization originating from the Andean desert oases of northern Chile and northwestern Argentina. Self-styled lican antai, this culture has about 12,000 years of history. In this sense, the Atacameños, a name given by the Spanish conquerors, was originally populated by hunter-gatherers in the area from the salt lake of Atacama to the altitudes of the Andes. The Atacameños, or likan antai, are recognized as one of the original peoples of the Chilean nation, and belong to the so-called Andean cultures. The Atacameño people inhabit the villages located in the oases, valleys and streams of the Loa province, in the Chilean region of Antofagasta. They are divided into two sectors: the basin of the Salar de Atacama and the basins of the Loa river.
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