Paraguay: Last Maka Indian chief has no male heir

The Associated Press

Updated: 04/19/2011 04:01:36 PM CDT

 

A woman from the Maca ethnic group, plays the drum and sings as others... ((AP Photo/Jorge Saenz))

ASUNCION, Paraguay—Britain isn't the only place where people are concerned about the rules of royal succession. In Paraguay, the leader of the Maka (ma-KAA) Indian tribe is lamenting that he has no male heir. Andres Chemhei is 65 years old and has three daughters, but no sons. As the leader of one of Paraguay's 20 surviving indigenous tribes, he knows that without a son, his family's ancestral rule must come to an end. According to Paraguayan law, his death will trigger a democratic election for a new leader of his 1,500 people. Chemhei spoke with The Associated Press Tuesday during a celebration of American Indian day, when Maka men and women dress in colorful costumes and share traditional dances. He says whoever's elected to succeed him must be vigilant to maintain the tribe's customs.

Men from the Maca ethnic group, attend the celebrations of the "American Indigenous International Day" in Mariano Roque Alonso, on the outskirts of Asuncion, Paraguay, Tuesday, April 19, 2011. ((AP Photo/Jorge Saenz))

 The Maká are a group of South American Indians that used to roam in the Gran Chaco—the enormous plain that occupies part of the present-day republics of Argentina, Bolivia, and Paraguay—and today live in the city of Asunción del Paraguay. A suprasegmental trait distinguishing them from the rest of the inhabitants of the Chaco is that adult men and women wear their hair long without ever cutting it, even when in mourning.  Although their population appears to have diminished in the past fifty years, the Maká still number about 600 individuals. It is unlikely that they ever numbered more than 1,000, which is approximately the population of the typical Chaco tribe.

 

source:

http://genteindigena.org/maka.html