Churumatas
Indigenous group of South America of Arawakan origin
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Churumatas were various previously existing indigenous populations in present-day Bolivia, Chile and Argentina. In Bolivia Churumatas inhabited mesothermal valleys south of Cochabamba (areas of Tomina, Chuquisaca, Oroncota, Colpavilque, Tarabuco, valle de la Concepción, Santiago del Paso and Tarija).[1] In Chile the Churumatas are reported from Spanish colonial era sources in Elqui Valley.[2] Near Andacollo, which lies about 25 km south of Elqui River, a gold mine hade the name of "Churumata" as known from historic documents.[2] In Argentina, the choromatas are listed in sources among the groups inhabiting the Argentine Northwest and in particular Jujuy in 1595[2] and Tucumán.[1]
In 1596 Churumatas and Moyos Moyos in Colpavilque rebelled against the Spanish.[3]
One view held by historians is that the Churumatas were natives of the valley of Tarija in southern Bolivia but had a diaspora in areas where they, as inferred by Spanish documents, did not own land.[2] Reportedly the Churumatas were dispersed as mitmas aimed to garrison Inca fortresses during the Inca conquest of Collasuyu in the 1470s during the reign of Tupac Yupanqui.[2][4] The Tomatas (Copiapóes) are thought to have had a similar history except they were moved the other way round, from their homeland in present-day Chile to the valley of Tarija.[4]
The Churumatas are mentioned in sources as having a homeland inmediately southeast of Tarija in the valleys around the rivers of Guadalquivir and Camacho.[1] Possibly they were a partiality of the Chichas.[1]
According to the 2022 census 47 persons identify as Churumata in Argentina while there is no Churumata entry in the prior 2010 census.[5][6]