The Huarpe Pinkanta Territorial Organization, which brings together 14 indigenous communities in the province of San Juan, managed this May to recover the bodies of their ancestors that were in a museum in Buenos Aires. This event represents a historic moment for the Huarpe Town and for the country’s native communities.
Franco Gil, a member of this community and the Indigenous Participation Council (CPI), commented that the fight for the restitution of the remains of the indigenous communities of San Juan began approximately 5 years ago: “They are remains from the collection of the Agustín Museum Gnecco, who when he died, his children donated it to the Udaondo Museum in Luján, Buenos Aires, in 1944. Then, in 1998, the first studies of the remains were carried out and only in 2008 could their ethnic origin be determined. “These belonged to the Huarpe people.”
Although this claim began informally several years ago, it was not until 2019 that it was formally made through a note.
This claim is framed in National Law 25,517 on mortal remains of indigenous communities and represents an important policy of historical reparation, in the face of genocide, colonization and reification of the Native Peoples of the national territory.
Gil explained that this restitution is not the only one that was carried out in the country, but it is the largest since it has 37 remains. Also, it is the first restitution made to Cuyo.
In addition to human remains, they restored other elements, such as clothing, ceremonial objects, necklaces and elements for burial ceremonies.
The emotional burial ceremony that took place on May 23 differed from current customs since they date back to before the conquest process. Thus, the Huarpe peoples claimed their traditions. The community member explained what the moment was like: “We say that you have to experience it to understand it. It was divided into two stages, one was in which we received the remains and kept them in a place in the community, and the other part was in charge of the sisters and consisted of burying four of those remains.”
These actions represented the importance of the fight for the recovery and revaluation of ancestral customs that precisely consist of burying bodies throughout the territory: “We buried four remains, at the four cardinal points, in a certain area, in a sacred site of the Las Chacras community, in Caucete. And that was another separate ceremony, very emotional, very strong, which was done even in very cold weather and with the blessing of the rain.”
Subsequently, a large bonfire was made and everyone participated, both adults, the elderly and children: “It was very positive to see the entire community as a whole participating. Not only was the Pinkanta community there, but other communities attended, such as the Diaguita people and the indigenous peoples of Mendoza and San Luis.”
This process will last for two or three months, since the other remains will be buried in other territories, and it is expected to culminate in August for the Huarpe New Year. After this, the communities will promote and strengthen the other claims much more, especially those of San Juan.
Source: UNSJ
