Pampa (ethnos group)

See also: Pampa (homonymy)

The Pampas was the name which the Spanish conquerors gave to the natives who populated the Argentinian Pampa, more precisely those which occupied current the Argentinas provinces of Buenos Aires, Córdoba, Santa Fe and San Luis. The origin of the word is Quechua. Pampa or bamba means more exactly flat and flat located between mountains . Thus the Spaniards of the 16th century, going down from the mountains of the Andes gave this name quechua to the large plains without important forests which occupied a good part of current Argentina (including Uruguay). By extension they came from there to give this name to the aboriginals which lived them.

One must differentiate the " old Pampas" and " Pampas of the 19th siècle". The first correspond to the ethnos group Het, while the seconds or " Pampas of the 19th siècle" correspond to the araucanized groups or rather " mapuchisés" survivors of Hets mixed and métissés with the septentrional Tehuelche S. Of this fact the Indians Pampas of XIXe correspond approximately to those which one also called during this century Puelche S, and in particular with Ranqülche or Ranquel S.

As it is included/understood, the use of this term can give place to ambiguities, but it should not especially be believed that these tribes spoke quechua. It is certain that the " old Pampas" of linguistic the family known as Macro-Pano was, while those of the 19th century used dialects Mapudungun, language of the Mapuches.

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