Metáforas coloniales: aproximaciones simbólicas sobre la tierra adentro del Chaco

Abstract

The expression tierra adentro belongs to the language of colonial sources and although it is also used in academia in border studies, we are yet to reflect on its uses and meanings. In this work, I adopt an ethnographic perspective focusing on the frontiers of the Chaco province during the 18th century, in order to address the symbolic dimension of the tierra adentro, paying attention to the different meanings attached to it during the colonial period and the practices of domination associated with those meanings. I also consider its incorporation as a category of analysis in academic border studies. The data come from a large number of documents written during the colonial period, which I examined based on historical anthropology approach: Textual and contextual criticism, transversal reading, and interpretation of past social situations, among others. Tierra adentro condenses a wide range of meanings rooted in the colonial imaginary, which conditioned the perception of non-submissive indigenous groups and their territories; these meanings —expressed in metaphorical terms— promoted and enabled policies of submission. The use of this expression in the academic sphere goes hand in hand with a certain conceptualization of tierra adentro which has only recently begun to be addressed. This work supports the denaturalization of an expression that is commonly used but whose intrinsic meanings have not yet been properly defined or debated. Accordingly, it adds to the critical discussion regarding the use and theoretical scope of the vocabulary acquired from documentary sources for historical-anthropological research and it proposes some common aspects that could be applied to other spaces that were conceived as tierra adentro during the colonial experience.

Keywords

• chaco
• frontier
• indigenous groups
• colonial metaphors
• symbolization