Nuevas preguntas sobre una antigua federación Aymara. Algunos aportes en torno a la federación Qharaqhara (Charcas, siglo XVI)

Abstract

The Qharaqhara Federation was one of the largest political groups of the Southern Andes during the sixteenth century. This article offers a reinterpretation of the pre-Hispanic and early colonial history of some groups that appear to have integrated that federation, which were traditionally considered as ethnic groups or chiefdoms. Re-reading early “cédulas de encomienda” but also other documents, this article proposes some hypotheses and essential questions. On the one hand, it argues that some of these political entities that have usually been conceived as pre-Hispanic, were actually forged during the early period of European colonial domination. Secondly, it offers hypotheses around some chiefdoms absent in the earlier documentary sources. Finally, it presents new thoughts regarding the concept of “cabecera”, which was a usual place of residence of indigenous political authorities.