Models of ethnic identity. Aymara intellectual discourse in the extreme north of Chile

Abstract

The article analyzes the models of ethnic identity present in the oral language of Aymara intellectuals from the extreme north of Chile. The research question is what are the main characteristics of these notions of ethnic identity in the spoken behavior of these indigenous intellectuals? Two hypotheses are suggested: 1) that they are notions managed by these intellectuals, and 2) that they are meanings produced by this indigenous intelligentsia. The investigation contemplates twelve oral testimonies of Aymara intellectuals. The main results report that indigenous discourses present a set of ethnic identity models that oscillate between their own conceptual production and the reproduction of foreign ideas. It is concluded that the registered models account for notions similar to those ascribed to Western thought, such as those of “culture”, “tradition” and “nation”