Fox Walker on the Parapeti River, Bolivia: The Origins of How We Guarani Live in Íví

The Guarani people currently occupy a large area of the Bolivian Gran Chaco (Fig. 6.1). They speak a language which belongs to the Tupí-Guaraní linguistic family which historically covered a wide territory in the greater Amazon basin. According to tradition, Guarani groups moved west into the region that is today Bolivia seeking the “Ìvì Maraëì”—“Land Without Trouble” prior to the arrival of the Spaniards. When the Spanish entered the Chaco, the “Chiriguanos” Guarani of Isoso were established and well-organized, having earlier defeated the “Chanés” and other groups in the area. Guarani were defeated by the Bolivian state in 1896, at the massacre at Kuruyuki.