Antonio Ruiz de Montoya: promoter and defender of indigenous nations and their languages
Abstract
In this article I investigate the importance of the life and work of the Jesuit Antonio Ruiz de Montoya for the history of the indigenous people of Paraguay in the 17th century. I look at the value of his political struggle in favor of the Guaraní groups, especially for the promotion of their language and the preservation of their physical integrity. This study is based on the writings of Montoya, on his biographers and researchers of his works and on contemporary documentation. This study considers mainly the reductional and civilizing perspective of the Jesuit mission. The results show that even though Montoya centered his work on the preservation of the Indian groups, his mission was also an intervention in the Indigenous culture. This intervention resulted in changes influenced by a cultural matrix initially foreign to the Guaraní groups.
Key words: Ruiz de Montoya, Guaraní groups, reduction, Jesuits, Guaraní language.Downloads
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