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AFRICAN KINGDOM AND THE YORUBA SANGO IN BOLIVIA -How The Latin
American Country Operates The African Monarchical Ruling System For Over
200 Years In The Hidden

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AFRICAN KINGDOM AND THE YORUBA SANGO IN BOLIVIA - How
The Latin American Country Operates The African Monarchical Ruling
System For Over 200 Years In The Hidden
By Adeyinka Olaiya/ Brazil

African king , Rei Júlio Pinedo during the annual Afro Bolivian celebration .

It is nothing but a fact that the world’s most hidden African kingdom is located in the Yungas’
Valley , a forest in the Plurinational state of Bolivia , the Latin American country with a large
number of indigenous people . Located in the South American territory, Bolivia counts on La
Paz , the highest capital city in the world, having about 3,690m in elevation. A place where the
wind blows cold and thin at all times , getting tourists gasping for oxygen in the altitude . But if
you move past the clumsy environment, a bit towards the north-east, descending into the sub-
tropical Yungas valleys, you’ll discover a cluster of African styled and quiet villages hidden in
the forest of Yungas , a hidden concentration of afro-Bolivians , an African kingdom hidden
amid the tapirs, jaguars and spectacled bears , a remarkable African community that has
remained largely unrecognised by the international communities for over 200 years: the
Kingdom of the Afro-Bolivians , a spiritual capital of thousands of Bolivians of African descents
who worship African deities . It is one of the last African kingdoms in the Americas, a kingdom
still in existence.

Just like other African descents in the Americas, the Afro-Bolivians are also descendants of the
enslaved West Africans brought to Bolivia by the Spanish colonialists between the 15th and
19th Centuries to work in the mines of Potosí, a city in the south-western Bolivia that was
more populated than a number of European cities in the early 17th Century. According to
history , the mines are notorious for claiming the lives of approximately 8 million enslaved
Indians and Africans for over 300 years. Many died as a result of being overworked, underfed
and been subjected to precarious work conditions .

According to a former Bolivian Parliamentarian an Afro -Bolivian, Jorge Medina, the African
ancestors were unable to adapt to the cold weather of Potosí in Bolivia's southern highlands in
the beginning of the 19th Century, so they were relocated by the Spanish colonialists to the
warm Yungas to work on the plantation estates. This was the exact period that the African
kingdom was unofficial formed ; it was formed in 1820 by a group of enslaved Afro-Bolivians.
Though this African monarchical system has always functioned more like a tribe from the Old
Oyo empire in South West Nigeria . It has always observed the African rhythms, musics ,
dances , worships , dresses , culinary for over 187 years. The kingdom was finally recognised
in 2007 by the Bolivian government of the then president, Ivo Morales

Though in the hidden , the greatest African influence on Bolivian culture is the music , the saya
or la saya music . It grows in popularity in Bolivia, but it is still very poorly understood. No one,
except Afro-Bolivians, seems to be able to interpret it. The reason for this lack of
understanding is due to the fact that the interpretation of the instruments, as well as the
rhythm, is very peculiar. Saya involves music instruments incorporated into African percussion.
The basic instrument is the drum, inherited from African ancestors, together with rattles,
maracas and even rattles tied to clothing, in the ankle region.

Coronation of king Julio Pinedo succeeding his grandfather, king Bonifacio

During the presentation of the saya, Afro-Bolivians wear Aymara-style clothing. Women wear a
multicolored blouse with feathers, an equally multicolored skirt, called “pollera”, with a
blanket in their hands and a bowler hat. Men wear a hat, festive shirt, an aymara-style belt,
wool trousers, called “bayeta pants” and sandals.

Each rhythm of the saya begins with the percussion of a bell by the Caporal, who guides the
dance. He, also called Foreman, guides the dancers and wears decorated trousers, with bells
on the ankles and holds a whip. The women, who have their own guide during the dance, sing,
while moving the chairs, shake their hands and talk to the men, who play the drum and an
instrument called coancha.
In an exclusive interview with the king of the kingdom . Rei (king) Júlio Pinedo “ This kingdom
is a pride to the African descents in the Americas, It is the only source by which the culture ,
tradition , and the religion of our Ancestors are kept alive in Bolivia and other parts of the
Americas. This is a struggle of centuries , we thank the gods of our Ancestors that the national
visibility given today to our kingdom has helped promote our race and the combat against
discrimination. Before , we were called negritos or negros , but now things have changed, and
they’ve started to call us Afros, we worship the gods of our forefathers, we worship the Orisas
that our forefathers left behind , Sango lives here , the same Sango of the Oyo empire is
worshipped here “ The monarch said

The king, along with most of his rural subjects, still cultivates coca, sugarcane, bananas and
coffee to survive, but more young Afro-Bolivians are going to the universities , and there are
plans to improve and encourage more tourism in the area.

Afro-Bolivian and Sango devotee

The Orisha worship is another significant impact left behind by the African ancestors in the
kingdom, the worship of Sango, the Yoruba god of thunder is quite present and observed in
houses , places and traditional shrines in Yungas forest since the inception of the African
kingdom in Bolivia . However, several religious beliefs , tribal and ethnic differences and
languages have made the kingdom a concentration of all African states and ethnicities .
According to king Julho Pinedo , the kingdom received Slaves from all part of West and Central
Africa , the Spanish colonialist brought slaves from Senegal, Congo , Dohomey, Yoruba , Ewe ,
Ashanti and lots more to work in the plantation . One can hardly point out the dominant tribe
as all tribes were mixed together .

Papa Sucre Sousa de Xangó , an Afro-Bolivian and a Sango devotee said “ the situation started
in 1544 when the Spanish colonialists discovered silver mines in the city that is today called
Potosí, located at the foot of Cerro Rico, in Bolivia. Almost immediately they started to enslave
the indigenous people to work in the mines. However, the health of the indigenous people
who worked there was becoming very precarious, which is why the Spaniards started looking
for new contingents to serve as labor. At the beginning of the seventeenth century, mine
owners began to bring in large numbers of African slaves to work in the mines, alongside
indigenous people who remained healthy., the African slaves who mostly were from the West
Africa mixed up with the indigenous people of the territory to work for the Spanish colonialists
in the forest , my forefathers from Dahomey who were of Yoruba tribe were part of them . My
forefathers were Xangô devotees and it has passed through several generations till date ,
that’s why am also Sango devotee ” he concluded .

Sango devotees in Bolivia

According to him , the conditions in which slaves had to work were horrible. They did not
survive more than six months. Potosí is located at an altitude of approximately 4,200 meters,
making it the highest city in the world. Slaves, of course, were not used to working in those
conditions. Their lives were also cut short due to the toxic fumes from the smelters, in addition
to the mercury vapors they inhaled. In addition, they had to work in the dark for about four
months. When they finally came out of the mines, they had to put a blindfold on their eyes, to
protect them from the sunlight, which they had not seen for a long time.

The kingdom represents the importance and the presence of the African race in Bolivia, the
present king is Rei Julio Pinedo who was born on the 19 February 1942 , he is the traditional
king of the Afro-Bolivian kingdom of the Nor Yungas province. He was crowned in 1992, exactly
thirty years after the death of the previous king who was his grandfather , Rei (king) Bonifacio
Pinedo. The kingdom and the king was finally given the official recognition in 2007 after 187
years of its existence . He was sworn in by the Mayor of La Paz and with the presence of the
then President of Bolivia , Ivo Morales .

The battle was never an easy one . The Afro-Bolivians freed still had to fight an uphill battle
when it came to maintaining their culture. Many of the elements of this began to disappear,
such as the festivals, the language and the connection with spirituality. They had to violently
oppose colonial aggression and exclusion, present in the post-emancipation culture. One of
the ways to stick to this culture was through its music dance., and the worships
 Afro-Bolivians and their dance steps

Adeyinka Olaiya/ Artist, writer, curator .

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