The Iskobakebo: the story of an indigenous people in danger of extinction

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15381/lengsoc.v14i1.22605

Keywords:

Iskobakebo, pano, history, contact, endangered language, culture

Abstract

The Iskobakebo (also known as “Isconahua”), a group of only a few persons, form part of the panoan linguistic family. They traditionally inhabited a region between the headwaters of the Tamaya and Tapiche rivers, in a semi- nomadic way of life. There is evidence of people in voluntary isolation still living in the same region. However, the Iskobakebo group was contacted by the South America Mission in 1959 and subsequently relocated on the Callería river. The group still lives there, but now in diaspora and significantly reduced in number. This paper intends to reconstruct this group’s history from before contact up to their situation today. The survey is based on interviews conducted among Iskobakebo as well as Shipibo-Konibo people wo live or have been living close to them or who were involved in the moment of contact. The resulting narrative tells of loss of language, of ethnic identity, and of human life.

Author Biography

  • Bernd Brabec de Mori, Instituto de Etnomusicología Universidad de Música y Artes Performativas de Graz. Austria

    Correo: bbdm@posteo.de

    Se doctoró en musicología en la Universidad de Viena. Se especializó en la música indígena del valle de Ucayali, en el este de Perú, donde pasó cinco años entre el grupo indígena Shipibo-Konibo. Desde 2006, trabaja en el Phonogrammarchiv de la Academia Austriaca de Ciencias, en Viena; como asistente de investigación y docencia en el Centro de Musicología Sistemática de Graz; como científico principal en el Instituto de Etnomusicología de la Universidad de Música y Artes Escénicas de Graz; como profesor invitado en el Instituto de Musicología de la Universidad de Viena, y como profesor en el departamento de antropología social y cultural de la Philipps-Universität Marburg. Es autor de "Die Lieder der Richtigen Menschen" (Canciones de la gente real, 2015), editor de "Lo humano y lo no humano en la música indígena de las tierras bajas de Sudamérica" (2013), y coeditor de "Mundos audibles de América" (2015, con Matthias Lewy y Miguel A. García) y "Auditive Wissenskulturen" (2018, con Martin Winter). Sus publicaciones contribuyen a las áreas de investigación de la música, las artes y la historia de los indígenas amazónicos occidentales; al complejo de la música, el ritual y los estados alterados; así como a las teorías sobre el conocimiento, la ontología y la auralidad/oralidad.

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Published

2014-09-18

Issue

Vol. 14 No. 1 (2014)

Section

Articles originals

License

Copyright (c) 2014 Bernd Brabec de Mori

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How to Cite

Brabec de Mori, B. (2014). The Iskobakebo: the story of an indigenous people in danger of extinction. Lengua Y Sociedad, 14(1), 29-46. https://doi.org/10.15381/lengsoc.v14i1.22605