The Jesuit Missions of Moxos are located in the Llanos de Moxos of Beni department in eastern Bolivia. Distinguished by a unique fusion of European and Amerindian cultural influences, the missions were founded as reductions or reducciones de indios by Jesuits in the 17th and 18th centuries to convert local tribes to Christianity.
History Jesuit priests arriving from Santa Cruz de la Sierra began evangelizing native peoples of the region in the 1670s. They set up a series of missions near the Mamoré River for this purpose beginning with Loreto. The principal mission was established at Trinidad in 1686.
In Moxos, books provided the Jesuits with information vital to the mission development.Block, David, (1983). “Missionary Libraries on the Amazonian Frontier: The Jesuits in Moxos, 1680-1767.” Journal of Library History 18 (July): 292–303.
List of missions Meireles (1989) lists the following Jesuit missions of Moxos along with their respective ethnic groups (tribes).Meireles, Denise Maldi. 1989. Guardiães da fronteira: Rio Guaporé, século XVIII. Petrópolis: Vozes. ISBN 85-326-0017-4. Founding dates and a few more additional missions are from Block (1994)..
Mission Founding date Location Group Loreto 1682 Ibare River, left bank Mojo Trinidad 1687 upper Mamoré River, right bank Mojo San Ignacio 1689 Tijamuchi River, right bank Mojo, Rokorono San Javier 1691 Mamoré River Mojo San Francisco de Borja 1693 Rápulo River source Chimane, Rokorono, Mojo, Movima San Pedro 1697 Machupo River source Canichana San Luis de Gonzaga 1698 (abandoned 1758) Rápulo River Rokorono, Mojo, Movima Santos Reyes 1710 upper Beni River Movima, Maropa Exaltación 1709 lower Mamoré River Cayubaba Concepción de Baures 1708 upper Baures River Baure, Chapacura, Kitemoka, Napeka San Joaquín 1709 Baures River Baure Santa Ana 1719 Yacuma River Movima San Pablo 1703 (abandoned 1710) upper Yacuma River Movima San Simón y Judás 1744 San Martín River source Chapakura, Baure San Nicolás 1740 San Martín River Baure Desposorios de Mojos 1723 Yapacaní River (Rio Grande tributary), near right bank ? Carmen de Mojos 1794 middle Rio Blanco, left bank Chapakura, Baure San José 1691 (abandoned 1752) Apere River, left bank ? San Martín 1717 San Simón River/San Martín River confluence Bauré Santa Magdalena 1720 Machupo River Itonama San Miguel (1) 1696 Baures River Moré, Baure Santa Rosa (1) 1705 (abandoned 1740) upper Mamoré River Santa Rosa (2) 1743 (abandoned 1751) Guaporé River Moré San Simón 1746 Guaporé River Moré, Aricoroni San Miguel (2) 1725 (abandoned 1762) Guapore River Moré, Aricoroni San Juan Bautista 1710 (abandoned 1718) eastern savanna Patrocinio 1730 (abandoned 1741) upper Mamoré River
Languages
The following indigenous languages, which make up much of the Mamoré-Guaporé linguistic area, were historically spoken in the missions. Moxo was the primary lingua franca () used in the missions.Crevels, Mily. 2002. Speakers shift and languages die: An account of language death in Amazonian Bolivia. In Mily Crevels, Simon van de Kerke, Sérgio Meira & Hein van der Voort (eds.), Current Studies on South American Languages [Indigenous Languages of Latin America, 3], p. 9-30. Leiden: Research School of Asian, African, and Amerindian Studies (CNWS).
Arawakan languages Moxo, spoken by the Mojeños Baure, spoken by the Baure people Canichana, spoken by the Canichana people Movima, spoken by the Movima people Cayuvava, spoken by the Cayuvava people Itonama, spoken by the Itonama people Tsimané, spoken by the Tsimané people Mure (extinct) Chapacuran languages Itene Chapacura (extinct) Napeca (extinct) Rocorona (extinct) Quitemo (extinct) Tacanan languages Reyesano (or Maropa)
Gallery
See also List of Jesuit sites List of Jesuit Missions of Chiquitos Jesuit Missions of Chiquitos Llanos de Moxos (archaeology) Mojeños
References