The importance of aguadas - watering holes - for the indigenous people of the Paraguayan Chaco

Abstract

The study was carried out in the Pykasu indigenous community located in the Paraguayan Chaco, specifically in the Department of Boquerón, with the objective of studying the water sources present. It was a qualitative ethnographic research with a quantitative component. The design was non-experimental and descriptive. The population of Pykasu had a total of approximately 584 people as of 2022. However, the sample corresponded to a non-probabilistic sampling of voluntary subjects where 6 people were selected taking into account gender, knowledge of the subject, and their work in promoting indigenous traditional knowledge. Data collection techniques included semi-structured interviews, direct and ethnographic observation, and the study of the aguada, with analysis of satellite images and mapping. The study was able to establish the meaning of "aguada" ─ watering hole ─ for community members, identify the Marité aguada, and describe it in terms of fauna and flora species. It was found that the Ñandeva people promote their culturally important sites and stories from generation to generation, favoring the continuity of their traditional knowledge. Current uses of the Marité watering hole are reduced compared to past times and are limited to livestock hydration and occasional hunting. The community is concerned about the increasing intensity and prolongation of droughts and the eventual disappearance of the aguadas, which are necessary for the hydration of wild animals and for maintaining the subsistence hunting.