Abstract

This article analyzes two texts written by the Chilean military priest Julio Ramirez Ortiz (Por la Pampa Adusta y Tierras Grises) in which he discusses different social aspects of the Andean communities of Sierra de Arica during the first years of the 20th century. These materials, elaborated on the occasion of the complex diplomatic scenario known as Chilenization, present a complex sociopolitical and ethnocentric perspective on the indigenous peoples. However, it is also possible to find interesting ethnographic descriptions of the organization, practices, and beliefs of the communities. This ambiguity would be mediated by the chronicler's thinking of colonial origin, which seeks to account for the incidence of cultural assimilation policies implemented in the region by the Chilean State.