Who Are the Tsáchila?
The Tsáchila (also known as Colorados) are an indigenous people of western Ecuador, numbering approximately 3,000 in seven comunas near Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas. Their most distinctive feature is the traditional male hairstyle—hair shaped with achiote (annatto) paste into a red helmet-like form, from which the Spanish name "Colorados" (colored ones) derives. They speak Tsafiki, a Barbacoan language related to the Chachi and Awá. Their territory lies in the transition zone between the Andes and Pacific coast, once densely forested but now largely converted to agriculture.
Red Hair Tradition
The iconic red hair (created by applying achiote paste) is worn traditionally by Tsáchila men, though the practice has declined. Achiote, beyond its cosmetic use, has medicinal and spiritual significance—it protects against illness and spirits. The hair style once identified men as Tsáchila and distinguished them from other peoples. Traditional dress includes striped skirts (manpe) for both genders. These visual markers made the Tsáchila instantly recognizable and contributed to their distinctive identity. Contemporary practice varies; some men maintain the red hair, while others have abandoned it.
Santo Domingo Development
Santo Domingo de los Colorados (now Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas) was once a small market town serving Tsáchila communities. From the 1970s onward, highway construction and colonization transformed it into one of Ecuador's fastest-growing cities, now approaching 400,000 people. Tsáchila territory was surrounded and reduced; deforestation replaced their forest home with agriculture and urban sprawl. The province was renamed (2007) to honor the Tsáchila, but the people themselves were marginalized by the development that adopted their name. This urbanization represents one of the most dramatic territorial losses of any Ecuadorian indigenous group.
Contemporary Tsáchila
Modern Tsáchila work to maintain identity despite encirclement by urban development. Cultural tourism provides some income—visitors come to see traditional practices, but commercialization raises concerns about authenticity. The language remains relatively vital with perhaps 2,000 speakers, including children. Traditional shamanic practices, including use of medicinal plants, continue. Land conflicts with colonists and developers persist. The Tsáchila case demonstrates the challenges of cultural survival when indigenous territory becomes surrounded by rapid urbanization, and how a people's name and image can be appropriated while the people themselves are marginalized.
References
- Ventura, M. (1997). Una visión de la cultura tsáchila en la actualidad
- Moore, B. (1979). A Grammar of Tsafiki (SIL International)
- Costales, A., & Costales, P. (1998). Los Colorados: Etnohistoria