Paraguay
Historical name
San Agustín de la Emboscada
Founding Date
Circa 1741
Address
Emboscada es un municipio del Departamento de la Cordillera en Paraguay, a 39 km de Asunción , PC: 3210 .
Classification
Human settlement
Category
Others
Function-Testimony
Multipurpose
Access level
Free
Current Use
Residential, services, administrative, productive, etc.
Original use
Originally a town for free pardos only whose objective was the defence against the incursion of Indian groups not yet subject to the Spaniards.
Property kind
Mixed
Expressions of intangible heritage associated
In some companies[1] of Emboscada, such as that of Minas, when celebrating the day of the patron saint – in this case the day of San Francisco Solano, on 24 July – the outfits of kamba ra’anga and guaikuru ra’anga[2] are used. According to the research of Carlos Colombino, these festivities with black and indigenous masks go back at least to the 17th century, to recall the Spanish medieval street celebrations. The ancient meaning of these masks, seemingly, was that of recalling the ancient enemies of the Spanish, in this case the kamba represented the bandeirantes from Brazil, and the Spanish conquistador was represented by the burning bull.
These meanings have not survived to our days, but the masks are used, with costumes, especially in certain regions such as Emboscada, Altos and Tobaty. In general, and of this there are coincidences in several places, the dress of the males is made from leaves of banana trees to simulate camouflage and wooden (timbó or cubé wood – lonchocarpus nicou) masks are used. It would seem that there is a new meaning for the use of the kamba ra’anga regarding the African presence in Paraguay, however, it is noticeable that the festivities in which they are used have no relation to a saint of African origin (in a company of Altos, Itá Guasú, they celebrate the festivity of Saint Peter and Saint Paul).