León Cadogan

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Leon Cadogan (Ethnologist)

(29 July,1999-30 May,1973)

He was borne in Asuncion, Paraguay shortly after the arrival of his Australian parents to the country. The Australians were a large group of people migrating to Paraguay at the end of the XX century, to form a socialistic colony with utopian ideals. He became interested in the Guarani culture in 1921. Cadogan studied, published and became an authority on Mbya-Guarani, Ava-Guarani, Pai-tavytera, and Ache-guayaki, all Guarani tribes living in the forests of the Occidental part of Paraguay. While living with the Indians, he was accepted as a member of the Mbya-Guarani's and initiated under the autochthonous religious name of "Tupa Kuchubi Veve" ("God that flies like a whirlwind") and following the traditions of the group, he kept his Indian name secret until his death. The Mbya-Guarani had a secret, esoteric religious language unknown to the world until his initiation. Cadogan published several studies of the language, religion and culture of the Guarani Indians, becoming the foremost authority of this group. Major publications: Ayvu Rapyta, Textos miticos de los Mbya-Guarani del Guaira (Boletim No. 227-Antropologia, No. 5. Sao Paulo: Universidade de Sao Paulo, Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciencias e Letras, 1959) Diccionario Mbya-Guarani Castellano (Biblioteca Paraguaya de Antropologia-Vol. XVII, Fundacion "Leon Cadogan" Ceaduc Cepac. Asuncion, 1992) Nuevas observaciones acerca del origen de los Guayaki. (Jornadas Internacionales de Arqueologia y Etnografia, Buenos Aires, 1960) His works were published in academic publications in Paraguay, Uruguay, Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, Austria, France, USA. He was appointed "Curator of Indians" by the Paraguayan government and posthumously considered as one of the 100 most important people of the millenium in his country. His library was donated to Universidad Catolica de Asuncion.