The Indigenous Novel: Los dolores de una raza, a Forerunner Work

This chapter focuses on Los dolores de una raza: novela histórica de la vida real contemporánea del indio guajiro, one of the first novels in South America to be written by a self-described indigenous author. Since Los dolores de una raza is a forerunner novel that gives the reader an insider’s perspective on the internal conflicts and intercultural challenges of the Wayuu community in Colombia and Venezuela, this chapter examines related issues that are also present in other indigenous novels such as Sujuy k’iin/ Día sin mancha by the Yucatec Maya writer Marisol Ceh Moo, U yóok otilo’ob áak’ab/Danzas de la noche by the Yucatec Maya writer Isaac Esau Carrillo Can, Nu pama nzhogú/El eterno retorno by the Mazahua author Francisco Antonio León Cuervo, and Los ríos profundos by the Quechua Peruvian writer José María Arguedas.