CHAPTER 2
A SURVEY OF THE LITERATURE

2-1 Introduction

This chapter discusses the contents and merits
of selected works relating to Aymara dating from the
colonial period to the present. The two major biblio-
graphical sources for works on or in Aymara are (1)
Bibliograffa de las lenguas quechua y aymara by José
Toribio Medina (1930), and (2) the monumental four-volume
Bibliographie des Langues Aymara et Ki ua by Paul Rivet
and Georges de Créqui-Montfort (1951-1956; henceforth
Rivet). To my knowledge no bibliographical work
specifically on Aymara has been published since Rivet's

fourth volume (1956).

2-2 Colonial Period

As is well known, the Spanish found no written
materials in the languages of the Inca Empire. In the
16th and early 17th centuries all works published in or
on Aymara were written for the purpose of spreading the

Christian faith by missionaries assisted by unnamed Aymara

43