PANDO, APOSTOLIC VICARIATE OF. - Located in the northern part of Bolivia, it was erected on 29 April 1942 with territory detached from the Apostolic Vicariate of Beni (q.v.), now Cuevo. It is composed almost entirely of the former northwestern region of Colonias, whose capital was Cabija.
This is a very underdeveloped area. The indigenous people live grouped in small villages made up of huts lacking any furnishings. Their standard of living is very poor, due not to the infertility of the land but to the indolence and inactivity of the inhabitants, who spend most of the day dancing and becoming intoxicated with a special drink called “chicha,” or kept by fermenting wild fruits.
The principal tribes are the Araonas, Cavinas, Pacaguaras, Chimanos, Oromonas, and Mocetenes, each of which has its own language. Some believe these peoples to be indigenous, while others consider them to have come from Asia, having reached Bolivia via the Bering Strait and Polynesia. The climate is unhealthy.
The vicariate has an area of 100,000 sq. km. with a population of about 50,000, of whom 48,000 are Catholic and the rest pagan. Spiritual care is entrusted to the Maryknoll missionaries (USA), who, according to 1951 statistics, number 15 priests, 3 brothers, and 20 sisters (Maryknoll Sisters). There are 5 elementary schools and 1 middle school; 1 hospital, 1 nursery, 1 orphanage, and 1 home for the elderly.