zambo

Zambo is a historical term used in the Spanish Empire and later Latin American societies to describe a person of mixed Indigenous American and African ancestry. The term was part of the casta system, a hierarchical set of racial classifications that attempted to codify lineage and social status based on parentage. In different regions and periods, zambo could refer to different combinations of Indigenous and African ancestry, and the boundaries between categories were often informal and fluid rather than fixed.

The etymology of zambo is uncertain; it likely derives from colonial Spanish or from indigenous languages, but there is no consensus. The term coexisted with other labels such as mestizo (Indigenous and European), mulato (African and European), and various regional terms. In many places, zambo denoted a person with predominantly African and Indigenous ancestry rather than European admixture, and such classifications carried social implications, including restrictions on rights, marriage, and economic opportunity.

With the decline of the caste system in the late colonial and post-independence eras, the term fell out of official use in most countries. Today, zambo is largely encountered in historical discussions, archival documents, or in some communities where older terminology persists. In contemporary discourse, the term is often viewed as outdated or offensive, and scholars emphasize the social construction of racial categories rather than naturalized hierarchies.