Week 13 - Open Post on "Peru's Indian Peoples"

Stern’s text is the type of text which displays both a depth of understanding and a wealth of knowledge. His writing style is of an impressive academic standard, and is perhaps the kind of writing I find most familiar. I see he takes great effort to use and explain Andean words and concepts, this should be greatly appreciated. Some of the words, like Malquis, have since been better defined. Malquis is simply the same concept as the term I know from Bolivia which is Mallku (spelling of words in Andean languages has only recently been standardized). Kunturi means condor, the symbol of spiritual leadership and mental capability. Mallku means “grey (old) condor” (it is used to refer to condors with white feathers). Jach’a Mallku means “grand old condor” or supreme leader. This is why the Malquis as mummies were able to command great respect; many of them were probably recognized for their great achievements and abilities during their lifetimes. I have studied the Aymara language and culture on my own; I was even in Bolivia for two months practicing how to speak it with an Aymara person as my language instructor.

Given the persona I tend most often to exude, I must also point out a small oversight in the titling which should help give one some more bearing. Most often, when people think of colonial Peru, what they are thinking about is Alto Peru and the silver mines of Potosi in Bolivia (this is in the Inca’s Collasuyo), which is mostly just Cuzco southward, most of Bolivia, and north Argentina/north Chile. The modern state of Peru has its origins in the Audiencia de Lima; Bolivia has its origins in the Audiencia de Charcas. To say "Peru’s Indian Peoples", to me, makes little sense, for Huamanga represents only the central Quechua speaking peoples (and probably not the almost extinct Central Aymaran ones). Those from south Peru and Bolivia speak either southern Quechua or Aymara. Those in far North Peru, and those of Ecuador who are Quichua speakers, form the Northern branch of Quechua languages.

To put it simply, I think it somewhat misleading to bunch them all together as “Peru’s Indian Peoples”. The Quechua speakers, as a whole, are actually very different culturally, Southern branches of Quechua seem to be heavily influenced by Aymara, so much so that some grammatical and areal aspects of Southern Quechua are not present in Central Quechua, and most definitely appear to have come about through interactions between these two Aymara and Quechua linguistic (and cultural) macro-families. The Aymara seem to represent a formerly extant group and are culturally very different from Quechua speaking peoples. They are also very concentrated and appear to be much more homogenous on the whole than Quechua speakers. So yes, in Huamanga they most definitely were the rural peasantry for those times, and they were the most susceptible to Spanish exploitation. But it should also be noted that, in comparison to the Aymara speakers, Quechua speaker's resistance is a bit less organized and not nearly as vociferous. This is probably because the Aymara were master tradesmen with much material wealth, were generally more urban, lived in an environment the Spaniards could not stand (the Altiplano), and they ran the llama caravan circuits connecting Andean, Coastal, and Lowland peoples together.

Being from Bolivia, the land of the Colla as it was once known, I know that, politically speaking, Aymara peoples are the most formidable of the over 36 Indigenous ethno-linguistic groups in the Plurinational State of Bolivia. This is both throughout the history of Bolivia, as well as, in the contemporary society of Bolivia today, though they also need the support of Quechua speakers, who do in fact outnumber them, even in Bolivia. Overall, this book is a great starting point for anyone who is interested in learning about the Andes, for as much as Bolivians and Peruvians might be antagonistic towards one another (this maybe is something not recognizable to non-Bolivians and non-Peruvians), they both have a shared cultural tradition. Bolivians are simply more conservative, it is a much more isolated country than Peru, and the traditions there have been more conscientiously preserved. In Peru, however, is where the most extensive research has been conducted, and therefore, reading and comprehending this book is the first step in understanding the Andean people’s long-term resistance to Euro-Iberian political and, cultural, domination.