ACTAS Y MEMORIAS

del XXXIX Congreso Internacional de Americanistas

XXXIX CONGRESO INTERNACIONAL DE AMERICAN1STAS

Historia
etnohistoria
y etnología
de la
selva sudamericana
Vol. 4

LIMA, 1972
COMISION EDITORA

Rosalía Avalos de Matos

Museo Nacional de la Cultura Peruana
Rogger Ravines
Museo Nacional de Antropología y Arqueología Contenido

Parte I: EL BOSQUE TROPICAL

Arqueología
1. Alternative models of population movements in the tropical low-
lands of South America. Donald W. Lathrap, University of Illinois,
Urbana 13
2. Sarayacu: Archaeological Investigations at a 19th Century Fran-
ciscan Mission in the Peruvian Montaña. Thomas P. Myers, Univer-
sity of Indiana 25
Etnología
3. Arawak, Carib, Ge, Tupí: Cultural adaptation and culture history
in the tropical forest, South America. Karl H. Schwerin 39
4. Warfare patterns of the Colombian Guahibo. Robert V. Morey, Jr.
Utah University 59
5. Hunting and fishing productivity of the Miskito Indians, Eastern
Nicaragua. Bernard Nietschmann. Michigan University 69
6. Shamanismo entre los Kofan. Scott S. Robinson 89
7. Les tribus indigenes de Pare National du Manu. André-Marcel d'Ans 95
8. Actitudes de cuatro tribus de la selva peruana con respecto a
plantas empleadas como anticonceptivos por vía oral. Nicole Max-
well. American Indian Museum, Heye foundation 101
Parte II: LA MONTAÑA CENTRAL PERUANA
© Publicado por el Instituto de. Estudios Peruanos 1. Juan Santos, primitive rebe1 on the campa frontier (1742-1752). Jay
Horacio Urteaga 694, Lima 11, Perú. Lehnertz. University of Wisconsin 111
2. Francíscan exploration in the Central Montaña of Perú. Alan K.
Craig 127
3. The eco-geographical characteristics of the Gran Pajonal and their
relationships to sorne Campa Indian cultural patterns. Marshall S.
Chrostowski. The University of Wisconsin 145
4. Campa subsistence in the Gran Pajonal, Eastern Perú. William
M. Denevan. The University of Wisconsin 161
5. Some aspects of economic change among the Campa of the Western
Montaña of Central Perú as reflected in land use patterns. Judy
Holshouser, University of California, Berkeley 181
6. Campa Cosmology. Gerald Weiss. Florida Atlantic University 189 Los últimos diez años han significado para la etnolo-
7. Comercio y colonización en la zona de contacto entre la sierra y gía y arqueología de la montaña peruana un reencuentro
las tierras bajas del valle del Urubamba en el Perú. Daniel W. de intereses y una nueva perspectiva en la problemática
Gade 207 de los orígenes de la alta cultura americana. Después de
los primeros intentos enciclopedistas de Günter Tessman,
de las investigaciones de Erland Nordenskiöld y de los
ensayos etnográficos de Rafael Karsten y William C. Fa-
rabee, la región amazónica quedó totalmente descuidada
en provecho de otras zonas y otros problemas, pese a que
se daba por sentado el hecho que ella reservaba sorpresas
al panorama etnohistórico de América del Sur.
Sin embargo, a partir de 1960, a raíz de los trabajos
de Donald W. Lathrap y sus alumnos, estos temas nue-
vamente despiertan el interés de los antropólogos, espe-
cialmente norteamericanos, quienes, al replantear viejos y
nuevos problemas sobre la evidencia de sus recientes in-
vestigaciones, abren el camino a un nuevo intento de in-
terpretación de la historia cultural de los Andes, en un
modelo y un cuadro histórico que revive los postulados
de Nordenskiöld en lo que respecta a los orígenes de las
civilizaciones agrícolas de los Andes.
El presente volumen es en parte muestra de este reno-
vado interés por la floresta sudamericana. En el conjunto
un tanto heterogéneo de estos trabajos y ponencias queda
el mérito de William Denevan y Stefano Varese, coordi-
nadores del Simposio 13 del XXXIX Congreso Interna-
cional de Americanistas, gracias a cuyos esfuerzos fue po-
sible reunir un número importante de especialistas que
desde 1965 intentan sumarizar todos los datos disponibles
para relacionarlos con las características ecológicas de la
cuenca amazónica y ofrecerlos en un volumen antológico
que permita una visión de conjunto.
En este tomo se percibe claramente que el mosaico
está en sus inicios y que las piezas puestas esbozan ape-
nas una figura cuya forma deberá definirse en el futuro.
El mérito de este volumen reside en ser una suerte de ba-
lance y una invitación a llenar los vacíos que quedan.
El bosque tropical
ALTERNATIVE MODELS
OF POPULATIONS MOVEMENTS IN THE
TROPICAL LOWLANDS OF SOUTH AMERICA

Donald W. LATHRAP

Archaeologists studying the New World have frequently debated

the relative power of migration versus diffusion as explanatory princi-
ples for understanding patterns of cultural development. In general,
they have played down the significance of migration; but this tendency
has not characterized those of us studying the Amazon Basin. Meggers
and Evans, working at the mouth of the Amazon and on the Río Na-
po at the western edge of the Amazon Basin, have used multiple waves
of migration as a basic mechanism for explanation. In my own work
on the Central Ucayali of Eastern Perú, I, also, have invoked migrations
to explain both discontinuities in the cultural sequence and particular
developmental trends (1958; 1962; 1963; 1965; 1967; 1968; 1970). Hilbert
in his studies of the Central Amazon has been equally free with sug-
gestions that even minor shifts in ceramic technology were the result
of long distance population movements (1968: 66-68; 255-269).
This obsession with migration seems fully justified on grounds
other than purely archaeological data. Repeated distribution studies
analyzing the situation at the time of the first European contacts have
convinced such astute students as Lowie (1948: 1), Steward (1948a:
507; 1948b: 883), and Nordenskiöld (1924; 1930) of the overwhelming
importance of migrations. Migrations remarkable both for the numbers
of people involved and for the great distances covered were observed
by the earliest European explorers in several parts of South America
(Métraux 1948a: 97; 1948b: 465-467; 1948c: 689-690). Most important of
all, the tremendous geographical range of closely related languages, es-
pecially those in the Maipuran branch of Arawakan (Noble 1965) and
in Tupi -Guaranían (Rodrigues 1958), is proof positive of continuous po-
pulatíon displacements in the past.
The question, then, is not whether migrations were a crucial process
in the culture history of Lowland South America, but the direction
14 Bosque tropical Lathrap 15

in which such migrations were moving, and the demographic and eco- tively high degree of uniformity in soils, vegetation, and fauna" over the
logical forces which were impelling them. whole Amazon lowlands as Evans and Meggers would have us believe
(1968: 108)!
In numerous publications Meggers and Evans (1956; 1957; 1958;
1961; Evans and Meggers 1968) have discussed a series of downstream It seems reasonable to require of Meggers and Evans a detailed
migrations moving out of the north-western quadrant of South America accounting of the precise relationship between specific economic pat-
into the Amazon Basin. The most clearcut exposition of this model da- terns and the ecological features peculiar to the southern Andes of Co-
tes from 1961, when four waves were posited. Recent discussions have lombia which would lead to so consistent a production of surplus po-
upped the number of migrations, but the general characteristics have pulations. The economic system involved must have been one which
been little modified from one publication to the next (Evans and was adaptable to the tropical lowland with relative ease, since even by
Meggers 1968: 106). They repeatedly designate the Andes of Southern the reckoning of Meggers and Evans the migrant into the Amazon Ba-
Colombia, particularly the Upper Cauca and Magdalena Basins, as the sin managed to survive for several generations, with cultural vigor and
motherlode out of which these surplus populations were spilled and complexity diminishing only gradually. While awaiting with interest the
washed down stream (1957: 418; 1961; Evans and Meggers 1968: Fig. definitive version of their model, I will continue to be impressed by
68, 104-106). Duque's summary of the early colonial history of the Upper Magdalena
Basin, especially the region of San Augustin. From this account it is clear
I have tended to organize my data mainly in terms of a series of
that the inhabitants of the more elevated basins were constantly being
migratory waves emanating from the flood plain of the Middle and/
harassed and partially over-run by the Andaquies, a large group of
or Lower Amazon and moving outward along all available waterways
Tropical Forest Indians centered in the tropical lowlands on the Upper
in search of other ecologically similar flood plains (1962; 1968a; 1970:
Caquetá (Duque 1964: 19-23).
20-21). From the vantage point of the Upper Amazon where my work
has been centered these migrations seem to have been moving in an While Meggers and Evans are vague about the environmental and
upstream direction. My model of population movement is to a large cultural factors spawning migrations into the Amazon Basin, they are
degree compatible with ideas presented by such scholars as Tello consistent about the deleterious effects of the tropical forest on any group
(1943); Sauer (1952); and Nordenskiöld (1924), but in the sharpest con- unfortunate enough to enter it. In their view, cultural processes other
flict with the model expounded by Meggers and Evans, and reitera- them dissolution and decline are impossible within the tropical forest
ted by Hilbert (1968). (Evans and Meggers 1950: 7; 1968: 107-110; Meggers and Evans 1956;
1957; 1958; 1961; Meggers 1954; 1957a; 1957b); and their summary sta-
I am in complete sympathy with the complaint of Harner (1970:
tements on this alleged environmental limitation change little from one
67) that anthropologists have made insufficient use of the concept of
publication to the next. I quote their 1950 version:
population pressure as a basic factor underlying cultural evolution. I
would also argue that any model of population movement ultimately "The land flooded in winter and parched in summer, did not
must be validated in terms of the adequacy of the model of population permit the kind of agriculture needed to assure a constant food supply
growth which would necessitate the outward movements of people. I for the maintenance of such a highly developed culture. Fish in abun-
have indicated (1962; 1968; 1970: 45-67, 128-129, 160) how a combina- dance and a variety of small game were available, but to secure them
tion of efficient root crop agriculture practiced on the good to excellent required the expenditure of many more man-hours that are needed
soils of the flood plains of the Amazon and its tributaries and an effi- to produce an equal return from agriculture. With its new subsisten-
cient exploitation of the prodigious protein resources of these huge rivers ce pattern, the Marajoara culture gradually declined and the last rem-
provided a basis for rapid population growth. The extremely limited nants either moved away of were absorbed by the Aruã…" (Evans and
area of flood plain, as opposed to the vast areas of intervening Terra Meggers 1950: 7).
firma, meant that population pressures built up rapidly. Outward migra-
This is a pronouncement scarcely surpassed either in clarity or in
tion in search of other areas of flood plain, and continual conflict among
pathos by their later reiterations.
ethnic groups for the possession of that very scarce resource were the
logical result (Harner 1970). That the soils and faunal resources of the Though these sharply contrasting models of population movement
Terra firma, is a point emphasized by all professionally competent ultimately must be evaluated in terms of their demographic and eco-
scholars from Marbut and Manifold (1925; 1926) (Gilmore 1950) to logical plausibility, they can also be tested in terms of the dated dis-
Stemberg (1964; 1966) to Hilbert (1968: 14-15); there is not, "a rela- tribution of the cultural deposits of thé several constituent migrations.
16 Bosque tropical Lathrap 17

There is much disagreement among us as to which groupings of cera- 107). Palmatary, who over the years has demonstrated excellent scholar-
mic complexes can be taken as indicative of migration. It is only ship in handling the early chronicles, suggests otherwise and centers
with regard to the Napo and Marajoara materials that I find myself in this political unit of the confluence of the Napo and Aguarico, just the
total agreement with the congery of ceramic styles offered by Meggers area where Evans and Meggers worked (Palmatary 1965: 24). If one
and Evans as proof of a population movement. The stylistic and ico- re-examines the chronicles themselves, one finds that there are several
nographic similarities shared by the Napo Phase and the Marajoara reasons for preferring Palmatary's point of view.
phase at the Mouth of the Amazon are so close as to be explicable
The only shred of evidence favoring the Evans-Meggers interpre-
only in terms of a massive migration of people moving from one of
tation hinges on the identification of the tributary which Orellana's
the two areas into the other (Meggers and Evans 1958; Evans and Meg-
party encountered a short distance below the where the 2000 nails were
gers 1968: 104-107). On the basis of my work on the Central Ucayali
manufactured. Orellana attempted to ascend this tributary in order to
it is equally clear that the Caimito complex recovered from a num-
visit a particularly powerful political figure, but was prevented from
ber of sites in that region is almost identical to Napo and slightly less
doing so by its very swift current, its whirl-pools, and the massive log
closely related to Marajoara (Lathrap 1967; 1970: 145-151). I now
jam around its mouth (Heaton 1934: 179, 411-412). The reason Car-
wish to consider the various lines of evidence relating to the nature,
vajal mentions the river is not because it was a major geographic feature,
direction, and dating of the wave of migration connecting these three
but because of the party's failure to pay this important courtesy call
complexes.
(Heaton 1934: 411-412). It is clear from Carvajal's description that this
The possibility of identifying Napo and Caimito ceramics with par- tributary, entering the Napo from the South was in peak flood on
ticular ethnic or linguistic groups surviving into the historic times is of February 3 or 4 when Orellana tried to go up it. Evans and Meggers
the greatest significance. There are several approaches to the problem insist that this river must be the Río Curray (Heaton 1934: 179) an opi-
of ethnic identification. One can, for instance, note the basic congruence nion which they derive from Medina (Heaton 1934: 61). The reason
between the two pronged upstream migration of the closely related for this identification is that the Curray is by far the largest of the right
Napo and Caimito complexes and the two pronged upstream migration hand tributaries of the Napo, and is a huge river in its own right,
of the closely related Omagua and Cocama, the first going up the Na- with a watershed nearly as large as that of the Napo. But Carvajal is
po and the second up the Ucayali. One could observe, as Bischoff quite specific that the river he is describing is not large, "no muy
has recently done, that the localities involved in the 17th and 18th grande", (Medina 1942: 8) and was narrow; the logs and canoes were
century peregrinations of the Onagua-yeté have a remarkably familiar buffeted back and forth from one bank to the other (Medina 1942:
ring to anyone cogniscent of the distribution of Napo phase sites (Bis- 9). The Curray is 300 meters wide at its mouth (Faura Gaig 1964:
choff 1970: 123). These comparisons are made easy by Oberem's re- 410). Furthermore it is next to impossible that the Curray could have
cent compilation of sources on the Omagua of the Río Napa (1968), been in full flood during the first couple of days of February, since its
in which such local s as the Río Aguarico and the Río Tiputini keep period of lowest water extends from December through January (Fau-
popping up with great frequency and there are mentions of occasional ra Gaig 1964: 411). The smaller right hand tributaries such as the Ti-
spillages onto the Putumayo. Or one can, as I have recently done putini and Yasuní, with their modest sized watershed, would rise far
(Lathrap 1970: 151-154), show a complete stylistic and iconographic more rapidly in response to the onset of heavy rainfall or even to a
continuity from the Napo-Caimito style to the style of the fully histo- single isolated thunderstorm, There is yet another middling sized right
ric or even recent Cocama. All of these lines of reasoning take time to hand tributary about half way downstream between the Yasuní and
develop, but all leave one with the strong conviction that the Napo the Curray. It is my opinion that the characteristics of the river des-
and Caimito are the leavings of the Omagua and Cocama. cribed by Carvajal make the Curray the least likely candidate of all
the right hand tributaries of the Napo.
An even more direct approach is possible. One can reopen the
question of the historical identification of the Napo phase sites excava- All other lines of reasoning suggest that the kingdom of Aparia the
ted by Evans and Meggers. Evans and Meggers in their interpretation Lesser, though it was extensive (Heaton 1934: 411), centered more or
of the Carvajal chronicle assume that the state, kingdom, confederacy, less on the region around the mouth of the Aguarico. Orellana's party
or what you will of Aparia the Lesser was well down stream from the separated from Pizarro on December 26 at some point well up the
Ecuador-Peru border and that the zone where they worked was unin- Río Coca (Heaton 1934: 407): three days later they reached the mouth
habited at the time when Orellana and his party went by (1968: 106- of the Coca at which point there was a lengthy palaver as to what to
18 Bosque tropical Lathrap 19

do next (Heaton 1934: 408). Raving decided to proceed downstream, Adding the available C 14 dates we can achieve an even clearer
they were picked up on the early warning system, two toned signal picture of this massive demographic phenomena. The kingdom of
gongs, of the kingdom of Aparia the Lesser on January 1,1542, sugges- Aparia the Greater was established after A. D. 800 (based on a pre-
ting that three days after leaving the mouth of the Coca they were Omagua date from Cushillococha, A. D. 800 ± 110 [N-311], Harris
already within the boundaries maintained by that political unit (Hea- 1967), but well before A. D. 110. By A. D. 110 population pressures had
ton 1934: 409). Very early on January 3 they reached a major settle- become so extreme that a daughter colony was established well up the
ment of the kingdom of Aparia the Lesser (Heaton 1934: 173, 409). Napo. This state, the kingdom of Aparia the Lesser, was fIourishing by
This means that this part of the trip on the Napo took just over 5 days. A. D. 1150 and continued to prosper and expand until the visit of
If one uses half the length of the Río Coca as the modular unit for a Orellana. It did not wither away under the baleful influence of the tro-
three day trip, the five day journey would bring them just about to pical forest. Later than 1100 but well before A. D. 1500, the population
Tiputini, at the center of the archaeological activities of Evans and pressures in the kingdom of Aparia became so intense that it, in turn,
Meggers. established the daughter colony which Gonzalo Pizarro found on the
Río Coca.
The next leg of the journey to the junction of the Napo with the
Amazon took 10 days steady traveling, February 2 through February 12 On linguistic grounds alone it is clear that the migration which
with one day out for resting (Heaton 1934: 413-414). The Spaniards brought the closely related Cocama-Omagua languages to the Upper
perceived the distance from the middle Coca to the area where they Amazon originated far downstream in the Amazon Basin. All of the
passed the month of January as 150 leagues (Medina 1942: 8). They other closely related Tupí-Guaranían languages occur in the Central to
perceived the distance from the place where they made the 2000 Lower Amazon Basin or far to the South and East along the Brazilian
nails to a town well above the junction with the Amazon as 200 Coast in the Paraná Basin (Rodriguez, 1958)
leagues (Medina 1942: 9). All of these data indicated that the Ore- All of the above considerations lead one to the conclusion that if
llana party felt that the Kingdom of Aparia the Lesser centered Marajoara and Napo-Caimito do in fact stand in a close historical rela-
about one third of the distance from the mouth of the Coca to the tionship and are part of the same tradition, then Marajoara or some-
juncture with the Amazon. The cluster of settlements from which thing very like it must be ancestral to Napo-Caimíto rather than the
the Orellana party drew its sustenance from January 3 to Februa- reverse. The cluster of dates on Napo ranges from A. D. 1168 to A. D.
ry 2 was centered somewhere close to the mouth of the Aguarico and 1480 (A. D. 1168 ± 53 [P-347], A. D. 1179 ± 53 [P-269], A. D.
well could have included some of the sites examined by Evans and 1480 ± 180 [SI-299], Evans and Meggers 1968: 81). The two dates on
Meggers. Caimito are in the 14th century (A. D. 1320 ± 60 [Y-1544], A. D.
1375 ± 105 [N-310], Lathrap 1970: 145); but all of the above reason-
If we accept that the cluster of Napo phase archaeological sites
ning indicates that the culture ancestral to Napo and Caimito must ha-
around the mouth of the Aguarico are the leavings of the kingdom of
ve been at the confluence of the Río Napo and the Río Amazon by
Aparia the Lesser, it is very easy to coordinate the archaeological data
A. D. 1000. If Marajoara or a closely related culture at, or near, the
with the picture of population movement described in all of the ethno-
mouth of the Amazon does not predate A. D. 100 by a considerable
historical sources summarized by Oberem (1968: 158: 160-161). Ac-
margin then there must be serious flaws in the above argument. In
cording to their own traditional histories, the Omagua were consistent
spite of Meggers and Evans repeated affirmations that the Marajoara
in claiming to have moved up the Napo, the Kíngdom of Aparia the
phase was of recent date and short duration (Evans and Meggers 1950;
Greater on the Amazon near the mouth of the Napo giving rise to the
Meggers and Evans 1957: 422). 1 have long suspected that it was both
kingdom of Aparia the Lesser through a process of fission and ups-
relatively ancient and of long duration. The three recently published
tream migration, and the kingdom of Aparía the Lesser later calving
dates on Marajoara ranging from A. D. 480 to A. D. 690 (A. D. 480 ±
off the large and vigorous Omagua state on the' middle Coca encoun-
200 [SI-386], [SI-387], A. D. 690 ± 200 [SI-199], PRONAPA 1970: 19)
tered by Pizarro and Orellana, It is clear that an three groups spoke
admirably confirm my supposition, and 1 understand that there is a
the same language; since Orellana having picked up a command of
fourth date, SI-201, which would push the beginnings of Marajoara even
basic Omagua during the long stay on the middle Coca, was able to
further back in time. Thus all available data, historical, ethnographic,
communicate adequately with the people of both the larger downs-
linguistic, archaeological, hydrographic, and radiocarbon assays support
tream states (Heaton 1934: 415-416).
the hypothesis that it was an upstream migration which explains the
20 Bosque tropical Lathrap 21

obvious similarities between the Napo and Caimito styles on the one DENEVAN, W. M.
hand and Marajoara on the other; a wave of migration which left the 1966a The Aboriginal Cultural Geography of the Llanos de Mojos of Bolivia.
Ibero-Americana, N° 48. Berkeley.
Lower Amazon well before A. D. 1000 and which was still pushing 1966b A Cultural-Ecological View of the Former Aboriginal Settlement in the
against the peoples of the Andean foothills when Gonzalo Pizarro arri- Amazon Basin. The Professional Geographer, Vol. XVIII, N° 6. pp. 346-
ved in 154l. 351.

I have placed myself in the position of having to explain such a EVANS, Clifford, Jr. and Betty J. MEGGERS
1950 Preliminary Results of Archaeological Investigations at the mouth of the
violent population explosion in terms of a reasonable relationship bet- Amazon. American Antiquity, Vol. 16, N° 1, pp. 1-9. Menasha.
ween economic system and ecological setting. A full explanation must 1968 Archaeological Investigations on the Río Napo, Eastern Ecuador. Smith-
wait on more detailed archaeological and ecological studies of Marajó, sonian Contributions to Anthropology, Vol. 6. Washington, D. C.
but there are interesting hints in the available literature. While consis- FAURA GAIG, Guillermo S.
tently denying the agricultural potential of the annually flooded grass- 1964 Los Ríos de la Amazonía Peruana, El Centro de Estudios Histórico-Mili-
lands which cover so much of Marajó (Evans and Meggers 1950: 7; tares del Perú, Lima.
Meggers and Evans 1957: 411, 424), Meggers and Evans have also no- GILMORE, Raymond M.
ted that the distribution of Marajoara sites suggests a strong pre- 1950 Fauna and Ethnozoology of South America. In Steward, Julian H., ed.,
ference for the grassland environment rather than the gallery forest Handbook of South Americans Indians, Vol. 6, Physical Anthropology, Lin-
guistics and Cultural Geography of South American Indians. Bureau of
favored by the earlier Tropical Forest peoples (Meggers and Evans 1956: American Ethnology, Bulletin 143, pp. 345-464. Washington D. C.
162; 1957: 406). Meggers and Evans attempt to explain this pattern in
HARNER, Michael J.
terms of aesthetic preference (Meggers and Evans 1956: 162), but I 1970 Population Pressure and the Social Evolution of Agriculturalists. South-
would prefer an economically rational explanation. western Journal of Anthropology, Vol. 26, N° 1, pp. 67-86, Albuquerque.
Working in the Llanos de Mojos Denevan has demonstrated that HARRIS, Joanne Magalis
the Tropical Forest Indians were perfectly capable of adapting their 1967 The Ceramic Sequence at Cushillococha. Ms. Masters Thesis, University of
Illinois, Urbana.
agricultural system to annually flooding grassland ecologically identi-
cal to those of Marajó (Denevan 1966a, 1966b, Parsons and Denevan HEATON, H. C. ed.
1934 The Discovery of the Amazon. According to the Account of Friar Gas-
1967). Such adaptations were labor intensive, but once established such par de Carvajal and other documents. American Geographical Society.
systems were highly productive. I would argue that because the inha- New York.
bitants of Marajó were able to adapt the Tropical Forest system of HILBERT, Peter Paul
agriculture to the challenging conditions offered by the annually floo- 1968 Archäologische Untersuchungen am Mittleren Amazonas. Marburger
ding grasslands, they were able to maintain their brilliant and aestheti- Studien zur Volkerkunde, N° 1, Dietrich Reimer, Berlín.
cally complex art style over a long period of time; because the Mara- LATHRAP, Donald W.
joarans were so successful as agronomists, their populations rapidly in- 1958 The Cultural Sequence at Yarinacocha, Eastern Peru, American Anti-
creased and ultimately exceeded the carrying capacity of Marajó; be- quity, Vol. 23, N° 4,pp. 379-388. Salt Lake Cíty.
cause their agricultural system was labor intensive and required some 1962 Yarinacocha: Stratigraphic Excavations in the Peruvian Montaña. Ms. doc-
toral dissertation, Harvard University, Cambridge, (available on micro-
overall planning, complex patterns of social, political, and military orga- film).
nization developed which permitted the ever more numerous descen- 1963 Los Andes Centrales y la Montaña. Revista del Museo Nacional, Vol. 32,
dants to overrun much of lowland South America in the period from pp. 197-202. Lima.
A. D. 500 to A. D. 1540. 1965 Origins of Central Andean Civilization: New Evidence. (Review of An-
des 2 by Izumi and Sono). Science, Vol. 148, N° 3671, pp. 796-798. Wash-
ington, D. C.
1967 Report on the Continuing Program of Research on the Culture History
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22 Bosque tropical Lathrap 23

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blioteca Nacional, Bogotá. 1958 Classification of Tupí-Guaraní. International Journal of American Lin-
MEGGERS, Betty J. guistics, Vol. XXIV, N° 3, pp. 231-234. Baltimore.
1954 Environmental Limitation on the Development of Culture. American An- SAUER, Carl O.
thropologist, Vol. 56, pp. 801-824. Menasha.
1952 Agricultural Origins and Dispersals. American Geographical Society. New
1957a Environment and Culture in the Amazon Basin: An Appraisal of the Theo-
York.
ry of Environmental Determinism. in Studies in Human Ecology. The
Pan American Union, Washington D. C. STERNBERG, Hilgard O'Reily
1957b Environmental limitation on Maya culture: a reply to Coe, American An- 1964 Land and Man in the Tropics. In Economic and Political Trends in Latin
thropologist, Vol. 59, N° 5, pp. 888-890. America. Proceedings of the Academy of Political Science, May 9, 1964.
New York.
MEGGERS, Betty J. and Clifford EVANS, Jr.
1966 Die Viehzuchtim Careiro-Cambixegebiet ein Beitrag zur Kulturgeogra-
1956 The Reconstruction of Settlement Pattern in the South American Tropi- phie der Amazonasniederung. In Heidelberger Geographische Arbeiten,
cal Forest. In Willey, Gordon R., Prehistoric Settlement Patterns in the Heft 15 (Festgabe für Gottfried Pfeifer) pp. 171-197. Wiesbaden.
New World, Viking Fund, Publications in Anthropology, N° 23, pp. 156-
164. New York. STEWARD, Julian H.
1957 Archaeological Investigations at the Mouth of the Amazon. Bureau of Ame- 1948a Tribes of the Montaña. In Steward, Julian H., ed., Handbook of South
rican Ethnology, Bulletin 167. Washington, D. C. American Indians, Vol. 3, The Tropical Forest Tribes, Bureau of Ame-
1958 Archaeological Evidence for a Prehistoric Migration from the Rio Napo rican Ethnology, Bulletin 143, pp. 507-534. Washington, D. C.
to the Mouth of the Amazon. In, Thompson, Raymond H., Migrations in
New World Culture. Social Science Bulletin 27, pp. 9-19. University
of Arizona Press, Tucson.
1961 An Experimental Formulation of Horizon Styles in the Tropical Forest
Area of South America. Essay 27, In Essays in Pre-Columbiam Art and
Archaeology, pp. 372-388, by Samuel K. Lothrop and others. Harvard
University Press, Cambridge.
METRAUX, Alfred
1948a The Tupinamba. In Steward, Julian H., ed., Handbook of South Ame-
rican Indians, Vol. 3, The Tropical Forest Tribes, Bureau of American
Ethnology, Bulletin 143, pp. 95-133. Washington, D. C.
1948b Tribes of the Eastern Slopes of the Bolivian Andes. In Steward, Julian
H., Ed., Handbook of South American Indians, Vol. 3, The Tropical Fo-
rest Tribes, Bureau of American Ethnology, Bulletin 143, pp. 465-506.
Washington, D. C.
1948c Tribes of the Middle and Upper Amazon River. In Steward, Julian H., ed.,
Handbook of South American Indians, Vol. 3, The Tropical Forest
Tribes, Bureau of American Ethnology, Bulletin 143, pp. 687-712. Wash-
ington, D. C.
NOBLE, G. Kingsley
1965 Proto-Arawakan and its Descendants. Indiana University Publication
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NORDENSKIOLD, Erland
1924 The Ethnography of South America Seen from Mojos in Bolivia. Com-
parative Ethnographical Studies, 3. Göteborg.
SARAYACU:
ARCHAEOLOGICAL INVESTIGATIONS
AT A 19TH CENTURY FRANCISCAN MISSION
IN THE PERUVIAN MONTAÑA

Thomas P. MYERS

The task of relating modern peoples to the historic and prehisto-

ric past has been largely the province of the cultural anthropologist and
of the ethnohistorian who deal with the spoken or written word. No
doubt, this is largely due to the wealth of detail that can be derived
from these sources, but which can never be obtained from the ar-
chaeological record. As a result, the archaeology of modern peoples and
their immediate ancestors has been largely neglected in spite of obvious
continuities from the prehistoric period. To be sure, archaeologists have
used historic and ethnographic resources to develop fairly detailed ana-
logies which shed considerable light on the scattered evidence of
prehistory, but the theoretical potential of the archaeology of modern or
historic peoples has been largely neglected. Seemingly important arch-
aeological distinctions may mean little or nothing to the people who
make the artifacts. The latter point was brought sharply to our atten-
tion by Gertrude Dole at the recent Symposium on Panoan Linguistics
and Ceramics held in Mexico City in May, 1970.
The cultural anthropologist can also use archaeological evidence to
account for the seeming anomalies that he finds in the social organiza-
tion of modern people, Traditional histories are of some help, but they
have limited time depth and are notoriously unreliable in their treat-
ment of historic facts although such treatment may be of great sociolo-
gical significance. Ethnographic and linguistic distributions and recons-
tructions are also of some help, but as yet no one has developed an
acceptable means of dating the developments that are suggested by
such sources. Of course, numerous other problems are also raised by
such distributional studies. Only the archaeologist deals directly with
materials which are from the past and which can be dated within fairly
narrow limits.
26 Bosque tropical Myers 27

In the Peruvian montaña there are still a number of tribes that li- After staying for two days in the Pano village, later called Uxiaba-
ve in a traditional fashion and continue to produce ceramics which are tay, Girbal was guided up the Ucayali by the Panos their second villa-
derived from indigenous rather than Spanish sources. There is also ge at Sarayacu, which was also somewhat removed from the mains-
an ample, and ever expanding, prehistoric record that reaches back so- tream. At Sarayacu, Girbal found that the Pano, and some Conibo who
me 4000 years. The problem is to link the past with the present. My lived nearby, were eager to have a mission. Having accomplished the
excavations at Sarayacu in 1964 have produced the first archaeological purpose of this journey, Girbal was eager to return to Laguna by the
data for the historic period, but only for the nineteenth century, and quickest possible route. Since the Pano assured him that they knew an
only for some tribes. However, in the Franciscan and Jesuit accounts overland route to the Huallaga, he sent the Omagua back to their
numerous other missions are mentioned, as well as their ethnic composi- village and, accompanied by a group of Panos and Conibos, set off for
tion at various periods. When these are located, excavated and analy- the Rio Manoa (or Cuxibatay) which they ascended for several days,
zed we may expect to be able to trace the past of the modern mon- passing various Pano villages on the way. The last Pano village on the
taña tribes well into prehistory. Manoa had been the site of an earlier Franciscan mission where the
missionaries had been killed by the Shipibo in 1767. However, Girbal
Ethnohistoric sketch of Sarayacu was unable to find a trace of that ill-fated mission (Ibid: 154).
But the Panos could not find their way from the headwaters of
The mission at Sarayacu was founded in 1791 by Fr. Narciso Girbal
the Manoa to a tributary of the Huallaga. Instead, after several days in
y Barcelo who reopened the Ucayali to the Franciscans after it had
the forest, and a few more on the river, they found themselves back
been abandoned with the martyrdom of 14 missionaries at the hands
on the Rio Manoa. As a result, Girbal was forced to retrace his steps
of the Shipibo in 1767 (Izaguirre VIII: 104; 144).
down the Ucayali, up the Marañon, and up the Huallaga to Laguna
Girbal left Laguna, the former Jesuit mission now in the hands of where he arrived on December 11, 1790 (Ibid: 178).
the Franciscans, on August 30, 1790, accompanied by a group of Coca-
This travelogue has several important demographic implications. In
ma who were the principle inhabitants of that mission. The party pro-
the first place, the lower Ucayali which had formerly been the province
ceeded down the Huallaga to the Marañon where they stopped at San Re-
of the Cocama was no longer inhabited. The Cocama who had moved
gis, then at Omaguas which was downstrean from the mouth of the Uca-
to Laguna retained no memory of the Ucayali; and those who occupied
yali. At Omaguas, Girbal released his Cocama in favor of a group of
the headwaters of the Rio Tapiche were afraid to venture downstream.
Omagua who were familiar with the lower Ucayali. They ascended
Further, the Omagua who had formerly been great river pirates, had
the river to the mouth of the Río Tapiche in four days. During this
been reduced to impotence by the late 18th century. A short distance
time, they saw evidence of human habitation only once, when they
up the Ucayali, they were in fear for their lives.
stopped on a sand bar where a group of Conibo had camped a few
days before. Beyond the Tapiche, the Omagua were in unknown and Meanwhile, the Shetebo lived on the smaller tributaries to the
dangerous territory controlled by the unpredictable and ever dangerous west of the Ucayali. They were still a riverine people, but not powerful
Conibo whose principie territory was said to be around the mouth of enough to control the mainstream; and although they remembered a
the Rio Pachitea. land route to the Huallaga, probably developed by the Franciscans,
they did not know it themselves.
Above the Río Tapiche, Girbal notes scattered human habitations
with increasing frequency, but fails to note what tribes might have re- Likewise, the Shipibo occupied territories to the west of the Ucaya-
sided in this area. After a week, they encountered some Conibo who li, principally the Aguaitia and the Pisqui, south of the Shetebo, and
were traveling to Omaguas where they hoped to trade for some tools. were not a factor on the mainstream until the late 19th or early 20th
There was a cautious but friendly encounter before the Conibo conti- century.
nued downstream, accompanied by their Mayoruna, Amahuaca and Shi-
The next year, Girbal, two other Franciscans and a lay brother
pibo slaves (Izaguirre VIII: 129-133). Finally, after two weeks of trave-
returned to the Ucayali: where they established the mission of Sara-
ling through unknown territory aboye the Tapiche, Girbal encountered a
yacu in November of 1971. The inhabitants of the mission were princi-
band of Panos (Setebos) who lived on a lake near the mouth of the
pally Conibos and Panos of which there were some 800 in the mission
Santa Catalina River, somewhat removed from the Ucayali where they
itself, and many more in the surrounding area, as well as some Piros
were protected from their enemies (Ibid: 139).
and Remos (Izaguirre VIII: 225).
28 Bosque tropical Myers 29

The mission was eminently successful in its early days. The missio- Herndon (1854: 201-204) and Raimondi (1942: 344) agree that in
naries quickly ran through the supplies that they had brought with the 1840's and 1850's, the mission was still principally for the Pano, but
them, and Girbal estimated that for the following year (1793) he that the Omagua and Yameo were also important. Raimondi adds that
would need: smaller numbers of Shipibo, Conibo and Amahuaca were also present,
as well as some Shetebo who are usually identified with the Pano
400 axes
tribe. The presence of the Omagua and Yameo at this time is probably
600 machetes a reflection of the increasing commercialization and exploitation of the
2000 knives Amazon tribes who did their best to escape it.
1000 penknives (navajas corvas)
500 rosaries (eslabones) In 1863, Peruvianization was reaching toward Sarayacu, and the In-
dians seemed to feel that their friars were powerless to protect them
3000 brass crosses
from the threat. Therefore, the Franciscans reluctantly moved their
1000 varas of cloth to dress the naked
headquarters to the Galleria colony near the mouth of the river of the
4 gross of scissors name, leaving Sarayacu to the Pano who formed the largest and heal-
2 gross of rings thiest part of the mission (Izaguirre IX: 259-260).
4 hundred weight of iron
1 box of glass beads When I visited Sarayacu in 1964, there was a mestizo community
on the site; and back in the woods I was shown the limestone foun-
2 jugs of wine
dations of the ancient mission. The people were said to be Cocama,
paint for the cross and chapel (Izaguirre VIII: 228)
but they did not admit their tribal affiliation although one man was
The natives had learned that Christianity had something to offer. very proud of the fact that he spoke "Quechua". They also had one of
the bells from the chapel suspended in front of the public house.
But the Conibo were not long content to reside with the Panos. So,
When I left, they asked me to tell the Franciscans that they hoped
a few years later they moved their settlement to the Ucayali near the
that a missionary would soon be able to visit. I passed on the word,
mouth of the Río Sarayacu where some 315 families gathered. At the
but received no promises.
same time, Sarayacu contained 645 families of Panos, including a few of
other nations. The problem which confronts the archaeologist is to segregate the
archaeological remains according to the tribe which made them. By
The Franciscan missionization effort continued to prosper in the
sheer bulk, it would seem reasonable that most of the materials should
early nineteenth century. Many new missions were founded on the
be Pano, but there is no single group of materials that is sufficiently
central Ucayali for a number of tribes, some of which had to move
dominant to be readily identified in this fashion.
considerable distances to be served. For example, the location of the
former Piro mission is still indicated by the lake which bears their na-
me (Pirococha), between Orellana and Contamana. However, during the
The Mission Period Pottery at Sarayacu
early Republican period the Franciscans lost much of their support
from abroad, As a result, most of the missions were closed, and Sara-
The majority of the mission period pottery at Sarayacu may be
yacu itself was staffed by a single missionary who was left largely to
divided into three wares on the basis of thickness and paste characte-
his own devices. He even had to organize the production of Sarayacu
ristics. Among the Shipibo-Conibo who now inhabit the central Ucayali,
so that it would produce goods that could be traded to the Portugue-
these ware distinctions correspond to intended use for cooking, serving
se for tools, food, cloth and other products required by the mission.
or storing liquid. Like the wares of the modem tribes, each of the
Throughout this period, Sarayacu continued to be principally a mis- wares at Sarayacu is tempered with cariape, the silicous ash of certain
sion for the Pano tribe although a few others were always present. kinds of bark, and with finely ground sherd temper which is usually
In 1835, it was reported that there were a number of Sensis and Coni- almost invisible in both mission and modem ceramics. However, the
bos in addition to the Pano; but there were also small numbers of Re- wares may be distinguished by the fineness with which the temper was
mo, Capanahua, Campa, Puinahua and a rare Cashibo-all these had ground, by surface finish, and by modal thickness. For the most part,
been slaves, purchased by the missionaries (Izaguirre IX: 87). there is little confusion among them.
30 Bosque tropical

Culinay Ware:

The cooking vessels at Sarayacu have a modal thickness of 7.5

mm. Temper is the least finely ground of any of the wares so that
chunks of bark several milimeters across can often be seen. Sherd tem-
per fragments are often clearly visible as well. None of the cooking
vessels bear painted decoration, but plastic decoration is common. Four
basic vessel forms can be identified.
I. The most common vessel form is a restricted mouth vessel
with an everted rim. On most examples, short vertical incisions have
been cut across the lip. These vary in thickness from rather thin lines
which might have been made by a finger nail to gouges removed by
the tip of the finger, while the clay was still wet. Still other such in-
cisions appear to have been made with a thin stick. Decoration of the
upper vessel wall is rare. When it occurs, it is simply overlapping coil
decoration such as might result from an imperfect smoothing of the
vessel surface. On a single example, the overlapping coil marks were
sharp and the highest point had been cross-incised with a sharpened
stick.
Below the mouth of the vessel, two upper wall variations can be
identified on large sherds: a) a straight wall which slopes outward a
distinct shoulder which may also be marked with short vertical inci-
sions, and b) a convex wall with no marked shoulder angle. The
modal mouth diameter of Culinary Form Ia is 31 cm.; that of Form Ib
is 34 cm. The mean mouth diameter for Form la is 32 cm.; and for
Form Ib, 30 cm.
II. The other common culinary form at Sarayacu is a restricted
mouth globular vessel with a direct rim. For the most part, the vessel
lips are not embellished, but a very few had short vertical incisions cut
across the lip, However, many rims of this form do have some sort of
corrugated decoration, either as thumb impressions on an exteriorly
thickened rim, or as a band of corrugation a short distance below the
rim, but never below the point of maximum diameter. Mouth diame-
ters range from 24 cm. to 54 cm. with 35 cm. and a mean of 36 cm. It
may be that rim nicks on the direct rim vessels and corrugated de-
coration on the everted rim vessels are indicative of acculturation that
was taking place at the mission.
III. The third form of cooking vessel is much less common than
either of the other two. Like Form I, it has an everted rim often
marked with short vertical incisions, but Form III is an open bowl.
Mouth diameters of four examples range from 30 cm. to 44 cm.
IV. The fourth form of cooking vessel is known from a single
example. It is a broad necked vessel with an everted rim with Shi-
32 Bosque tropical Myers 33

pibo fine-line incised decoration on the neck, the earliest evidence that has probably been removed by leaching. Few, if any, modern tribes
we have of Shipibo designs. in the area make very many red slip bowls without overpaint. Certain-
ly the Setebo tipically apply white painted decoration over the red
Liquid Storage Ware: slip, as do other Ucayali tribes such as the Shipibo. But, when Lathrap
excavated at the modern Shipibo village of San Francisco de Yarinaco-
Pottery created to store liquids at Sarayacu tends to have a much cha, he found little evidence of white-on red painted decoration (La-
finer paste than that intended for cooking, although the walls of the thrap 1962). The white overpaint simply disappeared within a few
vessel may well have been as thick if it was very large. Further, li- years of manufacture. No doubt, this was also the case with Sarayacu
quid storage jugs were always painted. Like culinary Form I, the rims red slip pottery.
of the liquid storage jugs were always everted, with extreme examples Red slip bowls most frequently are unrestricted with mouth dia-
being close to horizontal. Like Culinary Form Ia, the upper walls of meters that range from 18 to 28 cm., with a mode of 24 cm. For the
these vessels sloped down and out from the mouth of the vessel, but most part, walls are slightly convex and there is usually a step shoul-
instead of a marked shoulder angle, the point of maximum diameter der just above the base. Straight side walls are a rare alternative.
was marked by a short radius curve, after which the lower walls sloped Interiors are usually an unslipped buff, but other are smoked, red slip-
quickly to a narrow flat base. Sometimes these lower walls were mar- ped or white slipped. Rounded lips are most common, but flat lips are
ked by a step shoulder. Although there was some variation in form, also known.
there appears to have been a single standard. However, at least two
Closed bowls also have convex side walls, and probably a step
major decorative variations are found. These appear to correspond to
shoulder just above the base. Mouth diameters range from 20 cm. to
differences in mouth diameter.
26 cm. Interiors are usually unslipped, but red slip and white slipped
I. Red slip rim; red slip neck. Mouth diameters range from 12 to interiors are also known. Both rounded and flattened lips occur.
18 cm. with a mean at 15 cm. There is no evidence of overpaint, and White slip bowls seem to have about the same range of form and
the workmanship appears to have been somewhat cruder than that of size variatíon as those with red slips. Step shoulders are also common
the other. but not universal on both. But, in addition to the two basic forms
II. Red slip rim; white slip neck. Mouth diameters range from 16 discussed for the red slip bowls, there is also a white slipped form with
to 34 cm. with a mean at 24 cm. Below the neck, the body of the ves- a broad channel rim which appears frequently enough to be considered
sel was red slipped, a cover which sometimes extended all the way to part of the basic form vocabulary at Sarayacu.
the base of the vessel. In other cases, there was another band of white
slip decoration at the base of the vessel. In one instance, there is evi- For some reason, paint seems to have stuck better on the white slip
dence of decorative painting in red and black over white slip neck towls than on those with red slips. Therefore, when the designs are
(Fig. 1). The painting is in the same style as that designated as sub- fully reconstructed and analyzed it should be possible to say a good
style A on the service wares. deal about the styles of painted decoration present at Sarayacu. Further,
it should be possible to assign these styles to particular tribes with so-
Service Wares: me degree of confidence.
On a low level, a distinction can be made between Red-on-White
The service wares, for eating or drinking, are readily divisible into bichromes from Black and Red-on-White polychromes. Interestingly,
red-slipped wares and white-slipped wares, each with a number of design motifs and modal thicknesses seem to follow this elementary
form variations which largely overlap one another. In each, the paste distinction.
tends to be finer than that of either the culinary ware or liquid stora- The bichromes have a circumferential band of red painted deco-
ge ware, and greater care was taken with the surface finish. But, as in ration at the rim and at the base. Between these bands, the de-
any community, some potters were less careful than others so some signs have a vertical orientation. Lines vary in width from 4 to 7 mm.,
examples do have poorly smoothed surfaces and poorly ground temper. sometimes combined in a single panel in which case the narrower li-
Vessels with red-slipped exterior surfaces seem to be less com- nes are subsidiary to the broader ones. However, none of the lines ap-
mon than those with white slips. To date, white-on-red decoration has proach the narrowness of the fine lines in the polychrome styles. Both
been identified on only one sherd, but the decoration on other vessels red slip and natural buff interiors are found.
34 Bosque tropical Myers 35

Several styles of polychrome painting can be distinguished. A first Europe and in the United States that have not been described. Also, new
level distinction can be made between those which contrast broad li- pottery can still be collected from many montaña tribes, and it would
ne painting with fine painting, and those which employ only the fine be useful to have comparative material from Brazil, Colombia and
lines. Ecuador.
The several substyles of the first group have a number of characte- However, the ceramics of Sarayacu do have a number of similarities
ristics in common. The top of the lip has a red slip. A short distance to modern products with which I am familiar and also with archaeo-
below the lip there is a broad circumferential line of black or dark logical pottery from the Ucayali, the Peruvian Amazon and the Rio
brown paint, which is followed by a narrow circumferential line of the Napo, Ecuador. Since it is not yet possible to associate portions of the
same color. This pattern appears to be standard. At the base, the wares with particular tribes, it will be necessary to consider the stylistic
pattern is reversed. The base itself is red, followed by a broad circum- relationships of each ware independently.
ferential line of black to dark brown paint, then a narrow line. Bet-
Basically, there were two principle forms of undecorated vessel,
ween these mirror image bands there are at least three major stylistic
probably in tended for cooking: the everted rim vessel and the direct
modes: a) a combination of vertical and horizontal lines, b) diagonal
rim vessel. Both of these vessel types could be direct developments
lines, plus vertical and horizontal lines, combined with a good deal of
of Ucayali prehistory. The everted rim form appears first in the Nue-
unfilled space; and c) curvilinear lines which appear to form panels bet-
va Esperanza Phase at Yarinacocha, dated to 770 ± 105 A. D. (N-312),
ween the narrow circumferential lines.
but it was almost universal in the succeeding Cumancaya Phase for which
The fine line style alone is found on only a few sherds, and on a there is a date of 810 ± 80 A. D. (Y-1545). Prior to the Nueva Espe-
vessel which is one-half complete. Like the previous style, there is a ranza Phase, direct rims had been almost universal on cooking vessels
band of red slipped decoration at the lip, but in this case it also ex- (Myers 1970).
tends slightly down the side of the vessel. The red line is followed
Corrugated decoration also has a respectable antiquity on the Uca-
by a narrow circumferential line of black to dark brown paint, then by
yali, beginning with a band of corrugated decoration at or near the rim
another .. The base of the vessel is not red slipped, but just above the
of direct rimmed vessels in the late Cashibocaño Phase. Later, in the
base there is a narrow circumferential line, followed by another one.
Nueva Esperanza Phase, corrugation was extended all over the exterior
Between the second circumferential lines at the base and at the rim is
of the vessel, and this pattern continued through the middle Cuman-
a broad band of rectilinear painted decoration. On the half vessel,
caya Phase when it was associated with everted rim vessels. In the late
there appear to have been four vertical panels around the vessel, alter-
Cumancaya Phase, corrugated decoration appears to have been
nating black fine line designs with red and black fine line designs,
banded, and so it is today on a minority of the Shipibo cuntí. But, at
the black designs being subsidiary to the red ones, the black panels are
Sarayacu, corrugated decoration was almost never associated with ever-
composed of short diagonal lines, the red and black panel of vertical
ted rim vessels although it is commonly found on direct rimmed ones.
and horizontal lines is similar to the sherd illustrated in Figure 3.
Rim nicks are occasionally found on the everted rims of the Cuman-
The above descriptions do not exhaust the ceramic variations at Sa- caya Phase; they are almost universal at Sarayacu on vessels of this form,
rayacu, but they do cover the vast majority of the sherds. There are but almost never are they found on direct rimmed vessels. They are
also rather crude bowls, similar to those made by the modem Iscona- also common on Shipibo cooking vessels which have everted rims.
hua, and a water jug that bears little resemblance to those made by
Everted rim vessels are also reported from the Rio Napo, Ecua-
tribal peoples on the Ucayali. Since many of these sherds came from
dor for the Tivacundo Phase and for the Cotacocha Phase. Curiously,
surface collections, it is possible that this piece is a product of mestizoized
they are not important in the Napo Phase, except as "trade" items
modern potters of Sarayacu.
(Evans and Meggers 1968: 78). Again, such rims are found in the
Cushillococha Phase on the Peruvian Amazon (Harris 1967). Corruga-
tion is not found on the Rio Napo, except on trade sherds of the Napo
Comparisons and Conclusions
Phase, but corrugation was a rare variant of decoration in the Cushillo-
cocha Phase.
Although it is not yet possible to identify the pottery styles of Sa-
rayacu with those of any particular modem tribe, future research may On the other hand, Ucayali prehistory produces no evidence of simi-
enable us to do so. There are many ethnographic pottery collections in lar polychrome painted decoration until the Caimito Complex which is
36 Bosque tropical Myers 37

closely related to the Napo Phase and to other members of the Poly- HERNDON, William Lewis
chrome Tradition. While there are a number of significant similarities 1854 Exploration of the Valley of the Amazon, Vol. 1, Washington.
between the products of the Polychrome Tradition and the polychro- IZAGUIRRE, R. P. Bernardino
mes at Sarayacu, notably in the contrast of broad lines with narrow lines, 1922 Historia de las Misiones Franciscanas y Narración de los Progresos de la
there are a number of differences as well. In part, these differences Geografía en el Oriente del Perú, 1619-1921, (14 volumes), Lima.
might be attributable to the differences in the zone decorated. Most of LATHRAP, Donald W.
the polychrome decorations of the Napo Phase are applied to the surfaces 1962 Yarinacocha: Stratigraphic Excavations in the Peruvian Montaña. Ph. D.
of large urns, whereas in the Sarayacu pottery the decorated area is Thesis, Harvard University.
merely a band on the side of a shallow bowl. However, some of the MYERS, Thomas P.
Napo Phase excised and incised pieces do have band designs, some 1970 The Late Prehistoric Period at Yarinacacha, Peru. Ph. D, Thesis, Uni-
of which utilize the undulating curve between the top and bottoms of versity of Illinois.
the band to mark separate panels as with Sarayacu polychrome subs- RAIMONDI, Antonio
tyle c. In general, I would say that Sarayacu polychromes are closer to 1942 Notas de Viajes para su obra "El Perú", Vol. 1. Lima.
the Napo Phase incised and excised wares than to the Napa Phase TESSMAN, Gunter
polychromes. 1930 Indianer Nordost Perus, Hamburg.

There is another sharp distinction between Napo Phase bowls and

those of Sarayacu: the Napo Phase bowls almost always have thick, flat-
tened lips while those from Sarayacu are generally tapered and roun-
ded. Modern Cocama pottery also has a thick flattened lip whereas
that of the Shipibo-Conibo is tapered and rounded, as was that of the
Cumancaya Phase.
Cocama potters also contrast broad with narrow lines in a band
around the side of the bowl similar to that of the Napo Phase, as do
the Pano, Panobo or Shetebo who also employ the undulating panels
and a diagonal line of Sarayacu. But they do not paint the base of the
vessel red, while the Cocama do (Tessman 1930: Bunt II, III, VI).
The water jug form also has antecedents as early as the Nueva
Esperanza Phase on the Ucayali, but is not characteristic of the Napo
Phase or other members of the Polychrome Tradition. All of the modern
potters of the central Ucayali ‒Shipibo-Conibo, Piro, Cocama, and even
the Omagua‒ use it today.
In short, the ceramic styles of Sarayacu are clearly within the up-
per Amazon Polychrome Tradition. But, the precise relationships of all
these styles still remain undetermined.

REFERENCES CITED

EVANS, Clifford and Betty J. MEGGERS

1968 Archaeological Investigations on the Rio Napo, Eastern Ecuador. Smith-
sonian Contributions to Anthropology, Volume 6, Washington.
HARRIS, Joanne Magalis
1967 The Ceramic Sequence at Cushillococha. Master's Thesis, University
of Illinois, Urbana.
ARAWAK, CARIB, GE, TUPI:
CULTURAL ADAPTACION AND CULTURE HISTORY
IN THE TROPICAL FOREST, SOUTH AMERICA

Karl H. SCHWERIN

Since the researches of von den Steinen and Ehrenreich at the

end of the 19th century there has been a growing interest in elucida-
ting the culture history of the Tropical Forest region of South Ameri-
ca. Beginning with Ehrenreich many scholars have identified the Ara-
wakans as important bearers of cultural ideas throughout the lowland
region. Later scholars added the Caribans and Tupians. In the Hand-
book of South American Indians Steward more or less concurred with
these interpretations, but maintained that most distinctive cultural traits
of the zone had originated ultimately in the Círcum-Caribbean or
Andean regions.
Research conducted in the last two decades has thrown new light
on these questions and modified our perspective considerably. I should
like to consider the data provided by this research in formulating a
hypothesis of the origin and spread of the major features of Tropical
Forest culture, with the hope that it will also serve to point up those
areas most critical for future investigation. This hypothesis proposes that
the culture history of the Tropical Forest peoples has been relatively
independent in both origins and later influences. If anything, it has had
more influence on adjacent areas than the latter have had on it. Not
three, but tour widespread linguistic groups have played a major role
in the spread and diversification of these patterns.

Arawak

Carl Sauer (1952: 40-46) has long pointed to northwestern South

America as the most likely hearth for vegetative root crop horticulture
in the New World. This is a pattern which is essentially tropical in
character, although it has also extended into the Andean highlands.
40 Bosque tropical Schwerin 41

Climatic changes in this area created a dramatic modification in Thus, at Puerto Hormiga, which had a well-developed pottery by
the subsistence pattems of the inhabitants sometime between 7000- 3000 B.C., griddles are lacking (Reichel-Dolmatoff 1965b: 6, 45, 49-50).
5000 B. C. Former hunters of big game became dependent on littoral "…the poor quality of the pottery together with the lack of soot-black-
and riparian sources of protein-fish, aquatic reptiles and mammals, and ened, heavily fired basal sherds suggests that neither at Puerto Hormi-
especially shellfish. Habitation sites from this period are invariably ga nor among the later shell-mound dwellers was pottery used directly
marked by large shellmounds. This life style apparently permitted a on the fire" (Reichel-Dolmatoff 1965a: 59). But manioc and other crops
semi-sedentary to fully sedentary settlement pattern (Reichel-Dolmatoff might well have been stone-boiled as carbohydrate supplements to the
1959: 156). Increased sedentarism provided the opportunity to deve- predominantly protein diet of shellfish (Sauer 1959: 221). Unfortunately
lop a more intensive knowledge of local floral resources and permitted the same sort of pot serves equally well for boiling manioc and boiling
the experimentation which, in some places, led to domestication and shellfish. Consequently the archeological data can neither support nor
purposeful cultivation of the more rewarding plants. disprove the use of maniac.
Manioc was certainly a part of this early horticulture and may ha- It may also be that there was a seasonal cycle alternating between
ve been among the first plants to be domesticated. Archeological shellfish near rivers, swamps and shorelines in the dry season when
evidence has now been unearthed to indicate that manioc was being waters were low, and root crops in areas more suited to their cultivation
cultivated at Rancho Peludo in the Lake Maracaibo basin by 2700 in the wet season, particularly since Reichel-Dolmatoff (1965b: 45)
B. C. (Rouse y Cruxent s. f. 58-60). This interpretation is based on the identifies the Puerto Hormiga people as "groups of nomadic gatherers."
finding of manioc griddle sherds among the archeological remains. An interesting feature of Puerto Hormiga ceramics is that there are
numerous resemblances to the Barrancoid style, widespread in central
The curious thing about Rancho Peludo culture is that it seems to
and eastern Venezuela from ca. 1000 B. C. ‒ 1000 A. D., or even la-
have had a limited influence in northwestern South America. The
ter on the central coast (Rouse y Cruxent s. f. 102-03). Yet, recent exca-
descendant Dabajuroid series remained confined in the Lake Maracai-
vations at the Malambo site on the lower Magdalena, have revealed a
bo basin until after 1000 A. D., when it spread widely along the Vene-
ceramic tradition closely related to the Venezuelan Barrancoid style
zuelan coast. Yet the Rancho Peludo people shared a number of traits,
and contemporaneous with the first millennium of the latter's existence
such as plant cultivation, pottery, burial urns, etc., which occur far beyond
(Angulo Valdés 1962; Reichel-Dolmatoff 1965a: 66).
the confines of this region. This suggests that, far from being cultural
innovators at 2700 B. c., the Rancho Peludo people were borrowing This evidence suggests to me that communities which were very
ideas from more advanced neighbors who had already possessed these similar culturally and linguistically were already occupying much of
traits for some time prior to that date, and whose presence in adja- the Caribbean coastland. With the development of a simple horticultu-
cent territories effectively prevented expansion of the former. re, pottery and the like, there was rapid and widespread movement
of both ideas and groups of humans out of this cultural hearth in nor-
It is, of course, possible that there was more direct communication thern Colombia and northwestern Venezuela. The orientation to rivers,
between the Rancho Peludo people of the Lake Maracaibo basin and swamps and ocean shores suggests the possession of water craft ‒proba-
the inhabitants of the western Llanos by means of, the relatively low bly dugout canoes‒ which would have facilitated rapid long-distance
Cúcuta-San Cristobal pass. The western Llanos are, unfortunately, poorly travel.
known archeologically, but it is certainly possible that Rancho Peludo
These people probably moved up the Magdalena into the interior
influences were there blended with traits from other areas (such as
of Colombia. Gradual subsidence of the land along the Magdalena Va-
Puerto Hormiga or Zambrano).
lley has probably put many of these sites under water, but early sherds
Archeological proof of manioc cultivation rests on the finding of grid- in the Puerto Hormiga style and dating from the 3rd millennium
dle fragments. Preparation of manioc for toasting on these griddles is a B. C. have been found in the vicinity of Zambrano on the lower Mag-
complex process, probably developed after long experience in preparing dalena. Zambrano is "almost to the fringes of the mountains", some
the root for food. Manioc can be satisfactorily prepared in other ways, 150 kilometers upriver from the sea ( Reichel- Dolmatoff 1965a: 59-60).
and it certainly seems likely that it was being roasted, steamed, grilled From here these peoples could have crossed the Cordillera Oriental
and/or boiled long before the technique was perfected of preparing it on a into the Llanos, from whence they moved downstream onto the
griddle (Reichel-Dolmatoff 1959: 156; Sauer 1959: 221; Schwerin shores of the Orinoco. Alternatively there could have been movement
1970: 24). along the Caribbean coast, into the Lake Valencia basin and from
42 Bosque tropical Schwerin 43

there across the Llanos to the Orinoco. Or, they may have followed riverine people could spread rapidly downstream along the Río Negro
both routes 1. to the Amazon. From there upstream travel along the Purús, Juruá,
For such people the rivers and shorelines were highways as well Ucayali, Marañón, Napo, Putumayo, Caquetá and smaller affluent would
as sources of fish and game. Alluvial silts on the shores and islands have been natural and it is only a short distance downstream from the
were rich, easy to cultivate, probably because of periodic inundation confluence of the Negro and the Amazon to the mouth of the Madei-
relatively free of heavy growth, and perpetually moist. Adaptation to ra which opens up yet another extensive area leading to the slopes of
these environmental conditions made possible a comfortable life. But the Bolivian plateau.
appropriate sites would have been limited and as population grew it If it is true, as frequently suggested, that the tropical forest was
was necessary to move along the streams in search of new settlement essentially uninhabited prior to the horticultural peoples, dispersal into
sites. At the same time stream travel facilitated continued contact this cultural vacuum would have been even more natural, and more
with the inhabitants of the original community. Lathrap (1968a) em- rapid.
phasizes that this is precisely the kind of adaptation which characteri- It is unlikely that all of the suggested routes were traveled at this
zed the most important and widespread "Tropical Forest" tribes in the time, but the archeological evidence indicates that many of them were.
Amazon basin, particularly those belonging to Arawakan and Tupian I further suggest that this initial spread contributed to the primary divi-
linguistic stocks. sion of the Arawakan stock into its major linguistic branches. In addi-
Lathrap (1968b: 28) traces origin of the earliest ceramic tradition tion it is probable that this movement carried with it such traits as the
On the central Ucayali, Early Tutishcainyo (dated conservatively ca. dugout canoe, urn burial, the rubber ball game and the hammock.
2000 B.C.), to the flood plains of the central Amazon. Related styles I am fully aware of the problems inherent in glottochronological
are found distributed in a broad band along the fluvial zones through- dating of language divergence, but nonetheless the data on Arawakan are
out the Montaña from the Rio Napo in the north, southward at least suggestive. According to the percentage of cognate pairs counted among
as far as the central Ucayali (Lathrap 1968b: 25-26) and perhaps even various Arawakan languages, Noble (1965: 110-11) places the differen-
further south. tiation of the main branches of Arawakan at around 1300 B. C. Careful
On the contrary, I believe that the central Amazon served merely as inspection of his figures, however, suggests that the Apolistan and Cha-
a secondary staging area for cultural movements which originated much micuran branches separated from Maipuran at a later date, perhaps
further away. On the basis of the data and inferences so far presented, I 500 years later. Maipuran itself may have broken up 500 years later than
suggest that the cultivation of root crops (principally manioc) and the that. If we take this relative chronology, but try to associate it with the
manufacture of ceramics were first mastered by several groups of archeological record, we will have to push it back at least a millenium.
closely-related Arawakan speakers in northwestern South America. Thus the initial spread of Arawakan speakers out of northwestern South
These were people oriented also to the protein resources of rivers, lakes America appears to have occurred between 3000-2000 B. C. (Com-plete
and coastline, who possessed canoes and were accustomed to tra- linguistic separation may not have occurred until 2300 B. C.).
vel considerable distances by water. As population grew these people These peoples moved into the western Llanos of Venezuela and
were stimulated to spread. Their riparian-horticultural subsistence pat- Colombia and the Arauán and Amueshan branches continued into the
tern gave them a significant adaptive advantage over other groups and Rio Negro and Amazonian drainages. It is probably this group which
they spread rapidly. Some pursued the coastline. Some followed the spread as far as western Amazonia by circa 2000 B. C. introducing such
rivers of the interior. They entered the Orinoco basin and spread along ceramic complexes as early Tutishcainyo and related styles known from
the major affluent wherever alluvial deposits were suitable for agricul- various parts of the Montaña. From these settlements cultural influen-
ture. The principal movement, however, I believe to have been upstream ces (and perhaps even groups of immigrants) reached the Andean high-
along the Orinoco, across the Casiquiare canal and into the Rio Negro lands and the Peruvian coast (cf. Uhle 1920: 44; Tello 1942; Carrión
drainage. From this point the whole Amazon basin is opened up to 1958; Lathrap 1963, 1965, 1968b) 2.
travel, settlement and exploitation. It is easy to understand how a
2. The exact relationship of the Andean Uru-Chipayan speakers to the Arawakan
1. It is unlikely that they continued along the coast to the mouth of the Orinoco, stock is not at all clear. Nor is much known of the prehistoric cultural achieve-
or if they did they never established settlements in that stretch and avoided ments of this group, but it is worth noting that to this day they are intimate-
contact with local peoples, for the archeological evidence shows this area re-
ly associated with lakes, boats, fishing and other lacustrine resources (Métraux
mained in the hands of essentially non-horticultural shell fishermen until qui-
te late (Rouse y Cruxent s. f. 69-72). 1934a: 189-90; 1934b; Posnansky 1934).
44 Bosque tropical Schwerin 45

If the Arawakans spread so far south by water, it seems strange rancoid peoples on the lower Orinoco caused the Saladoid people to
there were no movements to the north. Lothrop (1937: 27, 203; 1940: move in two directions. One group migrated to the coast and thence,
425; Kidder 1940: 446, 448) has identified what he believes were Ara- about 1 A. D. out into the Antilles. The other group moved up the
wakan elements in Coclé and suggests these were carried as far north Orinoco. The former survived until arrival of the Spanish, but the lat- -
as the Maya area. Primary among these were manioc, the rubber ball ter appears to have become extinct by the end of "Period III" (ca.
game, the hammock and secondary urn burial-all features which were 1000 A. D.) (Rouse y Cruxent s. f. 150-52).
distributed widely throughout the Amazon and Orinoco drainages as About 1000-900 B. C. the Maipuran branch broke up into several
well. Is it possible that introduction of manioc in Mesoamerica contribu- groups. Some may have remained on the western Llanos. Others mo-
ted to the rise of the Olmec cultures around 1200 B. C. in southern Ve- ved downstream to the lower Orinoco where their arrival may be
racruz? 3 Obviously, whatever Arawakan speakers occupied the Isthmus identified with the appearance of Barrancas ceramics. Still others moved
and Mesoamerica, they had all been absorbed or become extinct by northward into the Valencia basin and the coast, as indicated by the
the time of Spanish conquest 4. occurrence of Barrancoid style ceramics there.
Between 2000-1500 B. C. the Maipuran, Apolistan and Chamicuran We may guess that the same expansion of Maipuran groups which
branches separated and at least the latter two groups moved away from brought the Barrancoid peoples to coastal Venezuela and the lower Ori-
the putative center on the western Llanos to the shores of the upper noco, led closely related groups into the upper Orinoco, Casiquiare ca-
Orinoco, Casiquiare and upper Rio Negro where they remained for nal and upper Rio Negro, pushing the Apolistan and Chamicuran
several centuries. groups further downstream to the Amazon from whence they gradual-
There is reason to think that the Barrancoid tradition was also ly moved upstream to their contact period locations in the Montaña.
carried by Arawakan speakers-I suggest of the Maipuran branch. As we A majority of the Maipuran Groups remained in the Orinoco and
have seen the Barrancoid tradition was widespread along the Colom- Rio Negro drainages, but a few apparently moved quickly beyond the
bian and Venezuelan coasts, in central Venezuela and on the lower Amazon, following it and a number of its major tributaries upstream to
Orinoco. Puerto Hormiga or Zambrano would seem to have been the the Montaña where Hupa-iya ceramics, showing a clear link to the
original center of dispersal for this tradition. At the same time it is pro- Barracoíd series of Venezuela, appears on the central Ucayali by 500 A.D.
bable that an important secondary center of dispersal was located so- What was it that stimulated the Maipuran peoples to expand at
mewhere in the western Llanos, perhaps along the Apure, Meta or one this time, moving in several directions and even entering the Amazon
or several of the other rivers which flow across those plains (Rouse y Basin at the expense of their linguistic relatives? They obviously pos-
Cruxent s. f. 108). This location is consistent with the suggestion, made sessed some cultural advantage, and I suspect that this was related to
above, that Puerto Hormiga peoples traveled up the Magdalena and development of a distinctive technique of ridged-field agriculture, cause-
crossed over the Cordillera Oriental to the western Llanos. From there ways and raised habitation mounds. This enabled them to cultivate
the Barrancas people then traveled downstream the Orinoco while seasonally flooded lowland areas such as the western Llanos of Vene-
several other branches of Arawakans moved into the Amazon basin. zuela-Colombia. In this region, unfortunately, flooding and associated
Adjacent spatially and slightly earlier, but overlapping the appea- alluviation seem to have buried much of the evidence for these early
rance of Barrancas ceramics on the lower Orinoco is the Saladero style, developments, but William Denevan (personal communication) has
quite distinctive from the former. It shows a close relationship to the recently obtained aerial photographs which show what appear to be
earliest ceramic remains from the Antilles. It seems safe to assume, as ridged fields along the Apure river east of San Fernando de Apure in
have Reuse, Cruxent and Goggin (1959: 509) that the makers of Sala- the Venezuelan Llanos.
doid style ceramics were speakers of Arawakan languages of the Taino Similar earth constructions are found in many of the areas known
branch. Rouse and Cruxent (s. f. 141) believe that the arrival of Bar- to have been inhabited by Maipuran peoples at the time of contact,
viz. Llanos de Mojos, Guayana coast, the Orinoco delta, the island of
3. This northward spread of Arawakan influences may also have contributed to Marajó at the mouth of the Amazon (Parsons & Denevan 1967: 96-
some of the similarities cited by Ford (1969) in his recent study of New World
97), in the Paressí country of the Mato Grosso (Denevan 1966: 129),
Formative cultures, although I am in strong disagreement with the general in-
terpretations presented therein. and perhaps in the Casiquiare canal region between the Orinoco and
4. Absorption of the Nahua-speaking Toltec conquerors by various Mayan groups Río Negro drainages.
at a later date proves this a not unlikely occurrence.
46 Bosque tropical Schwerin 47

Carib In addition to maize and manioc, these Cariban groups undoubted-

ly carried with them pineapple, the papaya, perhaps the New World
Unfortunately there is little archeology which can be linked, even yam (Dioscorea trifida, cotton, squash (Cucurbita moschata) and
tentatively, to occupation of lowland areas by Cariban tribes. Nonethe- tobacco 5.
less, we do have sufficient cultural and linguistic evidence to suggest a
It is interesting to note the relative lack of ceremonialism associa-
reconstruction of this stock's culture history.
ted with agricultural practices among the Caribans. But then agricultu-
Manioc is clearly older than the Cariban expansion, yet if must re is a relatively certain, non-stressful activity. Tropical Forest agriculture
have been obtained by the proto-Cariban groups prior to their dispersal, is productive with a minimum of ca re, and failure is practically un-
since of ten Cariban groups reviewed, nine showed cognate terms known. There is no need for the psychic reassurance of ritual.
referring either to bitter or sweet manioc. Distribution of the terms oc-
curs in such a way as to suggest that originally no distinction was Non-agricultural ritual did, however, develop within one branch of
made between the bitter and sweet types. the Cariban peoples, probably ca. 1000 A. D. or thereafter. This was a
ceremonialism related to warfare, trophy taking and ritual cannibalism.
The term for maize is also clearly cognate in eight of the ten tri- Trade in such items as bixa, arrow poisons, turtle oil 6 may also have
bes (the Yupa term mayisa may be disregarded as a post-contact been involved. At least, Raleigh's late 16th century description (1928:
Spanish loan word). Only Makiritare is aberrant. Consequently it 57) of a well-organized Canibal market town near the lower Orinoco
seems safe to assume that the Caribans did not begin to expand until suggests that trade was a well-established pattern among these people
after obtaining maize. Although maize appears in north coastal Peru prior to European contact. Trade, warfare and ritual cannibalism all
by 1500-1400 B. C. (Lanning 1967: 66-67), it does not reach southern led these Cannibal Caribs to travel widely, to conquer and to settle all
Colombia until ca. 500 B. C. (Reichel-Dolmatoff 1965: 84-85). along the Orinoco river, as well as the Caribbean coast of Venezuela,
Sometime during the next 500 years it must have reached the proto- the Atlantic coast of the Guayanas and the lesser Antilles. Whether it
Cariban tribes who were, I suggest, occupying the eastern slopes of the was hostile contacts made by trading parties or the desire for sacrificial
Cordillera Oriental, probably somewhere north of the Guaviare river. victims which led to warfare, or booty' taken in war that led to trade
The cultivation of maize, with its seasonal cycle (in contrast to manioc with friendlier tribes, I cannot say at the present. For the moment it
which is cultivated the year round) provided some sort of advantage must suffice to indicate the relationship among these three activities.
that enabled the Caribans to move down out of the flanks of the Cor-
dillera, expanding into most of the Orinoco drainage and interior Gua-
yana. Perhaps it was the storability of maize and its utility as a travel Ge
ration which made this possible, maize kernels are light and easily
transported (Chagnon 1968: 36). However, cassava (manioc cakes) is The Ge-speaking tribes (sensu stricto) have long been improperly
also storable and can be used in travel so long as it is kept dry. classified as "marginal tribes" or: "incipient horticulturists". One reason
Perhaps maize was more useful as rations for warriors. It is doubtful has been that historically they were viewed through the eyes of Tupí-
that the higher protein content of maize over manioc was significant he- nambá and other coastal Tupians who indiscriminately lumped them
re, for almost all of the lowland' riverine tribes depend on riparian sour- with other non-Tupian enemy tribes as "Tapuya". Examination of the
ces of fish and game for the protein complement of their diet. ethnographic data shows, however, that this includes both truly margi-
Their superiority, however, was apparently less than that of the nal peoples pushed back from the coast into the coastal highlands by
neighboring Maipuran Arawakas, for almost all the Cariban tribes re- the expansion of Tupian peoples, and the Ge proper of the central Bra-
mained north of the principal area of occupation of Maipuran groups zilian campo. Ge occupation of savanna rather than tropical forest and
south of the Meta and the upper Orinoco. Even so, the Caribans must their practice of extended hunting expeditions further contribute to the
have had to cross Arawakan territory in order to reach the middle popular misconception that these peoples are "marginal".
Orinoco. Perhaps it was hostile encounters during this traverse which
5. Tobacco was probably chewed or drunk as an infusion, for the smoking of to-
drove the Arara, Palmella, Bakairí and upper Xingú Caribans into the bacco appears to be a later introduction associated with the term kawai.
Amazon basin, down the Rio Negro, and up the Madeira from when- 6. After European contact, slaves, tobacco; metal tools, cloth, firearms and trin-
ce they dispersed to their contact period locations. kets were also incorporated into Cariban trade networks.
40 Bosque tropical Schwerin 49

Again, pertinent archeological investigation is almost non-existent. But

there is considerable circumstantial evidence to belie the popular clas-
sification.
One glance at a linguistic map of South America should raise
questions on this point (see Map 1). Most of the peoples classed as
marginal are either pushed off to the far margins of the continent or
are to be found as small groups speaking isolated languages in scatte-
red spots all through the tropical forest region. Not so the Ge. They
are clustered together in the center of the continent over an area which
compares favorably in extent with that occupied by Cariban or Tupian
speaking tribes, and far larger than that inhabited by Panoan or Tuca-
noan speakers. This certainly does not look like a Marginal feature.
If one compares a climatic map of South America with a linguis-
tic map it becomes clear that the extent of Ge speakers (sensu stricto)
is almost exactly congruent with the campo-savanna of central Brazil
(see Map, 1). Where there are Ge there is campo. Where there is no
campo there are no Ge.
This strongly suggests that Ge cultures, with all their attendant
peculiarities, represent not Marginal survivals, but rather cultural adap-
tation to a distinctive and perhaps difficult ecological zone. The Ge tri-
bes were all engaged in extensive farming at the time of first contact
(Nimuendajú 1939: 87-91; Lowie 1946: 480). Lévi-Strauss (1950: 468-
69) finds no major differences of technique in the horticulture of any
of the tribes of the tropical lowlands, whether they inhabit the tropical
forest or the savanna. In point of fact, the Ge who inhabit the savanna
also attempt to maintain a Tropical Forest horticulture since they inva-
riably turn to the strips of gallery forest which occur along savanna
streams for the cultivation of crops. Most non-European crop plants ha-
ve cognate names in the different Ge tribes, which is a strong argu-
ment for their having had horticulture before they became linguisti-
cally separated.
But the savanna climate is a seasonal climate. This and other
environmental differences from the tropical forest have led to empha-
sis on crop other than manioc and maize ( though these are also
grown) such as sweet potatoes, Dioscorea sp. and Cissus sp. (Lowie
1946: 480). Scarcity of game on the savannas may necessitate extensive
travel during the nongrowing season in order to survive.
The Ge are noted for their complex social organization and their
relative development of ritual. I suggest that at least in a general way
these patterns are also adaptations to the rigors of savanna living. Sa-
vanna weather is less predictable, crops are more likely to fail, and ga-
me is scarcer than in the tropical forest. The cross-cutting and inter-
locking linkages of Ge social organization facilitate, may ensure, coopera-
50 Bosque tropical Schwerin 51

tion among a maximum number of individuals. Ritual celebrations un- These tribes apparently arrived on the coast from the São Fran-
doubtedly case the anxieties which arise from the uncertainties of the cisco drainage, but their original point of departure must have been fur-
environment and make more bearable continued existence in the sa- ther within the interior. The most logical center for Tupian dispersal is
vanna. the area south of the Amazon between the Madeira and the Xingú
Ge crops are all Tropical Forest in origin, and, as indicated above, rivers, bounded linguistically by the Arawakans on the west and the
so are their horticultural techniques. I believe, therefore, that sometime Ge on the east. Some dispersal followed the Amazon, ascending its
during the period 1 A. D. ‒ 1000 A. D. the proto-Ge groups received southern tributaries. But the available evidence also suggests that the
horticulture from the Tropical Forest tribes (Arawakan?) adjacent to the coast was not reached by following the great river to the Atlantic and
northwestern section of the campo. The crops which were introduced then moving down the coast. Rather, it would appear that there was
at that time probably included the sweet potato, maize, cotton, tobacco, movement overland from the lower Amazon to the Sao Francisco
gourds, and perhaps Dioscorea trifida and bixa (Bixa orellana) (cf. drainage and thence to the coast, crossing territory occupied by Ge-
Wilbert 1964). The Ge were unable to enter the tropical forest proper speakers between the Amazon and the Sao Francisco.
because that region was already occupied well-established horticul-
In historic times the majority of Tupian migration has been fomen-
turists. Consequently the only route of expansion open was to the east
ted by the search for the land of Ñanderuvuçú, a terrestrial paradise
and south. The Ge peoples therefore moved to fill that vacuum until
at the shores of, or beyond, the sea. Influential shamans, driven by mys-
they occupied the whole of the campo. At the same time their cultu-
tical visions have played a central role in these migrations. (Métraux
re evolved and adapted to the exigencies of that environment, which
1927: 12-15). Hostilities arising out of incursion into alien territory have
perhaps discouraged the Ge from moving beyond into the caatinga
encouraged bellicosity among the Tupians, almost all of whom were
and upland forests of eastern Brazil. It would appear, however, that so-
extremely warlike at the tune of discovery.
me distantly related peoples on their margins (perhaps pushed ahead
of the expanding Ge proper) such as the Caingang learned about I suggest here that this is a cultural pattern of some antiquity among
horticulture from them (Maniser 1930: 774). the Tupian speakers, and that it was central to dispersal of at least the
Guaraní branch of Tupi from their ancestral homeland in south cen-
tral Amazonia. Migrations in search of the terrestrial paradise may ha-
Tupi ve begun as early as 1000 A. D. and Tupian groups must have reached
the Brazilian coast by 1300-1400. Continuing migration brought ever in-
At the time of European discovery the Tupians made up the creasing numbers eastward, pushing out or annihilating the ancient in-
fourth linguistic group that was widespread in lowland tropical South habitants of that region.
America. Métraux (1927) in his classical study of Tupian migration de-
Arrival of Europeans with their trade, cane plantations and demand
tails their movements from the time of European contact up to the
for slaves created new pressures and stimulated migrations in other
end of the 19th century.
directions, but as documented by Métraux the main thrust of Tupian
He also indicates, however, that Chiriguano movement up the Pa- movement continued eastward right up to the present century.
raná into Paraguay and eastern Bolivia had occurred early in the 16th
No doubt the separation of the Tupi-Guaraní "language" into eleven
century, with definitive relocation probably taking place with the ex-
dialects (as defined by Rodrigues 1958: 234) occurred early in this
pedition of Alejo García in 1522 (Métraux 1927: 18-20). There is rea-
dispersal, for these groups were separate at the time of Portuguese dis-
son to believe further that the Guaraní had not occupied the lower Pa-
covery. Nonetheless, such migration does not seen to have been limited
raná for long before the arrival of Europeans, although it is extremely
to this group, for the Oyampi and Emerillon entered Guayana after
difficult to put any sort of time depth on it. Nonetheless, I would guess
European contact, and the Omagua were moving about in the upper
that they had not been in the region for more than a couple centuries.
Amazon for several centuries. These are peoples whose languages have
A comparable time depth may be assigned to the Tupians of the been separated from Tupi-Guaraní proper for more than a millennium.
Brazilian coast. At the time of Portuguese discovery the Tupinambá and Yet they must have either a) shared a common basic culture with the
their linguistic congeners were still in the process of driving out the latter, or b) received strong cultural influences from them. In neither
older inhabitants of the coast, referred to generically by the former as case does this negate the probability that the Tupians were occupying
"Tapuya" (Métraux 1927: 2-6) a relatively compact area in southern Amazonia prior to their later pre-
Schwerin 41
54 Bosque tropical Schwerin 55

contact expansion, in spite of the fact that their languages were relative- BENNETT, Wendell C.
ly well differentiated. The great differentiation of dialects within the 1949 Engineering. Handbook of South American Indians, vol. 5, pp. 53-65 (ed.
by J. Steward). Bureau of American Ethnology, Bulletin N°. 143, vol. 5
Tupi-Guaraní "language" in contrast to the one or two languages in most Washington.
other subdivisions of the Tupian stock (Rodrigues 1958) indicates that
CARRION CACHOT de GIRARD, Rebeca
the focus of dispersal was among the Tupi-Guaraní and that movement 1958 Ultimos descubrimientos en Chavín. Actas del XXXIII Congreso Inter-
by other Tupían peoples must have been stimulated by them. nacional de Americanistas, vol. 2, pp. 403-415. San José de Costa Rica.
CHAGNON, Napoleón
Conclusion 1968 Yanomamö. The fierce people. New York.
DENEVAN, William M.
Four major linguistic stocks have played key roles in the spread 1966 The aboriginal cultural geography of the Llanos de Mojos of Bolivia.
and development of Tropical Forest culture. Movement of both peoples Ibero-Americana 48. Berkeley.
and culture traits has been generally from north-west to southeast and FIRESTONE, Homer L.
upstream along the rivers, occupying more territory through time. The 1965 Description and classification of Sirionó. Janua Linguarum, ser. Prác-
striking rapidity of movement during certain periods was facilitated by tica, 16. The Hague.
a travel along the great rivers of the Orinoco and Amazon basins as well FORD, James A.
as along the Caribbean and Atlantic coasts. Although of some regional 1969 A comparison of Formative cultures in the Americas. Smithsonian Con-
importance in the western Amazon, the Panoan, Tucanoan, and other tributions to Anthropology, vol. 11. Washington.
smaller linguistic groups have been of relatively little importance in KIDDER, Alfred Vincent, II
the culture history of the region as a whole. 1940 South American Penetrations in Middle America, in The Maya and their
Neighbors, pp. 441-59. New York.
The major points of the hypothesis presented here are summarized LANNING, Edward P.
in Table II. The hypothesis is based on the present state of knowledge, 1967 Peru before the Incas. Englewood Cliffs, N. J.
but it is obvious that there are giant lacunae, particularly in the archeo- LATHRAP, Donald W.
logical data. Verification of the hypothesis depends on continued re- 1963 Possible Affiliations of the Machalilla Complex of Coastal Ecuador. Ame-
search in many critical areas-northeastern Colombia, the Venezuelan rican Antiquity, vol. 29, pp. 239-41.
Llanos, the central Amazon, the Madeira drainage. But most critical of 1965 Origins of Central Andean Civilization: New Evidence. Science, vol.
148, pp. 796-98.
all, and the area where most intensive research is indicated, is the 1968a The 'Hunting' Economies of the Tropical Forest Zone 01 South America:
upper Rio Negro ‒ Casiquiare canal. A thorough archeological survey An Attempt at Historical Perspective. in Man the Hunter, ed. by Ri-
should be mounted there, with intensive follow up excavation of selec- chard B. Lee and Irven DeVore, pp. 23-29. Chicago.
ted sites. It may even be possible to show definitively whether that 1968b The Tropical Forest and the Cultural Context of Chavin, paper read at the
anomalous geographical phenomenon, the Casiquiare canal which con- Dumbarton Oaks Conference on Chavin, October 1968.
nects two major rivers and carries a part of the Orinoco's flow into the LEVI-STRAUSS, Claude
Río Negro, is really a natural phenomenon or, as is sometimes suggested, 1950 The Use of Wild Plants in Tropical South America. Handbook of South
American Indians (ed. by J. Steward), vol. 6, pp. 465-86. Bureau of
is a man-made feature (Bennett 1949: 57). A continuous aquatic high- American Ethnology, Bulletin 143, vol. 6. Washington.
way linking the Orinoco and Amazon basins would have been desira-
LOTHROP, Samuel K.
ble for any of the riparian peoples who passed that way over the mi-
1937 Coclé. An Archeological Study of Central Panama. Part I. Memoirs,
llenia, but perhaps most desirable of all to the early Arawakans as they Peabody Museum of American Archeology and Ethnology, Harvard Uni-
passed back and forth between the two river drainages. Only time versity, vol. 7. Cambridge.
and continued culture-historical research can provide the answers to 1940 South America as seen from Middle America. in The Maya and their
these intriguing questions. Neighbors, pp. 417-29. New York.
LOWIE, Robert H.
1946 The Northwestern and Central Ge. Handbook of South American Indians,
BIBLIOGRAPHY vol. 1, pp. 477-516. Washington.
MANISER, H. H.
ANGULO VALDES, Carlos
1962 Evidencias de la Serie Barrancoide en el Norte de Colombia. Revista 1930 Les Kaingangs de Sao Paulo. Proceedings, XXIII International Congress
of Americanists, pp. 760-91. New York.
Colombiana de Antropología, vol, 11, pp. 75-87.
56 Bosque tropical Schwerin 57

METRAUX, Alfred TELLO, Julio C.

1927 Migrations historiques des Tupi-Guaraní. Journal de la Societé des Amé- 1942 Origen y desarrollo de las civilizaciones prehist6ricas andinas. Lima.
ricanistes de Paris, vol. 19, pp. 1-45.
1934a El estado actual de nuestros conocimientos sobre la extensión primitiva UHLE, Max
de la influencia Guaraní y Arawak en el continente sudamericano. Ac- 1920 Los principios de la civilización en la sierra peruana. Boletín de la So-
ciedad Ecuatoriana de Estudios Históricos, to. 4, nums. 13-14, pp. 44-
tas, XXV Congreso Internacional de Americanistas, vol. 1, pp. 181-90.
Buenos Aires. 56. Quito.
1934b L'organisation sociale et les survivances religieuses des indiens Uru-Ci- WILBERT, Johannes
paya de Carangas (Bolivie). Actas XXV Congreso Internacional de Ame- 1964 Material lingüístico Ye. Caracas.
ricanistas, vol. 1, pp. 191-214. Buenos Aires.
NIMUENDAJU, Curt
1939 The Apinayé. Catholic University Anthropology series, vol. 8. Wash-
ington.
PARSONS, J. J. & W. M. DENEVAN
1967 Pre-Columbian ridged fields. Scientific American, vol. 217, pp. 92-100.
(July 1967).
POSNANSKY, A.
1934 Los Urus o Uchumi. Actas XXV Congreso Internacional de Americanis-
tas, vol. 1, pp. 235-300. Buenos Aires.
RALEIGH, Walter
1928 The Discoverie of the large and beautiful Empire of Guiana. London.
REICHEL-DOLMATOFF, Gerardo
1959 The Formative Stage. An Appraisal from the Colombian Perspective.
Actas, XXXIII Congreso Internacional de Americanistas, to. 1, pp. 152-
64. San José de Costa Rica.
1965a Colombia. Ancient Peoples and Places series. New York.
1965b Excavaciones arqueológicas en Puerto Hormiga (Departamento de Bolí-
var). Antropología 2. Bogotá.
RODRIGUES, Arion D.
1958 Classification of Tupi-Guaraní. International Journal of American Lin-
guistics, vol. 24, pp. 231-34.
ROUSE, Irving y José M. CRUXENT
s.f. Arqueología venezolana. Caracas.
ROUSE, Irving; José M. CRUXENT & John COGGIN
1958 Absolute Chronology in the Caribbean Area. Proceedings, XXXII Inter-
national Congress of Americanists, pp. 508-15. Copenhagen.
SAUER, CARL O.
1952 Agricultural origins and dispersals. New York.
1959 Age and area of American cultivated plants. Actas, XXXIII Congreso
Internacional de Americanistas, to. 1, pp. 215-29. San José de Costa
Rica.

SCHWERIN, Karl H.
1970 Apuntes sobre la yuca y sus orígenes. Boletín Informativo de Antropo-
logía, no. 7, pp. 23-27. Caracas: Asociación Venezolana de Sociología.

STEWARD, Julian H.
1949 South American Cultures: An Interpretative Summary, Handbook of
South American Indians, vol. 5, pp. 669-672. Washington.
WARFARE PATTERNS OF THE
COLOMBIAN GUAHIBO 1

Robert V. MOREY Jr.

The Guahibo occupy the lowland savanna, or llanos, of eastern Co-

lombia and western Venezuela. They represent the largest surviving
indigenous population of an area centered in the Comisaría of Vichada,
Colombia, and form an isolated linguistic enclave of approximately
10,000 to 15,000 speakers. Although uniform in language and similar in
general features of social organization, Guahibo populations are differen-
tiated by three diverse subsistence patterns: (1) nomadic hunting and
gathering; (2) semi-nomadic or semi-sedentary cultivation; and (3) se-
dentary cultivation.
Along the major rivers where Guahibo population tends to be spar-
se and where Criollo settlement is concentrated, sedentary horticultural
villages predominate (occupation the entire year for a period of from
three to five years ); smaller tributary streams are occupied by semi-
nomadic horticultural villages that practice seasonal cultivation (occupa-
tion for a similar period but only during the rainy season of each
year), and the interfluvial zones are inhabited by the non-cultivating
nomadic hunters and gatherers, who seldom occupy one specific loca-
lity for more than a few days or weeks at a time.
Síkuani is the Guahibo term employed to designate the hunting
populations which occupy the interfluvial savanna regions bordering the
gallery forest-covered zones adjacent to the rivers and streams. The se-
mi-nomadic Guahibo occupy village communities part of the year and
are less migratory than the Sikuani hunting communities. There is no

1. Field work in Colombia was carried out from June, 1965, to October, 1966, with
the support of a Fulbright Fellowship and National Science Foundation Grant.
I am grateful to the Wenner-Gren Foundation for financial aid to attend this
congress.
60 Bosque tropical Morey 61

special term in Guahibo which identifies this category of subsistence. more favorable environmental conditions presented by the riverine zone
Such a population may or may not be designated as Sikuaní, depending as opposed to the grass-covered savanna. These observations also apply
upon the subsistence activities engaged in by the group of the speaker. to the indigenous societies in the llanos of eastern Colombia. If the ri-
Factors such as seasonal fluctuation in rainfall, drainage, poor soils ver and its flood plain are rich and the interfluvial uplands poor in
and the activity of man in destroying forested zones, contribute to the natural resources in the tropical forest, then the distinction is even more
development of grassland vegetation and the corresponding distinction pronounced in the llanos where the gallery forest-flood plain is res-
between savanna and forest-flood plain. The savanna soil predominan- tricted in extent and the savanna unproductive in flora and fauna.
tly supports tall bunch grass. The river and smaller stream valleys Briefly, the variation in subsistence patterns among the Guahibo illus-
which criss-cross the grasslands are bordered by gallery or marsh fo- trates the adaptation of populations to at least two-well-defined envi-
rest. Cultivation is only possible in the restricted alluvial land along ronmental niches: savanna and forest-flood plain.
the rivers. The fauna of the savanna is also poor. There are only The majority of early and recent reports on the Guahibo by tra-
a few collected plants, small animals and insects. Although the forest- velers, explorers, and missionaries, as well as anthropologists, have depic-
covered stream banks are restricted, they are clearly the most produc- ted them as either extremely war-like nomadic bunters and gathe-
tive zones for horticultural, hunting, collecting and fishing pursuits. rers or as peaceful horticulturalists.
Guahibo populations, regardless of subsistence base, are, by necessity, Historic reports indicate frequent involvement of Guahibo nomads
oriented toward the resources of the rivers and the gallery forests (Sikuani-Cuiba-Chiricoa) in raiding for goods and slaves and, with the
which flank them. The Guahibo are singularly dependent upon this Carib, their activities precluded missionization along the banks of the
small total area of forest which fringes the many rivers and streams Orinoco River for several decades.
and upon the fluctuating animal and plant resources found within the-
se delimited zones. Aboriginal warfare patterns in lowland South America have fre-
Given the simple technology of the Guahibo, life is focused upon quently been explained as having religious or supernatural motives (Mé-
these environmental features, the most evident being the seasonal fluc- traux 1949: 384-87; Steward and Faron 1959: 304-05). Both Vayda
tuation in precipitation. The amount and distribution of water heavily (1961) and Sahlins (1961) have suggested that warfare in many re-
influences the distribution of plant and animal life and the land areas gions of the world may have had an ecological basis. Leeds (1964: 167-
which are suitable for human habitation during certain periods of 68) indicates a subsistence foundation for extensive warfare in the
the year. llanos, that in fact it reflects the maximization of food resources "in ways
appropriate to… socio-ecological environments". Lathrap (1968a: 28) has
During the dry season mobility is at a maximum. Animals tend to noted that ecological conditions may explain warfare in tropical forest
cluster near the streams and group movement is directed toward the South America; the conflict reflecting ecologically based population
beaches where hunting, gathering (turtle eggs), and fishing provide pressure on the flood plains of the major rivers.
abundant return. At this time the dry grasses of the savanna are also
fired, yielding the carbonized remains of numerous small animals and The numerous Carib raids directed against the Colombian banks of
insects. The onset of the rains in early April signals a return to higher the Orinoco River may have represented pre-contact population pressu-
ground and more restricted movement as the wet season brings heavy res accentuated by European settlement on the coast and major streams.
rains and flooding rivers which in many areas cover large sections of the At the same time heavy missionization in the llanos of Colombia crea-
savanna. Nomadic populations seek out elevations of favorable height ted competition for control of the productive flood plains. The warfare
near sources of collected products and curtail their travels to monthly in- and raiding carried out by many groups in the llanos, including the
tervals between these localities. The Guahibo cultivators return to their Guahibo and Carib, may well represent attempts at access to and control
villages before the onset of the rains to prepare their gardens for planting. of the more favorable river banks. In short, historic reports of Guahibo
warfare patterns can be interpreted as reflecting competition for the
A number of individuals (Sauer 1952: 42-9; Reichel-Dolmatoff 1959:
available and limited ecological niche represented by the gallery fo-
157; Goldman 1963: 44; Lathrap 1968a: 62; 1968b: 26-7) have stressed
rest and its riverine resources. Historically, the Achagua and other Ara-
that the societies of lowland tropical forest South America represent
wak-speakers occupied the major rivers of the llanos. The active partici-
adaptations to the riverine environment within the forest and not the
pation of the Chiricoa-Sikuani-Cuahibo in slave raiding and warfare
forest per se. Lévi-Strauss (1963: 108-11) has specifically detailed the
upon these Tropical Forest horticultural groups, possessors of the river
62 Bosque tropical Morey 63

banks, as well as the missions, would tend to support this hypothesis. In fact, there are no clearly defined boundaries either on the local or
Acosta (1961: 67) has reported that not only did the Carib direct their regional band level. Regional bands overlap and movement across re-
attacks against the inhabitants of the riverine zones, but some popula- gional band sectors occurs frequently. Propinquity is the key factor lin-
tions served to provide particular products (crops?). king the local bands, local units of different regional bands residing near
one another will have established more intimate relationships with one
The fact that sedentary Guahibo villages today are found on the
another than with member bands of the same region living at greater
major rivers suggests that these zones are economically more productive
distance. However, because of the clustering of local bands within a par-
in terms of cultivation and hunting and gathering. Although this
ticular area, they tend to be of the same subsistence type and multiple
may well have been true in the past, it does not now appear to be
kinship ties and peaceful relationships do tend to occur largely within
the case. Centuries of European exploitation has made serious inroads
the regional band context.
into the native flora and fauna. Indigenous sedentary communities are
supported by a market system which provides much-desired Western Peace among the local groups of the regional band is maintained
goods. through the extension of kinship ties by marriage and the fluidity of
the familial units which move between the various communities. In
Differential patterns of warfare, conflict intensity and resolution
addition, socio-economic activities such as trade and drinking parties are
among the Guahibo correspond in large part to the varied subsistence
means by which potential affiliations with nearby local bands, of the
bases of the populations involved. Before discussing contemporary Gua-
same or of a different regional band, are strengthened and activated.
hibo warfare patterns, it will be necessary to briefly summarize certain
aspects of social organization. The walapu or drinking party may be viewed as a particularly
important formalized mechanism by which hostile relationships within
While composite band organization is characteristic of all Guahibo
horticultural regional bands are stopped short of outright warfare. The
populations, local community organization is of the three distinct types
drinking party allows for the overt expression and resolution of inter-
previously mentioned: the hunting camp, the semi-nomadic horticultural
band conflicts. Sorcery ( especially by the shaman of an opposing
village and the sedentary horticultural village. Following the work of
band) is the most frequent source of trouble within and between bands;
Helm (1965; 1968) among the Canadian Athabascans it is convenient
adultery, and at times theft from the gardens of another, are also fac-
to differentiate between the local and the regional Guahibo band.
tors which bring about conflict. These problems are most likely to be
The inhabitants of the Guahibo community, camp or village, are solved on an inter-personal or familial basis, but may spread to inter-
kinsmen, related in varying degrees, and united at least temporarily by band hostilities. The walapu serves as the stage for these hostilities.
a common bond of propinquity. The local band, corresponding to all Individual or family disputes which may lead to the rupture of band
the members of a single community, is an agamous, informal and loose- ties are placed within the context of inter-band rivalry.
ly structured body. The Guahibo local band and the units which com-
The drinking party may be held by a family or a village to ce-
pose it are extremely mobile and fluid. At any one time a single fami-
lebrate such as birth, death, harvest or almost any other occasion. Wala-
ly or closely related families may leave the band to hunt or collect
pu is a mildly intoxicating drink made from fermented sugar cane
wild plant foods for periods varying from a few days to several weeks.
(termed guarapo by the local Criollos). Traditional inter-band invitatio-
They may attach themselves to other local bands for temporary pe-
nal dances and the reciprocal exchange of fish and cassava between
riods or permanently, without immediate concern, as long as kinship ties
the men and women of opposite bands do not take place if the party
are present or can be fictitiously established. The establishment of rela-
is to be the occasion for hostilities. The local band invites its rival to
tionships in this context is facilitated by the existence of the re-
the drinking party for the explicit purpose of fighting. The rival band
gional band.
will always accept the invitation and drink without moderation; although
There are twenty-six regional bands which cross-cut the major sub- they are aware of the intention behind the party, not to do so, would be
sistence divisions. The regional band consists of several local bands occu- regarded as disgraceful and shameful. Those in charge of preparing the
pying the same riverine sector and sharing the same animal ancestor drink will keep a strick diet to ensure its potency. The shaman, in
or associate. The uneven distribution of resources, especially in relation addition to reciting magical formulas over the men, will also recite
to the wet-dry season cycle, results in the movement of local bands appropriate formulas over the drink so that it will not affect the indi-
and/or families which compose them throughout the river region. The viduals of his community. This gives them an advantage over their
rights to particular resources in any area are not regarded as exclusive. enemies which is consciously reinforced by drinking as little as possi-
64 Bosque tropical Morey 65

ble. Initially such drinking parties proceed as if they were normal, fes- small group of males and combat is hand-to-hand with special war
tive occasions, but after a few hours of "friendly" singing and dancing, clubs. These are fairly lethal weapons made from hard, heavy wood
insults and accusations follow and the hosts will fall upon their guests and although varying in size, approximate the same length and width
with flailing fists and attempt to beat them into submission. Weapons as a baseball bat. In the raid, all males and the elder females are nor-
should not be used; however, they inevitably appear, but death or se- mally killed; the young girls are taken for wives. Conflict on this scale
rious injuries occur infrequently. The women stand on the sidelines and is now infrequent, but recurrent rumors and stories of past raids are com-
with shouts and screams encourage the general melee. The battle ends mon in many villages (particularly among the semi-nomadic villagers
with one or the other group retreating from the site. who reside along the smaller streams and are more susceptible to
attack).3 Today, theft from the gardens is more frequent than outright
It is obvious that these drinking parties satisfy the requirements of
confrontation.
revenge and serve to suppress all-out warfare between two related
groups. The absence of traditional invitational dances and reciprocal ex- Peaceful exchange and kinship ties supersede the necessity for rai-
change between the sexes symbolizes the rupture of normal, affable re- ding in many cases. Exchange between the sedentary cultivating Gua-
lations. These are restored through the formalized conflict of the drin- hibo, the semi-nomadic cultivating Guahibo-Sikuani and the nomadic
king party. Trade, visiting and interaction between individuals and fa- hunting and gathering Sikuani is based primarily upon kinship. The
milies of the opposing bands are restored. Guahibo villagers serve as middlemen for their Sikuani kinsmen to whom
they trade garden produce, tools, fishhooks, utensils and clothing, for ga-
Although neither verbalized nor visualized by the Guahibo, it ap- me, wild plant foods, paricá, and hammocks. In regions such as the
pears that the drinking party is the characteristic means to resolve con- Tomo and Tuparro Rivers, kinship ties between hunting band and se-
flict within the regional band and, above all, between horticultural mi-nomadic village are extensive. Families easily interchange band or
bands. Despite the fact that regional band affiliation cross-cuts subsis- village affiliation depending upon the dictates of seasonal activities.
tence patterns, the sedentary Guahibo cultivators state that the semi-no-
madic cultivators and the nomadic Sikuani hunters are "not civilized" It is evident that warfare and trade in the past formed a vast
and "do not fight in a civilized manner", i. e. they do not have the network throughout the llanos and was based upon such factors as
drinking party 2. Warfare, raiding and sorcery are the characteristic me- unequal spatial and temporal distribution of, and restricted access to,
thods of revenge-conflict where kinship ties are almost wholly lacking natural resources. This uneven access to game, wild fruits, garden produ-
with groups outside the regional band and similar subsistence context. ce and Western trade goods, not only influences Guahibo subsistence
patterns but also accounts, in part, for both warfare and trading pat-
The institution of the drinking party is absent among the nomadic terns. Control of the narrow zones of land suitable for cultivation along
Guahibo-Sikuani, who instead engage in raiding of one another and of the river banks by the horticultural Guahibo restricts the foraging po-
their horticultural relatives. Warfare-raiding today is infrequent and lar- pulations to the unproductive savannas and, in the absence of peaceful
gely confined to the area north of the Meta River in Arauca and relations, also blocks these groups from the acquisition of the highly
Boyacá, although intermittent raiding also occurs in the Tomo and Tu- desirable Western trade goods. This current situation reinforces the de-
parro River regions. The Guahibo state that the objetive of most attacks piction of the favored ecological niche represented by the riverine
by the nomadic Sikuani upon the villages is to obtain garden produce flood plain. Contemporary warfare patterns then, can be interpreted as
(crops), Western material goods, and women. Hostilities between Sikua- reflecting continued pressure and competition for the river banks.
ni bands are explained as a result of territorial encroachment and to
As expected, indigenous conflict with the local Criollo population al-
obtain booty and women. Friendly nomadic bands are usually located
so reflects these subsistence-oriented problems. The more efficient tech-
near one another and on rare occasions may cooperate to combat an
nology of the Criollo population in terms of guns, outboard motors, etc.
aggressor or raid a village. The cultivators greatly fear the Sikuani, and
accentuates the problems of the poverty of the native flora and fauna.
in no case will they enter a camp alone or leave their women unpro-
Hostilities are, of course, compounded by the local attitudes of the Crio-
tected when the hunters and gatherers are in the vicinity of the villa-
llos toward the Indians.
ge. The Sikuani prefer the surprise night attack. It is carried out by a
3. One informant, the member of a recently victimized village, reported the slaugh-
2. The sedentary cultivating Guahibo tend to lump the semi-nomadic cultivators ter of several of his fellow members. In the Tuparro region the Homoinawi
and the nomadic Sikuani together; however, the former also employ the drinking band is infamous and widely feared for their ferocity in such raids.
party as a conflict resolving institution.
66 Bosque tropical Morey 67

During my field work in the llanos I became acquainted with nume- and the tremendous distances between farms makes the obtaí-
rous llaneros. They are open, friendly people not dissimilar to the often- ning of accurate information difficult.
painted pictures of the Argentinian Gaucho or the cowboy of the early Rafael Jaramillo, reported leader of the rebels, apparently has
western United States. Unfortunately, many share the attitude of the the complete confidence of the guahibo Indians. (The Times of
frontier that, "the only good Indian is a dead Indian". The Guahibo- the Americas, Vol. XIV, N° 10, p. 8, March 11, 1970).
Sikuani, or Cuiba, as the hunters and gatherers are termed by the Crio-
llos, are infamous throughout the llanos for slaughtering the cattle which The Times of the Americas is an English language newspaper
roam freely over the large unfenced ranches and for stealing agricul- which translates and publishes articles originally appearing in Latin
tural produce. When their predations become too serious or too anno- American newspapers. My knowledge concerning these two recent events
ying, several ranchers may decide to band together to cuiviar. Cuiviar related to Guahibo warfare is thus confined to this secondary source.
is a colloquial term employed in the llanos; it is a combination of Cui- Nevertheless, these restricted reports of uprisings I believe can be ínter-
va or Cuiba and the Spanish-ar verb ending, meaning, "to hunt Cui- preted to substantiate the contention that warfare in this region has
va"4. These events are not daily occurrences, but they do happen occa- had, and continues to have, a subsistence basis. Both events appears to
sionally, which is not surprising where governmental control and com- have been precipitated by, or at least were indirectly related to, food
munication are still largely absent. Since my return from the field in acquisition or shortage: "… damage our crops or kill our pigs… a trap
1966 two newspaper articles (partially quoted here) related to Guahibo baited with food"; "... apparently led by a former police inspector,
warfare have attracted my attention: who has been in charge of food distribution programs in this area".
The regions of Arauca and Meta, when compared to Vichada, have
The Cuibas have been provoked into war. For years they ha- substantially greater Criollo populations, Although the Criollo treatment
ve been hunted and mercilessly slain by cattle rancheres who and negative view of the Indian (Guahibo) are undoubtedly impor-
consider them vermin. tant factors, it seems clear from the evidence of historical sources and
Rancher Luis Enrique Morín, who is awaiting trial here /Bogo- our knowledge of contemporary Guahibo warfare patterns that these re-
tá/ for leading a massacre of Cuibas several months ago, descri- cent conflicts represent renewed or continued pressure upon the tradi-
bed them as "animals, like deer." "But", said Morín, "the lit- tionally limited resources of the Guahibo. This would appear to be
tle deer do not damage our crops or kill our pigs". Morín and particularly true in relation to the nomadic foraging Sikuani populations
his companions admitted slaying three Cuiba men, six women who, being denied access to the more productive river banks, have tur-
and seven children in a trap baited with food. In retaliation, ned to the more easily obtained domesticated livestock.
Cuiba tribesmen attacked an isolated farm-house recently in
the Arauca district. (The Times of the Americas, Vol. XIII, N°
1, p. 3, January 1, 1969).
REFERENCES
An uprising of armed Indians in the eastern province of Meta
is causing concern…
It is estimated that about 400 Indians are involved, but reports ACOSTA SAIGNES, Miguel
thus far are confused. Authorities have been informed that the 1961 Estudios de Etnología Antigua de Venezuela. Caracas: Universidad Cen-
tral de Venezuela.
group is armed and that it is apparently led by a former poli-
ce inspector, who has been in charge of food distribution pro- GOLDMAN, Irving
1963 The Cubeo. Illinois Studies in Anthropology N° 2. Urbana: University
grams in this area. Some 60 families near the town of Planas of Illinois Press.
have reportedly organized their own defense groups. Most
HELM, June
houses are deserted and families are concentrated in central 1965 Bilaterality in the Socio-Territorial Organization of the Arctic Drai-
barricaded farms. nage Dene. Ethnology, 4 (4) : 361-85.
The area was settled about 15 years ago. Prior to that time 1968 The Nature of Dogrib Socioterritorial Groups. In Man the Hunter, Ri-
chard B. Lee and Irven DeVore, eds. Chicago: Aldine, pp. 118-125.
Indians were the only inhabitants. The lack of communications
LATHRAP, Donald W.
4. Much of this information is based upon an account of a ranch hand who had 1968a Aboriginal Occupation and Changes in River Channel on the Central
direct experience with these "hunting parties" in the Casanare region. Ucayali, Peru. American Antiquity, 33(1) :62-79.
68 Bosque tropical

1968b The "Hunting" Economies of the Tropical Forest Zone of South Ameri- HUNTING AND FISHING PRODUCTIVITY
ca: An Attempt at Historical Perspective. In Man the Hunter, Richard OF THE
B. Lee and Irven Devore, eds. Chicago: Aldine, pp. 23-29.
MISKITO INDIANS,
LEEDS, Anthony EASTERN NICARAGUA 1
1964 Some Problems of Yaruro Ethnohistory. Actas y Memorias, XXXV Con-
greso Internacional de Americanistas, Mexico 1962, pp. 157-75.
LEVI-STRAUSS, Claude
1963 Structural Anthropology. Translated by C. Jacobson and B. G. Schoepf.
New York: Basic Books.
METRAUX, Alfred
1949 Warfare, Cannibalism, and Human Trophies. Handbook of South Ame- Bernard NIETSCHMANN
rican Indians, 5:383-409. Smithsonian Institution Bureau of American
Ethnology Bulletin 143.
REICHEL-DOLMATOFF, Gerardo
1959 The Formative Stage: An Appraisal from the Colombian Perspective.
Actas del XXXIII Congreso Internacional de Americanistas, San José,
Costa Rica 1958, pp. 152-64.
SAHLINS, Marshall D.
1961 The Segmentary Lineage: An Organization of Predatory Expansion.
American Anthropologist, 63:322-43.
Introduction
SAUER, Carl O.
1952 Agricultural Origins and Dispersals. New York: American Geographi- For many people in Latin America, hunting and fishing still play
cal Society. an important role in subsistence. In addition to the numerous groups
STEWARD, Julian H. and Louis C. FARON of lowland tropical Amerinds in South America, there are various nati-
1959 Native Peoples of South America. New York: McGraw-Hill. ve tribes in Middle America who still depend on hunting and fishing
VAYDA, Andrew P. as their major source of animal protein. Many peasant groups also get
1961 Expansion and Warfare among Swidden Agriculturalists. American An- at least some of their food from hunting and fishing.
thropologist, 63: 346-58.
Carneiro (1960, 1961, 1964) has shown that most tropical forest agri-
cultural systems are capable of producing vegetable food far in surplus
of what is needed by existing populations. It may not be the agricultu-
ral potential nor the size of the area available for agriculture which
alone influence population size and location, and the area's carrying
capacity, but other factors such as protein-rich fish and game resources.
Denevan (1966), Lathrap ( 1968), and Carneiro (n. d.) have all com-
mented on the possible importance of protein obtained from hunting
and fishing in terms of population distribution and settlement location,
especially for people whose crop staples are roots and tubers and who
have few or no domesticated animals.
Despite the suspected importance of native animals in Amerind
diets, their possible affect on human carrying capacity and settlement
location, and the growing list of over-exploited, endangered species, we
know almost nothing about the amounts and types of fish and game
animals taken by a specific group over a period of time. In reviewing

1. Research for this article was carried out in 1968-1969 while conducting a field
study on the ecology of Miskito subsistence under a grant from the Foreign Area
Fellowship Program. I would like to thank the University of Michigan and
the Wenner-Gren Foundation for travel support to Lima.
70 Bosque tropical Nietschmann 71

ecological research in Middle America, Bennett (1967: 18) noted that people in Central America, after the Maya. The Miskito are scattered
"we have only vague ideas about the quantitative aspects of hunting along 400 miles of Caribbean Coast from Cabo Camarón in Honduras
and fishing success under different environmental and technological to Haulover, at the southern end of Pearl Lagoon in Nicaragua, and
conditions." This is really an understatement of the situation, as few pu- almost 400 miles up the Río Coco to Yakalpanai, the last Miskito set-
blished studies exist for any one group where hunting and fishing tlement. Their present-day population in Nicaragua is approximately
yields were measured.2 Bennett (1970: 25-26) later remarked: 35,000, the majority divided between coastal villages (10,000-11,000 to-
tal population ) and Río Coco riverine villages (14,000-15,000 total po-
The exploitation of the wild animal resources base as a food
pulation) (Nietschmann 1970b: 60-65). The study village of Tasbapau-
source by Amerinds has received inadequate attention from
ni with a population of 997 is one of the largest Miskito settlements.
scholars who have studied Amerind societies. Too often a list
of animals said to be eaten by the group under investigation The Miskito were one of the many aboriginal groups which inha-
is felt to supply all needed information... One is generally told bited the east coast of Nicaragua before early seventeenth century Eu-
nothing about quantities taken of a given species, seas anal as- ropean contact whose cultures and languages were derived principally
pects of hunting and fishing, the nutritional contribution made from lowland tropical South America (Adams 1965: 897-899; Kirchhoff
by this dietary input (we know there are fats and proteins but 1948). Probably numbering no more than 2,000 individuals the Miskito
how much and what percentage of the total intake is account- population was centered on the northeast coast of Nicaragua at Sandy
ted for by this source?)… Bay and Cape Gracias a Dios (Nietschmann n. d., 1970b: 35-48). Their
emergence as the major native group and their diffusion into very díf-
The present paper deals with hunting and fishing yields and time ferent environments has come about since European contact, principally
and distance factors in a coastal Miskito village in eastern Nicaragua. through territory and population gained by warfare from neighboring
Daily records were kept for one year from October 1968 through Sep- Sumu Indians.
tember 1969 of game meat and fish brought into the village of Tasba-
pauni by hunters and fishermen. The weights of these animals were The Mískito Coast is the wettest section in Middle America recei-
taken both of the field dressed and butchered meat. The exact loca- ving between 100 and 250 inches of precipitation annually. A period of
tion at which the meat was taken was also recorded, as well as the dis- relative dryness occurs from February to mid-May and at the end of
tance and time involved. This was done in order to get at the meat September. These months are characterized by much reduced preci-
yields of respective biotopes (microenvironments) 3 and the relative suc- pitation totals, generally under five inches, long periods of hot, rainless
cess in different biotopes, as expressed by amounts of meat taken relati- days, often 10 to 15 days or more, .and short rainfalls, lasting only a few
ve to time and distance expended. The time, distance, yields, and type hours. Heavy rains fall between June and August, with July usually
of biotope provided a core of measurable data, along with dietary recording over 30 inches. The rest of the year is generally wet, most
samples. months receiving at least 10 inches in the Tasbapauni area.
The study village lies on a narrow haulover 4 separating Pearl La-
The Miskito and the Miskito Coast goon from the sea, approximately 40 miles north of Bluefields, the ma-
jor town on the coast. The Tasbapauni area is a complex of varied en-
The Miskito Indians are the dominant cultural group in eastern vironments with different associations of fauna and flora offering nume-
Nicaragua and they are the second most widely distributed Indian rous combinations of hunting and fishing opportunities in terms of species,
site, and season (Figure 1). To the west of the village, across the la-
2. In his study of diet and 1ivelihood of the Bayano Cuna Indians of Panama, Ben- goon, are large expanses of tropical rainforest, scattered palm swamp,
nett (1962) presented virtually the only available detailed information on hunt- and gallery forests inhabited largely by Neotropical fauna. An exten- si-
ing and fishing catches based on 14 days of recorded species, numbers, and ve marine shelf extends far out into the Caribbean Sea off Tasbapauni.
weights.
3. Biotopes are ecological units wherein primary habitat conditions, and the fau-
The marine fauna of the shallow offshore waters correspond to most
na and flora adapted to them, are uniform. "Various habitats, or biotopes, can species found throughout Caribbean waters. This area has the largest
be distinguished, according to soil, vegetation, climatic conditions, each inhabi- sea turtle feeding grounds in the Western Hemisphere (Carr 1967: 98),
ted by a definite and well-characterized animal community" (Allee and Schmidt
1951:4). Each biotope is differentiated by distinctive physical features and bio- 4. A haulover is a narrow neck of land separating two bodies of water such as a la-
ta such as a mangrove swamp, a Thallasia turtle bank, or a river sand bar goon and the sea or two lagoons where a dugout canoe can be dragged across.
where various reptiles lay their eggs.
Nietschmann 73

dominated by Zostera and Thallasia turtle grasses. The green turtle

(Chelonia mydas mydas) is a major source of meat for the coastal
Miskito and the basis of much of their livelihood. Turtling activities
are concentrated on the feeding grounds ("banks") and shoal areas
around coral cays located five to 26 miles from Tasbapauni.
The land-water zone within the range of exploitation of Tasbapauni
hunters and fishermen totals 850 square miles, which included 625
square miles of ocean, 125 square miles of lagoons, rivers, and creeks,
and 100 square miles of land. Not all of this are a receives the same in-
tensity of exploitation, of course. The 850 square miles include all of the
territory which is visited or traversed during the year for food-getting.
The core of food supply in Tasbapauni comes from slash and
bum agriculture (manioc, bananas, plantains, Xanthosoma), and hunting
and fishing. Small purchases are made of flour, sugar, salt, beans, rice,
coffee, and other items at small "stores" in the village. The exchange
economy is based on turtles, coconuts, skins, shrimp, and small amounts
of agricultural crops. Domesticated animals are scarce and the few that
are raised are usually sold to visiting Bluefields buyers.

Hunting and fishing

Hunting and fishing activities form the focus of village life. Meat
is the single most sought after food and is the center of interest in the
village. Deprived of meat, many women refuse to cook or they are in-
different about it at best.
Out of approximately 160 men between the ages of 21 and 60, one
hundred and twenty-four did some hunting and fishing during the pe-
riod of field research 5. Of these, 80 turtled, 26 hunted and turtled, and
18 hunted. Few can master, as well as afford, the varied technology
and necessary skills to be successful in an phases of hunting and fi-
shing, at all times of the year, and with equal proficiency for land
and water.
Just as the Tasbapauni Miskito's environment is made up of diffe-
rent places with various fauna, so too are their hunting and fishing me-
thods composed of analogous sets of different technologies, strategies, la-
bor arrangements, and sea and forest knowledge. Fishing alone involves
a complex set of radically different technologies and strategies for turtle,

5. The remaining 36 men did no hunting and fishing because they were either sick.
disabled, diesel boat owners, had a sustaining specialty craft (building sea-go-
ing dugout canoes, repairing boats ), or simply did not like the rigors of hunt-
ing and turtle fishing. They were usually able to obtain meat by purchase or
through kin.
74 Bosque tropical

manatee, shrimp, and different fish. The major piece of equipment need-
ed for turtling and for journeying to hunting grounds is a dugout
canoe (dori in Miskito) fitted for sailing. Most hunting is done with
22 rifles and 12 and 16 gauge shotguns. Fish are taken with a variety of
lances, harpoons, and nets. Most turtles are harpooned, some are taken
with turtle nets during the February to May and September "dry sea-
son" when the sea is calm.

Hunting and fishing focus

Miskito hunting and fishing efforts are concentrated on large ani-

mals in localized areas and on small animals having high population
densities. Many animals are considered culturally unavailable for food 6
and others are accessible for limited periods only and, even then, in di-
verse places. The most esteemed fish and game animals in Tasbapau-
ni include green turtle, white-lipped peccary (Tayassu pecari), white-
tail deer (Odocoileus virginiana), hicatee fresh-water turtle (Pseudomys
sp), manatee (Trichechus sp.), and fish of many kinds, but principally
catfish (Arius tnelanopus, Bagre marinus), mojarra (Cichlasoma sp.),
stingray (various genera), and coppermouth (Cynoscion sp.). Dietary
preference of specific fish and game animals determines to a large de-
gree the intensity and frequency of exploitation efforts.
The most common game animals and their average live and but-
chered weights are listed in Figure 2. The butchered weights represent
"clean meat" portions after the animal has been gutted, cut up, and most
of the non-edible parts removed. Bones were included in butchered
weights as they are not removed for the sale of meat or for cooking.
The approximate amount of meat consumed in Tasbapauni during
a twelve month period is presented in Figure 3. Almost the entire
total (92 percent) was obtained by hunting and fishing. These totals
do not inc1ude shrimp and green turtles sold outside the village,
animals used to bait deadfall traps (used to catch jaguars and oce-
lots), nor cats and river otters taken for skins 7. Of the total 110,600
pounds of meat, 6,244 (five percent) were obtained by trade or pur-
chase from outside the village; domesticated animals butchered in
Tasbapauni contributed 2,490 (two percent); 101,866 pounds came from
hunting and fishing efforts of the men of Tasbapauni.

6. These include, for example, trunkback (Dermochelys sp.) and loggerhead (Ca-
retta sp.) turtles, many fish, and howler monkey (Alouatta). Food restrictions
also exist for hawksbill turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata), collared peccary (Pe-
cari tajacu), shrimp (Penaeus), jack fish (Caranx), tarpon (Megalops atlan-
ticus), and lobster (Panulirus argus) among others.
7. Approximately 40,000 pounds of fresh shrimp and 82 green turtles were sold.
Nietschmann 77

The most important animals are green turtle, white-lipped peccary,

fish, and whitetail deer. The high percentage of green turtles in the
Tasbapauni diet indicates how important this animal is to the villagers.
The coastal Miskito have adapted much of their technology, lifeways,
and internal and external economic patterns to the predictable- behavior
patterns and relatively dependable catches of green turtles. By focusing
on the green turtle a great deal of pressure has been taken off terres-
trial animal populations which under other conditions would receive
more hunting attention. Along the Río Coco, in contrast to Tasbapauni,
there is less game meat in the diet and river fishing is the dominant
source of animal protein.
The Tasbapauni population exploits less of the terrestrial environ-
ment than do the riverine Miskito. Hunting along the Río Coco is fo-
cused much more on small game animals (pacas, agoutis, brocket deer,
monkeys, parrots and other birds, with only occasional white-lipped pec-
cary taken). In hunting and fishing each kill is composed of a com-
plex set of techno-environmental relationships. If the hunter or fisherman
can base his quest on large animals, then each stalk, each shot, each
trip has more of a chance for a large amount of meat. Therefore, a
Miskito on the Río Coco may have to make five on ten separate stalks
and shots for every one or two by a Tasbapauni hunter or turtleman.
The preponderance of green turtles in meat yields and in Tasba-
pauní's subsistence system can be shown graphically by depicting the
number of the most important species taken monthly (Figure 4). Eight
hundred and nineteen green turtles, 133 white-lipped peccary, and 95
whitetail deer were taken during this period.

Variability of meat yields

A close relationship exists between changes in weather and sea con-

ditions, local and extra-regional faunal movement, and the variability of
meat yields. Both the types and amounts of meat taken in hunting
and fishing fluctuate throughout the year. The line indicating monthly
rainfall totals in Figure 5 also reflects other environmental changes. Pe-
riods of heavy or light rainfall are accompanied by differences in the
velocity of offshore currents, changes in' wind directions and intensities,
and rearrangements of fish and game populations, most markedly the
migration of green turtles. Equally as important as the environmental
and biological processes affecting the availability and accessibility of fish
and game resources is whether or not they are "in phase" with work
demands in other spheres of the subsistence system. Thus the February
to May dry season, when green turtles are the most plentiful and easi-
ly caught, is the period when agricultural work (clearing, burning, plan-
ting) has to be done.
Nietschmann 79

Much of the seasonality of meat supplies revolves around green

turtle migration patterns. Starting in early April the first group of turtles
is said to leave for Tortuguero, Costa Rica nesting beach. Turtles conti-
nue to leave the feeding grounds May through early June. From June to
the first part of August turtling activities also diminish because of
adverse weather conditions, primarily strong currents and winds. The
turtles begin to return from nesting in late July and continue arriving
until most are back by September. During their absence meat yields
drop off greatly and are only ameliorated by hunting returns.
Meat consumed in the village reaches its highest volume during
the dry season months of February, March, and April when weather
and turtling conditions are optimum. A drastic difference in meat totals
occurs in mid-May and intensifies through June, July, and August as
the turtles migrate southward and the rain s begin. Meat returns increa-
se in the latter part of August and September during the short dry
period. From September to the end of November, total monthly
amounts of meat in Tasbapauni decrease as a result of labor demands
for the rice harvest, contrary winds in October and strong north winds
in November.
The variability of meat yields points out one of the most important
ecological relationships between the Miskito and their environment, that
of the interaction of weather and sea conditions, turtle migration pat-
terns, and the amphibian life of the turtlemen. The timing and success
of turtling is largely dependent on these two major environmental fac-
tors. Turtlemen act as the adjustive link between the village's desire
for meat and the vagaries and certainties of the sea and turtles.

Meat yields of biotopes

An attempt was made to measure the amount of meat taken from

the different biotopes utilized by the Miskito. Biotope meat yields pre-
sented in Figure 6 represent meat taken for consumption within the vil-
lage. However, many animals were also taken only for their skins. An
estimated 40,000 pounds of shrimp were caught by Tasbapauni fisher-
men, but only 3,000 pounds were kept for food, the remainder being sold
to Bluefields buyers.
The Miskito recognize many biotopes, mostly in terms of structu-
ral composition. They perceive the relation of specific animal species to
certain biotopes and direct their meat-getting activities accordingly. Cer-
tain biotopes were more productive than others because they contained
the desired animal species and were accessible, and because hunting
and fishing were dependable.
Within the shallow offshore water area, shoals, turtle banks, and
"mudset" (close to shore mud-bottomed zone) areas were the most pro-
80 Bosque tropical 1

ductive, yielding 79 percent of the total annual catch. On land, palm

swamps, old and new plantations (milpas or swiddens), and secondary
forest had the highest return of meat. In the lagoon-river resource
sphere, the shallow water shrimp banks, grass flats, and shallow water
borders provided most of the meat. In all approximately 87 percent of
the meat was obtained from the water, and 13 percent from land.

Distances in hunting and fishing

In compiling data on hunting and fishing yields round trip distan-

ces to the "kill site" were noted. Since 87 percent of the meat was taken
in a dugout canoe, the round trip distances shown in Figure 7 are
mostly direct water distances. Meat yields relative to distance are not
on an even ascending or descending gradient. Instead the pattern is
one of alternating highs and lows corresponding to the location of pro-
ductive and unproductive biotopes, Marine and terrestrial faunas are
not distributed evenly throughout an area. Rather, they commonly occur
in restricted areas, under specific ecological conditions, and at certain
times of the year (Nietschmann 1970a).
The long distance journeyed for hunting and fishing by the Mis-
kito of Tasbapauni are similar to the situations in other coastal villages.
The turtlemen in the Sandy Bay communities of the northern coast go
50 to 60 miles round trip to turtling grounds and 10 to 15 miles up the
Ulang River for hunting. Just north of Tasbapauni in the villages of
Río Grande Bar and Little Sandy Bay, turtlemen travel 12 to 15 miles
out to Man O'War Cays and hunters go 10 to 20 miles up the Río Gran-
de. It is not uncommon for some coastal Miskito to have to go one
and two days by dugout to upriver hunting areas.

Time inputs

Estimating the amount of time involved in hunting and fishing

was extremely difficult. Time inputs and meat returns varied tremen-
dously from individual to individual and from season to season, much
more so than in agriculture. In Figure 8, inputs of time and meat
yield outputs are examined for a hunter and a turtleman. Both of
these men obtained approximately the same amount of meat during
the twelve month study period. Each split the total meat take with a
partner. The turtleman made fewer trips, but each of longer duration,
than did the hunter. Both spent a great deal of time in travel: the
turtleman 241 hours (53 percent) and the hunter 305 (57 percent). The
turtleman had a slightly higher return of meat for every hour invested
(1.78: 1 versus 1.62: 1) and considerably more grams of protein per
hour (173 versus 136) than did the hunter. On the other hand, hunting
Nietschmann 83

provided more calories per hour of time (1251 versus 956) than did
turtling, due in large part to the high fat composition of white-lipped
peccary. The Mískito's liking for fatty meat prompts hunting efforts
toward white-lipped peccary. This animal made up 70 percent of the
total meat yield for the hunter in this example, while deer provided
most of the balance.
The most significant difference, and the major reason there are
more turtlemen than hunters, is that the percentage of successful trips 8
was much higher for the turtlemen (73 percent versus 55 percent).
Thus the turtleman went out from the village fewer times and had a
greater chance of getting meat than did the hunter. In short, turtle
fishing reduces the subsistence risk of meat-getting. It is not how much
time or effort is expended to get a particular species that is important
to a Miskito, but the degree of certainty in getting it.
In addition to the importance of turtles in the village market
economy and the low subsistence risk of turtle fishing compared with
hunting, another reason for the dominance of turtling is the high protein
return. Hunting is generally more productive in calorie returns than
turtling but agricultural calorie productivity is so overshadowing that
their margin of difference is almost meaningless. On the other hand,
the protein return (grams of protein yield per hour/calories expended
per hour) for turtling (.99) is 20 percent higher than for hunting (.78).
Added to this the fact that the protein return is also almost 20 percent
more dependable in turtling than hunting, it is evident that Miskito
meatgetting strategy has considerably reduced subsistence risk and in-
creased protein productivity by concentrating on turtle: fishing. There-
fore, even though the Tasbapauni Miskito are on the edge of a still
game-rich tropical environment, more than 65 percent of the active adult
men concentrate their meat-getting efforts only on turtling.

Contribution of hunting and fishing to diet

Of the diets sampled in Tasbapauni 9 the average daily caloric

intake for an adult male ranged from 2,000 in July when all foods are
scarce, to 2,400 in May when crops are scarce and turtle abundant, to
2,800 in September when the first manioc crop is ready and green
turtles return from nesting. The daily average for a one year period

8. A "successful trip" is somewhat difficult to define. A Miskito may bring a cou-

ple of hicatee turtle and believe he had bad luck hunting. I considered a hunt-
ing or turtling trip to be successful if the men brought back more calories in
meat than they expended.
9. Intensive dietary measurement was done during two 14 day periods (one in
May and the other in July) and intermittently at other times of the year for
three sample families.
84 Bosque tropical

was approximately 2,500 calories. Calorie intake was extremely variable;

some days a man would barely consume 1,000 calories. When food
became plentiful, daily consumption levels rose to 4,000 or 5,000 calories.
The present percentages of calories secured by the Tasbapauni Miskito
by different means of food procurement roughly are: agriculture 74 per-
cent, purchased store foods 18 percent, hunting and fishing 7 percent, and
gathering 1 percent.
Men are the major procurers of protein, basing their activities on
the calorie surplus supplied largely by women in agriculture. In this
respect, Alland (1970: 78) observes:
The calorie output from the products of hunting may frequen-
tly fall below the investment, but an essential element is added
to the diet... hunters should hunt enough to meet amino acid
requirements but not so much that they strain the overall calo-
ric supply.
Protein returns from hunting and fishing are fairly high and the
amount of daily protein intake averaged 50 to 60 grams (mostly of ani-
mal origin). Large amounts of essential aminoacids are supplied in
animal organs and muscle tissues and the Miskito's consumption of
almost all parts of an animal greatly improves the utilization of the
intake of proteins.
The approximate daily consumption of calories and protein for
men, women, children, and for the village of Tasbapauni are shown in
Figure 9. These figures were derived from three sample families, ex-
trapolating for the village totals. Based on these data an average family
of seven, including an adult man and woman, adolescent girl and boy,
one child six to ten years old, and two children two to five years
old would consume approximately 12,000 calories per day, and about
4,500,000 per year; 138 grams of animal protein or about 1 1/2 pounds of
meat per day, and 548 pounds per year. Average daily consumption
rates for the village of 997 people work out to 19,869 grams of animal
protein (roughly 220 pounds of meat). In other words, the current rate
of meat consumption can be satisfied with two medium size green
turtles per day.

Outlook

The combined number of green turtles taken by Miskito Indians

in Nicaraguan waters probably does not exceed 5,000 head annually
and is more likely closer to 4,000. I know of no published estimate of
the present-day size of the Nicaraguan green turtle population. There
is no doubt, however, that the turtle herds are being depleted as a
result of the long-term exploitation of the Tortuguero nesting beach
Nietschmann 87

and from years of commercial and subsistence turtling of the remain-

ning green turtle population by Cayman Islanders and Miskito Indians.
On the other hand, fish and game populations in the Tasbapauni area
apparently have not been seriously depleted due to the extensiveness
of the rainforest, river, and lagoon areas exploited by the Miskito and
their concentration on green turtles. Villages such as Tasbapauni and a
handful of other Miskito settlements represent remnants of a way life
once much more widespread in the Caribbean.
Based on an estimated annual growth of 3.3 percent the current
Miskito population of 35,000 will increase to 48,000 in 10 years and to
66,500 in 20 years (Nietschmann 1970b: 66,338). The Miskito are having
to support their growing population with local resources. Increasing
pressure will be placed on fish and game populations to meet nutria-
tional demands for animal protein. Maintaining the present quality and
composition of Tasbapauni Miskito dietary patterns in the future will
be as closely correlated to what happens to green turtle populations as
it will to increasing the area under cultivation to meet population
growth.

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Si es cierto que el hombre inventa dioses a su semejanza,
Natural History Press.
también lo es que encuentra su semejanza en las imágenes
DENEVAN, William M. que le ofrecen el cielo y la tierra. Octavio Paz.
1966 "A Cultural-Ecological View of Former Aboriginal Settlement in the
Amazon Basin", The Professional Geographer, Vol. 18, pp. 346-35l.
KIRCHHOFF, Paul
1948 "The Caribbean Lowland Tribes: the Mosquito, Sumu, Paya and Jicaque",
Handbook of South American Indians, U. S. Bureau of American Ethno-
logy Bulletin N9 143, Vol. 4, J. Steward, editor, pp. 219-229. Los Kofan habitan las cabeceras de los ríos Aguarico, San Miguel y
LATHRAP, Donald W.
Guamúes en la zona fronteriza ecuatoriano-colombiana. La tribu consta
1968 "The 'Hunting' Economies of the Tropical Forest Zone of South America: de 550 habitantes, lo que equivale a un número igual de habitantes del
An Attempt at Historical Perspective", Man the Hunter, R. B. Lee and idioma Kofan, y que no tiene relación definitiva con ninguna familia
I. Devore, editors, pp. 23-29. Chicago: Aldine. lingüística reconocida. La economía Kofan, al igual que la de otras tribus
NIETSCHMANN, Bernard vecinas de la región del Putumayo, se basa en la caza, pesca y horticul-
1970a "The Measurement of Subsistence", National Conference of Latin Ame- tura incipiente. Las familias nucleares o extendidas comparten casas-ha-
ricanist Geographers, Muncie, Indiana, 1970. (Preliminary Edition), pp. bitación, sobreelevadas del suelo, con pisos y paredes de chonta y techos
221-233.
1970b "Between Land and Water: The Subsistence Ecology of the Miskito In-
de hojas tejidas. De los siete caseríos que hay, los más grandes tienen
dians, Eastern Nicaragua". Unpublished Ph. D. dissertation. Depart- diez casas y una población de alrededor de 100 habitantes, dispersa a
ment of Geography, University of Wisconsin. ambas márgenes de los ríos, en una distancia de uno o dos kilómetros.
n.d. "The Distribution of Miskito, Sumu, and Rama Indians, Eastern Nica-
ragua", Bulletin of the International Committee on Urgent Anthropolo- Los Kofan son una tribu teknónima, o sea que los padres toman el
gical and Ethnological Research, International Union of Anthropological nombre del primer hijo o hija al nacer y lo usan hasta cuando éste o
and Ethnological Sciences (Vienna). In Press. ésta se casa. Es en este momento, entonces, que cambian sus nombres
con la del siguiente hijo o hija no casado. Este hecho social crea una
situación de "amnesia genealógica", que dificulta la determinación del
parentesco más allá de dos generaciones. Se hace muy difícil recordar
los nombres originales de los antepasados, e incluso, los nombres cristianos
que todavía se emplean.
La descendencia Kofan es bilateral. Se reconocen los antecedentes de
ambos parientes sin que ninguno de los dos grupos adquiera mayor im-
portancia en la organización social. El nombre de familia, o apellido,
se toma del padre biológico-social. Existen, sin embargo, rasgos de un sis-
tema de "moietíes" o 'mitades' con igual número de "familias" en cada
una. Una mitad ocupaba el río San Miguel y la otra el Aguarico. Se
casaban y aún se casan entre "familias" de un río y el otro (sería pre-
maturo decir que son linajes, dado lo incompleto del análisis). Además,
existe incluso una diferencia dialectal entre los grupos de ambos ríos; pe-
ro fuera de esto, comparten la misma cultura.
90 Bosque tropical Robinson 91

No hay herencia de bienes, ni funciones sociales, a excepción del car- cualidades de las formas. Además, en cada imagen visual hay un soni-
go de curaka o shaman que es hereditario del padre al primer hijo (ac- do que la acompaña, si es que la forma produce sonido en la naturale-
tualmente este patrón cultural está debilitándose por las presiones za. Cabe notar que son las formas más temibles, por ejemplo, el tigre y
aculturativas). La propiedad de los hombres se reduce a sus artefactos la serpiente, las que producen menos sonido. Las demás formas con so-
y cultivos, yuca, plátano, maíz, tabaco y árboles frutales dispersos por el nido constituyen un complejo audio-visual que tiene las mismas caracte-
caserío y, además, a artículos y siembras en las que ha invertido su pro- rísticas en la vida cotidiana o bajo la influencia del yagé.
pio esfuerzo. Paralelamente, las mujeres son dueñas de utensilios de co-
El maestro pregunta continuamente al aprendiz qué ha visto, cómo
cina y de artículos de artesanía. Por otro lado, hombres y mujeres tienen
era, y qué hizo. De esta manera se informa del nivel de profundización
sus propias canciones, aprendidas en estado alucinante, producido por el
o el estado del conocimiento de formas atestiguadas por el novicio. A
consumo del yagé. Cuando muere una persona se destruyen sus bienes,
los que no ven mucho se les obliga a tomar más yagé. El conocimiento
se abandona su parcela y nunca más se atreven a repetir sus canciones.
se relaciona directamente con la cantidad de yagé que se consume.
El curaka o shaman es a la vez jefe político, intérprete e interme-
Al parecer existen cuatro etapas del conocimiento, sin distinción clara
diario de aquella parte de la realidad que sólo él conoce. Su poder
entre las mismas y corresponden, por supuesto, a la cantidad de yagé
nace de este hecho y su conocimiento se extiende a todos los campos
que uno haya tomado. Se comienza con las formas de figuras geométri-
de la acción humana. La imposición del sistema de gobernadores en el
cas, coloreadas y de una dinámica contínua que se transforman cons-
lado colombiano ha creado un doble sistema de autoridades dentro de
tantemente en formas distintas. Después, durante un largo rato (aproxi-
ciertos caseríos, pero al final, uno de ellos es intermediario con el mun-
madamente una hora) asoman, entre las figuras abstractas, animales y pá-
do blanco y el otro, el curaka (solamente hay un caso en que los pa-
jaros silvestres. (Hay casos en que solamente con la ayuda del yagé
peles coinciden) es el que "conoce" más y por cierto tiene la mayor au-
se ven algunos pájaros que no existen en la naturaleza. Esto no ocurre
toridad. Las enfermedades del mundo occidental, las matanzas de la épo-
con los demás animales).
ca misional-cauchera (y su continuación al presente con la explotación
del petróleo) y la carencia de hijos amenazan la continuidad del siste- Suponiendo que se siga tomando yagé, el estado compulsivo provo-
ma tradicional. Es muy probable que can la muerte de esta generación cado por los alcaloides aumenta y comienza el miedo, el llamado sufri-
de curakas (actualmente hay únicamente dos aprendices) se extinguirá miento. La cantidad de formas percibidas cambia a un ritmo acelerado
el shamanismo entre los Kofan. y la inhabilidad para controlarlas provoca miedo. Los animales: ser-
pientes, tigres y boas, por ejemplo, atacan al individuo, lo comen, lo des-
Cada caserío tiene un shaman, un hombre de edad, casado o viu-
trozan hasta que siente su propia muerte. Es evidente que la inminen-
do, que ha servido y sufrido (según ellos) un período de aprendizaje
cia de la muerte engendra miedo en personas conscientes de su vida,
con su padre u otro shaman durante su juventud, generalmente antes
pero al morir el alma se separa del cuerpo y 'sube' adonde vive la gen-
de cumplir los treinta años. El aprendizaje consiste en tomar, frecuente-
te del yagé. Ellos, por supuesto, son Kofan que viven en grandes ca-
mente, grandes cantidades (hasta diez tazas) de yagé durante un perío-
seríos, todos felices, con abundancia de comida y chicha, en fin un ver-
do de no menos tres meses. El aprendiz toma junto con su maestro, los
dadero paraíso. Son ellos, la gente del yagé, la que enseña al individuo
dos solos y/o con los demás del caserío.
como cantar. Y como los curakas son quienes con mayor frecuencia llegan
La sabiduría, o sea el conocimiento y el poder que resulta del co- a verla, son los que cantan más. Quien ve a la gente del yagé les con-
nocimiento, proviene de las visiones, formas provocadas por la droga alu- sulta sobre enfermedades, apariciones, cacería y pesca. Son ellos quienes
cinógena. Es el maestro o curaka quien ha visto todo (durante su pro- ven todo. El curaka de mayor conocimiento es quien ve lo mismo que
pio aprendizaje y de allí en adelante reafirma continuamente sus co- la gente del yagé, y ellos como ya se dijo, todo lo ven. El interpreta sus
nacimientos) y ayuda al aprendiz a ver lo mismo. 'Ver' significa perci- visiones, es decir, su conocimiento, para beneficio de los demás. Si este
bir mentalmente, formas y sonidos naturales y culturales, sea de anima- beneficio exige controlar la maldad de otro curaka y/o con mayor fre-
les, pájaros y personas conocidas como la gente del yagé. cuencia el poder temible de curakas de tribus vecindarias, entonces lan-
zan sus propias flechas mágicas hacia la fuente de la maldad (también
Conocer (atesuye) es el estado de haber visto o de estar viendo
manifestada en forma de flechas mágicas).
(ateye); es necesario ver antes de conocer. El proceso es irreversible, no
hay conocimiento sin visión, y la visión sin conocimiento tiene el senti- El curaka interrumpe el ritmo de la vida cotidiana al anunciar que
do del verbo 'mirar' en español, la cual precede la apreciación de las tomará yagé, y los demás, hombre y mujeres, saben que pueden compar-
92 Bosque tropical Robinson 93

tir con él. La asistencia del curaka la solicitan los enfermos y quienes tras las mujeres preparan unas comidas especiales repartidas individual-
por haber visto, por ejemplo, un tigre amenazándolos, padecen una cri- mente por los niños. Antes del mediodía todos regresan a sus casas en el
sis. Muchas veces el curaka decide tomarlo por razones personales, siem- caserío.
pre relacionadas con el mantenimiento de la salud y el bienestar de los
El consumo del yagé es el único rito entre los Kofan actuales. Se re-
habitantes del caserío. En términos de función social, se consulta al ya-
pite can bastante frecuencia, a veces incluso semanalmente. El consumo
gé para diagnosticar los problemas y luego curar las enfermedades y re-
del yagé es un intento de comprender la realidad con mayor precisión.
solver las crisis que provocan el desconocimiento de un hecho aparente-
Dado que entre ellos no existe una clara distinción entre sueño y vigi-
mente incomprensible.
lia, es lógica la hipótesis de que las formas percibidas bajo la influencia
El curaka, si es que no hay una mujer menstruando, va al monte pa- del yagé no tienen una realidad aparte. Son formas normales o formas
ra cortar unos diez o doce trozos del tronco grueso del bejuco o liana, sin referencia concreta en el mundo de la naturaleza, o sea formas ne-
Banisteriopsis Caapi sp. y hojas de Banisteríopsis Rusbyana sp. Lleva lo tamente culturales, con el mismo grado de realidad que las otras. En-
colectado a la casa del yagé y al día siguiente su ayudante, el aprendiz tre ellos no existen las distinciones duales o de polaridad del pensamien-
o frecuentemente .un anciano soltero lo cocina en una olla de barro, o to cartesiano, (el buscar y encontrar tales estructuras cognitivas duales es
se cocina o se maja con un palo, pero en ambos casos se prepara una fácil, pero ajeno al proceso de tratar de comprender como funciona el
infusión de las plantas que se toma esa misma noche. mundo cognitivo Kofan). Lo que se ha visto es lo que se conoce, sea
como resultado de sus viajes diarios dentro de la selva o por los efectos
La casa del yagé se encuentra más o menos cerca del caserío, si es
de los alcaloides del yagé en una mente afectada. No hay distinciones
nucleado, o de la casa del curaka, siempre en plena selva y al lado de
entre estados de realidad. Tomar yagé sirve para intensificar el conoci-
una quebrada. Los que preparan el yagé tienen que estar en ayunas y
miento de ciertas formas naturales (en términos cartesianos) de signifi-
se prohíbe la presencia de mujeres. Al anochecer, el curaka llega a la
cado cultural, por ejemplo, los animales preferidos y más buscados en la
casa junto con los demás hombres y niños que también van a tomarla
caza. Se reafirma y verifica la presencia e importancia de estas formas
(se comienza a tomar alrededor de los seis años). No es obligatorio to-
percibidas y, por supuesto, la dinámica contínua entre hombre y natura-
mar yagé. Después de unos minutos llegan las mujeres y niñas y aco-
leza. Pero el curaka va más allá hacia la reestructuración de las formas.
modan sus hamacas al lado opuesto de la casa del yagé, mientras el cu-
Con un acceso más frecuente a las formas básicas, su mayor definición
raka y su ayudante arreglan la olla y la taza ritual.
le da un mayor control y así manipula las formas, que contienen poder
Después de un largo rato de silencio y descanso el curaka comien- y significado culturales. Estas formas son símbolos fijables en un contí-
za a bendecir la primera taza, que él mismo toma. La bendición, por nuum del bienestar que el shaman Kofan trata de mantener. La gente
falta de otro término, consiste en un 'click' y unos soplos hacia el líqui- del yagé le facilita mayor comprensión y control ya que para llegar don-
do espeso de la taza. Con esto se evita la presencia de flechas mágicas de ellos se pasa la muerte y se encuentra con un estado muerto pero
perjudiciales cuando se le consume. Luego de beber convida a los de- vivo y sumamente sensible.
más, bendiciendo cada taza de los que vienen a tomarlo, arrodillándose
La gente del yagé permite al curaka apreciar las formas alucinóge-
a su lado. A las mujeres y niñas, el curaka, les entrega personalmente la
nas, pero siempre 'vistas', según su valor informativo cultural e interpre-
taza sin que ellas tengan que atravesar la parte masculina de la casa.
tarlas y colocarlas en el contínuum. El daño proviene de flechas mági-
El curaka retoma siempre a su hamaca ubicada al costado masculino
cas enviadas por otros curakas, pero el problema no es tanto identificar la
de la casa rectangular.
fuente de la maldad como buscar una nueva configuración de las formas
Esta acción se repite a voluntad del curaka, normalmente cada ho- de valor positivo, alentadoras para los demás, siempre dentro de un
ra, cinco o seis veces. El curaka toma sólo en las ocasiones que compar- determinado marco de la realidad. La claridad de la visión proyecta-
te con los demás. Después de la segunda toma general, el curaka co- da por la gente del yagé permite al curaka buscar y extraer la maldad,
mienza a cantar y el resto de la noche sigue cantando y bebiendo has- a la vez que conseguir nueva información entre las formas antiguas y
ta que se acaba la cantidad preparada de yagé. Los demás participan- reconocidas, para así recomendar acciones concretas y hierbas medicinales
tes toman cuando se les convida, pero no cantan. Unicamente los cura- a los demás. Como el curaka posee mayor acceso a esta claridad de la
kas cantan. En la madrugada, al alba, el curaka va hacia los enfermos realidad, tiene en consecuencia mayor conocimiento y discriminación, en
presentes y los 'cura', primero soplando y luego chupando y escupiendo fin, el máximo poder entre un grupo humano consciente de su cultura
a un lado las flechas perjudiciales. Sigue un período de descanso, mien- en medio de la naturaleza.
LES TRIBUS INDIGENES
DU
PARC NATIONAL DU MANU

André-Marcel d'ANS

Introduction

Le Pare National du Manú couvre une étendue de près d'un mil-

lion et demi d'hectares. Il englobe essentiellement, en sa partie sep-
tentrionale, les cours moyen et supérieur du Manú, premier tributaire
important du Madre de Dios. Le pare est limité au nord par la ligne
du partage des eaux du Manú et du Piedras, et à l'ouest par la limite
du bassin de l'Urubamba. A l'est, la frontière du pare est parallèle au
Haut-Madre de Dios. Vers le sud, enfin, le parc s'étend jusqu'à proxi-
mité de Paucartambo, comprenant des zones de Ceja de Montaña et de
Sierra.
Depuis octobre 1969, nous sommes en charge des études anthropolo-
giques à l'intérieur du pare. Nous exposons par ailleurs 1 les principes
généraux qui guident notre action. Nous voudrions ici apporter les ré-
sultats de nos premières observations et contribuer à une meilleure con-
naissance de la répartition géographique des tribus indigènes du dépar-
tement péruvien du Madre de Dios.

Les machiguengas de Tayacomé

A l'intérieur du pare, sur la rive droite du Manú, 170 Machiguen-

gas se trouvent regroupés en un village nommé Tayacomé. Cette con-
centration a été provoquée, depuis une dizaine d'années, par des missio-
naires protestants. Le noyau de population initial était constitué de
quelques Machiguengas civilisés issus de la mission de Palotoa (Haut-
Madre de Dios). Peu à peu est venue les rejoindre la majeure partie

l. Cfr. Pares nationaux et anthropologie.

96 Bosque tropical Robinson 91

des Machiguengas établis primitivement sur les cours supérieurs du Cu-

merjali et du Sotileja 2.
Les Machiguengas de Tayacomé sont très accueillants et affichent dans
l'ensemble une nette tendance à l'assimilation. Malheureusement, leur
seul lien économique avec le monde civilisé est représenté par la vente
de pelleteries, résultat de leurs chasses. L'écoulement de celles-ci a été
assuré jusqu'ici par ces mêmes missionnaires protestants, qui continuent à
visiter le village de façon sporadique.
Nous avons suggéré au Ministère de l'Agriculture, dont dépend le
Pare National, un programme énergique d'éducation et de développe-
ment des Machiguengas de Tayacomé et proposé la réservation des rives
du Bas-Manú en tant que "territoire de dégagement". Ce territoire
serait attribuable aux Machiguengas après une période transitoire de
développement a mener a Tayacomé même, de telle sorte que puisse s'ache-
ver la concentration de tous les Machiguengas du Parc, mouvement entrepis
et contrôlé par leur chef actuel, et que l'éducation reçue les mette en
bonnes conditions, psychologiques et techniques, d'affronter un contact
compétitif avec les civilisés.
A partir de septembre 1970, un de nos collaborateurs résidera en
permanence à Tayacomé, chargé d'un programme de recherches anthro-
pologiques et linguistiques.

Populations inconnues du Haut-Manú

Jusqu'à la création du parc (1967), des incidents sanglants ont

maintes fois opposé, dans la région du Haut-Manú et particulièrement
sur le Cashpajali, des indigènes aux rares voyageurs qui s'aventuraient
dans ces lointains parages: forestiers, prospecteurs et autres chasseurs.
Les enquêtes minutieuses que nous avons menées dans la régíon ont
mis en lumière que les incidents n'ont jamais résulté d'attaques délibé-
rées de la part des indigènes. Aucune mort d'homme ne peut d'ailleurs
leur être attribuée avec certitude. En revanche, il est abondamment éta-
bli que les indigènes ont payé un tribut très lourd, en vies humaines,
lors de ces rencontres.
Quoi qu'il en soit, ces indigènes jouissent d'une solide réputation
d'agressivité. Or, la région qu'ils occupent est d'importance vitale pour le
parc qui devrait pouvoir, sans trop tarder, établir des postes de contrôle
dans la région de l'Isthme de Fitzcarrald, en vue d'interdire l'accès
du parc aux chasseurs professionnels venus de l'Ucayali. Nous avons
donc reçu la mission d'établir un contact avec les indigènes et puis, si

2. Cfr. A. M. d'Ans et C. Linares B.: Cursos superiores de los ríos Manú y Sotileja.
Mapa hidrográfico. Lima, Ministerio de Agricultura, Dirección General Fo-
restal de Caza y Tierras, 1970.
98 Bosque tropical D'Ans 99

possible, des relations amicales qui permettent d'envisager, dans un délai servations que nous avons pu faire au sujet d'autres tribus indigènes du
convenable, l'installation du personnel de garde aux limites occidentales département du Madre de Dios. Notre inventaire n'est exhaustif que
du parc. pour ce qui est des régions proches du cours du Madre de Dios. Nous
Une première expédition, effectuée en novembre 1969, nous a per- ne disposons que de renseignements peu contrôlables pour les zones
mis de reconnaitre le cours du Manú jusqu'à la limite des eaux navi- plus éloignées, tant en direction de la Cordillère que vers les frontières
gables en saison des pluies. Aux environs de l'embouchure du Cash- du Brésil.
pajali, nous avons découvert des traces fraîches d'activíté humaine, mais
Une bonne centaine de PIROS sont regroupés dans le village de
nous n'avons pu percevoir la présence d'aucun individu. Une nouvelle
Diamante, sur la rive gauche du Madre de Dios, en amont immédiat de
expédition est projetée pour août 1970. Nous espérons qu'à ce moment, la
son confluent avec le Manú.
ponte des tortues devant amener sur les bords du Manú les populations
qui vivent aux sources des affluents, ceci devrait être une circonstance Plus de 150 MASHCOS vivent à la mission catholique de-Shintuya.
susceptible de favoriser la réussite d'un contact. D'autres, apparemment encore assez nombreux, restent disséminés sur un
Les habitants de la région désignent des indigènes comme étant des vaste territoire compris entre le Haut-Madre de Dios et l'Inambari. Re-
Amahuacas. La description qu'en donnent les rares témoins oculaires marquons que ces indigènes considèrent que la dénomination "mashco"
nous pousse à corroborer cette identification. Cependant, les autres indi- est un mot espagnol (?) signifiant "criminel" et qu'ils jugent évidem-
gènes, Machiguengas, Piros, Mashcos, distinguent parmi eux des Amahua- ment péjoratif. Eux-mêmes se désignent comme Amarakáiri. Cette ethnie
cas et des Yaminahuas, ce qui ne manque pas d'être également vrai- comprend les Wačipairi du Haut-Madre de Dios; les Wakitanérí, Hin-
semblable. tapwéri et Kotsimbaéri du bassin du Shilive; les Kipondidéri ou Kipon-
Les Machiguengas de Tayacomé, en particulier, mentionnent avec diritajwéri du Colorado; les Arasáiri de I'Inambari et les Toyéri ou To-
précision un groupe d'Amahuacas sur le Cashpajali, différents groupes yonéri, "ceux de l'aval", Comrrie les Machiguengas et les Piras, les
d'Amahuacas et de Yaminahuas aux sources des affluents septentrionaux Mashcos appartiennent au groupe linguistique arawak.
du Manú, et un groupe de Yaminahuas aux sources du Panahua et du
Sur le Tambopata, on trouve les HUARAYOS, de langue tacana, dont
Pinquén. Les Machiguengas vivent en état de guerre latente tant vis-
les familles les mieux assimilées se rapprochent constamment de Puer-
à-vis des Amahuacas que des Yaminahuas; ces deux derniers groupes en
to Maldonado.
font autant entre eux.
L'identification des indigènes du Haut-Manú ne fait plus guère de Sur le Bas- Paríamanu, se trouve un petit groupe de 25 AMAHUACAS,
doute si l'on ajoute à ce qui précède que des rumeurs recueillies sur où nous recrutons notre guide informateur pour les expéditions à l'in-
le Río de las Piedras font également mention de groupes d'Amahuacas térieur du parc. Dans ce cas-ci encore, les indigènes portent un nom "don-
et de Yaminahuas sauvages aux sources de ce fleuve. D'autre part, les né par les Blancs" et dont ils ne s'expliquent ni la signification ni l'origine3.
établissements amahuacas des sources du Mapuya, de l'Inuya, du Sepahua Les Amahuacas du Bas-Pariamanu sont des descendants de šã:wo 2 "gens-
et du Purús sont bien connus. Il n'y aurait donc rien d'étonnant à ce perroquet" et d'indowó 2 ou indonáwa 2 "gens-tigre" originaires des sources
qu'on en retrouve, non loin de là, aux sources du Piedras, du Cashpajali de l'Inuya (am.: i:ndoyá 2 "[rivière)] des tigres") et amenés sur le Piedras
et des autres affluents de la rive gauche du Manú. (am.: pa:oyá 2 "[rivière] des coquillages") à l'époque des caucheros.
Précisons enfin que nos efforts de prise de contact ne portent, pour
Au sein de l'ethnie (am.: nok káiwo 2, esp.: paisanos "compatriotes")
l'instant, que sur les indigènes qui occupent la région de l'Isthme de
les Amahuacas énumèrent encore les na:šišmáwo 2 "gens-qui ne savent pas
Fitzcarrald. Aucune pénétration du personnel du parc n'est encore envi-
se baigner" également des sources de l'Inuya, les ko 2tináwa 2 ou ko 2tiwo 2
sagée dans le nord du parc ni vers les sources du Punahua et du
"gens-palmier" des sources du Mapuya (am.: mopo:yá 2 "[rivière] de la
Pinquén.
3. [°amawáka] n'est phonétiquement pas possible en... Amahuaca, où les phonèmes
Autres tribus du département du Madre de Dios /m/ et /n/ suivis de voyelle orale se réalisent en [mb] et [nd], Le mot ne sig-
nifie rien en espagnol; en quechua, on pourrait l'interpréter en "ne pleure pas",
Considérant le peu d'informations disponibles sur cette région et leur mais on ne vit vraiment pas quelle serait la raison de cette appellation. Par
caractère souvent caduc, nous croyons utile de faire figurer ici les ob- contre, très souvent, les tribus amazoniennes ont été désignées du nom du cours
d'eau qu'elles habitaient. Or amw wáka 2, qui signifie "fleuve des capybaras",
se transcrirait normalement amahuaca en espagnol. Resterait à savoir si un
tel toponyme existe réellement dans le domaine amahuaca…
100 Bosque tropical
ACTITUDES DE CUATRO TRIBUS
terre a poterie"), les rondowó 2 ou rondonáwa 2 "gens-serpent" 4 des sour- DE LA SELVA PERUANA
ces du Sepahua (am.: w šn :yá 2 "[rivière] à eau claire", et du Haut- RESPECTO A PLANTAS EMPLEADAS COMO
Piedras (am.: amw ya 2 "[rivière] du capybara"); les isa:wó 2 ou isa:náwa 2
"gens-petit oiseau" de provenance indéterminée et un autre groupe enfin,
ANTICONCEPTIVOS POR VIA ORAL
dont ils ont oublié le nom, sur le Haut-Purús.
En dehors de l'ethnie, les Amahuacas du Bas-Pariamanu ont éga-
lement connaissance de l'existence des yam?ináwa 2 "gens-métal", leurs en-
nemis héréditaires. Assez peu en accord avec les classifications existan-
tes, ils affirment que les Yaminahuas se subdivisent en kašináwa 2 "gens- Nicole MAXWELL
chauve souris" et en šišináwa 2 "gens-coati". Tous ceux-ci vivent sur le Haut-
Purús, de même que les marináwa 2 "gens-agouti", qui no sont ni des Ya-
minahuas ni des "compatriotes" mais qui "parlent presque la même lan-
gue que les Amahuacas". Toutes ces tribus appartiennent en effect au
groupe linguistique pano, tout comme les Chamas de l'Ucayali, également
connus des Amahuacas du Bas-Pariamanu: quelques ši 2 piwo 2 "gens-ouis-
titi" éloignés de leur habitat originel se sont établis sur des iles du Madre
de Dios, en amont de son confluent avec le Piedras. Introducción
Observons enfin que les tribus qui, dans les classifications, constituent
à elles seules le groupe pano sud-occidental; Arasaire, Yamiaca et Atsa- Se ha sabido desde hace mucho tiempo que los miembros de numero-
huaca n'ont laissé ni traces ni souvenirs dans la région, non plus que les sas tribus de la Hoya Amazónica limitan deliberadamente el número de
Huitotos qui y auraient été amenés à l'époque du caoutchouc. sus descendientes. Sus motivos para esto lo han mencionado muchos in-
vestigadores, pero los métodos que emplean han sido dados a conocer
escasamente, habiéndose discutido ampliamente sólo el infanticidio. Sin
embargo, existen unas cuantas narraciones publicadas de tribus cuyas
mujeres beben preparaciones "secretas" de plantas con el propósito de
provocar el aborto o evitar el embarazo. El informe más explícito que he
encontrado se halla en el libro titulado "La Historia de la Contraconcep-
cíón" cuyo autor es el Dr. Norman E. Himes, quien. cita la declaración
de Rafael Karsten hecha en 1920: "Para ser capaz de cohabitar con un
hombre sin resultar embarazada, las mujeres de los Canelos tienen la
costumbre de tomar una medicina obtenida de la pequeña planta deno-
minada piripiri. Los nudos de la raíz se trituran en agua y la mujer be-
be una poción de esta bebida". Es interesante notar que por el año
1935, cuando se escribió este libro, una autoridad tal como el Dr. Himes
manifestó de plano, que no existía ninguna sustancia que, ingerida oral-
mente por una mujer, podía evitar que concibiese, y que cualquier cre-
encia en tales sustancias debería considerársele como superstición.
El propósito de este artículo es describir las actitudes de los miem-
bros de cuatro tribus de la región amazónica peruana con respecto a
4. C'est un chef de guerre (ha:r 2 t niro 2) rondowó.2, Warã:k 2 pa 2, qui, ayant las plantas que ellas utilizan para este propósito. Las observaciones
unifié plusieurs groupes d'Amahuacas sous son autorité, mena, au début du siècle, que se dan aquí se efectuaron durante las visitas hechas a los Seune
une guérilla acharnée contre les patrons caoutchoutiers, notamment sur le Haut- Witotos en el Río Napo en 1953, 1959, 1961 y 1966; a los Jívaros que vi-
Piedras. Les Amahuacas du Bas-Pariamanu pensent que leurs compatriotes du
ven en el Río Corrientes en 1959 y 1961; a los Shipibos en los Ríos Uca-
Haut-Manú doivent être des rondowá 2.
102 Bosque tropical Maxwell 103

yali y Pisqui en 1963 y 1966; y a los Conibos en el Río Utucuru (Alto dio, el cual ella quería mucho. Llegó aun a prometerme conseguir las
Ucayali) en los primeros meses de 1970. El propósito de todos estos plantas, pero a la mañana siguiente había cambiado de idea. Su excusa
viajes fue la colección y estudio de medicinas botánicas de las tribus. fue de que yo nunca podría aprender el icaro, el canto ritual que debe
acompañar a la preparación del brevaje. No insistí, porque eso habría
Discusión destruído nuestra amistad. Semanas más tarde, su sobrino Sere, el je-
fe, subrepticiamente me trajo cuatro plantas anticonceptivas que toda-
Las gentes primitivas son por lo general renuentes a revelar sus vía utilizan. Dos de ellas provenían de árboles, una era yerba y la otra
conocimientos médicos a un extraño, pero con cuidado y tiempo consi- una planta tuberosa. Su esposa cultivaba esta última en su chacra, pe-
derable corrientemente es posible propiciar un sentimiento de amistad ro las otras las había traído de la selva. Esto se repitió en mi siguien-
y confianza. Si se hace esto, ellas pueden, como regla, ser persuadidas te viaje. Ema hablaba de las plantas pero fue Sere quien me las traía.
a reunir y explicar el uso de muchas plantas de las cuales dependen pa-
Yo me esmero en ir sola en todos mis viajes de colección en la sel-
ra el tratamiento de heridas o enfermedades. Pero esto no ocurre de
va, con excepción de los boteros, cargadores, o intérpretes necesarios.
ningún modo en el caso de las plantas que emplean como anticoncepti-
Pero mi último viaje a los Witotos constituyó una excepción; fui con un
vos. N o todas las tribus parecen conocer estas plantas, pero aquéllas
grupo de farmacólogos, tanto hombres como mujeres, que querían plan-
que las conocen son extremadamente reservadas respecto a ellas. En
tas medicinales de los Witotos. Los Witotos los aceptaron cordialmen-
efecto, cualesquier planta que creen que afectan el dar o detener la vi-
te como amigos míos pero me esforcé en mantener mi antigua intimi-
da están rodeadas de tabús poderosos que impiden su revelación a uno
dad con la tribu, evitando al grupo siempre que esto era posible. Yo
de fuera del lugar. Esto no es solamente cierto de las plantas que uti-
permanecí en la casa de Ema como lo había hecho siempre, mientras
lizan para evitar la concepción, sino también de aquellas que usan para
que mis compañeros comían y dormían en el bote. Yo me puse a char-
aumentar la fertilidad de las mujeres, para facilitar el parto y provo-
lar con las mujeres mientras sus esposos coleccionaban numerosas plan-
car el aborto. A menos que se pueda establecer un sentimiento de in-
tas medicinales de la selva circundante para los farmacólogos. Pe-
timidad, o de identificación, todas las tribus que he conocido, guar-
ro no trajeron ni una sola planta anticonceptiva. Privadamente le soli-
dan celosamente tales secretos. Cualquier intento prematuro de averi-
cité a Sere que me las consiguiese. Se sintió turbado. Pretendió haber-
guación, no importa cuan delicado, es capaz de poner un final abrupto
se olvidado de ellas, después, que no sabía donde crecían. Abandoné el
y de enfado a toda clase de comunicación.
tema rápidamente, sabiendo que la insistencia solamente causaría mo-
Una experiencia con los Witotos demuestra la fuerza de esta reac- lestias. Infortunadamente, a pesar de mis advertencias uno de los cien-
ción. Este grupo, originalmente del Putumayo, ha vivido en el Napo más tíficos pronunció abruptamente el nombre de una planta que yo le ha-
de treinta años con un patrón que los trata con afecto e indulgencia muy bía dicho, y ofreció una recompensa por ella. Eso puso fin a la expedi-
por encima de lo común. Estos miembros de la tribu son menos cultu- ción. Los Witotos en su totalidad dijeron que tenían que hacer un tra-
rizados que muchos que viven en tales comunidades, porque su patrón bajo en otro lugar. Continuaron corteses pero ya no tenían tiempo pa-
consistentemente ha luchado para evitar la pérdida de su antigua cul- ra coleccionar ninguna planta. Nos fuimos y desde aquel entonces no
tura. Mi primera informante aquí fue una mujer de la tribu que era ya he regresado. No estoy segura si sería bienvenida.
septuagésima. La integridad y carácter fuerte de Ema, aunados a su
Con los Jívaros, nuevamente fue una mujer quien me contó de sus
herencia como hija de un gran hechicero y tía del jefe hereditario de
plantas secretas. Tesa era una Quechua de la región baja que había ve-
los Suenes le ha dado una posición de mayor autoridad que la que yo he
nido a Corrientes con su madre, ahora esposa del hechicero de la tribu.
observado en cualquier otra mujer de una tribu. Entre nosotras dos se
Su padrastro la había instruido en el uso de tres plantas: una era un
desarrolló una cálida amistad, pero obtuve poca información de ella has-
abortivo, la otra provocaba la fertilidad en las mujeres que no podían
ta que efectué mi segunda visita a la tribu. Entonces me contó que en
concebir, y la tercera era un anticonceptivo con efectos que duraban
su comunidad ya no permiten que las niñas de temprana edad contrai-
durante varios años. Tesa me dijo que algunas de las mujeres de la tri-
gan matrimonio. Sin embargo, la madre de una niña que llega a la pu-
bu cultivaban estas plantas en sus chacras, que se encontraban ubica-
bertad todavía le da una poción, una dosis con la cual evitará que con-
das a corta distancia de sus moradas. Encontré que todas ellas eran
ciba durante el período de los seis o siete años siguientes. Para la épo-
diferentes variedades de juncos, como las plantas mencionadas por
ca que ya esta medicina no surta efecto, la niña ya habrá alcanzado una
Karsten. Piripiri es el nombre que se da a todos los juncos del género
edad suficiente como para ser madre. Ema me confió esto la noche en
Cyperus a través de toda la región nor-occidental del Amazonas.
que habíamos estado escuchando por espacio de varias horas en mi ra-
104 Bosque tropical Maxwell 105

Según el Dr. Ketsuo Koyama, de los Jardines Botánicos de Bronx, que una mujer tenga hijos a intervalos menores de dos a tres años. Am-
hay unas 2,200 especies de Cyperus que crecen por toda la Hoya Ama- bas tribus tienen un jefe elegido para cada comunidad, y el jefe de ca-
zónica. Suficientemente raros, a estos juncos se les valoriza por poderes da familia es un hombre, aunque las mujeres parecen ejercer bastan-
mágicos que les atribuyen un número considerable de tribus disemina- te influencia inconspicua. Los hechiceros de ambos grupos son hom-
das profusamente por todas las selvas de Sud América. bres y ellos se hacen cargo de todos los métodos sobrenaturales de cu-
Que los hombres de la comunidad de Tesa conocían a estos piripi- ración, mientras que las mujeres están a cargo de la farmacopea botá-
nica de la tribu. Pero aunque las mujeres se ocupan de todo el recojo
ri y compartían la creencia de que había que conservarlos secretos se
y tratamiento de las plantas medicinales, los hombres de la tribu nun-
hizo evidente cuando yo me disponía a embarcar las canastas de plan-
ca han titubeado en indicarme y coleccionar plantas para mí que ellos
tas en mi canoa. Un hombre de la tribu las notó y excitadamente llamó
creen medicinalmente valiosas. Esto, sin embargo, no se aplica al piri-
a los otros, que repentinamente tomaron una actitud inamistosa. Des-
piri. Esto es puramente un asunto femenino y tanto los hombres co-
pués de una breve discusión, se dirigieron al hechicero y a dos ancia-
mo las mujeres guardan celosamente sus secretos. Una vez malogré lo
nos de la tribu quienes se sentaron en una fila solemne. El de más edad
que yo creí era una amistad que progresaba rápidamente con una mu-
pronunció un discurso: No entendí nada pues todos ellos hablaron en
jer Shipibo meramente al mencionar prematuramente que yo había no-
Jívaro. Después habló Tesa por breves instantes a quien siguieron mis
tado el olor característico del piripiri en su casa.
otras dos amigas, quienes parecían estar formulando declaraciones. Mi
intérprete me dijo posteriormente que ellas manifestaron que yo había En estas comunidades, cada mujer parece tener un pequeño huer-
conocido todas estas plantas antes de venir a la tribu. Finalmente, el to de una u otra especie de Cyperus que cultiva cerca de su casa y en
hechicero a quien yo anteriormente había tomado cuidado de propiciar, cada caso que he preguntado, ella había obtenido las plantas originales
habló con cierta extensión. Cuando terminó, disminuyó la tensión y la de su mamá, una pariente o amiga. Estos pequeños sembríos, rara vez
gente nuevamente demostró su amistad. Se me permitió partir con mis mayores de una yarda o algo así de diámetro, bien pueden ser de algu-
plantas. nos de los juncos mencionados anteriormente o pueden consistir de
En las colonias de Shipibos y Conibos que he visitado, he encontra- cualquiera de las variedades numerosas que se cultivan para una di-
do estos mismos juncos, o juncos que se parecen mucho a ellos, que se versidad de propósitos. Yo he coleccionado más de veinte clases que
utilizan para el mismo propósito y rodeados de una mística por lo me- se utilizaban para objetivos tan desigualmente diferentes como la cu-
nos tan poderosa. Además de los tres tipos mencionados arriba, estas ración de la malaria o diarrea, o teñir el cabello, o calmar la ira, o si-
tribus tienen otro para usos obstétricos, empleado en lo que uno podría lenciar a una mujer excesivamente habladora, o para conservar la fide-
describir como una especie de programa rudimentario de cuidado pre- lidad del esposo. Cada planta es tan peculiarmente la propiedad de la
natal. Una mujer que está embarazada toma su primera dosis de esta mujer que la cultiva, que aun una amiga íntima o pariente no tiene por
planta más o menos cuatro o cinco semanas antes de la fecha cuando se qué saber para lo que es buena. Si le pregunto a María respecto a una
espera el parto y continúa ingiriendo una solución de las raíces a in- planta que obtuve de Alicia, ella responderá, "Solamente Alicia sabe",
tervalos de varios días, tomándose la última dosis cuando comienza el aunque puede ser evidentemente la planta para engordar niños. Otra
parto. Ellos alegan que esto facilita un parto rápido y casi exento de peculiaridad es el afecto que las mujeres demuestran por sus plantas.
dolores. Cuando una mujer Shipibo extrajo algunas para mí, ella les explicó:
"Siento que me tengan que dejar pero yo las estoy dando a la Señorita
A las tribus de los Shipibos y Conibos debería considerárseles Nicole. Ella es muy buena. Será muy bondadosa con ustedes. Las ama-
juntas, por su idioma, vestimentas, costumbres y cultura general que rá y cuidará y ustedes serán felices con ella. Deben crecer fuertes y en
san sorprendentemente similares. Ambas proceden del lenguaje Panoa. abundancia para ella".
La mayoría de los Shipibos viven en el Río Ucayali y sus tributarios
aguas abajo de la ciudad de Pucallpa y los Conibos generalmente viven Los hombres Shipibo y Conibo, aunque ellos conocen a las plantas,
en ese mismo río y sus tributarios aguas arriba de Pucallpa. Ambas eluden recatadamente la discusión sobre ellas y ponen bien en claro que
son sociedades matrilineales y matrilocales que practican una poliga- tales cosas están reservadas para las mujeres. No sé de ningún caso
mia de hermandad y los matrimonios entre miembros de las dos tribus en que un hombre emplee alguna de ellas para tratamiento médico. Mien-
no son raros. El tamaño de la familia en ambas es corrientemente pe- tras me encontraba con los Conibos, tanto mi botero, Shipibo, y yo es-
queño. Uno raramente ve una mujer con más de tres o a lo más cua- tuvimos afectados por un dolor artrítico. Acepté una dosis de piripiri
tro hijos, y muchas me han dicho que es una tontería y poco saludable que me sugirieron las mujeres y, pronto, posiblemente por coincidencia,
106 Bosque tropical Maxwell 107

me sentí mucho mejor. El botero, quien estaba sufriendo mucho más que Meireles contestó: "Sí, existe un control de la natalidad muy real. Es-
yo, dejó que las mujeres le aplicaran cataplasmas de hojas, que le pro- ta respuesta afirmativa proviene de estudios y observaciones que he-
dujeron poca o ninguna mejoría. Pero cuando le pregunté si no sería mos realizado durante varios años, incluyendo los estudios efectuados
sensato probar el piripirí, él ni siquiera discutió sobre la idea. El por los etnólogos del Museo Emilio Goeldi. ¿Cómo es que ellos contro-
único Cyperus que yo sé que los hombres de esta región hayan toma- lan los nacimientos? Por lo general, emplean plantas, cuyos nombres
do es el junco que es valorizado altamente para el tratamiento de pi- son secretos, para baños y bebidas en la forma de té". Una pregunta es-
caduras de serpientes. No lo he visto en la región del Ucayali, pero tra- pecífica sobre si esto se aplica a los Indios Xavantes trajo una res-
je una planta de la selva cerca de Iquitos. Mi botero aceptó ésta entu- puesta telegráfica de la misma autoridad, que decía: "Confirmo la exis-
siastamente, dijo que la iba a propagar y que tenía la intención de lle- tencia del control de los nacimientos entre los Indios Xavantes, utili-
var un poco de ella consigo toda vez que se internase en la selva. Sin zando plantas con propiedades anticonceptivas que solamente ellos co-
embargo, los hombres no se mostraron renuentes a manipular el piri- nocen".
piri que las mujeres me habían dado; no titubearon en ponerlo en el bo-
te para mí o llevarlo por el largo sendero con destino a la casa.
Las cuatro tribus antes mencionadas no son las únicas que emplean
secretamente los juncos anticonceptivos. Yo he limitado esta discusión
a los Witotos, Jívaros, Shipibos y Conibos porque entre los grupos que
conocen estas plantas, éstas son las tribus con las cuales he permane-
cido por períodos dilatados suficientemente como para poder estudiar
sus reacciones. Sin embargo, debo mencionar que un Yagua ligeramen-
te culturizado me dio una vez el piripiri anticonceptivo. Lo hizo tan
subrepticiamente y se hallaba tan ansioso de finiquitar la transacción
que tuve dificultad en hacer que me contase cómo es que sus mujeres
lo utilizaban ‒esto, a pesar de que era un antiguo amigo. Así mismo,
me hizo prometerle que nunca diría que él me lo había dado. Aún más,
una mujer Campa casada ahora con un misionero me contó de dos plan-
tas de enredadera que las mujeres de su tribu empleaban como anti-
conceptivos tomándolas por la vía oral. Ella especificó que el té que se
hace con ellas debe prepararse y beberse tarde en la noche cuando to-
dos los demás se encuentren dormidos, o muy temprano en la mañana
antes de que alguien se haya despertado y que uno nunca debería per-
mitir que alguien se enterase que uno lo había tomado. Siempre que
ella hablaba acerca de cualquiera de estas dos plantas, bajaba el tono
de su voz a casi un susurro inaudible, aunque nos halláramos solas. Pe-
ro no tuve ninguna dificultad en persuadirla que fuese a la espesura y
cortase algunas para mí ni tampoco actuó furtivamente cuando me las
entregó; excepto que mantenía su voz como un murmullo.
Más evidencia en apoyo de lo mencionado viene del Brasil. Una
carta del Dr. Octavio Rodríguez Lima, de la Maternidad Escala de la
Universidad Federal en Río de Janeiro informa sobre sus averiguacio-
nes con respecto al uso de anticonceptivos por las tribus de las selvas
del Brasil. Para esto, se dirigió al Dr. Francisco F. Soares de Meireles,
Inspector de los Indios para la Agencia Federal de Protección de los
Indios. Con respecto a la cuestión de si las tribus de la selva del Bra-
sil conocían y usaban anticonceptivos por vía oral, el Dr. Soares de
La montaña central peruana
JUAN SANTOS: PRIMITIVE REBEL
ON THE CAMPA FRONTIER (1742-1752)

Jay LEHNERTZ

Dissolution of the Campa frontier

Filled with the vigor of idealistic youth, and inspired by a recent

revival of missionary dedication, a handful of intrepid Franciscans bro-
ke the frontier wilderness of the central montaña of Peru. The eight-
eenth century breakthrough was not a mean accomplishment, for it
had been preceded by a century of frustration and defeat. But after
1708, when Spain finally weighed anchor below the ceja of the monta-
ña, the robed pioneers moved rapidly to transform the realm of the
Campa Indians into a Christian appendix to colonial Peru.
Valley by valley into the tropical world, these harbingers of His-
pano-Christian culture advanced the Spanish banner of conquest. The
Franciscans marched down the ceja in two independently weaving co-
lumns. One column funneled them along the Chanchamayo and Perené
rivers, the second moved them through the Pangoa River system. Then,
as the two lines met at the mouth of the Ene River, the missionaries
turned northward to point the banner of Spain on the high rising Gran
Pajonal. Within four decades, the Spanish succeeded in stretching the
boundaries of the Empire from the eastern rim of the Highlands to the
unknown lands beyond. More than merely explore the vast expanse of
land, the friars occupied it with over twenty mission stations which
functioned as enclaves of Hispanic culture in the immensity of the
Campa domain.
These missions were, for the most part, modest settlements, even
by the standards of the times. Nevertheless, modest as they may have
been, the missionaries within their structured confines indoctrinated
the Indians in the basic tenants of Spanish Catholicism, trained them
in agricultural techniques and fundamental manual crafts, and intro-
112 Montaña Lehnertz 113

duced them to patterns of socio-political organization which were de- matter, a forest Indian. Beyond that negative assertion, nothing is cer-
cidedly more elaborate than those of their traditional culture. That tain about the man of flesh and bones. Record history, quite simply,
part of the total Campa population which lived under the umbrella of preserves little factual information about him before his emergence in
mission life found itself, by 1742, in an intermediate state between pre- the Campa domain. Indeed, even after 1742, the public record deals mo-
literate barbarism and European civilization. Although the Campa we- re with his guerrilla activities than with the man himself. A few se-
re still at the margin of Spanish Peru, the European missionaries had cond hand reports, a number of sworn testimonies, and several written
significantly altered the pre-contact structural patterns of segments of rumors transmitted by frontiersmen and a few Indians ‒ comprise the
the Campa grouping, and had set the roots for what appeared to be bulk of the primary documentation about Juan Santos and his beliefs.
their inevitable assimilation into the new cultural system which had But, from this small bundle of material, it is difficult to sift fact from
emerged in the Highland world under Hispanic domination. legend, invention from the truth.
The eighteenth century friars performed amazing feats in the Cam- Within the dirth, the more accurate record available is the field
pa domain, and, if they finally failed to consolidate their successes, it report of Fray Santiago Vásquez Caicedo, a Franciscan missionary to
was not because their efforts were feeble. To the contrary, Francis- the Campa who, in 1742, was in the station of San Tadeo de los Andes
can progress matched in enthusiasm and dedication the first years of along the Perené River. When news of Juan Santos first spread among
the spiritual conquest of New Spain. What hampered their advance was the mission community, Fray Santiago set out immediate1y for the sta-
the marked degree of insecurity under which they labored. Their num- tion of Quisopango, in the Gran Pajonal, to talk directly with the new-
bers were insufficient in spite of their vigorous efforts at recruitment; est intruder into the Campa domain. The report of the interview, da-
epidemic diseases struck the field 'with uncomfortable frequency; the ted June 29th, is among the earliest records of Juan Santos, and the on-
rugged environment cut away at their stamina and resolve. Yet, not- ly first hand description of the man:
withstanding the obstacles, the Franciscans succeeded in adjusting
the Campa to mission life. Primarily through persuasion, and with the El cuerpo será del tamaño de Manuel Grande (éste es un negro
assistance of auxiliary forces of Negroes and acculturated Indians, the corpulento que dio de limosna un Bienhechor en Lima, para que
friars were able to control the natives, and the Campa, on their part, acompañase a los Padres Misioneros, como esclavo de nuestros
responded with an outward acceptance of the disciplines of settlement. Misioneros de Infieles) el dicho Indio es huesudo: tiene algún
vello en los brazos, tiene muy poco bozo, y ése bien rapado: en
At a moment of extreme optimism for the Spanish, at a moment la Barba tiene un pelo largo como cosa de tres dedos: es de
when the investment of over a century of energy promised to pay di- buena cara: nariz larga, y algo corva: color pálido y amestizado:
vidends to both the State and the Church, a Highland mestizo who call- el pelo cortado por la frente hasta las cejas, y lo demás desde la
ed himself Juan Santos Atahualpa Apu Inca rose the standard of revolt quixada alrededor, coletado; vestido con una cusma pintada, o
against, obstensively, the alien cultural importations of the Hispanic túnica de algodón. (Gil Muñoz 1742).
world. Within a year, by the end of 1743, Juan Santos and his guerrilla
band had scattered most of the Franciscans back onto the Highlands, While Fray Santiago gave history an impressionistic view of the
thus turning the tranquil Campa frontier into, from the Spanish view- bearded insurgent, he was unable to provide reliable biographical facts.
point, permanent disarray. Forced finally to evacuate the borderlands, The point bears repeating that historians know nothing more today
the Spanish never again were able to reenter the area which, only a than the Spanish knew in 1752. Who Juan Santos was and what he did
short time before, they had counted as a part of their expanding empi- before his appearance in the Gran Pajonal remain, for the most part,
re. Spain's failure to hold the Campa borderlands within its orbit thus pure supposition based largely on scattered rumors that spread among
marked one of the few definitive reversals of Hispanic contact in the the Spanish after Juan Santos rose in revolt. The composite of those
New World. rumors, however, provides a sketch of a Highland mestizo who, altho-
ugh acculturated, could not meekly bear the stress and anxieties of
the world in which he lived.
Juan Santos
The first years of his life are a somewhat conventional image of
Juan Santos, the man linked to the eighteenth century decline of the respectability, and do not hint at his future divergence. Born in Cuzco
Spanish on the Campa frontier, was a stranger to the land in which he (some say, Cajamarca ) sometime during the first two decades of the
moved the forces of his revolt. He was neither a Campa, nor, for that eighteenth century, Juan Santos claimed to have been the second male
114 Montaña Lehnertz 115

child of a family of four. As his brothers ‒so continued the popular tizos impossible to treat. He opted for revolt as the means to the reso-
voice‒ he carried in his veins the blood of the Inca Atahualpa, who had lution of his personal conflict and hopelessness. He was, thus, merely
been killed by Pizarro in Cajamarca. In view of his nobility, he was a symptom of the social stresses which were spreading along the High-
given a polished education in the Jesuit run Colegio de Caciques in land world. Obviously disillusioned with the social complex of the High-
Cuzco. Educated among the native elite, he spoke and wrote both Spa- land society, he moved to escape what the Spanish had distorted through
nish and Quechua, and had a smattering of Latin which served him in their efforts at forced acculturation.
his religious exercises.
With him into the station of Quisopango in the Gran Pajonal, Juan
It was after his formal education that the shadow of divergence
Santos brought a program for the resolution of his personal conflict.
rose. Juan Santos had traveled to Spain and to Africa in the service of
That program, nevertheless, was not that of a prophet nor ideologist.
a Jesuit missionary. Thus removed from his native social environment,
He was, at best, an activist who mounted a defense of the traditional
he turned his attention to the sufferings of his own people under His-
order of the Inca Empire. His call was for restoration, not revolution;
panic control. His first response was to enlist the armed support of
for a return to what he envisioned as the past, and not the creation of
the English, securing their promise of military aid if and when the High-
an ideal future.
lands should rebel. He then returned to Peru; and, between 1729 and
1730, he covered the length of the sierra between Cuzco and Cajamar- In millenarian fashion, Juan Santos called himself the divine emis-
ca, mobilizing the Indian caciques and governors for a general native sary of God, declaring that his ordained miss ion was the liberation of
uprising. Here the popular memory divides. Some say that Juan San- the Indian race. Heaven had sent him to the montaña to organize for
tos, after his mobilization of the Highlands, entered the montaña at the revolt against the European masters, and to hack the way to a cultural
suggestion of his older brother. Others maintain that, before he could transformation engineered by the supernatural. Juan Santos thus pre-
ignite the tinder of latent discontent among the sierra Indians, he was sented himself as an instrument and not a creator, whose modest pro-
forced to flee into the montaña, pursued by Spanish justice for the sup- gram had been preordained. The means to the miss ion was the expul-
posed murder, in Guamanga, of his former Jesuit master. Thus, either sion of the Spanish from colonial Peru.
by plan or as a fugitive from justice, he roamed the Campa lands in
Expulsion was the most revolutionary note in the program. After
company of a Piro Indian named Bisabequí. By May of 1742, he had in-
he had expelled the Spanish, Santos planned to reconstitute the Inca
filtrated the Gran Pajonal and had set his roots in the mission station
Empire with its authoritarian but paternalistic political system. Thus,
of Quisopango.
above all else, after the initial expulsion, there was little revolutionary
At this level, of course, the details of the life of Juan Santos have in the aims. To the contrary, the movement contained a strong note of
little real importance. The value of the composite is not so much its reform based on the imagined glories of the Inca past. Juan Santos de-
possible accuracy as its implications. Assuming that the various ru- faulted the Spanish system not on its hierarchical structure, nor on its
mors rested upon at least a modicum of truth ‒or, that they reflected ends and objectives, but on what he felt to be its unnatural coercive-
the spirit if not the letter of the truth‒ it seems safe to suggest that ness. Juan Santos primary hope was to free his people from their so-
Juan Santos was a thoroughly assimilated Highland mestizo, who lived cial debasement under Hispanic control. He would outlaw personal sla-
during a period of increased social stress. What distinguished Juan very and government tyranny; the drudgery of forced labor in the plan-
Santos was the chose to resist the crisis and tension of his society by tations, obrajes, and backeries would end. But such aims did not pre-
open rebellion from without. clude the traditional social and political relationships which had cha-
racterized the Inca system. It was not the Hispanic structural pat-
Juan Santos was clearly part of the mobile margin of Highland so-
terns ‒which, in form, were similar to those of the Incas‒ which he
ciety. At least by 1742, he was one of the unsubmissive ‒the non-con-
found distasteful, but the excesses and means of the Spanish which
formist who, rather than tolerate the increased levels of social stress
kept his people under intolerable stress.
or respond regressively through alcoholism, extreme passivity, depres-
sion or self-reproach, moved actively to escape the slow cultural dis- Expulsion of the political masters and institution of the Inca past
tortion which was spreading in the Highlands during his life. were the first aims. But the new system envisioned by Juan Santos
was not exclusively modeled after traditional native elements. Inclu-
As E. J. Hobsbawm's (1969) social bandit, Juan Santos found the
ded in the new system were elements imported from the Spanish. For
avenues of adjustment followed by the vast majority of his fellow mes-
example, Juan Santos planned to maintain the framework of Christianity.
116 Montaña Lehnertz 117

Christianity, of course, had been a major cultural importation of did not ally themselves with the rebels until after Juan Santos had
the Spanish. Evangelistic and exclusive, the new religion had sunk its forced the Franciscans out of the frontier. Even then, many of the ol-
roots deeply into the Highland soil and into the minds of the Highlands der neophytes joined the friars in their retreat. Quite simply, Campa
natives. That Juan Santos should choose the Catholic Church was, as a opposition or passivity was too widespread for the Santos movement to
result, not strange. But as many mestizos before and after him, he had be considered a Campa revolt.
sifted from the culturally ladden motifs of Spanish Catholicism the
The Juan Santos movement appears less an example of a nativistic
transcending ideology and force of the Primitive Church. Onto that
revival, or a conscious endeavor on the part of the Campa to reverse
primitive core, he had grafted his own spiritual motivations and motifs
acculturation, than a carefully wrought campaign of a displaced mes-
of the serranos. Nevertheless, the church which Juan Santos supported,
tizo to spur the Highland Indians into open rebellion. Those Campa
in spite of variations from the Hispanic model, was still an alien im-
who followed Juan Santos did so, in part, not because of the stress of
portation from the point of view of the Inca past.
their social system, but because Santos had been able to appeal to a
few already influential men.
The native base
In this process of cooptation through intermediaries, Juan Santos
In program and stated objectives the Juan Santos movement was coincidently followed Franciscan precedent. Much as the Franciscans
clearly Andean. Juan Santos' interests in the central frontier were tac- before him, he drew to his side ‒using the same methods of both coer-
tical: he planned to use the area and its native peoples as a base from cion and persuasion‒ several Campa headmen, building strength for
which to spring onto the Highland rim. But, to achieve his ends, he his movement on their prestige and influence. Almost characteristical-
needed an organization, a cadre of followers who would help him. With- ly, many of the caciques had occupied positions within the mission so-
out supportive forces, Juan Santos would not have survived. ciety. One particularly powerful headman was Mateo de Assia, the ca-
The fact that Juan Santos rose in the central frontier has led ma- cique of the station of San Antonio de Eneno. Assia had been a trusted
ny observers to see a direct link between the Highland mestizo and the servant of the friars along the Perené, and had become a valuable au-
Campa, suggesting that the movement was a Campa revolt (Loayza xiliary in the extension of the frontier society. For his service the fri-
1942; Valcárcel 1946; Varese 1965, 1967, 1968). The argument runs that ars had rewarded him with a position within the mission community,
for the Campa, the shock of culture contact had been severe ‒ that the and he had responded with an unfailing loyalty. But personal allegian-
eighteenth century Franciscan mission system, based upon force and ce weakened under two crushing blows. One was the death of his fami-
armed coercion, was both suppressive and disruptive. The Campa, un- ly in the 1737 epidemic which swept the stations along the Perené.
der the environmental pressures of the intruding system, had reached The second was an affront to his own dignity. Shortly before the arri-
a threshold of despondency and a feeling of inescapable frustration. At val of Juan Santos to the Pajonal. Assia had been ordered to whip a neo-
this critical point, Juan Santos reached Quisopango, and, as a Campa phyte who had been found guilty of polygamy. When Assia objected to
prophet, he promised a release from the impasse through open rebe- the punishment, the friar ordered that three lashes be given to him for
llion and a return to aboriginal configurations. Spurred by Juan Santos, his "bad example" in questioning mission discipline. Assia was bitter
who promised them an alternative to their cultural deterioration, the over the incident, and made no efforts to hide his feeling. Perhaps as
Campa rose in support of their new prophet. a result of his personal alienation, he joined Juan 'Santos in August of
1742. With him he brought many Indians from the Perené area, Indians
Contrary to tradition, the available evidence does not seem to sup-
who owed allegiance to him, first, and Juan Santos second.
port the argument. The Franciscan mission system did not rest upon
excessive force; the Campa had not reached threshold despondency; Other caciques also joined Juan Santos. Among them were Mateo
Juan Santos did not preach Campa revival. Indeed, if the revolt had Luis Sanchez, Don Piñate and Don Honofre ‒ all, evidently, respected
been a conscious nativistic revival, it would have logically originated men within the frontier missions. As in the case of Mateo de Assia,
among the more acculturated sectors of the native grouping. But, in their defection brought other Campa into the rebel fold.
fact, the first converts to Juan Santos were Campa from the Gran Pa- In spite of the inescapable, fact that some Campa did follow Juan
jonal, precisely the Campa who were less acculturated and who had Santos, those natives did not provide the bulk of his support. Far mo-
maintained fewer direct contacts with the Franciscans. Those natives re significant were the Indians from the Highland rim. In increasing
in the older mission centers along the Chanchamayo and in Sonomoro numbers which greatly disturbed the viceregal officials, the serranos
118 Montaña Lehnertz 119

along the edge of the Highland swept down into the forest to join Juan What Spain apparently failed to fully appreciate was that Juan San-
Santos in his moves against the Spanish. They proved effective rebels, tos led a guerrilla band in the tactics of guerrilla warfare: surprise at-
and kept the Chanchamayo Valley in a constant state of turmoil. So tacks, followed by rapid retreats; raiding bands which expanded for
marked was the exodus that in March of 1744 the corregidor of the combat, plundering, or siege, and then dissolved, only to assemble at a
Provínce of Tarma published a ban against serrano desertions, back- new point to attack again. He and his forces remained eminently illu-
ing the prohibition with a penalty of immediate death. sive and flexible, and changed in structure and composition to meet
There were other components to Juan Santos' force. The Negro An- each contingency. Rather than engage the Spanish in hand-to-hand fight-
tonio Gatica and at least seven other Africans allied themselves with ing, they chose to avoid confrontation until victory was no longer a
the rebels. A handful of Piro Indians, from the Upper Tambo and un- question of odds. Unhampered by supply trains and complicated plans
der their cacique, Siabar, and a group of about six Conibos, and an un- of attack, they moved through the forest with speed and agility. When
known number of Mochobos and Shipibos from the Ucayali also provi- the Spanish marched against them with the brunt of their men and sup-
ded supportive strength. Both the other elements in no way equaled plies, the rebels scattered, reassembling later at a point unprotected
the numerical importance of the Highland natives. If the program of by military force, and at a distance immune to retaliation and direct
Juan Santos was trans-Andean, by late 1742, when he had moved his confrontation. When the Spanish held their force s on the edge of the
front to the Chanchamayo Valley, the human composition of his cadre Highlands, the rebels moved with dart like swiftness, threatening un-
smacked equally of a Highland revolt. protected settlements above the ceja and foreign the Spanish to scram-
ble to their defense.
While the Campa Indians did not, as a tribe, play an active role in
the Juan Santos movement, neither were they unanimous supporters While the Spanish never knew with certainty the location of Juan
of the Spanish. As individuals, many backed the Europeans up to the Santos, the rebels knew with pinpoint accuracy each movement of their
final years of the movement, and a few followed the Franciscans in their adversary. They used willing Highland Indians as spies to observe
definitive withdrawal to the Highlands. The Campa in the area of So- Spanish progress and to report the form and size of Spanish mobiliza-
noromo proved more loyal, and under their cacique, Bartolomé Quinti- tion. Once the alien military had entered the montaña, Indian scouts
mari, they offered continuous resistance to the revolt. But in general, monitored Spanish troop movement. Thus, both on the Highlands and
the vast majority seemed passive observers of the conflict, and they in the forest, the Spanish lost the advantage of surprise to the surrep-
swayed easily to the side that controlled their land. In spite of the fact titious natives.
that their future hung in the balance, they contributed little, in view of Juan Santos relied on the tactics of guerrilla warfare. The Spanish,
the size of their population, to either Spain's victory or defeat. As the in contrast, thought in terms of pitched battles and military campaigns.
chameleon, they changed to suit the dominant environment; and, only They did not appreciate the necessity of changing tactics which had
when Juan Santos was at their side, did they raise their hands against served on other occasions; and, as a consequence, their periodic expe-
the white man. ditions into the montaña were merely exercises in futility. To engage
Juan Santos effectively ‒to capture and destroy his force‒ the Spanish
Warfare in the tropics needed mobile units of adaptable men who could worm through the fo-
rest with the same agility as the rebels. But instead of small bands,
The Spanish, faced with insurgency in the central frontier, set as
they countered with military regiments and companies, whose supply
their objective the capture and destruction of Juan Santos and his re-
lines determined where and how long they could go, and whose num-
bel band. They planned to bring into the tropical forest adequate mili-
bers kept them glued to existing lines of communication. As a result,
tary force to achieve that objective. Implicit in the strategy of capture
even without spies and Indian scouts, Juan Santos could have tracked
and destroy should have been the adoption of tactics compatible with
his adversary with accuracy merely by following the din of Spanish ac-
the environment in which Spain chose to move; for, if the Spanish plan-
tivity.
ned to defeat the primitive rebels in the tropical world, they would ha-
It was not only tactical inflexibility which worked against Spanish
ve had to do so on the terms dictated by the Indians and forest alike.
success. The environment of the montaña also severely handicapped the
But the viceregal officials and their frontier representatives failed to
Spanish. The forces of Juan Santos, including the Highland recruits,
mold their tactics of offense to the dictates of the tropics, and they
found little difficulty in adopting to the terrain and climate of the fo-
moved against their enemy with a: form and style m suited to the situa-
rest: their dress, armor, and weapons conformed to its demands, and
tion at hand.
120 Montaña Lehnertz 121

their stomachs ran on its vegetable and animal life. With obvious ad- their domain and on their terms ‒indeed, on any terms‒ the Empire
miration of the Indians' balance with the land, the Peruvian viceroy, the simply withdrew.
Marqués de Villagarcia, wrote to the king: "Ni hay río, por rápido que To withdraw, however, was not a hasty decision, for the confronta-
sea, que no pasan como peces, ni montaña, por grande e intrincada, que tion between Juan Santos and the Spanish spanned ten difficult years.
como fieras no penetran; en ellas mismas hallan su más gustoso ali- Nevertheless, the decade from 1742 was not one of constant nor wides-
mento en las sabandijas, culebras y animales inmundos de que abun- pread belligerency. In spite of the time span, face-to-face contact bet-
dan". But the admiration of the viceroy was puntuated with deep frus- ween the antagonistic forces and the theatre of action were both limited.
tration. "Sería lo mismo", he concluded, "invadir los bárbaros en las
The climate of the tropical forest set for the Spanish rigid limits
montañas, que querer castigar o reducir los brutos en sus bosques".
to planned encounters. The winter months, particularly between De-
Such harmony with the forest environment the Spanish did not
cember and April, were not suited to military engagements, at least,
achieve. In the dense jungles, firearms lost their advantage of range
not to the type of engagements envisioned by the Spanish. When the ri-
over long distances and proved no more effective than the wooden
vers were swollen over their banks, and the land lay drenched by the
arrows, clubs, and spears of the Indians. The humidity and torrential
torrential rains, troops of a hundred men could barely keep themsel-
rains ruined the gun powder and spoiled food supplies. The drop bet-
ves afloat. Only between May and November could Spain hope to ven-
ween the Highland and forest, together with the numerous rivers and
ture out successfully to battle.
broken terrain of the montaña, made troop movement tedious, even on
existing trails. The temperature weakened the resolve of the soldier Of the four major Spanish expeditions against the primitive rebels,
and left him mentally exhausted and demoralized; the climate weakened three (1742, 1743, and 1750) obeyed the seasonal dictates, timing their
his body and left him susceptible to a myriad of infirmities. Moreover, operations to avoid the brunt of winter. For the third expedition, in
the Spaniard never learned to live off the forest products, and what he 1746, Spain attempted to break the seasonal pattern of conflict. Under
could not bring with him or receive by supply trains of Indian bear- the auspices of the newly appointed viceroy, Manso de Velasco, the Li-
ers and mules he had to do without ‒ on occasion, to the point of near ma government decided to attack Juan Santos during the rainy season.
starvation. Although the General of frontier operations, José de Llamas, opposed
the plan, his objections were overridden by Lima. The viceregal offi-
If the Indians and the environment were not formidable enough,
cials felt that Juan Santos would not expect a Spanish offensive during
low discipline and morale worked their way against a Spanish victory.
the winter, and that, with the rebels thus unprepared, Spain could gain
The campaign against the forces of Juan Santos threw nothing but obs-
the advantage of surprise, The expedition, however, proved a dismal
tacles in the path of the common foot soldier and of his officers as well.
failure: as Llamas had predicted, the climate destroyed the Spanish
Weakened both physically and emotionally by the environment, they
well before they reached the supposed enemy base.
found no promise of material rewards to compensate for physical dis-
comforts and to serve as an incentive for service and dedication. The- While the climate led the Spanish into seasonal battle, Juan Santos
re was no gold to discover nor booty to divide; no land to claim nor In- determined the theatre of conflict. In their efforts to capture Juan
dians to control. The Spaniards thus moved grudgingly into the Cam- Santos and his band, the Spanish were forced to attempt to engage the
pa field, and when they reached their absolute threshold of discomfort rebels where they were. The rebels, for the most part, remained rela-
they fled back onto the Highland rim, deserting their post without fear tively stationary.
and before the helplessness of their superiors. Those who remained Between 1743 and 1751, the stamping ground of Juan Santos was
disobeyed orders at will, grumbled over their daily rations, complain- the Chanchamayo Valley, at the base of the Highland province of Tar-
ed of extreme fatigue, and accepted silver from the pockets of the of- ma. Before 1743, the rebels had moved in the Gran Pajonal. But that
ficers before performing even the most routine of tasks. natural redoubt served during those early months as nothing more than
The short-sighted inflexibility of their military tacticians, Indian a organizational base, the point from which Juan Santos forged his ca-
skill at guerrilla fighting, the physical environment of the forest, and dre into a effective military device and the place in which he laid his
low morale within their ranks led the Spanish into military defeat. strategy for success. The Chanchamayo valley, on the other hand, was
Spain, without ever engaging the enemy in battle, fell hopelessly and where the action was. There, at the gates to the Highlands, the rebels
definitively before a band of primitive rebels whose only apparent moved in their raids of plunder, spreading fear against the frontier bot-
bond was their social marginality. Unable to defeat these activists in tom, and on the Highland itself.
122 Montaña Lehnertz 123

Only in 1751 did Juan Santos tum from the Chanchamayo area to Epilogue to conflict
the sector of the Campa domain at the headwaters of the Pangoa River.
He marched to the miss ion station of Sonomoro, situated along the Ma- The 1752 Andamarca campaign ended overt hostilities between
samari; forced the Spanish and Indian defenders, who had grown rus- Spain and the primitive rebels. After Andamarca, conflict was largely
ty after eight years of inactivity, to evacuate the area; and then prepa- latent, for Spain opted for a policy of containment and watchful vigi-
red for a military assault against the Highland town of Andamarca, in lance from the edge of the Highlands, and the forces of Juan Santos with-
the province of Jauja. drew into the Campa domain, It was not until the middle of the nine-
The Andamarca campaign of 1752 brought the rebel forces a major teenth century, after the creoles had won the political independence of
defeat. The Indians bridged the gap into Andamarca, but the climate the New World, that the white man managed to reënter the Campa te-
of the Highlands and the resistance of the Highland peoples posed ba- rritory, along the Chanchamayo River. With the construction of a fort
rriers to a rebel victory. Unable to consolidate his objectives, Santos at San Ramón in 1847, the Chanchamayo area was at last reopened, al-
marched back into the montaña. The Spanish did not follow the rebels though not without occasional violence, to Western settlement and cul-
but opted instead for a policy of containment. They completely aban- ture. The interior reaches of the Campa land, however, were still free
doned the Campa land, including the peripherial zones, and anchored from the white man as late as 1870, and areas such as the Gran Pajonal
their forces on the Highland rim. With the Spanish thus committed to remained as virtually unknown hinterlands or islands of aboriginal
purely defensive action, and with the force of Juan Santos unable to culture.
spring definitively beyond the forest, the movement died. But while it Between 1752 and Peruvian independence, the Spanish did, on oc-
had lived, Juan Santos had called the tune to which the Spanish marched. casíon, attempt to replant the banner of Hispano-Christian control. In
The entire decad was not all military campaigns and armed expe- 1778, for example, a group of frontiersmen received royal approval for a
ditions. The Spanish, at selected moments, attempted to achieve peace- settlement project in the Chanchamayo Valley. Within ayear, twenty
fully what they were failing to do on the battle field. In the summer seven settlers had pocketed the area with fifty cultivated fields; and, a
of 1745, the Marqués de Villagarcia commissioned the Jesuits to enter fort maintained by eighty soldiers guarded the embryonic colony. But,
the frontier. The Black Robes were, presumably, to arrange key de- late in 1784, for sorne unknown reason, the Spanish destroyed the fort
fections among the cadre of Juan Santos. Two years later the Francis- and the settlers withdrew to the sierra (González Agüeros 1786).
cans also entered the Chanchamayo area, this time to negociate direc- Four years later, the Franciscans made a feeble attempt to punc-
tly with the rebel lea der. But the Indians did not defect nor did Juan ture their old mission field. After Juan Santos rose in the Gran Pajo-
Santos choose to talk. It seemed apparent that force would be the on- nal, the Franciscans had withdrawn from the central montaña, direct-
ly way of settling the disruptions on the Campa borderlands. ing their attention to the frontier zones east of Cajamarca, Huánuco,
Force, however, was not always available for frontier expeditions. and Guamanga. The stretches east of Tarma and Jauja, nevertheless,
Conditions with the area of Spanish Peru greatly influenced the level of still held a certain fascination for the friars. As a result of that fasci-
Spanish involvement on the eastern frontier. Between 1740 and 1744, nation, they moved into the Vitoc Valley in 1788, and laid plans for a
during the war of Jenkin's Ear, an English squadron commanded by Vi- reëntry into the Chanchamayo. But the new attempts brought few re-
ce Admiral George Anson threatened Peru from the Pacific coast, in sults. The Spanish managed to construct two forts, one in Uchubamba
1746, an earthquake leveled Lima and Callao; in 1750, three Indian cons- and one in the Vitoc Valley; but, by the time the friars turned to the
piracies ‒in Huarochirí, Lambayeque, and Canta‒ threatened the social central frontier, and intra-group dispute at the mission college of San-
stability on the Highlands and along the coast, and revealed the level ta Rosa de Ocopa had torn the Order and paralized it for real mission-
of latent unrest within the established colonial society, Although Anson nary activity. Without the support of the mission community of Oco-
left the Pacific area, and the Limeños began to reconstruct their city, pa, the Vitoc enterprise fell.
and the 1750 conspiracies died before they spread ‒ the pressures The Campa, thus freed from Spanish control, returned rapidly to
west of the montaña directed much of Spain's attention away from the their precontact patterns of life. Within a decade after Andamarca, lit-
situation on the Campa domain. The imperial forces were simply too tle trace remained of the Hispano-Christian culture which had made
overextended to deal simultaneously with the needs of the viceroyalty such notable inroads among sectors of the grouping. Why the accultu-
at large. Lima was forced to set priorities, and the frontier of the cen- - rated Indians reverted so easily to their aboriginal structures is still
tral montaña ranked low on the scale.
124 Montaña Lehnertz 125

unclear. One possible explanation is that the Franciscan program of Juan Santos left behind him a record of modest military triumphs,
acculturation concentrated almost exclusively on the male members of but he was unable to re-establish his vision of the Inca past. Yet, whi-
the Campa society and left the women at the margins of mission life. le he failed to move beyond the montaña, he forced the Spanish to pull
The principal transmitters of traditional intracultural patterns, howe- the boundaries of their empire back to the Highland rim. In their re-
ver, seemed to have been the women. Nevertheless, as long as the treat, the Spanish left the Campa field much as they had found it at the
Franciscans remained in the Campa area, they were able to short cir- dawn of the seventeenth century. The Spanish banner of conquest rot-
cuit the traditional avenues of culture transfer, thus, in effect, coöpt- ted on its staff as the Indians reverted to their traditional patterns of
ing the cultural role of the female segments of the population. life.
The friars within the station controlled both the culture content
of mission society, and its transferable processes as well. But when
the Franciscans withdrew, the women were able to resume totally their BIBLIOGRAPHY
traditional functions as the principal transmitter of culture. They filled
the vacuum left by the friars, resuming, in the process, one of their AMICH, José
principal social functions in the aboriginal society. Moreover, largely 1854 Compendio histórico de los trabajos, fatigas, sudores y muertes que los
unacculturated in comparison to the men, they were able to impart the ministros evangélicos de la seráfica religión han padecido por la con-
Campa heritage in a relatively pure form and free from contamination. versión de las almas de los gentiles, en la montaña de los Andes, perte-
necientes a las provincias del Perú. París.
Had the Franciscans concentrated equally on the women, the reversal
of culture evolution might well have been less complete. GIL MUÑOZ, Joseph
1742 Relación. Manuscript., Real Academia de la Historia (Madrid).
As the cultural importation of the Hispano-Christian world disap-
GONZALEZ AGUEROS, Pedro
peared from the Campa domain, so, also did Juan Santos. He apparently 1786 Colección general de las expediciones practicadas por los religiosos mi-
renounced, after 1752, his plans for a Highland revolt; with his frus- sioneros. Manuscript, Real Academia de la Historia (Madrid).
trated hopes, he sunk back into the tropical forest and out of the pages HOBSBAWM, E. J.
of recorded history. There were, of course, the proverbial rumors. A 1969 Bandits. London,
Franciscan friar, in 1776, had made his way to the Conibo Indians along LEHNERTZ, Jay
the Ucayali River. During his brief stay with the Conibos, he received 1970 Cultural Struggle on the Peruvian Frontier: Campa-Franciscan Con-
a report from two Indians who professed to have been captains of Juan frontations, 1595-1752. Unpublished Masters of Arts thesis, Universi-
Santos. The two men, although not particularly willing informants, did ty of Wisconsin.
tell Fray Salcedo that their leader had died in the old mission station LOAYZA, Francisco A.
of Metraro, along the Perene River. When Salcedo continued to press 1942 Juan Santos, el invencible. Lima.
for more details, they informed him that he had gone to Hell., disappear- VALCARCEL, Daniel
ing before their very eyes enveloped in a cloud of smoke. 1946 Rebeliones indígenas. Lima.
VALLEJO FRONSECA, José A.
It is doubtful that Juan Santos descended so dramatically into Hell. 1957 La lucha por la independencia del Perú. Revista del Archivo Histórico
Other rumors seem more plausible. One, as a case in point, describes del Cuzco 8: 232-292. Cuzco.
the rebel's slow psychological deterioration: frustrated in his original VARESE, Stefano
designs, he was reported to have withdrawn into himself and away 1957 Un intento de mestizaje cultural en la selva del Perú. Revista Histó-
from his cadre of supporters. He grew, continued the popular voice, rica 28: 145-148. Lima.
increasingly more irritable and, to avoid his betrayal, he killed Antonio 1967 La rebelión de Juan Santos. Cuadernos de Antropología 5: 1-9. Lima.
1968 La sal de los cerros. Lima.
Gatica along with various native caciques. Another variant main-
tained that Juan Santos himself had been accidently killed in a mock
battle with another rebel chief. But, whatever his end, it is surround-
ed, as is his birth, in mystery and myth. The only apparent certainty is
that the primitive rebel, after 1752, lost or relinquished his former
position of authority and control.
FRANCISCAN EXPLORATION
IN
THE CENTRAL MONTAÑA OF PERU

Alan K. GRAIG

"Allí no valen instrumentos, ni teodolito, ni la ciencia del

ingeniero: lo que aprovecha es los buenos pulsos para ma-
nejar el machete o agarrarse de alguna rama, la práctica en
andar por la Montaña, y una constitución robusta .. ."
P. F. Bernardino Gonzalez

Introduction

Franciscans first entered Peru with the conquistadores of Pizarro's

expedition. From this earliest possible beginning they developed an
organization that was remarkable both for its continual successes in ex-
ploration and for the production of martyrs. During the next four hun-
dred years of contact with forest Indians of the Peruvian Oriente, Fran-
ciscan missionaries methodically collected a wealth of information and
experience in their dealings with these tribes. While results of some
expeditions have already been published, there is ample evidence that
many other valuable documents have accumulated in various archives
of the order where they remain unknown to ethnographers or geogra-
phers. By calling attention to some of the more important of these
accounts it is my hope that interest in the remainder will be stimulated 1.
In addition, I am concerned with identification of those elements
in the Franciscan field techniques and logistical structure that appear
responsible for their excellent record in penetrating remote areas where
modern attempts to achieve the same results have often failed.

Development of the Franciscan mission system

The initial efforts of the twelve Franciscans who entered Peru in

1532 were centered in the high Andes between Cajamarca and Cha-

l. Many valuable documents pertaining to Franciscan activities in Peru were lost

when the Ocopa convent was ransacked by victorious Republicans in 1824. Fur-
ther losses occurred when recovered documents transferred to the National Li-
brary at Lima were destroyed in 1879 by invading Chilean troops. A fifteen
day search of the Seville archives by Izaguirre (1922, I:21) disclosed much
pertinent material and suggests that other diaries, reports, and maps may sur-
vive in European depositories of the Franciscan order.
128 Montaña Craig 129

chapoyas. This region became the center of an administrative territory this incident Padre Larrios, who was searching for Jiménez, had ‒in
known in 1565 as the Province of the Twelve Apostles which included the words of Contreras‒ "the same glorious fate".
at that time much of western South America. Franciscan reinforcements in the battle to open the Central Monta-
During the next few decades as the conquistadores were consoli- ña arrived quickly and in ever increasing numbers that replaced their
dating the results of their conquests, the Franciscans were equally busy, fallen comrades. During this era of great missionary zeal, we have re-
establishing 23 monasteries by the year 15?7. Eventually 45 religious ports of more Franciscans on the Perene, Aguaytía, Ucayali, Pangoa, and
communities were located along the Peruvian coast and highlands whe- Madre de Dios Rivers. Important stations were founded at Sonomoro,
re conditions of soil and climate were similar to those found in the Pichana, and again at Quimiri which was sacked by the Campas on
Iberian Peninsula. The approach to the problem of penetrating the repeated occasions.
Central Montaña was slow and cautious. This was the same area that Toward the end of the 17th century it must have been evident to
had thwarted both the highly organized armies of the Incas and the the missionaries that the Campa Indians constituted the largest unassi-
entradas of the conquistadores. Contreras has aptly summarized Fran- milated aboriginal group in the Central Montaña. We note that the
ciscan missionary activities of this early period as "... trial assaults by first Campa glossary, catechisms, and grammatical studies were produced
(individuals) inexperienced in the study of Amazonian Indians and, by Padres Biedma, Izquierdo, and Gutiérrez in 1674. And it was in this
above all, in the terrain in which they would operate" 2. same year that the Campa messianistic chief Mangoré attempted to
foment an uprising to eliminate all of the Chacamayo-Perene mission
There were some early failures about which very little is known-an stations 5.
example being the expedition into the Moyobamba area sometime be-
fore 1580. But, by the beginning of the 17th century a series of suc- Further Franciscan explorations
cessful exploration trips greatly accelerated their understanding of tri-
bal demography and the physical characteristics of the territories in From the town of Andamarca the famous Franciscan explorer Pa-
which they lived. dre Biedma began in 1677 an ambitious trip down the Mantaro, Ene,
Franciscan penetration of the Central Montaña began after the and Tambo rivers, finally arriving at the confluence of the Pachitea and
founding of the Huanuco Monastery in 1580. Frorn this base they Ucayali. His voyage down the Ucayali was a pioneer effort that opened
followed the valley of the Huallaga establishing some 15 reducciones up a vast region that consistently tempted Biedma and his fellow
among Indians whose tribal identities have since largely disappeared. missionaries to return.
Some indication of their early interest in this direction is apparent in In view of the fact that the Franciscan mission system was alrea-
the fact that Fray Antonio Jurado is said to have already learned the dy grassly overextended beyond their means of logistical support, it
Panatahuan language by 1557 3, but it was nearly one hundred years was perhaps beneficial to their goals that they began to encounter Jesuit
later before the Huallagá region had been thoroughly missionized. competition on the Lower Ucayali from which they withdrew in
From the Tinganese Station in the Huallaga Valley the Peruvian- 16866. Biedma re-entered the Upper Ucayali-Tambo system and left
born friar, Jerónimo Jiménez, made his first exploratory journey into the detailed accounts of this region that are probably the source of the
Chanchamayo Valley in 1635 in order to search out the famous Cerro hydrologic data that was incorporated in Sobreviela's map of 1790 7.
de la Sal 4. In the process of exploring the Paucartarnbo and Perene Biedma succumbed in 1687 to the most prevalent of occupational ha-
Rivers he founded the earliest mission settlement in this area at Qui- zards, being shot to death with four other missionaries in a shower of
miri. Two years later he had the distinction of becoming the first of arrows on the Río Tambo.
many Franciscans to be martyrized by Campa arrows. Three days after
5. For gruesome details of Mangore's death refer to the account by Amich (1853).
2. Contreras (1926:7). 6. Jesuit missionaries were very thinly spread over the Lower Ucayali where they
3. Op. cit., p. 10 ‒ while the degree of Jurado's knowledge of Panatahuan may not experienced indifferent success before their expulsion in 1767.
have been great, this is an interesting indication of a very early Franciscan ef- 7. This is the first map showing detailed cultural and hydrographic data on the
fort to study indigenous cultures. Central Montaña. Versions appear in Raimondi's El Peru (1966, II: 418), de
4. Cerro de la Sal is not, as the name implies, a hill of salt but rather an out- Rávago's Viajes y Estudios en la Historia de la Geografía (1961: 136), Izaguirre
cropping of impure Jurassic salt mixed with much terrigenous material. It is (1924, VII:32), Herndon's Valley of the Amazon (Maps, Part I), etc, More
nevertheless an extremely important natural resource of considerable strategic pertinent comments appear in Izaguirre (1925, IX:55-9).
value to the Indian economy of this area.
130 Montaña Craig 131

From the end of the 17th century the early part of the 18th cen-
turies mission stations were being burned and razed by the Campas
as fast as the Franciscans could establish them. These distractions dimi-
nished somewhat their exploratory efforts but we note that in 1712 Pa-
dre Francisco de San José was able to found the village of Pozuzo and
begin construction of a trail from there to Huanuco. The Pozuzo mis-
sion later became an important base for exploration of Amuesha terri-
tory in the Cerros de San Matías and Palcazu Valley.
In 1724 a significant event occurred when the small hospice at
Ocopa was finally enlarged and converted into what eventually beca-
me the most important Franciscan Monastery and College for Missio-
naries.
To the French priest Juan de la Marca goes credit for the disco-
very of the Gran Pajonal which he entered in 1730, founding several
stations during this initial penetration. If the toponomy is accurate, Juan
de la Marca must have made another trip during this same period to
the Pichis-Nazarategui Valley where he founded a station named San
Francisco Solano de Aporoquiaqui (Apurucayali?). It is listed again in
1739 as one of the ten Gran Pajonal population centers that included
Tampianiqui, Cuichaqui, Camarosqui, La Laguna, Caretequi, Capotequi,
Quisopango, and Savirosqui. It is doubtful if all these stations were loca-
ted within the boundaries of what we today consider to be the Gran
Pajonal, La Laguna is most likely the alternative name for the mission
station known to have been founded at Parantiqui (Pirintoqui) 8.
All of the initial success in the Gran Pajonal was swept away in
the great uprising of 1742 led by a Campa Messiah, Juan Santos Ata-
huallpa. The Pajonal remained closed to all outsiders for more than
one hundred years but Franciscans never lost a desire to reestablish
their stations there.
This uprising marks a pivotal point in Franciscan affairs ‒ after
1742 much impetus seems lost and their missionary program took on a
less aggressive tenor. Prior to the uprising they had sent a total of 79
missionaries on 34 distinct expeditions into the Central Montaña with the
result that more than 70 villages were founded, seven major trails opened.
125,705 Indians baptized, and 47 martyrs produced 9, 10.
It is evident these missionaries had explored virtually all of Campa
territory by 1765 when their efforts were largely directed elsewhere.

8. Parantoqui ‒place of platanos‒ remains even today a favorite settlement area

for the Campa whose chacras are scattered over much of the rugged terrain to
the west and north of this large karst lake.
9. Contreras (1926:30).
10. If these figures for conversions are even approximately accurate then there has
been a gross decline in aboriginal population of the Oriente without the corres-
ponding recent recovery of members experienced by the coastal and highland
populations.
132 Montaña Craig 133

Franciscan contributions to geographic knowledge were summarized and Padre Plaza and the army of the Ucayali
rendered in map form at this time by Padre Amich.
From a summary of results made in 1824 at the closing of the As part of the determined effort to re-open mission stations and
Ocopa College by order of the new Republic, we find that an addi- regain territorial control lost during the great revolt of the 18th century,
tional 30 expeditions had been made studying the courses of 16 major Padre Manuel Plaza decided to establish a new outpost located in a most
rivers, 42 villages founded, 6 new trails opened, 9 maps completed and 19 strategic position at the confluence of the Tambo and Urubamba
martyrs inscribed 11. rivers. This seems to have been a choice based largely on the fact
that it was possible to monitor conveniently movements of Indians through-
Lines of communication out the Tambo-Urubamba-Ucayali drainage system from this central
point. Franciscan authorities were no doubt under the impression that
Although some missionaries were recruited from native-born Pe- this location would provide a strong base and convenient access route
ruvians, the majority arrived from Spain with little experience to for future penetration of the Gran Pajonal since all former trails located
prepare them for the rigors of life in eastern Peru. To facilitate the in the south were closed.
process of acclimatization a special monastery for newly-arrived priests Plaza founded his new base of operations in 1815, naming the mis-
was established near the port of Pisco. At this hacienda they customarily sion Lima-Rosa, or Santa Rosa de los Piros. The initial settlement is said
spent several years preparing for their campaigns on the opposite side of to have consisted of 130 Piro families collected from the surrounding
the Andes. The base at Pisco did not, however, supersede in impor- area 12. There are few locations in this rugged part of the Montaña
tance the enlarged monastery and college at Ocopa which remained that would appear to have sufficient arable land to support such a lar-
the primary center for entradas into the Central Montaña. ge number of Indians but Lima-Rosa, or Atalaya as it is now known, is
Extending out from Ocopa were a series of smaller outposts usual- an exception 13.
ly located near headwaters of those more important valley leading The following year Padres Plaza and Ruiz decided to extend the
down into the lowlands. These small hospices served as rest camps influence of their new mission post by advancing in force up the Río
where missionaries could recoup their energy and cure their illnesses. Tambo. They wanted to open a safe passage and communications
Each hill station was located at a sufficient elevation to benefit from route with the newly re-established missions in the upper Perene region.
a refreshingly cool climate and there were vegetable gardens maintain- For this purpose the missionaries organised a group of Piro and Conibo
ned at each site by permanent caretakers. The knowledge that these warriors that exceeded anything recruited before or since. This is the
facilities could provide relief from the enervating effects of more or origin of what was termed the "Army of the Ucayali" 14.
less continuous privation must have been an important factor in sustai-
ning morale during mission tours and explorations. On the 29th of June, 1816, Plaza and Ruiz headed upstream from
Santa Rosa de los Piros with a force consisting of 326 archers and 30
Below the hospices a series of fortified supply camps were built musketeers, a11 of whom traveled in 66 canoes making it as Plaza later
and often garrisoned by a small detachment of soldiers; these sites reported "… the most beautiful convoy that has ever been seen in
were frankly referred to in reports as "forts." Strongholds of this kind these parts" 15.
were located at Chavini, Sonomoro and Quimirí in the Chanchamayo
district. While they were no doubt useful as forwarding stations for Their adversaries were the Campas living on both banks of the
material and personnel in transit to mission outposts, the forts evident- Tambo, which in previous years had become a veritable highway to
ly constituted a source of continual irritation to the Campas who re- martyrdom for a succession of Franciscan explorers.
peatedly attacked and destroyed them. Within a short time the Army of the Ucayali had its first skirmish
I would like to conclude this brief historical resume by considering on the sand bar of Mazoroveni. It is perhaps significant that the few
in some detail two important Franciscan expeditions that are represen-
12. Izaguirre (1925, IX: ).
tative of their approach to the problems of exploring the hostiles rain 13. At Atalaya there are two extensive Pleistocene terrace surfaces both of which
forest environment. are above present flood levels so that the site provides ample hectarage for a
village of this size.
14. This term appears in the diary of Padre Ruiz who was a member of this expe-
11. Op, cit., p. 45. dition. It is quoted in Izaguirre (1825, IX:23).
15. Op. cit., p. 20.
134 Montaña Craig 135

Conibos in this expedition were acting as scouts in advance of the main

group of Piros who were considered to be enemies of the Campa. These
Conibos were confronted by ten Campas who employed a tactic much
in favor at that time: after retreating into cover the Campas sent their
unarmed leader out onto the beach to meet his Conibo counterpart
whom he grasped in greeting. Rotating his victim slightly to one side,
the Campa stepped back whereupon the Conibo was instantly skewe-
red by an arrow shot from the woods. In the melee that followed
several more Indians from both sides were killed in view of the
main party which was hastening upstream.
On reaching their destination at the mouth of the Rio Ene, Plaza
employed his warriors in the task of building a number of fortified
houses surrounded by a wooden palisade. This rustic stronghold or fort
was a Franciscan response ‒typical at that time‒ to the probability of
Campa reprisals.
In a letter written shortly thereafter by Padre Carvallo to the
Governor of Tarma he makes an excellent evaluation of Plaza's me-
thods and the Army of the Ucayali, admiting that they may appear
"…. more military than Apostolic 16".

Sala's penetration of the Gran Pajonal

Of the many Franciscan expeditions into the Central Montaña, none,

Fig. 3. In the Gorge of the Apurucayali.
in my opinion, are comparable in terms of sheer physical difficulty to
the penetration of the Gran Pajonal by Padre Gabriel Sala in the year
1896. His experiences are especially instructive and merit examination
in some detail.
Sala was commissioned by the government to determine the most
direct and practical route between the Chanchamayo-Cerro de la Sal
regian and the Ucayali 17. This trajectory necessarily crosses the Gran
Pajonal where Franciscans were anxious to re-establish their mission
stations that had been destroyed in 1742 during the Juan Santos Ata-
huallpa uprising.
As a veteran explorer with considerable selva experience, Sala
approached this task cautiously. After consultations with various shirin-
geiros and Indian traders who professed familiarity with alternative

16. Raimondi (1966, III:55).

17. Government interest was a reflection of the much discussed plan to open a rail-
road link between the Andean network built by Meiggs and the head of Amazo-
nian upstream navigation. Such a route would avoid the storrny Strait of Ma-
gellan. Thus Sala was in effect continuing the exploratory work of Lt. Hern- Fig. 4. Lake Parantiqui.
don and Passed Midshiprnan Gibbon who, some forty years earlier, had been
commissioned by the United States Navy to seek out a feasible trans-continen--
tal route.
136 Montaña Craig 137

routes into the Pajonal, Sala elected to enter from Chicotsa ‒ a small of necessity cross these box cañons. The process involves scrambling
pioneer settlement on the western bank of the Ucayali. down one side of a narrow gorge for hundreds of meters until the
Together with Padre Juan Aguirre, a Chinese settler, a "press gang" boulder-filled course is reached, whereupon it is necessary to climb up
for the Fitzcarrald rubber camps, assorted drifters, and various Indians, the same distance along the opposite wall with the net result that se-
this heterogeneous group of about 30 men made two abortive preliminary veral hours of arduous work are required in order to advance your posi-
attempts to enter the Shiras by following Quebrada Chicotsa. In the tion a few hundred meters.
first instance Sala narrowly escaped drowning when his canoe over- Another geological relationship present in the Shira Mountains is
tumed 18. Continuing on foot, their entry was contested by a single responsible for Sala's comments on "craters" 20 and Izaguirre's editorial
Campa, Michi, who threatened the entire party. At length they reorga- comment concerning the necessity to investigate certain manifestations
nized themselves, increased their armaments, and were strengthened by of vulcanism 21. In reality, Sala passed through one of several districts
the addition of several Campa guides who had first-hand knowledge in these mountain where karstopography is developed in Permo-Carbo-
of the Pajonal, niferous limes tones equivalent geologically to the Copacabana formation
It is quite clear from Sala's account of their journey that no path found in the Altiplano near Titicaca 22. In the Montaña these limes-
or trail of any kind actually connected Chicotsa or its watershed with tones are widespread and found stratigraphically below the cliff-for-
the Pajonal 19. Traffic between these two points is (and was) so slight ming Cretaceous sandstones mentioned previously. Solution activity is
that each adventurer must find his own way as best he can. Sala and intensive wherever these beds are exposed and Sala's "crater" full of
Aguirre were undoubtedly the first caucasians to attempt an entry by owls is in reality a sinkhole 23. Similarly, we now know that this
this route as former Franciscan missionaries all arrived from the south is also the explanation for the mysterious disappearance of Qda. Que-
following a tributary of the Perene. pachi (as well as many other) which Sala described as plunging
underground.
Geological relationships along Sala's route Underground karst drainage is common over a large area north and
east of the main Pajonal. Air photos taken in 1958 show several large
Surprisingly enough the Sala expedition led by their Campa gui- karst lakes located about 15 km. NE of Obenteni ‒ one of which had
des was able in a single day to surmount the gigantic sandstone cliffs been completely drained shortly before the photos were taken 24. Karst
that present such a formidable rampart along much of the eastern lakes also occur on the western slope of the Shiras where the best
flank of the Shiras. This immense fault scarp exposes massive beds of example is Lake Parantiqui, measuring nearly 4 km. in lenght. Sobre-
the Aguas Calientes formation to a height of approximately 2000 meters. viela's map of 1791 indicates it was the site of a Franciscan outpost but
For more than 60 kilometers along the eastern border of the Shiras this he erroneously shows it draining into the Ucayali instead of the Pa-
vertical facade presents an obstacle that is extraordinarily difficult to chitea.
overcome. Sala repeatedly mentions the lack of surface water over much of
Erosion of these highly indurated sandstones has occurred along the central Shiras and even in the Pajonal itself 25. This anomalous
fracture systems that result in numerous, deep box cañons occupied by condition is due to the rapid percolation of rainfall through porous,
streams that generally flow east-west at right angles to the north-south near-horizontal sandstones and into subterranean drainage systems deve-
trend of the Pachitea-Ucayali interfluve. This means, as Sala soon disco-
vered, that anyone traveling any distance across these mountains must 20. Izaguirre (X:515).
21. Op. cit., p. 515 footnote (1).
18. The overturned canoe is an inevitable feature of riverine travel in the Orien- 22. See Steinmann (1830: 34ff.).
te. Consequently, it is surprising that a seasoned traveller like Sala neglected 23. This reference to owls is puzzling. Bats would be the expected inhabitant but
to tie his important cargo to the canoe itself; when the accident occurred many it may be that Sala saw the guacharo or South American oil bird (Steatornis
loose items were lost and Sala became pinned by his foot as the strong current caripensis) in one of these caves. Its nearest known occurrence is in the caves
trapped him between the overturned canoe and a sunken log. near Tingo María which are formed in similar limestones.
19. Notwithstanding, several earlier maps indicated such a trail and may have for- 24. In this remarkable photograph taken by the Servicio Aerofotográfico Nacional
med the basis for Sala's choice of Chicotsa as point of departure for his Pajo- it is apparent that the entire lake was suddenly drained as the steep sides and
nal expedition. It is probable that such a trail did in fact exist during the first sediment-covered bottom were completely devoid of any vegetation. By the ti-
Franciscan presence prior to 1742 but it is only through continued use that such me of this writing (1970) the site has no doubt become thickly overgrown and
trails can remain open in this habitat of exuberant vegetative growth. the opportunity to acquire valuable palynologic samples lost forever.
25. Izaguirre (X:512, 513, 514, 515, etc.).
138 Montaña Craig 139

loped in underlying limestones. In the Pajonal area there is a distinct tlement of Unini where the crests of the ridges trend toward Atalaya
facies change in the Aguas Calientes sandstones so that hills and inter- and die out as they reach the north bank of the Río Tambo.
fluves often have shale beds intercalated with somewhat poorly indu- At the extreme southwestern corner of the Gran Pajonal a number
rated sandstones. At some point between the Pajonales and Cerro de la of topographic features are compressed into the relatively small area
Sal in the Chanchamayo are lutitic red beds of Jurassic age containing between the east-flowing Perene and the north-flowing Pichis. Between
thin seams of salt interposed between the Cretaceous sandstones and the Palcazu-Pozuzo and west of the Pichis are the little-known Cerros
Permo-Carboniferous limestones. Virtually nothing is now know concer- de San Matías forming a rugged series of mountains parallel to the
ning the extent of these Jurassic continental deposits. However, it is axis of the Shiras. At right angles to this system is a series of moun-
significant to note that as far south as Obenteni it is still possible to tains immediately north of the Rio Perene and known locally as the
located limestone in many of the stream beds that support thick galle- Cerros de Kitsungari, which form the southwestern rim of the Pajonal.
ry forests between the pajonales. Where the two mountain systems meet, the formations have been
heavily faulted with blocks rotated in many directions. It is across this
Topography of the Gran Pajonal severely disturbed terrain that .Sala opened the famous Pichis Trail
uniting the miss ion station of San Luis de Shuaro with Tambo Azupizu
Sala's comments on the topographic impregnability of the Pajonal over a distance of more than 65 kilometers 28.
are completely justified 26. Viewed from the air, it is apparent that Sala's insistence that the canon of the Río Aporoquiali (Apurucayali)
the Gran Pajonal represents a large structural basin created by complex offers the most advantageous route into the Gran Pajonal 29 was based
faulting that so far has largely defied attempts to render it geologically on hearsay and cannot be supported today from analysis of the air
comprehensible. On the east this basin having a general elevation of photo coverage nor from the results of contemporary exploration. As a
about 1200 meters gradually rises to an elevation of approximately 2000 result of Sala's report almost all current maps show the Aporoquiali
meters where is an abrupt fault scarp of 800-1000 meters, the southern having a relatively straight course from headwaters in the center of
end of which culminates in the impressive Coteni ampitheatre. Out of the Gran Pajonal northwestward to the Río Pichis ‒ suggesting that it
the center of this bowl-shaped feature rises a prominent, conical intrusi- would be a relatively simple matter to follow this river upstream and
ve peak. The Río Unini, which has its head-waters slightly south of step out onto the pajonales 30.
Obenteni, flows to this eastern rim and suddenly plunges down through
During most of the year it is only possible to navigate the Río
a narrow chasm in wildly broken terrain where its course is deflected
Aporoquiali in small canoes to the former Franciscan mission station
around the Coteni intrusive. From the rim of the Pajonal to the bot-
located at the contact between the Chonta shales and the Aguas Ca-
tom of the Coteni ampitheatre (Mamoriari) the Unini is equivalent to
lientes sandstones. At this point a box cañon is formed and massive
a single great cataract, making any attempt to follow the actual course
sandstone boulders narrow the channel to the proportions and velocity
of the river totally impractical 27.
of a millrace making further progress by water completely impossible.
The southern rim of the Gran Pajonal is composed of a highly Upstream from this point the Aporoquiali is entirely engorged in a
serrated ridgeline with the peaks culminating again between 1800-2000 rectilinear system of increasingly rugged canons that could only be
meters. On either side of this east-west crestline there are deeply inci- followed on foot with extraordinary difficulty. Toward the headwaters,
sed sub-parallel valleys creating terraing reminiscent of the Central the terrain becomes truly chaotic with jagged precipices, a deeply
Shiras. Toward the southeast these mountains, merge into a narrow incised stream bed, and slopes scarred by many landslides.
sector of unusually rugged relief caused by the sedimentary formations
having been thrown into tight folds. This province begins near the set- 28. For those who are familiar with the present remote and desolate nature of this
forgotten comer of the Peruvian Oriente, it is difficult to imagine that at one
time it was bustling with activity, boasted telegraph service to Puerto Bermu-
26. Op. cit., p. 511. des via Tambo Azupizu, and had a series of government-staffed relay stations
27. Mamoriari is a Campa word approximated by "labode of the sabalo" (Impor- maintained for this purpose.
tant food fish). Even this salmon-like fish cannot ascend beyond this point be- 29. Izaguirre (X:530).
cause of the chaotic nature of the channel. Throughout the Shira Mountains 30. From an inspection of the indice grafíco (negat. 9482-A-58-02-A-2) of Proyec-
there is a noticeable lack of fish in those streams having a highly precipitous to N° 9482-A-58-02, scale 1:40,000 it is clear that this route is utterly imprac-
gradient. In addition, the waters of the Rio Unini have a peculiar "smoky" ap- tical-the Aporoquiali follows a contorted course through the widest portion of
pearance not seen elsewhere. the Shiras and does not approach any pajonales except in the extreme headway-
ters area. The map in Izaguirre (X: 203) is very misleading in this respect.
140 Montaña

No doubt Campa travelers have passed on occasion from the north-

western pajonales to the Río Pichis by generally following interfluves
associated with this river but it is not in any sense a feasible route for
non-indigenous explorers.
The Nevati (Newatzi, Neguachi) corridor is another major topogra-
phic feature of the western flank of the southern Shiras and a sugges-
ted route to the Gran Pajonal by writers innocent of first-hand knowledge.
The Río Nevati has its headwaters in one of the gallery forests in
the southwestern portion of the Pajonal. It soon becomes a substantial
stream of swift-flowing, dark-colored water flowing over a slippery,
algae-covered bed of limes tone and sandstone boulders. After making
several large, fault-controlled bends, the Nevati cuts through the con-
stricting western ramparts of highly faulted block mountains and plun-
ges hundreds of meters down the face of this escarpment in a series
of torrential cataracts of awe-inspiring proportions 31. It is in this hellish
gorge that the river has ground its way completely through the Copa-
cabana limes tones into a majestic sequence of bright green, massive
arkose beds exposed nowhere else along the entire western side of the
Shira Mountains.
Although Campa Indians sometimes arrive at settlements near the
mouth of the Nevati, they do so by circuitous routes. In recent years
only one instance seems to be known of a Campa having survived a
downstream trip directly through this gorge by clinging to logs in the
short intervals between the falls 32.

Further comments on Sala's Pajonal expedition.

Even though it is not possible reconstruct precisely the route

followed by Sala's party if we apply his description to what is seen on
the aerial photography, it is evident that his guides did not take him
by the most direct route into the better-known settlements of the cen-
tral Pajonal, Nowhere in his account do we find mention of the impor-
tant Campa population center of Obenteni. This unique location is for-
med by volcanic ash that accumulated as Pleistocene lake bed deposits
now serving as an excellent landing field. Obenteni was the most impor-
tant of the original Franciscan stations in the Gran Pajonal during the
1730's and it was cast in a similar role on the reopening of Franciscan
efforts there two hundred years later under the direction of Padre Rojas.

31. During a five day penetration of the Nevati canon the writer measured 2 tri-
butary waterfalls each of which was higher than Niagara Falls.
32. However, workers at a small hacienda on the Rio Nevati reported that several
bodies had come down this river in recent years ‒ probably the result of in-
ternicine fighting rather than accident victims.
142 Montaña Craig 143

Today it boasts a brick church, several permanent buildings of the Fran- themselves 34. The Gran Pajonal has not been turned into the great
ciscans also made of local brick, a "main street", homes of colonists from ranching center Sala envísioned, full of prosperous colonists from the
the highlands, a kind of store, and a rustic building of two stories that highlands 35. Campas still shoot at strangers on the Unini or the Anacayali,
is utilized for a lodging house. and rapine is a common part of their lives.
Also omitted from Sala's account is any reference to the adjacent From an ethnologic viewpoint it can be said that continued contact
Campa population centers of Tihuanaski (Tiguanaqui) and Shumahuani, with missionaries served to entrench and stimulate institutionalized
both former Franciscan missions and still of some consequence on the barter of trade goods that had already begun in pre-hispanic times
Pajonal. We can only assume that avoidance of these places was inten- between "chunchos" of Anti-Suyo and the Incas. Franciscans customarily
tional on the part of Sala's guides who may have had good personal paid for goods and services by gifts of tools and metalware, especially
reasons to detour around them. knives, axes and machetes. The accumulation of these items together
with cloth goods and shotguns has since become a status symbol requi-
Exploration techniques ring much travel, social interaction, and complex barter ‒ factors which
tend to lessen a modern tendency toward misanthropic isolationism.
By comparing the expeditions of Plaza and Sala we can see that Overland travel remains exactly as difficult and arduous as it was
the Franciscans employed two distinct solutions to the problem of ex- in the early days of exploration ‒ storms, floods, earthquakes, insects,
ploring the selva. Plaza preferred to travel in the company of a large hunger, heat and cold, continue to harass everyone who sets foot in the
group, well equipped and armed, with as many trappings of civilization selva. To travel upstream from the mouth of the Pachitea to Puerto
as were practicable. Sala, on the other hand, adopted a largely aboriginal Bermúdez is still a serious undertaking ‒ the long-projected railroads
style of travel ‒ following, rather than leading, his Indian companions 33. have never been built and even the famous Pichis trail has now fallen
Acquiring sufficient food in route has been a serious problem for into disuse.
all missionaries. Plaza's army was forced to keep moving since their On the other hand, communications in general have been dramati-
continued presence at one place for more than a few days was certain cally improved since the introduction of the airplane. Almost every
to exhaust all the avaible food. Sala's much smaller group experienced mission station, Franciscan or otherwise, has its landing strip and radio
the same difficulty but they were able to rest and recuperate their transceiver. This has made it possible to introduce more workers and
strength for a short time at almost any Campa chacra. equipment than in the past, but it has not led directly to an accelera-
Since there exists a tacit obligation to feed friendly visitors, few tion of the Indian acculturation process. Much of the beneficial and
Indians in the Montaña feel the need to burden themselves with travel pacifying aspects of missionary influence on these forest Indians have
rations. Instead, they plan their journeys so that no more than a few been offset by negative experiences the tribes have suffered from a
days at most are needed to travel from one house to the next where succession of outside exploiters of rubber, rosewood oil, barbasco, and
they are fed along the way. On the other hand, they are conditioned slaves 36.
to consume ephemeral food surpluses since they often lack knowledge It is true, however, that Franciscans have left one outstanding heritage.
of effective preservation techniques. . This is the basis of the traditional In effect, they deserve credit for bringing the Montaña out of the realm
explorers' complaint that their Indian companions irresponsibly eat all the of fear and mystery into the cognizance of the Peruvian people who
food on hand with no thought for the future. were quick to follow as pioneers in those areas where the priests first
entered as explorers.

The Franciscan heritage 34. I am refering to the concept of the Milleneal Kingdom whereby the Francis-
cans idealistically hoped to create a perfect Christian empire by converting
all of the aborigines of South America and insulating them from the corrup-
If we analyze the effect of four centuries of unrelenting Franciscan ting influence of secular Europeans. For details see Tibesar (1953) and Phe-
effort to civilize the forest Indians of Peru we must conclude that they lan (1977).
failed in certain respects to achieve the ambitious goals they set for 35. Izaguirre (X:555 ff.).
36. The institution of slavery still exists in some isolated parts of Peru where In-
dian children are kidnapped and sold to hacendados for use as domestics. If
33. This has been the same technique employed by the Passionist missionaries sin- they reach adulthood, they remain as agricultural workers in debt peonage to
ce the beginning of their efforts in the Peruvian Oriente in 1921. the patron.
144 Montaña
THE ECO-GEOGRAPHICAL CHARACTERISTICS
REFERENCES CITED
OF THE GRAN PAJONAL AND THEIR
RELATIONSHIPS TO SOME CAMPA INDIAN
AMICH, José CULTURAL PATTERNS
1854 Compendia histórico de los trabajos, fatigas, sudores y muertos que los
ministros evangélicos de la seráfica religión han padecido por la conver-
sión de las almas de los gentiles, en la montaña de los Andes, etc., París.
BUSTAMANTE de RAVAGO, Enrique
1961 Viajes y Estudios en la Historia de la Geografía. Lima, Editores Pe-
ruanos Rávago, 241 pp.
CONTRERAS, Francisco Marshall S. CHROSTOWSKI
1926 Reseña Histórica de las Misiones Franciscanas en el Perú. 2nd ed., Va-
lencia, Tipografía Moderna, 63 pp.
HERNDON, Wm. Lewis, and Lardner GIBBON
1854 Exploration of the Valley of the Amazon. 3 Vols., Washington, 33rd.
Congress, 1st Session, House of Representatives, Executive document
N° 153, 417 pp.; 339 pp.; Map supplement.
IZAGUIRRE, Bernardino
1922-30 Historia de las Misiones Franciscanas y Narración de los Progresos de Introduction
la Geografía en el Oriente del Perú. 14 Vols. Lima, Talleres Tipográ-
ficos de la Penitenciaría. I was first attracted to the ecological aspects of Campa Indian life
PHELAN, John Leddy when I observed, in the course of biogeographical investigations, a marked
1970 The Millennial Kingdom of the Franciscans in the New World. Second correspondence between the presence and activities of these Indians
Edition Revised, Berkeley and Los Angeles, Univ. of California Press,
and the character and patterning of vegetation in the Gran Pajonal.
179 pp.
The most conspicuous pattern is the patchwork of savannas (pajonales)
RAIMONDI, Antonio
1965-6 El Perú. edici6n facsimilar, Lima, Editorial Litográfica La Confianza.
capping many ridges in this otherwise forested region. Also characteris-
tic is the pattern of diminishing forest disturbance with increasing dis-
STEINMANN, G.
1930 Geología del Perú. Heidelberg, Carl Winters Universitatsbuchhandlung, tance from pajonal clusters. I therefore found it necessary to examine
448 pp. the possible role played by the Campa in the creation and mainte-
TIBESAR, Antonine nance of these pajonales (See Chrostowski and Denevan, 1970).
1953 Franciscan Beginnings in Colonial Peru. Washington, D. C., Academy One striking Campa cultural feature is that the Campa tend to be
of American Franciscan History, 162 pp.
forest-oriented in their subsistence pattern but have tended to be
savanna-oriented in their prefered settlement locations. A family group
traditionally has selected a pajonal ridge having a commanding view of
the surrounding terrain and has practiced slash-and-burn agriculture in
the surrounding forests, first in the adjacent woodlands but, with time,
at increasing distances from the central settlement. In recent times the
Campa have abandoned many of the savannas in the face of alien
cultural pressures and have found greater security in the more remote
forest or have modified their life styles to conform to the Peruvian
pattern.
Even in these remote forested regions, the Campa attempt to es-
tablish ecological settings comparable in general aspect to those found
in the pajonal region. A ridge site is thoroughly cleared of vegetation
for settlement, and gardens (chacras) are made on adjacent slopes. Over
time, a substancial area of disturbance, centered on the ridge settlement,
is created. Then, following a characteristic behavioral pattern, the Cam-
146 Montaña Chrostowski 147

pa abandon the settlement and move to another ridge site and com- nor tributaries approach a pinnate pattern oriented to systems of frac-
mence to repeat the same cycle. tures and jointing in the bedrock formations. Except for the Río Unini,
In this report, the resource potential of the physical geography and which has managed to break through the Shira range, regional drainage
ecology is described, and some relationships between patterns of land is directed toward the northwest into the Río Niwatzi which finally
tenure and land use and the ecological patterns In the present landscape joins the Pichis-Pachitea system outside the Gran Pajonal zone.
are examined. The geographical isolation of the Gran Pajonal has been maintained
by the physical barriers to surface accessibility described above. Access
Landscape and hydrology to the Río Ucayali has been possible by following two seldom-used
trails, one a very difficult and dangerous trek along the Río Unini and
Landscape the other linking Obenteni and the Unini settlement across a high pass
The Gran Pajonal1 is located in the basal center of the rugged in the Shira range. A trail southward from Obenteni to the Río Perené,
triangular region bounded by three drainage systems: the Perené- Tambo, via the Río Shima pass, still is the most used surface route for reaching
the Ucayali, and the Pichis-Pachitea (Fig. 1) 2. It is a heavily dissected the outside world. Passage westward and northwestward (primarily to
region surrounded, in part, by precipitous terrain sculptured from up- Puerto Bermúdez) along the Río Niwatzi is reported to be very arduous
turned sedimentary formations, thrust blocks, and prominent igneous and follows ill-defined trails through a thinly populated area. Within
intrusions through which a few major streams draining the pajonal area the Gran Pajonal, internal communication is facilitated by the easier
have out gorges. The eastern margin is flanked by the Shira mountains terrain and a dense network of trails, linking most pajonal concentrations,
which attain elevations above sea level of 2,300 to 2,500 meters with the follow ridge lines wherever possible.
Pico Shira surpassing 3,100 meters (Allan Craig, personal communication).
To the south the Cerro de Sal range and the Kitchangani mountain knot A markedly seasonal superficial flow .of water accounts for two cul-
reach elevations often exceeding 2,000 meters above sea level. To the turally significant aspects of the regional environmental setting. The sea-
west and northwest is a nearly impenetrable maze of canyons incised sonality of flow is due to a combination of rainfall seasonality, high rates
by tributaries of the Pichis and Pachitea rivers. Only the basal central of surface runoff, and the highly fractured character of the limestone
section, the Gran Pajonal proper, offers relatively gentle terrain. lying at depths of from 10 to 200 meters below the surface. Many
smaller tributaries cease flowing during the dry season, and the volume
The savanna zone is gently to severely rolling with slopes reaching of flow of the major streams is greatly diminished. Conversely, during
45 to 55 degrees and local relief ranging from 20 to 400 meters but mostly periods of heavy rain, raging torrents often fill the valley bottoms of larger
averaging less than 200 meters. The easiest slopes are concentrated along streams. These hydrological characteristics have two influences. During
ridge lines whose crest elevations vary from 1,000 to 1,300 meters above heavy rains surface movement is all but impossible between uplands
sea level with a few prominent ridges reaching 1,500 meters. Obenteni adjacent to these streams. Second, the seasonal nature of the hydrology
basin and the major streams (the Unini and Niwatzi) lie between 900 accounts for the reduced availability of food fish in the region. Although
and 1000 meters above sea level. Obenteni basin (the upper Río Chitani many Campa families cultivate barbasco, the fish poison is seldom
valley) is the only extensive low-lying plain in the region; elsewhere used locally, rather, the traditional pattern has been to send a sizable
floodplains and alluvial terraces are largely lacking. Campa group on a lengthy expedition to the Ucayali or Perené drainages
for the purpose of fishing, trading or raiding in the past), and acqui-
Hydrology ring wives. These trips are made during the dry season (June through
The regional drainage system is complex. Major streams and tribu- September), when agricultural activity is reduced, the ease of travel
taries follow rather meandering, deeply incised courses while their mi- greatest, and barbasco fishing easiest.

1. In the usual sense, the term "Gran Pajonal" has been applied to the total area Climate and soil
between these drainage systems, however, I prefer to restrict the term to the
immediate area encompassing the pajonal-forest complex which covers about
140,000 hectares with about 9,000 to 10,000 hectares of savanna.
Climate
2. Figure 1, preceding page 1, is modified from Chrostowski and Denevan (1970), The climate of the Gran Pajonal is "permissive" in that it is generally
Figure 1 (Transverse Mercator Projection, after Servicio Aerofotográfico Na-
agreeable to health and physical activity and favorable for the Campa
cional, Neg. N° 9482-D-5, 1959), Generalized areas of larger pajonales and pa-
jonal complexes are also mapped. agricultural system. The region experience a warm subtropical tempe-
148 Montaña Chrostowski 149

rature regime and adequate rainfall, and therefore the cultivations of parent materials, more common on lower slopes and to the east and
many tropical, subtropical and warm temperate cultigens is possible. north of the pajonal zone, yield loamier and freer draining soils.
The region enjoys a humid subtropical climate having an estima- The Percal Association, comprised of lithosolic Brown Forest soils,
ted mean annual temperature of between 20° and 22°C. (ONERN, occurs on slopes ranging from 50 to 75 per cent and is distributed along
1968, p. 39). It is probable, based on patterns exhibited by stations out- the eastern and southern, and more sporadically on the western and
side the region, that the region experiences a 2° to 3°C. annual range northern edges of the Gran Pajonal. To a limited extent they also occur
on the order of 14°C., but no frost (See Drewes and Drewes, 1957, pp. in the pajonal zone on ravine and canyon slopes. These soils are rather
31-34; ONERN, 1968, p. 39). thin (less than a half meter deep) and are acid to calcareous.
Partial rainfall records of a few years from Obenteni and the
The Arcel Association, a true Lithosol, occurs on slopes in excess of
Shumahuani hacienda are also comparable in pattern to those of the
70 per cent and predominates in the Río Unini region and in the dís-
adjacent stations. The summer season from October to May receives
sected zones west and north of the pajonales, The Arecal soils are thin
substantially more rainfall than does the period from May through
and unstable and are acid to calcareous according to the parent material.
September. However, the northeastern margin of the Gran Pajonal re-
ceives somewhat more rain and experiences a shorter and less intense On the alluvial-colluvial (-lacustrine?) deposits of the Río Chitani
dry period than does the central zone of the pajonales, Obenteni, on valley bottom are a zonal soils of the Pajovega Association. Minor areas
the eastern margin, record about 2,200 mm. of rain with only three of this soil group may also occur in larger canyons of the region. On
months of reduced rainfall while to the west Shumahuani receives bet- better drained sites these soils are sandy and strongly acid while the
ween 1,600 and 1,800 mm. with four to five dry months 3. hydromorphic phases tend to be finer textured and somewhat less acid.
In addition to greater rainfall, Obenteni experiences a higher inciden- Other hydromorphic soils (the Rumie Gley and Low Rumie Gley types)
ce of fog-shrouded mornings and greater cloud cover than does Shuma- are distributed within the area dominated by the Pajult Association in
huani due, respectively, to nocturnal cold air drainage from the adjacent seep zones and closed depressions.
Shira range and to the proximity of the orographic storms along the In brief, the soils of the Pajult Association occupy crest slopes and
range which impedes the flow of prevailing easterly and northeasterly the gentler mid-slopes in the rolling ridge country of the Gran Pajonal
winds. Shumahuani's climatic characteristics are more typical of the zone proper while the thinner, more unstable soils of the Percal and Arcel
of maximum Campa settlement and land tenure activities. Unlike Oben- Associations cap the ravine and canyon slopes, particularly toward the
teni, Shumahuani suffers 4 to 6 weeks of notable evapotranspirational outer margins of the region. The Pajovega Association is restricted largely
stress (ONERN, 1968, pp. 61 and 68). to the Río Chitani valley.

Soils The quantity of soil moisture available for plant growth varies
widely among the soil groups discussed above and is determined, in
Most soils of the Gran Pajonal are acidic and nutrient-poor. In large part, by the topographic position of the soil mass and by the soil
terms of modem forms of intensive agriculture, most soils are marginal; texture which is influenced by the original parent material. The typical
however, they are adequate to support the Campa system of swidden lithological sequence of the dominant Obenteni Formation varies from
cultivation and the available crop types. shales and siltstones at the top to sandstones and conglomerates in basal
The region is dominated by the Pajult Association which has two P01itions. Therefore, the rolling crestlines tend to carry heavier textured
soil series that have developed on shales, siltstones and sandstones: a soils derived from shales and siltstones, and the lower ridges and the
well-drained Rodo Pajult Series, a reddish brown lateritic (latosolic) ridgeslopes tend to carry coarser textured soils derived largely from
soil group; and a hydromorphic red-yellow podzolic soil group called sandstones 5.
the Amarillo Pajult Series 4. Most soils of these series are deep, clayey, The influence of topography and soil texture on soil moisture
acid and nutrient-poor with moderate to slow internal drainage. Coarser availability may be summarized as follows. Thin soils on steep slopes
3. ONERN (1968, p. 39) cites annual mean s of 2,166 mm. for Obenteni and 1,634
mm. for Shumahuani, using shorter records. 5. Orogenic events and variable sedimentation processes tend to confuse this neat
4. See ONERN (1968) and Chrostowski and Denevan (1970) for more thorough sequential pattern. Orogenic complexity is most apparent toward the eastern
discussions of the classification and evaluation of Gran Pajonal soils. and southern margins of the pajonal section.
150 Montaña Chrostowski 147

tend to be droughtier than deep soils on low or moderate slopes. Coar- for all but perennial tree crops ( e. g. coffee) or shortcycle swidden
se textured soils (sandy) than medium textured soils ( clayey) have gardening. Most soil samples prove low in exchangeable (available)
less available soil moisture for very fine textured soils (loamy). In very nutrient elements, strongly to weakly acid in reaction, and low to mo-
sandy soils, rain water passes rapidly through the soil mass, and moisture derate in their capacity to hold nutrients on their colloidal components.
storage is low due to the relatively few, large pore spaces between Particularly noteworthy are the low availabilities of critical elements
grains. In soils in which the particles are not aggregated into larger such as calcium and phosphorus and the potentially toxic levels of
structural units, the infiltration of surface water into the soil mass is slow free (ionic) aluminum. Critical values of 40 percent or higher of exchan-
and water loss through overland flow high. Moreover, a large percen- geable aluminum are common in forested and chacra soils; however,
tage of the sizable store of soil water is held so tightly in the minute no evidence of aluminum toxicity in Campa crops was noted in the
pore spaces that the root hairs cannot extract much of it. It has been fields. Aluminum percentages in savanna soils appear to be lower.
found experimentally that the available soil moisture in a sand soil
Although soil sampling was insufficient for a clear decision, it appears
and a clay soil is approximately the same. It is probably true, then,
that soils of lower ridges and moderate midslope positions offer higher
that the heavy clay soils on ridge crests are droughtier than soils on
fertilities than the deeper, more clayey soils of the higher ridge lines.
midslopes and lower ridges with their loamier textures. Very steep
The higher fertility status of many of these soils is probably due to a
slopes will also be droughtier.
combination of (1) the less intense chemical decomposition of these
The influence of the contrasting forest and savanna vegetations on younger surface and, therefore, more nutrients available from weathera-
soil morphological development appears to be minor; however, differences ble minerals; (2) the more friable textures favoring optimum rooting
in soil fertility 6 between savanna and forest sites may be agriculturally and drainage; and (3) the greater likelihood of higher moisture
significant 7. There seems to be notable differences in soil quality as availability, as described earlier.
recognized by colono farmers who seek out the forested "coffee soils"
which are said to have higher inherent fertilities than poorer forest In the course of the one two year life span of Campa gardens,
soils occurring either in the vicinity of savannas or on droughty ridges limitations to plant growth from subminimal soil fertility does not seem
and sharing many of the gross physical properties of savanna soils. The significant. Burning of slash yields ash rich in soluble nutrients, and
topsoils of savanna sites are thinner, lighter colored, and more impermea- nitrogen loss through volitization probably is not significant considering
ble than those under mature forest, given similar topographic and the high percentage of organic material in the topsoils. Finally, burning
edaphic conditions. The pajonal subsoils tend to be stiffer and slower of slash and duff yields a highly friable soil surface that is an excellent
draining than those under mature forest. In fact, as a rooting medium, germinating and rooting medium.
the typical savanna soil is poor as evidenced by the superficiality of
rooting which is limited to the upper 6 to 10 cm. of soil. Vegetation
The savanna soils are never cultivated by the Campa Indians or
The vegetal resources of the Gran Pajonal are as varied as those
the colonos. In part, the limitation for cultivation may be the difficulty
found in similar forests elsewhere in subtropical eastern Peru. Although
of eradicating the hardy grasses; however, experiments by the Shuma-
I did not, in the course of research, directly study the nonagricultural
huani ranch proved that the pajonal soils would not support the cultí-
resources potencial of the regional vegetation, I can offer some general
vation of improved pastures, let alone cultivated food or industrial crops
observations about resources and greater detail on the character of the
(Moisés Caudillo, personal communication).
biotic ecosystems and their inter-relationships with Campa life.
The soil nutrient status of samples collected from the Pafult asso-
ciation indicate that without fertilization most soils are of marginal value Forests

6. The term, soil fertility, as used in this paper, refers not only to the macro ‒and Of the three types encountered in the Gran Pajonal, the bosque
micro‒ nutrients critical to plant growth, but also the physical properties which de colina baja is the most important 8. This type is associated with
effect such things as the storage and uptake of nutrients and soil water, internal savannas within the bosque húmedo subtropical climatic zone, and its
drainage, and soil aeration.
7. Chrostowski and Denevan (1970) have concluded that differences in soil ferti-
8. See Chrostowski and Denevan (1970) for further details on the forest and sa-
lity y do not account for the occurrence and distribution of savannas in the region.
vanna types. The authors drew heavily from Tosi's Zonas de vida natural en el
In fact, minor differences that exist between savanna and forest soils are pro-
Perú (1960) and incorporated other data from Weberbauer (1945) and ONERN
bably products of the contrasting cosystems, rather than the causes of them.
(1968).
152 Montaña Chrostowski 153

distribution more or less coincides with that of soils of the Pajult Associa- lists, I can offer a sample of the range of potential and actual products
tion. The bosque aluvial forest, largely restricted to the Río Chitani garnered from the forests.
valley but also observed along the Río Niwatzi, is floristically and
Species of Palma are useful in several ways: (1) edible palm heart,
physiognomically related to the tropical alluvial forests of Amazonia.
(2) thatching, (3) fibers, and (4) bedding material. The Campa gown
The bosque de colina alta forest type is less a climatic climax as it
and tote bag are woven from the silk cotton fibers of Bombax species
is an edaphic climax occupying more precipitous terrain under both
(and possibly other sources as well) whose flexible bark can also be
bosque húmedo subtropical and muy húmedo subtropical climates. It
used as cordage. Other sources of cordage, other than lianas, include spe-
is mainly distinguished from the bosque de colina baja by its floristic
cies of Cecropia and Guazuma and Trema micrantha whose younger
simplicity and its more stunted appearance, conditions induced by limi-
stems can be woven into mats or baskets. Tabebuia (or Tecoma) spe-
tations imposed by the thin, droughty, unstable soils of the Arcel and,
cies are elsewhere employed for a kind of cloth from the inner bark
to a lesser extent, the Percal Associations.
which separates into a number of thin sheets. Resins and gummy latex
Forest of the bosque húmedo subtropical climatic zone are closely can be gathered from Sapium, Vismia, Myroxylon, and Vochysia spe-
related to those of the bosque húmedo tropical and seco tropical cli- cies. Several resins and latexes have medicinal uses elsewhere; for exam-
matic zones of the Amazon Basin and lower eastern Andean valleys. ple, Clarista nitida and Zschokkea ramosissima. The legume Erythrina
A few remnant virgin stands of bosque de colina baja survive in the esculenta supplies ornamental scarlet seed, an infusion from boiled bark
Gran Pajonal proper where they are found in inaccessible sites and, in to treat skin ailments, and an edible fruit. Several Ficus species have
depaupered condition, on steeper slopes located toward the margins of latex used as a vermifuge or as a treatment of anemia or for healing
the pajonal zone 9. Aside from a mesic "climatic climax" subtype, there wounds. Edible fruits are also produced by Bunchosia eliptica, Ficus
is also an edaphic variant of this forest occurring on more xeric ridge spp., Persea americana, Caryocar glabrum (kernal), Inga spp., Psidium
sites. In mesic situations the forests are mostly evergreen with a sin- guajava and Spondias spp. (Williams, 1936).
gle closed canopy from 20 to 30 meters high overtopped by occasional
emergent trees reaching to 35 meters. Below the main canopy is a Secondary vegetation
weakly developed intermediate tree layer, and below this a sparse
ground cover of scattered shrubs, epiphytes, lianas and climbers. The Secondary vegetation, which has replaced most of the virgin forest
xeric edaphic woodland has a single, rather open, semi-deciduous canopy may be grouped into three types: chac-chac, purma and monte alto.
from 15 to 20 meters high and a dense shrub-climber layer reaching An abandoned chacra is soon covered by either chac-chac (the bracken
from 2 to 4 meters in height. Xeric stand s are most often found in the fern, Pteridium aquilinum) or by shrub-dominated purma. Chac-chac
vicinity of pajonales and might be taken for secondary growth except is extremely aggressive in open habitats and forms thick stands which
for the absence of signs of previous disturbance (for example, fire-charred virtually exclude most other plant species. Purma is a dense tangle of
stumps which persist for man); years and which I have seen in tall, re- shrubs, lianas, thorny climbers, low palms, tree ferns and, locally, bamboo
latively mature forest stands). Secondary forests do share many of the thickets. In time, an open overstory of sun-loving, rapid-growing trees
floristic and physiognomic features of these xeric stands. is established. The monte alto is dominated with these trees and indi-
The Campa have a well developed taxonomic appreciation of the viduals of the future climax forest. The closed canopy has suppressed
forest flora, particularly the tree, palm and liana species. Their taxono- many species present in the original purma stand while at the same
mic differentiation among pajonal species is more limited. Due to a time has created conditions favorable for the generation of tree and
lack of time and a communication problem, I did not gather data on other species characteristic of the mature climax forest. In appearance
Campa useful plants. However, on the basis of casual notes and plant the monte alto is similar in its early stages to the xeric forests.
It is not surprising that of the regional vegetation is in secondary
9. Among the more important genera encountered in these forests are the decidu- growth even though there has been marked population decline over
ous Cedrela, Bombax, Erythrina, Jacarandra, Cordia, and Tcbebuia (Tecoma); the past 15 to 20 years (Chrostowski and Denevan, 1970). One family
the evergreen Aniba, Aspidosperma, Bunchosia, Brosimum, Caryocar, Ceiba, Cla-
risia, Eudlicheria, Eicus, Inga, Juglans (rare), Myroxylon, Nectandra, Ocotea, group can, in the course of a 15-to-20-year generation, convert 15 to 20
Persea, Phoebe, Sapium, Schizolobium, Swietenia macrophylla, Trichilía, Viro- hectares of mature forest to secondary growth, part of which will be the
la, Vochysia and Zschokkea, the palms Bactris, Euterpe, Geonoma and Wetti- persistent chac-chac community. Chac-chac tends to persist for many years
nia; and the tree ferns Cyathea and Alsophila (Tasi, 1960, pp. 190-191). under certain, not as yet understood, conditions and is only slowly suc-
154 Montaña Chrostowski 155

ceeded by purma or less commonly by elements of the savanna vege- Rhynchospora spp. (Cyperaceae) and the subdominant species being
tation 10. Purma communities attain heights of 3 to 4 meters in a few the annual grasses Aristida adscencionis and Panicum sp.
years, and monte alto may become well established in 20 to 30 years.
The grass-shrub communities are characteristic of most pajonales.
Relatively mature forest with little ground cover probably develops in
The most common community is the floristically rich Melastomaceae-
50 to 75years; however, this has not been determined in the field. I
Compositae-Andropogon Association which occurs on mesic sites on
suspect that centuries are needed to establish a true climax forest, one
midslopes and abrupt breaks in slope 13. The community physiognomy
in which all (?) arboreal elements of the purma type have died out.
is very variable depending upon the soil moisture status and the fre-
In searching for new chacra sites, the Campa appear to prefer quency and intensity of burning.
woodlands having tree diameters of 25 to 30 cms. or greater. Therefore, With annual fires, the structure is as follows: an open shrub layer
purma is normally avoided, probably due to the greater effort needed from one to one and a half meters, a more or less complete cover of
to clear the understory and to strong regeneration of weedy species. tall bunch grasses from one half to one meter high (excluding inflo-
Chac-chac stands are also ignored because the fern is impossible to rescences), and a herb-subshrub layer below a half meter. On ridges
eradicate by cutting and burning. This selection process insures that east and north of Obenteni occurs a distinctive xeromorphic community
much of the forested land amenable to primitive agriculture will called the Byrsomina-Andropogon-Leptocoryphium Association in which
remain in earlier stages of secondary vegetation. I also suspect that in shrubs of Melastomaceae and Compositae are uncommon and the
the past, with greater population pressure on arable forest reserves, the variety of graminaceous species greater 14. The Shrub Pajonal Association
extent of younger secondary vegetation was greater than at present and, occurs in the vicinity of Obenteni and the ranch grounds at Shumahuani
possibly, purma was cleared under a shortened swidden-fallow cycle11. and Tihuaniski on disturbed, overgrazed sites. Most of the herbaceous
flora has been suppressed and tall shrubs and low trees of Purma and
Savanna pajonal affinities abound 15. This community is definitely a colono phe-
nomenon and appears to be an irreversible change from a true pajonal
Three .types of pajonal communities are significant in relation to type since the community does not bum.
Campa land tenure and related activities; grass, shrub-grass and bush Bush islands are conspicuous features on the pajonales, especially on
island types 12. Grass savanna are communities in which shrubs are the larger savannas where topographic variation produce sites conducive
absent or are rarely present in suppressed form and are, therefore, to their development. Larger islands (and narrow extensions of the
uncommon in this humid subtropical climatic region. They occur on surrounding forest) are associated with shallow ravines and closed
the more xeric ridges, particularly in the vicinities of present or past depressions and the smaller islands with abrupt breaks in slope or
Campa settlement, and are thought to have been derived from grass-
shrub communities through conscious Campa efforts. 13. The species include the following: the dominant shrubs of Melastomaceae are
Miconia ibaguensis, Clidemia capitellata var. dependens and C. pilosa; subdo-
The Indians establish wide areas of "clean" pajonal around their minants are Miconia stenostachya, Leandra crenata and an Aclotis sp.; the Com-
settlements using machetes and savanna fires to eradicate or suppress positae Baccaris spp., Vernonia spp. Erigeron sordiodus and Eupatorium laeoi-
woody growth. The resulting community is a low and open grassland gatum. Other species include Coccocypselum hirsutum, Sauvagesia erecta, Hyp-
tis lutescens and les s commonly Pteridium aquilinum, a Solanum sp. and the le-
having heights of less than one half meter and basal coverage of grass gumes Stylosanthes sp. and Crotolaria nitens. The important graminaceous spe-
of 25 to 75 per cent. There are few species of graminaceous or flowering cies are Andropogon condensatus, A. bicornis, A. leucostachqus, Rhyrichospora
plants, the dominants being Andropogon leucostachqus (Gramineae) and globosa, Rhynchospora spp. and (less commonly) species of Axonopus and Pa-
nicum.
10. A number of old chacras have remained in chac-chac for at least as long as 15 14. Byrsomina crassifolia, a low tree, is dominant with suppressed shrubs of Mi-
years near the Shumahuani ranch. Species of both purma and pajonal are pre- conia spp. and Malpighia glabra uncommon. A Rubiaceae (either a Palicourea
sent but in unimportant numbers. or Ladenbergia) is present in great numbers but in suppressed condition. Gras-
11. A short-fallow system is common among the Río Ene Campa who clear chacras ses include Andropogon leucostachyus, Leptocoryphium lanatum, Axonopus au-
from purma (W. M. Denevan, personal communication). rens, and three unknowns in the tall grass layer, and in the ground layer seve-
12. Chrostowskí and Denevan (1970) have identified five types of savanna commu- ral Paspalum spp. and a Bulbostylis sp. (Cyperaceae).
nities in the Gran Pajonal: the Melastomaceae-Compositae-Andropogon Associa- 15. For exarnple, the Andropogon spp. and the Melastomaceae become less common
tion, the Byrsomina-Andropogon-Leptocoryphium Association, the Shrub Pajo- while Baccharis, Vernonia, Eupatorium and Solanum spp. increase. Clamber-
nal Association, the Graminaceous Pajonal Association, and the Marginal and ing plants (e. g. Bubus urticaefolius with an edible fruit and Lantana armata)
Island Pajonal Association. and other fire-sensitive species enter (e. g. Jacarandra, Cecropia, Cedrela, Psi-
dium, and genera of Lauraceae, Leguminoseae, Anonaceae, and Compositae).
156 Montaña Chrostowski 157

abandoned ant mounds. These communities are outliers of purma or stalk a single bird for more than an hour before bringing it down with
more mature woodland, however, they are continually affected by en- a single shot from a knob-tipped arrow. Periodically, a hunting party
croaching savanna fires. The larger ones are zoned concentrically ac- will go on a lengthy hunting expedition well beyond the pajonal zone,
cording to the degree of influence exerted by the fires. Inactive ant but for the most part, the Campa garner their game within a range of
hills are most conspicuous on the large savannas just west of Obentini, a few hours from settlement and chacras.
and the density of mounds seems to be related to the age of the The Campa appear to be bird hunters foremost. Not only do they
pajonal. eat nearly every species of the larger birds, but bird plumage and dried,
The frequent presence of stumps and stump- or root-sprouting sug- partially gutted carcasses are prominent in their ornamentation and
gests that the Campa cull trees from nearby islands for construction probably medicomystical observances. Their taxonomic classification of
materials. In several pajonales, the Indians had cleared bush islands in bird life is more complete than that of plant life, and they not only
the vicinities of new settlements, probably to remove dangerous covers have a through knowledge of the ecological characteristics of each spe-
for potential enemies. Two useful tree species, Psidium guineense (edi- cies, but can identify and duplicate most, if not all, bird calls. Their
ble fruits) and Rapanea oligophylla (construction), are common ele- success as bird hunters is attested to by the silence and the few bird
ments within the smaller islands. stings in the pajonal areas.
The major ecological influence of the Campa on pajonal vegetation
is the process that leads towards reduced woody growth. In the vicinity Unfortunately, I know very little about the bird and mammal re-
of settlement shrubs and most shrub islands are cleared and the grass sources of the region. During my stays in the region, totalling twelve
burned over annually. The site of settlement itself is scraped clean of weeks, I saw carcasses of only four animals in Campa settlements; a
plant life and in the course of time is compacted through the passing small forest deer, a tigrito, a tapir (?), and a small, tree-living, nocturnal
of many feet and the effects of exposure. At greater distance from the animal 17.
site, the shrub-grass community (or the grass savanna on xeric sites) is I saw several live pumas but the Campa with me were not interes-
maintained by frequent firings 16. More remote pajonales, which have ted in attacking the large cat with arrows. Monkeys are absent although
not supported settlement for a time and which are not in the path of they must have been present in the past because they are common in
frequent travel, have much richer floras and much better developed similar forests outside the region (e. g. the upper Río Mayo). Herds of
shrub and low tree strata. However, these remote savannas are burned wild pig, so conspicuous in the tropical alluvial lands of the Río Uca-
over at infrequent intervals by intense fires that feed on the accumula- yali, are unknown here, probably because of adverse habitat conditions
ted fuel and consume all aerial plant materials. rather than overhunting.
Insects and larvae are significant components in the protein diet
Faunal resources of the Campa, especially the children. The Campa will eat most types
of insect and larva, including body lice. Aside from items gathered
The faunal resources of the Gran Pajonal are potentially as great as during the scavengering by woman and children, a grub and leaf-cut-
those found in other subtropical regions; however, according to Campa ter ants (caqui) are important food resources. The grubs are "cultivated"
and colono informants, the bird and mammal populations within and in mounds of maiz cobs and debris in the settlement and are eaten
adjacent to the pajonales have been substantially reduced through over- as snacks, either raw or partially roasted in hot ashes.
hunting. Game reduction has been intensified with the introduction of The Indians have identified and named five or six species of leaf-
the shotgun, at least one of which is found in the larger, more well- cutter ants (species of Atta) on the pajonales although I could only
off Campa groups. The reduction of game might well be one of the distinguish two types, based on size and color. The ants are eaten
reasons for long-distant shifts of Campa settlement sites. during October when they swarm. There appears to be an interesting
The Campa Indian is a skilled and resourceful hunter using a bow relationship between the conspicuous occurrence of these ants on many
and a variety of specialized arrows for taking birds, small and large pajonales and the Campa Indians. Although active ant hills are oc-
animals, and fish. I have seen a Campa hunting party patiently
17. The Campa are very reluctant to advertise a successful hunt, especially one
which has produced a large mammal. If possible, the animal is eaten immedia-
16. Since one ignition seldom burns ever the whole surface of a pajonal in this type tely; otherwise, another Campa group (especially a related one) will arrive and
of setting, parts of a savanna may escape burning for two years or more. either join the feast or take the carcass.
158 Montaña Chrostowski 159

casionally encountered along open forest trails of some antiquity, they ted and savanna soils and among forest soils of the important Pajult
are most common on the pajonales. Gross (n. d.) has suggested that Association.
the Campa actively and consciously manage these food sources through
5. Soil tests indicate that while most forest and chacra soils are defi-
the control of shrub densities. To some extent this assertion may be
cient in two or more nutrient elements, they offer sufficient nutrient
true, in several instances in which shrubs were encroaching on active
reserves to support the present Campa swidden system without seriously
ant hills, the Indians had cut away the sterns. Moreover, the Campa
affecting long-term edaphic stability. The savanna soils are incapable
were displeased when I dug into a mound. Considering the danger
supporting food crops.
posed by leaf-cutter ants for cultigens, the association (symbiotic?) of
Campa and ants is interesting. The ants collect mostly broad-leaved 6. Three forest types are noted but only the regional "climatic climax",
species from purma, woodland and cropland (but from few pajonal the bosque de colina baja, is described. There remains very little undi-
species ) and are considered by the colonos to be agricultural pests. sturbed forest in the vicinity of the pajonales.
7. The Campa have an elaborate taxonomic knowledge of forest flora.
Examples of some of the useful species (present and potential) are
Summary given.
8. Three types of secondary vegetation (chac-chac, purma, and monte
The report is meant to serve the participants of this symposium as alto) and the role of the Indians in maintaining woodland in more
a background survey of the physical geography and ecology of the weedy condition are described.
region inhabited by the Gran Pajonal Campa. However, I have attempt-
ted to describe and evaluate not only the elements of the present 9. Savanna communities, which are thought to be anthropogenic, have
landscape, but also some of the relationship between patterns of land been grouped into three classes, depending upon their appearance and
tenure and land use and the eco-geographical patterns in the landscape. their relation to Campa activities. Grass pajonales are believed to be
The following summarize the major points discussed. associated with xeric ridge sites and with present or past settlement
locations. Shrub-grass savannas, a really dominant, are variable in cha-
1. The ruggedness of the topography surrounding the Gran Pajonal
racter with the "shrub pajonal" being a product of colono disturbance.
proper (See footnote 1,) has contributed to the isolation of the
Bush islands are associated with microtopographíc irregularities (shallow
Campa from the major river valleys. The Indians have traditionally
ravines and depressions, breaks in slope, and inactive ant mounds) and
concentrated on the gentler rolling terrain in which the savanna pat-
are often much disturbed by the Indians.
ches are so conspicuous.
10. The clearing of woody growth from the vicinity of settlement si-
2. The Campa are forest-oriented in their subsistence pattern but tend
tes and the burning of pajonales are two major influences of the Campa
to be savanna-oriented in the preferred settlement pattern. Settlement
on the savannas. The degree of woodiness depends upon the intensities
is established on commanding pajonal ridge crests, and swidden culti-
of these two factors (as modified by natural habitat factors, such as
vation is carried on in the surroundíng forest country.
soil moisture and topography).
3. The climate of the savanna region is favorable for agricultural acti-
11. The faunal resources were not studied, but it was apparent that the
vities although seasonality of rainfall has contributed to the seasonality
men prefer hunting above all other subsistence activities. The Campa
in the agricultural cycle. The climate is a frost-free, humid subtropical
are expert hunters with the bow and arrow, and this probably accounts
type with a mean annual temperature of about 20-22°C., a mean an-
for the apparent overhunting in the vicinity of the pajonales.
nual rainfall of between 1600 and 2200 mm., a dryish period lasting from
2 to 5 months (the latter more typical), and none to 4 to 6 weeks of 12. Bird hunting and the collection of insects contribute a substancial
evapotranspirational stress. part to the animal protein diet. A grub is "raised" in the settlements, and
4. Four soil Associations (the dominant Pajult, the Percal, the Arecal, leaf-cutter ants (Atta spp.) are collected in October. The possible
and the Pajovega) are described and their generalized agricultural symbiotic relationship between the Campa and the ants is noted.
qualities are evaluated. Differences in soil fertility occur between fores-
160 Montaña CAMPA SUBSISTENCE IN THE
BIBLIOGRAPHY GRAN PAJONAL, EASTERN PERU
CHROSTOWSKI, M. S. and .W M. DENEVAN
1970 The Biogeography of the Gran Pajonal of Eastern Peru: a Reconnaissan-
ce Study. Montreal, Canada: McGill University Savanna Research Pro-
ject, Savanna Research Series (In press).
GROSS, H.D. William M. DENEVAN
n, d. "Trip to the Gran Pajonal: a Preliminary Report", unpublished M. S.,
SIPA, Lima.
ONERN
1968 Inventario, evaluación e integración de los recursos naturales de la Zo-
na del río Tambo-Gran Pajonal, Lima: Oficina Nacional de Evaluación
de Recursos Naturales.
TOSI, J. A., Jr.
1960 Zonas de vida natural en el Perú, San José, Costa Rica: Instituto Inter- Introduction
americano de Ciencias Agrícolas de la O. E. A.
WEBERBAUER, A. Shifting cultivation supplemented by hunting, fishing, and gathering,
1945 El mundo vegetal de los Andes Peruanos, Estudio fitogeográfico. Lima:
is the common form of subsistence among the indigenous peoples of
Ministerio de Agricultura.
tropical America. It is characterized by a great variety of methods un-
WILLIAMS, L. O.
1936 Tropical Woods of Northeastern Peru, Chicago: Field Museum of Natu-
der an equally great variety of ecological conditions. Numerous studies
ral History, Botanical Series, Vol. XV, N° 377. of shifting cultivation and subsistence systems have been made in Asia
and Africa, and enough detail exists for major comparative studies to ha-
ve been made (Spencer, 1966; Allan, 1965; Miracle, 1967). On the other
hand, only a handful of case studies are available for tropical South Ame-
rica (Carneiro, 1956, 1964; Leeds, 1961), other than fragments in ethno-
graphical and geographical accounts. On the basis of these few studies,
several theoretical statements have been put forth on the relations of sub-
sistence patterns to population density, settlement stability, food produc-
tivity, and cultural evolution (Meggers, 1957; Lathrap, 1968; Carneiro,
1956, n. d., Denevan, 1966). To test these theories and to make compa-
risons possible, ecological field studies must be carried out in conjunc-
tion with ethnographic and demographic surveys. Such studies should
include detailed measurement of inputs and outputs over at least one
annual cycle (Nietschmann, 1970), including time and distance factors
(Brookfield, 1968). The need is urgent in view of the rapid cultural
changes now being experienced by the tropical tribes and the popula-
tion decline and actual extinction of many tribes. Such salvage ecolo-
gy is needed not just for understanding aboriginal groups, but to provide
insights into how the people replacing the Indians can come to terms
with the tropical environment in a productive and non-destructive way.
This preliminary report on the Campa, which by no means achie-
ves all the objectives just mentioned, (1) describes the subsistence sys-
tem of the Campa, a representative non-riverine tribe in western Ama-
zonia, and (2) relates the Campa situation to larger issues of popula-
tion density, settlement stability, and subsistence stability. Field work
was carried out among different groups of the Campa in 1965-1966 and
162 Montaña Denevan 163

in the summer of 1968, particularly in the Gran Pajonal, but also on the sions which number Up to 300 or 400 people. Settlement sites are moved
central Ucayali, lower Ene, upper Pichis, lower Tambo, and the Perené- every two to three years for a variety of reasons; hence, the designation,
Pangoa. Some groups were visited at several periods of the year, others "semi-nomadic".
only once. A major objective was to gain perspective on the variability In view of the frequent movement of settlements, it is not surprising
of subsistence from group to group, rather than to make an in depth that the material culture of the Campa is minimal, Pottery is crude and
study of a single group. Many of the studies of tropical agriculture are now absent among most Campa groups, whether or not they have me-
based on a single village or farmer and are therefore not indicative of the tal pots. Other manufactured materials include the cushma, bow and
frequent great diversity of practices present within a culture. Spa- arrows, shoulder bags, masato trouths, looms, barbacoas, and basket (see
nish-speaking campa informants and interpreters were used. Missionaries Weiss, 1969: 591-599 for a detailed list).
and others with long residence among the Campa were particularly
helpful 1. Relevant details of Campa ethnography and ethnohistory are Casual observers characterize the Campa as hunters rather than as
omitted here as they are covered by other in this symposium and by agriculturalists, and most Campa males do spend the majority of their
Varese, 1968; Weiss, 1969; Bodley, 1970; and Lehnertz, 1969. The Gran working time hunting. Nevertheless, most of a families' food, by weight
Pajonal has been described by ONERN (1968) and by Chrostowski and calories, comes frOID cultivated plants. Yuca (sweet manioc) is by
and Denevan (1970). far the most important crop, but many other plants are cultivated. Still,
meat is the main source of protein, and it seems likely that the fre-
The Campa quent shifting of fields and settlements is related to the depletion of local
game supplies. Fishing is of little importance among the Upland
The Campa are an Arawakan-speaking tribe, with several dialects, Campa, but is a major source of food for the Riverine Campa. However,
located in the foothills of the central Andes. Their territory is roughly even in the lowlands many Campas are in the piedmont areas away
bounded by the upper Ucayalí, lower Tambo, and Pichis-Pachitea, and from the floodplains and are more hunters than fishermen. Ecological-
the foothill zones on both sides of the Ene and lower Apurimac rivers ly, then, the Campa can be divided into Upland and Riverine groups 3.
a total area of about 25,000 square kilometers. The present Campa popu- The latter make use of alluvial soils and aquatic resources and as re-
lation is estimated at between 20,000 and 30,000 making them the lar- sult tend not to be as nomadic as the former. This study will focus on
gest surviving tribe in the Amazon Basin 2. The population density, the Upland Campa of the Gran Pajonal, but will bring out contrasts with
then, is about 1 per square kilometer. A larger number still live in the the Riverine Campa.
Cordillera de Vilcabamba, but there has been a steady movement in re-
cent years toward the riverine missions on the Ucayali, upper Pichis, Pe- The Gran Pajonal
rené, and lower Apurimac. The population was undoubtedly significantly
higher as recently as 20 to 30 years ago, but the death rate from intro- The traditional heartland of the Campa is the remote plateau of
duced diseases has been high. The degree of acculturation is conside- the Gran Pajonal located between the Ucayali, Pichis-Pachitea, and Pe-
rable along the rivers and in the west, but relatively little in many rené-Tambo rivers. The core area, south of 10°S. latitude, measures
parts of the uplands, and some isolated groups have had no direct white about 200,000 hectares of rolling terrain deeply dissected by gorges of
contact and are still hostile. the Río Unini and Río Nevati (Neguache) and their tributaries. On the
more gentle slopes between these two rivers there are from 5,000 to
The Campa are best described as a semi-nomadic (frequent moving)
6,000 hectares of pajonales (grasslands), which owe their presence, at least
horticultural tribe with a strong emphasis on hunting, rather than fishing,
in part, to a long history of Campa clearing and burning (Chrostowski
as the major source of protein. They are socially organized into small
and Denevan, 1970). The grasslands are in numerous scattered patches
groups consisting of an individual family or up to five or six conjugal
along the hill crests, mostly under 10 hectares in size with a few up
families, seldom numbering over 35 persons and usually between 5 to 15
to 100 hectares or more. The dominant forest vegetation is Bosque Hú-
persons. Villages consist of from one to five huts, except for the mis-
medo Subtropical (see ONERN, 1968: 67-70), much of it second growth.
1. Burt Watson and Mack Robertson of the South American Indian Mission. In the
The area of pajonales has had greatest concentration of Campa settle-
Gran Pajonal, Moisés Cadillo and Teodoro Peña provided considerable as- ments in the past; however, the recent pressures from settlers, the Guar-
sistance and facilities.
2. Fast (1962) and the Summer Institute of Linguistics give a figure of 30,000, 3. Weiss (1969: 42) makes a sociological distinction between Pajonal and River
but others feel that 20,000 is more realistic, Bodley (1969) estimates less than Campa, based on apparent separate breeding populations.
1500 in the central area of the Gran Pajonal.
164 Montaña

dia Civil, and a ranch at Shumahuani have forced a movement away

to the rugged fringes of the Gran Pajonal or to the missions.
In the pajonal area, elevations mostly range between 1000 and 1500
meters. Temperatures are ca al (20° to 22°C. mean annual), but without
frost, and rainfall is moderate (2200 mm. at Obenteni and 1700 mm. at
Shumahuani), with a 4 month dry season (May through August). Hig-
her mountains to 3100 meters surround the core area ‒ the Shira Moun-
tains to the east, the Cerro de la Sal and Kitchungari Mountains to the
south, and lower, dissected plateau country to the west and north. Ac-
cessibility is thus very difficult, requiring a long hike up from the Pi-
chis or Ucayali rivers, with the result that the Gran Pajonal has been
relatively isolated, until recently, from outside influences, except for a
few missionaries and settlers. Obenteni, with its small airstrip, is the on-
ly Peruvian settlement, a1though from 1953 to 1969 there was a small
ranch at Shumahuani, and there are Adventist mission villages at Paute
and Tsoubenteni. Today, only a few groups of fully "independent" Cam-
pa remain in the core area (Bodley, 1969). Nevertheless, many of the
Campa here have retained their traditional economic system.

Shifting cultivation

In the Shumahuani area of the Gran Pajonal, three Campa chacras

were examined in July 1965, August 1966, November 1966, and July
1968. Some 20 to 30 other chacras in the Gran Pajonal were visited only
once. In July 1968 two weeks were spent living with a Campa family
near Obenteni, and a careful study was made of their 6 chacras. Thus
chacras were only visited during the dry season; however, chacras were
nevertheless observed during all stages of their annual cycle since the
Campas in the Gran Pajonal do not adhere to a rigid seas anal pattern
of clearing, burning, planting, and harvesting.
Location. The Pajonal Campa, with few exceptions, build their
huts on ridge crests and spurs, both forested and in grassland. The rea-
sons are not entirely c1ear, but certainly involved are a psychological de-
sire, with religious overtones, to be exposed to the sun and probably
also for defensive purposes. Chacras are located on the upper slopes on
various sides of the huts. Such sites, if steep, usually have relatively poor
soils as result of erosion of the top soil and because of rapid drainage
causing excessive drying out. The medium level slopes and the creek
bottoms have a richer topsoil, with humus washed down from above,
and a higher moisture content. The lower slopes are planted occasional-
ly, especially with more nutrient demanding crops such as maize or
more moisture demanding crops such as plantains and taro.
Upper slopes are preferred, in spite of poorer soils, apparently be-
cause of (1) more sunlight, (2) better bums, (3) less of a rodent pro-
blem than on the more humid lower slopes, and (4) the desire to
166 Montaña Denevan 167

have the chacra adjacent to the hut for ready availability of food and Yuca and maize are the first crops planted, usually intermixed, but
for fuel logs. The nights are cold in the Gran Pajonal, and the Campa often the maize is concentrated on the lower slopes where the soil is
like to keep a fire going at all times for both warmth and for cooking. more fertile and more humid. One chacra just planted, for example,
Star-shaped fires are built using long logs from the chacras, with the had about 60 percent maize plants and 40 percent yuca on the lower slo-
logs being pushed forward as they bum. Having heavy logs close at pe, 10 percent maize and 90 percent yuca on the middle slope, and 100
hand is probably even more important than having the crops close by. percent yuca on the upper slope. Averaging out crop percentages on
For chacra sites, mature forest is preferred over young second growth, newly planted chacras, I obtained roughly 25 percent maize, 70 percent yu-
probably because of better soil fertility, especially on upper slopes. Other ca, and 5 percent other crops. The maize is harvested at the end of four
siting factors being equal, "black" soils with a high organic content are months and is replaced by yuca and other plants, and other plants are
sought out in preference to eroded and highly leached "red" soils. For gradually added elsewhere so that by the end of six months the ratio
a detailed description of the soils of the Gran Pajonal, see Chrostowski is more like 85 percent yuca to 15 percent other crops. Thus, the impor-
and Denevan (1970). tance of maize can be overestimated by only viewing a new chacra.

Clearing. The preferred time of forest clearing is at the start of the Yuca is planted by digging up a shallow hole with a short hand-
dry season, as is typical of shifting cultivation in the tropics. However, led, metal hoe or with a machete. Two to three yuca cuttings, each
the Campa are known to clear in the middle of the wet season, and I about I foot long, are inserted in the loose earth piled up at the edge
have seen a number of chacras cleared in the middle or late dry sea- of the hole. The holes are spaced 8-12 feet apart where the ground is
son. Present clearing tools are the axe and machete for all Campas. (Sto- bare of logs, with no attempt to make rows. Maize is planted simulta-
ne axe are very common in old village sites, attesting to their former neously 4 to 5 feet apart in between the yuca holes, using a large (5-6
importance). All large trees are cut first and serve to topple smaller feet long, 4-6 inches diameter), heavy dibble stick to make holes 8-12 in-
trees and brush. Remaining material is cleared by machete. Clearing is ches deep. Three to five maize kernals are inserted in each hole and
a concentrated process, with all other activity coming to a near halt, loose dirt is scraped into the hole.
with the possible exception of early morning hunting. Each family is Other crops are planted widely over a chacra where there are sui-
responsible for its own chacra. A man may do all the clearing alone or table niches. Clusters of taro, yam, dali-dali, and plantain bulbs are plan-
with the help of his sons. Working most of each day, a man can clear ted just below the surface. Sweet potatoes are usually planted a few
an average sized chacra of 1/2 to 1 hectare in one to two weeks. weeks later, or when good rains are certain, in the yuca hillocks or next
Burning. Burning does not necessarily take place at the end of the to logs, along with a few sugar cane cuttings. Beans of several varieties
dry season, but may occur whenever cleared debris is dry enough to are planted at various times, but seldom in quantity. Kidney beans are
burn, which may be early in the dry season only two to three weeks often planted next to stumps of small trees prior to burning. The area
after clearing. Such a burn, however, will seldom be a good one, and around them is cleared so that few are killed by the later fire. Beans
it is necessary to stack the remaining debris for second and even third are also planted immediately after burning. Most tree and shrub crop
burns. I have seen quite green debris burned on cold, misty days, but are planted leisurely well after initial planting where there is good sun-
with ignition on the lower slope and a brisk upslope wind, a fairly light, either in the house clearing, chacra fringes, or along trails. Some
hot fire is still possible. Since they desire to use chacra logs fuel, the fruit trees germinate naturally from the seed of fruit eaten near the
Campa probably prefer not to have a complete burn. Also, since most house. Tuber cuttings are clearly selected for desired qualities and are
chacras are only used for one to two years, a good ash layer for ferti- carefully transported to new chacras. Maize and other seeds are stored
lizer isn’t too important, and removal of the smaller debris to expose in gourds for later planting, but are seldom stored for food.
ground for planting is the main objective. Second burns of piled ma- Crops. In terms of numbers and total weight, the staple crop is
terials do provide good ash piles, but these are not particularly sought clearly sweet yuca (kaniri) Manihot esculenta, of which there are at
out for planting. least a dozen varieties in the Gran Pajonal. The major secondary crops,
Planting. Planting is done immediately after burning, regardless of the with common, Campa 4, and scientific names, are: maize (šínki) Zea
season. I observed fields being planted a full month or more before the mays, taro (pitóka) Colocasia esculenta and (impári) Colocasia antico-
rainy season began. There are light and some heavy rains during the
4. Spellings of Campa names are taken from Weiss (1969: 599-604). These, ho-
dry season, and while these are not adequate for most crops, reasonably wever, are for the River Campa and pronunciations are often slightly different
good growth of yuca does result. for the Pajonal Campa.
168 Montaña Denevan 169

rum?, sweet potato (koríča ) Ipomoea batatas, and the kidney bean acres) there were about 10,000 yuca plants per acre. (A few hundred
(mačáki ) Phaseolus vulgaris. Other important crops include: yams (máo- plants of other crops were planted later, and the maize was repla-
na) Dioscorea trifida, arrowroot (tinkóci) Maranta arundinacea, dali da- ced with yuca). Crop losses from dry soil, animals, insects, disease,
li (šoneáki) Calathea allouia, squash (kémi, cori) Cucurbita maxima, tree and spoilage was estimated at 20 to 30 percent, with the maize loss
bean (cítióíkí ) Caianus indicus, peanut (ínki) Arachis hypogea, plantain being higher than that for yuca.
(parénti) Musa paradisiaca, pineapple (tivána) Ananas comosus, and pa-
Abandonment and fallowing. Most slope chacras in the Gran Pajo-
paya (mapóča ) Carica papaya.
nal are only planted in one crop of yuca. The majority of the crop
In addition, there are over 30 lesser crops which are either present will have been harvested after 16 months, at which time planting and
or known and planted irregularly. These include: achiote, achira, avoca- weeding ceases and fallowing begins. Nevertheless, perennial tree and
do, arracacha, bananas, barbasco and other fish poisons, caimito, calabash, shrub crops and some late planted annuals continue to produce and
canavalia bean, castor bean, chili pepper, cocona, cotton, datura, gourds, are harvested for food or used for seed and cuttings over the next
granadilla, guayaba, hyacinth bean, lemon, mango, orange, pacay, pejibaye, year or longer. A chacra may thus have a full cropping life of around
sugar cane, tobasco, tuber bean, tumeric and watermelon. A few additio- three years despite only one major crop of yuca. As the first yuca is
nal crops are cultivated by the Campa living along the large lowland harvested, often as soon as eight months after planting, the cleared area
rivers, including rice and cashew, and plantains are much more im- may be immediately replanted with yuca cuttings from the harves-
portant than in the Pajonal. ted plants, or by other crops (but not maize), thus providing a partial
Several of these crops are Old World in origin and are presume- second harvest. In some situations a full second crop of yuca will be
bly of post-Columbían introduction (taro, yam, plantain, sugar cane, ci- planted where there is superior soil or when for some reason a man
trus). Some Campa near Obenteni raise coffee or cacao, often commer- has not yet cleared a new chacra. I did not see any chacras with
cially. Two crops not usually associated with tropical forest tribes in over two full yuca crops in the Gran Pajonal,
South America are the potato and coca. The potato (močákí) is a The length of the fallow period is at least 10 years and usually
small, primitive type identified as the Amico variety by Dr. Carlos much longer. In contrast, the Riverine Campa frequently clear second
Ochoa. It has also been found in the San Ramón area, which was on- growth that is only 5 to 10 years old.
ce Campa dominated, in San Martín, and at La Libertad on the
coast. It grows at Obenteni (1005 meters), but is usually found at higher Houses usually are not moved with each change in chacra, as
elevations. However, it is uncommon, and seems to be in the process long as the new chacra is close at hand. Ideally, each family clears
of being lost by the Campa. Coca (kóka) is grown as, a single plant, a new chacra each year. The second chacra is adjacent to or at least
with a few in each chacra. The leaves are mixed with calcium and close to the first. The third year chacra may also be close by, but
chewed much as in the highlands. Presumably both crops have been usually by the fourth year, if not before, a new chacra site is selec-
derive from the highland Indians, but the possibility of tropical sub- ted and cleared several miles away. By the time the last full yuca
montane origins should not be discounted. crop from the old chacra site is exhausted, the family will have mo-
ved into a house on the new site. For a year or so, though, there
Cultivation and harvesting. Both weeding and harvesting are wo- may be a fair amount of moving back and forth to work the new
men's work, although the men help out at times. Weeding is minimal, chacra and to build the new house and, after moving to the new
mainly because it is not a serious problem during the short one to two house, back to the old chacras to harvest remaining plants and to ob-
year life of most chacras. Weeding is mostly by hand, rather than by tain seed and cuttings. The reason for moving both chacras and huts
machete, in order to avoid destroying useful plants. Harvesting takes is not that land has been exhausted at the initial site, since a great many
place as crops mature and when needed in the case of tubers which more chacras could be cleared within a short walking distance, and
can remain in the ground, for long periods. There is no attempt to individual chacras could be cropped for longer period than one to two
preserve food. Maize is piled in the roof rafters, but is mostly used years. The depletion of game may be the most critical factor, and this
up within a few weeks. reason was given to me several times. Other reasons given for
Productivity was measured on only two first year chacras (tota- abandoning a house are (1) to escape an enemy or disliked neigh-
ling 3.4 acres) and only in terms of numbers of plants. On these cha- bor, (2) a death in the family, (3) disease, (4) deterioration of the
cras, where there was intercropping, (1.2 acres) there was an average of hut, or (5) an influx of pests.
7744 maize stalks and 3932 yuca plants per acre. Elsewhere (2.2
170 Montaña Denevan 171

Thus, there is an overlapping sequence of chacra making and use. this was the main reason fields were abandoned after only 1 to 21/2
At any given time, the basic pattern would involve tapping residual years. Nor did excessive weeds seem to be critical, as they often are
crops from the chacra cleared two years ago, the harvesting of the for lowland, Riverine chacras.
main crop from the previous year chacra, and preparation of a new
chacra. All three chacras may be at the same site, or one may be at Other food sources
either an old house site or a new house site. The actual pattern may Hunting. While the Campa obtain the greater part of their food
be much more complex, however, since many Campa are not very sys- from agriculture (about 90 percent by weight), they are commonly
tema tic land use planners. A still producing chacra may be abandoned thought of as hunters, and in terms of economic activity time well over
prematurely because of a house shift due to a death or lack of game. 50 percent is spent on hunting. No meal is considered complete without
A family may move too far away to be able to utilize an old chacra. meat, and when a family is out of meat the men and boys go hun-
Relatives may move in and help deplete a chacra faster than other- ting for at least the early part of the day during periods of chacra
wise. Because of bad weather, an extended trading or fishing trip, or work and for full days at other times. Most hunting trips are no more
injury, a man may not clear a chacra some years. As result, some fa- than a half day in distance away from the houses, so that the hun-
milies have plenty of food and future needs assured, whereas others ters can return at night; however, two to three day trips are not uncom-
are caught short with a chacra depleted before another comes into mon. Game is not plentiful in the Gran Pajonal, and a day results
production. Campa then either move in with relatives or live off the are often pitiful ‒ a few small birds, a bag of snails and grubs, or no-
land hunting and gathering until the new chacra is producing. Such thing at all. The Campa will go to great efforts with little return,
instability of production seems to be very common in the Gran Pajo- partly because they enjoy hunting, but probably also because of a need
nal and helps explain why the Campa frequently clear, burn, and plant for protein which is deficient in the plant food diet with its strong em-
out of season. They fully realize they won't get a good crop, but for phasis on starchy tubers.
one reason or another their cropping-shifting sequence is out of balan- While many Campa men have shotguns, shells are less available,
ce and a poor crop planted at the start of the dry season is better and most hunting is done with bow and arrow, with which the Campa
than no crop at all. This doesn't necessarily mean the Campa are poor are quite proficient. A wide variety of arrows are used (Craig, 1967:
farmers, however. 233) for different purposes, with shafts of chonta or cane and points of
chonta or bone. Blow guns and poisons are not used. Blinds are set
Effect of cultivation and clearing on soil. For several chacras, top- up, but I observed no traps.
soil samples were taken over a two to three year period to determi-
The main game animals are deer, peccary (huangana and sajino),
ne changes in fertility during the cropping cycle. Results were not al-
paca, armadillo, majas, agouti, coati, squirrels, monkeys (capuchin, choro,
ways comparable, due to differences in methods of soil analysis, but the
howler, mono blanco), lemur, añuje 5. Rabbits and sloths are present
following examples are believed to be representative. From an upper
but aren't eaten. Tapir is rare. A large variety of birds are hunted for
slope chacra near Shumahuani, a soil sample was taken in August 1966
food and for feathers, including partridges, guans, doves, macaws, parrots,
a few weeks after clearing and before burning and planting. A second
toucans, paucars, woodpeckers, paujil, trompetero, trogon, and swallows.
sample was taken in July 1968, after the chacra had been abandoned
for two to four months and was regrown in 5 to 10 foot high purma Most of the large game is seriously depleted in the central Gran
(second growth) with scattered remnant yuca, papaya, and plantains. Pajonal, even though the Campa population itself has been greatly re-
After two years, the pH had risen slightly (4.6 to 5.0) which is not duced in recent years. The best hunting areas are near the larger ri-
unusual (probably due to addition of ash), but there was a decline of vers below the Pajonal, but these are several days away and are hun-
organic matter (7.6% to 6.7%), of phosphorus (23.0 to 11.5 kg./hect.), and ted by other people. Thus the main reliance is on small game, parti-
of potassium (300 to 180 kg./hect.). On two adjacent chacras on a rid- cularly rodents, birds, and reptiles, plus snails, larvae, ants, beetles, and
ge near Obenteni, one just planted and one in crops for a year, the ol- other insects. Children especially spend a lot of time scavaging for in-
der chacra's soil was higher in pH (4.6 compared to 3.7), lower in or- sects, and this may 'reflect their need for even greater protein than
ganic matter (6.6% compared to 6.9%) and potassium (240 compared to adults. A few Campa have a chicken or two, and an occasional mus-
300 kg./hect.), and was the same in phosphorus (17.2 kg./hect.). covy duck is seen.

In general, while nutrient levels did decline somewthat, with pro- 5. For scientific identifications of economic animals, birds, and fish, see Weiss
bable corresponding declines in crop yields, there is no evidence that (1969: 605-620).
172 Montaña Denevan 173

Fishing. Most streams in the Gran Pajonal are quite small and fish the main meals. The Campa often eat at night when they wake up
are of corresponding size and number. Even the larger Unini and Ne- to tend their fires, and I had them wake me too. The family never
vati rivers are relatively unproductive compared to the lowland rivers. really understood why I wanted to weigh everything they ate, but they
Consequently the Pajonal Campa is sometime fishermen at best. They were reasonably agreeable if not always cooperative about it. The wei-
do cultivate barbasco, and the local streams are blocked with weirs ghing process did not seem to effect what was eaten or how much.
and poisoned once or twice a year, but the catches are meager. During Food was weighed in the ready to eat state, and the weights of tubers
the dry season, however, many Campa families make a fishing trip to were extrapolated back to fresh weight which is the condition used
one of the larger rivers, such as the Ucayali, for a stay of several weeks, in most dietary tables. The INCAP tables for Latin America (Leung,
often living with relatives. Most Pajonal fishing is with barbasco or 1961) and the Collazos (1957) tables for Peru were used to determi-
with bow and arrow. The Campa, including those living along the ne protein, fat, and caloric content. While crop varieties do vary sligh-
large rivers, lack many of the elaborate fishing devices (hooks, nets, tly in nutrient content percentage, this is small enough to allow use of
traps, spears) of the true riverine tribes such as the Shipibo-Conibo on standard tables for most purposes. The main objectives were to learn
the central Ucayali. what portions of the diet carne from the different subsistence activi-
The most common fish caught in the Gran Pajonal, all quite small, ties and what were the quantities and sources of protein and calories.
include corvina, anchoveta, boca chico, mujalita, carachama, bagre, saba--
lo, pez perro, and several catfish. Figure 2.
Gathering. Although the collecting of snails, insects, frogs, crabs, Average Daily Food Components for One Adult Campa Male
and the like is quite important, and is considered part of hunting he- (Height 5 ft. 2 in.; weight about 115 lbs.). Based on a three
re, the gathering of wild food plants (fruits, nuts, tubers) is minimal, day sample in the dry season (July 1968).
Most vegetable foods gathered are actually feral domesticated plants Weight % of Total Protein Fats Calories
that have grown up near the houses and trails or on old chacra sites, Food in gms. Weiqht in gms. in gms. in gms.
including papaya, pacay, guayaba, pejibaye, and caimito. A large variety
of wild plants are gathered for medicinal purposes, drugs such as the Yuca* 1049 71.8% 10.2 2.6 2067
ayahuaca vine (Banisteriopsis sp.), construction, tools, fibers, and magic. Sweet
Potato* 62 4.2% 1.4 0.1 84
Diet
Maize
The end product of shifting cultivation and other subsistence ac- (Roasted) 14 1.0% 1.0 0.4 52
tivities is, of course, the actual food that is eaten. Diet is culturally de- Palm Heart
termined, within the confines of available foods, and day to day meals (Fresh) 28 1.9% 0.9 0.2 16
reflect cultural and personal preferences, seasonal variability, and the ge-
Venison
neral success of the food quest. The subsistence pattern in tum has a (Roasted) 307 21.0% 90.6 6.8 450
major influence on population density, village size and stability, and so- 1460 99.9% 104.1 10.1 2669
Totals
cial organization.
Many Campa meals were observed at different times and places, Masato
(Beverage)** 3591
and the types and relative quantities of food were recorded. For one
Campa family of four living about 5 miles south of Obenteni, everything * Tile weights given for yuca and sweet potatoes are actual
eaten for one to three days for each person was weighed on a 5 pound eating (roasted) weights; these were converted to fresh
balance scale. This was clearly not an adequate sample. Ideally, diet weights, 1276 gms. and 74 gms. respectively, for nutrient
should be measured for each member of several families for a period calculations.
of several days each month over a full year in order to get seasonal va- ** Protein, fat, and calorie content of masato (yuca beer) are
riations. The meals recorded were not average ones in that they con- not given, since the water/yuca ratio was not determined.
tained a higher amount of meat (from a recently killed deer) than The masato consumed, however, was very thin and little fer- -
mented and was used for refreshment on hot working days, in
did many other meals I observed in the Gran Pajonal. I found that I contrast to the heavier, alcoholic beverage. Hence, the
could record food intakes for only one person at a time and had to nutritional components would be low despite the large
stay with him all 24 hours of a day due to frequent eating between quantity drunk.
174 Montaña Denevan 175

The data above shows more than an adequate diet in terms of much more than that of the average non-indigenous settler in tropical
both protein and calories for the three day period sampled. However, Peru. The strong emphasis on yuca is misleading. It is a simple, labor
on the fourth day, the venison having been exhausted, the same man saving way to provide calories, while a man's greater physical efforts
had only 57 grams of meat (portion of a dove), which only provided and ingenuity are directed elsewhere (hunting) for the more basic
about 10 grams of protein. The fifth day there was no meat at all. Ob- food element of protein. About 90 percent of the Campa's total food by
servations of many Campa meals indicated that the fourth day was the weight does come from agriculture. Although a labor time study was
more typical. There are some days with much meat and others with not made, agricultural productivity does seem to be very high in terms
no meat, but on the typical day a family will have a few birds and small of time expended, whereas hunting productivity is very low for time
animal s which provide per person about 100 grams of meat containing from expended.
20 to 30 grams of protein. If the vegetable protein averages between 15 3. For the Campa, soil does not seem to be the prime determinant
and 20 grams daily, the total daily protein would range from 35 to 50 of field location, as it generally is elsewhere. More important is the lo-
grams on the majority of days. This is on the minimum side of body cal availability of game and the location of the fields adjacent to huts
needs but is usually adequate. Data gathered for other family mem- positioned on upper slopes and ridge crests. Within a field, however,
bers was inconclusive, but children and mothers seemed to have a mo- crops are located with respect to variations in soil fertility, soil moisture,
re varied diet and obtained more protein than the adult male. Chil- and slope exposure.
dren clearly consume more insects, frogs, etc. than adults. In general the 4. It has been postulated that the greater population densities and
Campa go to great efforts to obtain seemingly small amounts of meat. more developed cultures have been located along the large Amazonian
Furthermore, all portions are eaten including intestines, bone marrow, rivers, in contrast to the nearly empty interfluves, because of the availa-
and the flesh on skins. This would seem to confirm the indications bility of large amounts of protein from aquatic resources which supple-
that the Gran Pajonal Campa have inadequate vegetable protein and ment the protein-poor root crops dominating the vegetable diet of Ama-
are at the lower level of sufficient total protein intake during much of zonian people (Lathrap, 1968; Denevan, 1966). Away from the rivers,
the year. game is the main source of protein, but it doesn't exist in large enough
quantities to support large social units or in permanent enough quantities
Conclusions to support long enduring settlements. Hence the common aboriginal
The information presented here on the subsistence system of the pattern of the rivers is semi-nomadism, small social groups, and a limi-
Pajonal Campa can be related to a number of generalizations and hy- ted material culture.
potheses concerning tropical forest ecology in South America. One of my purposes in studying the Gran Pajonal Campa was to
1. Most descriptions of shifting cultivation give and impression of test the above argument, and the Campa clearly fit the non-riverine
cultural consistency in the seasonal pattern of activities, crops grown and pattern. Their total protein intake is low, and they seem to go to great
methods. This is not true for the Pajonal Campa, and equally great di- efforts in hunting, with low returns, to stay above the minimum. The
versity exist for the Riverine Campa. The frequent failure to burn and result is settlement inestability and a low population density. This is
plant at the optimum time or even to clear a new chacra, resulting in not to say that there aren't other important factors involved, and careful
uncertain production, reflects the instability of Campa settlements, the sociological study is needed to define these factors, their causes, and their
dietary and cultural importance of hunting, the availability of food re- relative importance compared to the dietary argument.
latives, and probably other factors. I have noticed that even a single fa- Certainly diets can change, and a greater use of protein-rich maize
mily will vary its methods considerably from year to year to accomo- and beans, as in Meso America, would reduce the need for animal pro-
date differences in site ecology or social factors. Actually, there seems tein 6. -The emphasis on protein-poor root crops in Amazonia seems to
to be comparable variability or lack of regularity in many shifting cul- be culturally determined and is sensible, in view of the great produc-
tivation systems (Brookfield, 1968: 421). tivity and ease of ground storage of root crops, as long as population is
concentrated along the large rivers, where fish and game are also con-
2. Semi-nomadic tribes with a strong emphasis on hunting, such as
centrated. It is interesting to note that the missionaries have been able
the Campa, are often thought of as· being incipient or primitive agricul-
turalists. However, an examination of the large number of crops cultiva- 6. However, the Amahuaca (Cameiro, 1964), one of the few tribes in the Amazon
ted, the many varieties of each, plus the utilization of a wide range of Basin for whom maize is the staple rather than yuca, are still semi-nomadic hun-
micro-ecological conditions, suggest considerable agricultural sophistication, ters despite the relatively high protein content of their vegetable diet.
176 Montaña Denevan 177

to establish much larger and more permanent Campa villages along A (90) + F (01)
the lowland rivers, including Campa recently arrived from the Gran sistence Quotient of which equals 10.1. This figure
Pajonal. On the other hand, the Seventh Day Adventists prohibit meat H (06) + G (03)
eating, or at least restrict the varieties of game fish the Campa in their is considerably higher than that for the Amahuaca. The Campa, moving
missions can eat. As result, there have been severe nutritional problems about once every two years, seem to be just about as nomadic as
in some missions, as on the Perené (Paz-Soldán and Kuczynski-Godard the Amahuaca, who move every 1.5 years, but the Campa do move shor-
1939: 12); elsewhere, the Campa have ignored the restrictions. More ter distances (about 5 miles compared to 15). The problem with deter-
recently, the Adventists have been making major efforts to shift the mining the Subsistence Quotient is that we have only rough estimates
Campa diet away from the traditional yuca and towards more maize, of food source percentages to work with. The evidence for the Campa,
beans, peanuts, and other crops with a relatively high protein content while not precise, does indicate that a tribe consistently thought of as
and also to domesticated animals. hunting oriented, actually may obtain no more than 5 to 10 percent of
5. Betty Meggers (1957) has presented the controversial thesis that its total food from hunting. The hunting estimates for other semi-noma-
the development of culture in the Amazon Basin was held back due dic Amazonian tribes such as 40 percent for the Amahuaca and those
to limitations on agriculture, and thereby population density, imposed by listed by Murdock (1967: 118-122) of from 16 to 55 percent are undoub-
poor tropical soils. Carneiro (1956) and others, however, have shown tedly also disproportionately large 8.
that quite substantial settlements and population densities apparently can Possibly a more satisfactory Subsistence Quotient showing a closer
be supported by shifting cultivation. On the other hand, if shifting cul- relationship to sedentariness would be simply:
tivation doesn't supply sufficient protein, there may be a limiting factor F (% of animal protein from fishing)
imposed instead by the availability of unevenly distributed animal It would be applicable, of course,
protein. Such a limitation, apparently applicable to the Campa, must be H (% of animal protein from hunting)
viewed as culturally determined insofar as the dietary pattern responi- only to cultures whose vegetable diet was severely deficient, in protein.
ble for it is culturally determined.
The purpose of this paper has been to describe the subsistence sys-
6. Robert Carneiro (n. d.) in a provocative paper on subsistence in
tem of the Pajonal Campa and relate it to some of the traditional
the Amazon Basin has pursued the protein argument further by deve-
and recent thinking about tropical forest agriculture, diet, demography,
loping a "Subsistence Quotient" based on the percentages of food obtai-
and culture. Conclusions are tentative but suggest some new perspectives.
A + F. What is especially needed before proceeding further in developing theo-
ned from different subsistence activities: "A" is the percentage of
H+G ry on the cultural ecology of tropical forest people is accurate quantita-
tive data for diverse tribes on labor inputs (both time and energy), lo-
subsistence derived from agriculture, and F is the percentage derived
cational factors (distance and site), production factors for individual items,
from fishing, while H is the percentage derived from hunting, and G
carrying capacity, and actual dietary intakes and their nutritional
the percentage derived from gathering. The higher the numerical value
breakdown.
of the quotient, the greater the reliance on those subsistence activities
favoring sedentary settlement". Using estimates from his own field re-
search, Carneiro obtained a low Subsistence Quotient of 1.2 for the se-
minomadic Amahuaca, and a relatively high Subsistence Quotient of 19
for the nearly sedentary Kuikuru.
However, applying Carneiro's index to the Pajonal Campa raises
some questions. The Campa obtain at least 90 percent of their food, by
weight eaten, from agriculture, and, at most, 6 percent from hunting, 3
percent from gathering, and I percent from fishing 7. This gives a Sub- 8. There have been only a few careful measurements of both meat and crop con-
sumption for tropical tribes in Latin America. For the Miskito of Nicaragua,
7. The hunting figure of 6 percent is based on an estimated average of 100 grams who obtain relatively large quantities of meat from both the sea and from hun-
a day per person from meat out of the total of 1700 grams of food obtained in ting, only 10 percent of the daily diet comes from meat and fish (150 grams)
Figure 2. Actually, the total food weight probably averages closer to 2000 grams, (Nietschmann, 1970). For the Bayano Cuna of Panama the daily average of
which would give less than 6 percent for meat. Murdock (1967: 122), in con- meat was 57 grams and fish 51 grams for only 5.3. percent of the total diet
trast, lists a hunting percentage of from 26 to 35 percent for the Campa. (Mur- (Bennett, 1962: 46). Hence, a total of 7 percent meat and fish for the Pajonal Cam-
dock's percentages are apparently based on calories rather than actual weight). pa is not unreasonably low.
178 Montaña Denevan 179

ALLAN, William LEHNERTZ, Jay F.

1965 The African Husbandman, Barnes and Noble, New York. 1969 Cultural Struggle on the Peruvian Frontier: Campa-Franciscan Confron-
tations, 1595-1752, Unpublished Master's Thesis, University of Wiscon-
BENNETT, Charles F. consin, Madison.
1962 "The Bayano Cuna Indians, Panama: An Ecological Study of Livelihood
and Diet", Annals of the Association of American Geographers, Vol. 52, MEGGERS, Betty J.
1957 "Environment and Culture in the Amazon Basin: An Appraisal of the
pp. 32-50.
Theory of Environmental Determinism", Studies in Human Ecology, So-
BODLEY, John H. cial Science Monograph, N° 3, Pan American Union, Washington, D. C.,
1969 "The Last Remaining Independent Campa", Peruvian Times, September pp. 71-89.
5, 1969, pp. 8-10. MIRACLE, Marvin P.
1970 Campa Socio-Economic Adaptation, Unpublished Ph. D. Dissertation, 1967 Agriculture in the Congo Basin, University of Wisconsin Press, Madison.
University of Oregon, Eugene. MURDOCK, George Peter
BROOKFIELD, Harold C. 1967 Ethnographic Atlas, University of Pittsburgh Press, Pittsburgh.
1968 "New Directions in the Study of Agricultural Systems in Tropical Areas", NIETSCHMANN, Bernard Q.
Evolution and Environment, E. T. Drake, ed., Yale University Press, 1970 Between Land and Water: The Subsistence Ecology of the Miskito In-
New Haven, pp. 413-439. dians, Eastern Nicaragua, Unpublished Ph. d. Dissertation, University
CARNEIRO, Robert L. of Wisconsin, Madison.
1956 "Slash-and-Burn Agriculture: A Closer Look at Its Implications for Set- 1970 "The Measurement of Subsistence", National Conference of Latin Ame-
tlement Patterns", Men and Cultures: Selected Papers of the Fifth In- ricanist Geographers (Preliminary Edition ), Muncie, Indiana, pp. 221-
ternational Congress of Anthropological and Ethnological Sciences, A. 233.
F. C. Wallace, ed., University of Pennsylvania Press, Philadelphia, pp. ONERN (Oficina Nacional de Evaluación de Recursos Naturales)
229-234. 1968 Inventario, evaluación e integración de los recursos naturales de la zona
1964 "Shifting Cultivation Among the Amahuaca of Eastern Peru", Volkerkun- de río Tambo-Gran Pajonal, Lima.
dliche Abhandlungen (Hanover), Vol. 1, pp. 9-18. PAZ SOLDAN, Carlos Enrique and Maxime KUCZYNSKI-GODARD
n. d. "The Transition from Hunting to Horticulture in the Amazon Basín", 1939 La selva peruana: sus pobladores y su colonización en seguridad sanita-
paper presented at the Eighth International Congress of Anthropologi- ria, Instituto de Medicina Social, Lima.
cal and Ethnological Sciences, Tokyo, 1968. In press. SPENCER, J. E.
CHROSTOWSKI, Marshall S. and William M. DENEVAN 1966 Shifting Cultivation in Southeastern Asia, University of California Pu-
blications in Geography, Vol. 19, Berkeley.
1970 The Biogeography of the Gran Pajonal of Eastern Peru: A Reconnaissan-
ce Study, McGill University Savanna Research Series, Montreal. VARESE, Stefano
1968 La sal de los cerros: Notas etnográficas e históricas sobre los Campa de
COLLAZOS, Carlos and Others la selva del Perú, Universidad Peruana de Ciencias y Tecnología, Lima.
1957 "La composición de los alimentos peruanos", Anales de la Facultad de
WEISS, Gerald
Medicina (Lima), Vol. 40, N° 1, pp. 232-266.
1969 The Cosmology of the Campa Indians of Eastern Peru, Unpublished Ph.
CRAIG, Alan K. D. Dissertation, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.
1967 "Brief Ethnology of the Campa Indians, Eastern Peru", America Indige- WU LEUNG, Woot-Tsuen
na, Vol. 27, pp. 223-235. 1961 Food Composition Table for Use in Latin America, INCAP-ICNND, Na-
DENEVAN, William M. tional Institute of Health, Bethesda.
1966 "A Cultural-Ecological View of Former Aboriginal Settlement in the
Amazon Basin", The Professional Geographer, Vol. 18, pp. 346-35l.
FAST, Pedro W.
1962 "Naciones aborígenes en la Amazonía peruana", La Montaña (La Merced,
Perú), Vol. 5, N° 56, pp. 6-7.
LATHRAP, Donald W.
1968 "The 'Hunting' Economies of the Tropical Forest Zone of South Amerí-
ca: An Attempt at Historical Perspective", Man the Hunter, R. B. Lee
and I. DeVore, eds., Aldine, Chicago, pp. 23-29.
LEEDS, Anthony
1961 "Yaruro Incipient Tropical Forest Horticulture-Possibilities and Limits",
The Evolution of Horticultural Systems in Native South America, Cau-
ses and Consequences: A Symposium, J. Wilbert, editor, Sociedad de
Ciencias Naturales La Salle, Caracas, pp. 13-46.
SOME ASPECTS OF
ECONOMIC CHANGE AMONG THE CAMPA

Judy HOLSHOUSER

The information presented in this paper is the result of research

conducted during the months of June through September in 1968 and
1969 in the Alto-Pachitea region of the central montaña of Peru. The po-
pulations studied are located on the Neguachi, Nazarategui, and Azupi-
zu Rivers (see map). The purpose of this essay is to discuss some as-
pects of the economic situation of the Campa in the area as specifically
related to land use patterns. The conclusions are general and tentative
in nature since the research is still under way, eventually the author
hopes to compare the data from this zone with studies of the Puerto
Bermúdez area and selected settlements in the Perené-Chanchamayo
zone.
Several significant factors which distinguish this area from others
should be kept in mind during the discussion. First, many of the Campa
in this region are members or descendents of a group which migra-
ted from the Perené in the 1940's and still have relatives in that area;
also, nearly all of the settlements studied pertain to the Seventh Day
Adventist Mission in Nevati. The effect of these factor s on the econo-
mic life of the Campa will not, however, be dealt with here in detail,
sínce the comparative data from other areas is awaiting the termination
of the study.
Although a great deal of variation in land use is noted in this
area, an overwhelming majority of the Campa practiee a system of
crop rotation on each chacra. The general nature of this systems is as
follows: a new piece of land is cleared, preferably of virgin forest, and
manioc is planted as the dominant crop. It is rare, however, that manioc
alone is planted; usually other "low" crops will be mixed with the ma-
nioc, such as corn, beans, peanuts, pineapple, squash, or other root crops.
182 Montaña Holshouser 183

As the manioc matures and is harvested (generally from nine to twel- 2. The case where two or more plots would be rotated, one being left
ve months), the plot is replanted in manioc a second time (this is done to fallow while the other is producing, then reclearing of, the former
by replacing the plants section by section as they are harvested over after a suitable period.
a period of time) and tree crops are added, such as orange, tangerine,
The main objection raised to this was also the problem of weed
avocado, cacao, or achiote. In many cases, an intermediate planting of
incursion, although most informants claimed this example was somewhat
medium-height crops, such as bananas, is practiced.
more feasible than (1). Still, informants indicated they would much
As was mentioned above, a good deal of variation exists in these rather travel a distance from their house to open virgin land than re-
patterns, but this primarily consists in the scheduling of the different open a secondary forest are a nearby, since weeds become a problem
plantings, e. g. the medium-height crop may be omitted or tree crops more rapidly on re-opened land. Many had used a plot twice, allowing
may be planted with the first or third planting of manioc, etc., but the for a fallow period of two 01' three years, but non e had re-opened a
basic pattern remains the same. Land planted in tree crops is almost third time.
never recleared, and the same procedure is repeated on virgin land. As
The question as to why tree crops are planted at all, rather than
can be seen from this description, there is no real Fallowing, the land
just leaving the land abandoned and moving to new plots for manioc
is used continually for production. The few cases that were observed
leads us to the question of markets in the area. Since more fruit is pro-
of land left to fallow and then reopened were usually due to the fact
duced than can be consumed, and some (even though relatively little)
that a family had moved to another area and a new owner reopened
expenditure of energy is required to maintain these plots 2, the persis-
the plot. A few cases were also noted where the owner felt it unecono-
tence of this pattern must be due to the hopes of marketing the surplus.
mical to continue caring for a chacra, such as the case of achiote stands
The few cattle ranches, the mission, and the small town of Puerto Ber-
whose produce could no longer be sold.
múdez comprise the only market in the area, and it was commonly
It is also evident from this pattern that a majority of cultivated stated by informants that only those who arrived first with their produ-
land is devoted to tree crops I, and that after even a short period of ce would be able to sell. Thus, on the surface, at the time of the study
time using the same rotation system, much more fruit will be produ- it seemed that there was very little reason for the continued caring and
ced than can be consumed by a family; indeed this was found to be planting of fruit crops. However, an examination of the recent economic
the case. Since there is no method of preservation of these products, a history of the area provided a partial explanation. In the past ten years,
large proportion literally rots on the ground. The question raised by the area has experienced a series of economic "booms". The rubber con-
these observations is why do the Campa in this area continue such an cessions provided a significant source of cash income for the Campa at
apparently inefficient pattern which requires expenditure of energy to one point, but this terminated with the devaluation of the sol. Some-
produce more than can be consumed? Several hypothetical examples we- what later wood and achiote brought good prices; to date, achiote cha-
re posed for the informants in an effort to answer this question. Two cras comprise a significant portion of land under cultivation, although
most obvious alternatives met the following responses: very few Campa still plant it, and many are re clearing or abandoning
former plots. Both these means of income dropped sharply in 1967-68.
l. An example where a plot should be used continually for staples,
This kind of sporadic boom economy has provided the local inhabitants
such as manioc.
with a lind of random reinforcement for market production, and most
The overwhelming response to this example was that a plot could certainly a taste for cash income.
not produce good manioc for more than a few years. The reason for
Another important factor in encouraging market production in spite
this is that weed incursion becomes a serious problem on "old" plots,
of low returns is the plan for construction of a road from Chanchama-
and control requires too much work.
yo to Puerto Bermúdez. The road is, in fact, partially completed; unfor-
1. Although it is difficult to estimate the amount of land devoted to each crop due
tunately it has been partially completed for quite some time and there
to a great deal of mixing and unevenness of the terrain, from information re- is no indication of when it might be finished. Nearly without exception,
ceived in interviews and observation of plots, it is estimated that approximate- the Campa interviewed expressed the urgent need for this means of
ly 45% of land under cultivation is devoted to tree crops and 30% to manioc-
dominated plots. But it should be noted that while manioc is not found on tree 2. Tree crops require the least amount of care among the various types of crops.
chacras, young trees are often found on manioc plots. The remaining 25% is Most informants claimed, once mature, tree chacras need weeding only once or
devoted to other crops such as corn, beans, or bananas, or is too highly mixed twice a year, since the shadow from the canopy prevents most low growth.
to be classified by dominant crop.
184 Montaña

communication with the outside and see it as a panacea for the present
economic problems.
At this point in the presentation, it is important to note once again
the contact the people in this area have with Chanchamayo. A majority
of males have spent some time on the Perené River, working on plan-
tations, and many go there each year for this purpose. Since the market
in Bermúdez is so small, the largest source of cash income is the tem-
porary labor in this zone. Except for intermittent periods of outside inver-
sion in agricultural lands in the local area, nearly all employment is
outside of the zone. Most men spend a month of two at such jobs, but
some stay as long as a year at a time. Since the women do most of
the cultivation, once the chacras are c1eared and planted, the men are
free to travel and look for work. Thus, the felt need for money means
a good deal of time in which families are separated. Most men expres-
sed a strong preference for working within the zone, but recognized tra-
velling to the Perené as the only form of earning necessary cash with
which to buy clothing, household utensils, and pay for schooling for
their children. A discussion of outside labor invariably provoked an ex-
pression of the desire for the road to be completed.
Due to the extensive contact the Campa in this area have with the
market economy of Chanchamayo, they are very aware of what they do
not have. When questioned about what they would like to be able to
buy and that kind of community they would like to live in, it was ob-
vious that the ideal is a replica of the Perené living patterns 3. A signi-
ficant number, in fact, have migrated (or returned) to the Perené-Chan-
chamayo zone permanently.
Thus, we can conclude that the seemingly inefficient (i. e. in terms
of results obtained for energy expended) land use pattern predominant
in the Alto-Pachitea can be at least partially explained by the influen-
ces of outside contact with an area of substantial market movement, the
sporadic boom economy of the zone which has given the inhabitants
a taste of economic prosperity from time to time, and the promises of
communication with the outside markets by means of a road.
We might say that, due to these influences, the Campa in this zo-
ne have a certain degree of economic sophistication in market condi-
tions. However, it is well to point out here some of the areas in which
many informants demonstrated a notable lack of awareness. The most
important of these (especially in terms of the inevitable future develop-
ment of the zone) is the lack of concern for formalizing ownership of
land. On the one hand this is surprising, since many have had contact

3. Items mentioned most often as desired are clothing, tools, aluminum roofing,
medicine, and inexpensive means of transportation. Also often mentioned was
the desire to open a business, such as a store or canteen.
186 Montaña Holshouser 187

with, or themselves experienced, sítuatioas in which outsiders have ex- to cultivate if a market were open (this question was phrased as "how
propriated Campa land. A situation of this sort was, in fact, one of the much land would you cultivate if the road were open"). Responses
motivating factors for the immigration of the original group from the ranged from 2 to 1000 hectares, around 50% desiring between 2 to 10 hec-
Perené. This is happening to some extent in the Alto-Pachitea now, al- tares and roughly 50% from 12 to 50. This may be due to a lack of
though the problem is not yet serious. There are also, however, many experience in actually planning for a real market situation, but it might
factors which help explain this lack of concern. One obvious reason is also possibly be due to an inability to calculate in terms of hectares,
that the population density is quite low and it is hard for anyone to or different interpretations of the question. The resolution of this problem
imagine a shortage of land; and since Campa are quite mobile, moving will have to await further research.
to another plot is not considered a serious inconvenience. Another factor
The large difference in levels of economic sophistication among in-
which might possibly add to this lack of concern is the fact that a lar- -
formants is evidence of a change in the zone, and an increasing concern
ge portion of the more heavily populated are a is a reservation for the
with cash enterprises 6. As might be expected, it seems to be the case
Campa; and people do not envision that this might be insufficient in the
that settlements further down the rivers and closer to Puerto Bermúdez
future.
are more concerned with their economic future and more attuned to
Another aspect of a lack of economic sophistication might be noted the problems involved in a market economy, but this is by no means
in the susceptibility of the Campa to enterprises which are productive true in every instance. The reasons for the large variation between in-
only on a large scale and require techniques or equipment they lack. dividuals and between settlements is still under investigation and should
One example of this is cattle raising. A large number of informants ex- provide more insights into the generalizations discussed above.
pressed plans to open pasture land and many had already done so;
the models for this are the several ranches in the area. However, on a To summarize, the Campa in the study area employ a system of
small scale, caring for cattle in a tropical zone is a highly costly and crop rotation which results in a large portion of the land being devo-
uneconomical venture; many who had some cattle previously had lost ted to fruits, the majority of which can neither be consumed nor mar-
or sold them. Only individuals with some other sources of income, abo- keted. The expenditure of energy required for the maintenance of these
ve the average, can afford this luxury, but nonetheless, the "cattle craze" economically unproductive plots is felt justified by the owners by the
continues. fact that occasionally some might be sold in the local area, but, more
important, the road might be completed in the near future and these
Another example of economically unsuccessful enterprises on a small
crops will be immediately available for export. A great deal of variation
scale is rice cultivation. The recent interest in rice, however, is due to
exists in economic sophistication between settlements and among indi-
encouragement by the local Banco de Fomento Agropecuario, which of-
viduals, but in general it can be stated that the Campa in this are a show
fered seed and loans to encourage production. Many took advantage
a marked concern with entering a market economy to a greater extent
of these offers, but production was extremely low, since cultivation requi-
and obtaining a standard of living like that which exists in the Perené-
res more labor than a family could provide 4. The lack of economic
Chanchamayo zone. This interest and degree of awareness is due prima-
sophistication perhaps is not so much expressed by the fact that indivi-
rily to contact with outside regions in the form of periodic employ-
duals tried these enterprises; this is understandable in light of the models
ment in these areas, to contact within the zone with outsiders such as
that exist in the zone. It is expressed, rather, in the fact that the Campa
the missionaries and ranchers, and to the sporadic boom nature of the
continua the attempts after they have proved fruitless 5. This same be-
local economy. However, the intermittent nature of this contact and the
havior was noted in the persistence of labor on boom products long
economic history of the zone has also had its effects in an economically
after the market had disappeared.
negative sense; while the Campa are rapid to engage in new enter- -
One more item might be noted here. There was no consistent res- prises which might bring cash profits, they are slow to abandon such ef-
ponse among informants as to how much land was deemed desirable forts once they have proved a failure. And although some are begin-
ning to realize the necessity of protecting their ownership of the land
4. The Campa do not practice co-operative labor, each family working its own plots.
The greatest labor requirement on rice chacras is guarding against birds when
with titles, for the majority this is not yet considered. It remains to be
the crop is mature, and it is very difficult for a single family to do this, espe-
cially since the plots are often located a distance from the house. 6. A number of individuals have solicited title to their land, and one group has
5. When asked how they would use land for market production, 30% replied that even solicited land for a community co-operative cattle enterprise; but there
they would plant more of what they had, i. e. mixed crops, and 70% responded are also a significant number of individuals in the same community who de-
with pasture land, rice, or fruit. monstrated a complete lack of awareness of the purpose or goals of the project.
188 Montaña
CAMPA COSMOLOGY 1
seen whether or not the knowledge gained through contact with outside
areas will result in a favorable economic position for the Campa once
the are a is opened up and outsiders move in to exploit the agricultural
possibilities of the area, or whether these Campa, like so many others in
other areas, will simply pick up and move to a more isolated region.
The above discussion is designed to give the reader at least a gene-
ral idea of some of the factors involved in the economic situation in Gerald WEISS
which the Campa of the Alto-Pachitea participate. If this essay has rai-
sed more questions for investigation than it has answered, the author is
not discouraged. The information on which it is based is only part of
a study which is yet to be completed. Hopefully, future research from
the same region and comparative data from other areas will answer
these and other questions on the dynamics of economic change and land
use patterns among the Campa.

Preliminary remarks

The Campas of Eastern Peru, who number perhaps 30,000 (Fast,

1962), occupy a large territory that includes the watersheds of the Ene,
Perené and Tambo rivers, plus the Gran Pajonal, These four geographic
terms ‒Ene, Perené, Tambo, and Gran Pajonal‒ correspond to four cul-
tural regions differing to a certain degree in dialect and other cultural
details, the Gran Pajonal region being the most divergent from the
others. Between the Campas of the Ene, Perené and Tambo rivers and
the Campas of the Gran Pajonal there is long-standing enmity, little con-
tact, and very little intermarriage. This situation suggests that there is
not one but two Campa tribes, which may be called the River Campas
and the Pajonal Campas respectively, with two correspondingly diffe-
rent cultural systems. The information here presented was drawn from
the River Campa cultural system and so describes, to be precise, River
Campa cosmology, though undoubtedly the Pajonal Campas hold many
similar or identical beliefs.
A further qualification should be made explicit. No single Campa
has in mind all the ideas and details that will here be set forth as
River Campa cosmology. Each idea, each detail has its own distribution,
its own frequency of occurrence within the River Campa population. So-
me, surely, are universal in that population, others nearly so, but many
are more limited in their occurrence. Nevertheless, there are certain ge-
neral understandings shared by all members of the tribe in terms of
which their more specific cosmographic and cosmogonic ideas make sen-

1. The author's field work among the Campas was conducted between 1960 and
1964. The present paper is a summary of a much more extensive report on the
subject ( Weiss, 1969) .
190 Montaña Weiss 191

se. The result, it seems, is that these ideas are by and large compatible a little farther, speaking of settlements of good spirits just beyond those
with each other even when they are not held by the same individuals. mentioned, such as Otiriáni, the place of the thunder spirits, situated just
When the cosmological ideas elicited from different informants are pie- beyond Otsitiríko. What lies beyond these frontiers of the conceptuali-
ced together, the result is not a collection of heterogeneous elements but zed world ‒whether there is land or anything‒ is completely unknown.
rather a single completed picture of which each individual Campa has The Earth; as thus described, is commonly and quite simply referred to
come to possess some fragment, however large or small, In addition to as kipátsi, "land", those Campas who give it a specific name refer to it
these distributional differences there are variational differences ‒different as Kamavéni, "the Land of Death", because it is on the Earth that all
versions of the same myth, for example‒ but again the differences in mortal creatures, including man, dwell.
each case are not as important as what is common to the several ver-
sions, and the place of that commonality in the architecture of the Cam- The Campa universe viewed vertically
pa cosmological scheme.
The Campas view Kamavéni ‒the Earth which they inhabit‒ as
The Campa universe: terrestrial geography one of a series of strata arranged one above the other to form the
complete universe. Each stratum is inhabited by its own class of beings,
The Campas identify themselves as asháninka, "our fellows" 2. They for whom it is as solid underfoot as the Earth is to us. The sky, Inkíte
understand themselves to occupy a definite region on a flat Earth ex- ‒also referred to by the term henóki, "up"‒ consists of an indetermi-
tending out in all directions to unknown limits. They recognize that nate number of such strata, all inhabited by good spirits. Through the
they are surrounded by neighboring tribes and peoples, each occupying sky flows an invisible river called Hananerite (perhaps derived from the
its own territory: the Amuesha (amáisha), the Cashibo (kashívo), the Co- Milky Way, but not at present identified with it). Between the sky and
nibo (konívo), the Shapibo (shipívo), the Piro (shimiríntsi), the Machi- the Earth lies the intermediate stratum of the clouds (Menkóri), also
guenga (machikénka), and the Highland Indians (chóri). Finally, there inhabited by good spirits. Below the Earth, some Campas recognize
are the invading Caucasians (virakócha), believed to have been fi- the existence of a stratum called Kivínti‒ again a residence of good
shed up initially out of a lake in Campa territory, a lake within which spirits. The bottom-most stratum of the universe is Sharinkavéni, the
they originally resided, but whose present homeland is far downriver in stronghold of demons.
the vicinity of the river's end. The land beyond the circle of neighbor-
ring tribes is largely terra incognita, until the limits of the conceptuali- The good spirits and gods
zed or "known" world are reached. About those limits the Campas have
For the Campas, the universe is inhabited not only by the living
something definite to say: good spirits reside there. Further, it is there
forms that they can observe, but also by hosts of beings normally invisi-
that two important geographical features are located: Ríver's Beginning
ble to human eyes. These are the spirits ‒immortal, powerful, capable of
and Ríver's End. The main river that courses through River Campa te-
rapid flight and of instantaneous transformation. Through such trans-
rritory ‒the Apurímac-Ene-Tambo-Ucayali‒ has its source at River's Be-
formation a spirit takes on one another visible form or reverts to its
ginning (Intatóni) at the southernmost point on the rim of the known
true form‒ human (or humanoid) but invisible. Two main hosts of
world, and its termination at River's End (Otsitiríko) at the easternmost
spirits are recognized: good spirits and evil spirits.
point, where the main river falls through a hale into the underworld, to
proceed no one knows where. Many Campas believe that a gigantic The good spirits are frequently called asháninka, "our fellows",
crab (antári oshéro) lives in this hale, and that its movements regulate which reflects the close friendship and even kinship ties that the Cam-
the river's level. Both at Intatóni and at Otsitiríko there are important pas feel to exist between themselves and the good spirits, for many of
settlements of good spirits. Another important spirit center on the rim of the good spirits were once Campas here on Earth. A more specific term
the known world is Irimáka, located in the west, and quite possibly applied to the good spirits is amatsénka, a term that might be trans-
derived from reports of the existence of Lima (if not the old spiritual lated as "our spirit fellows", Finally, the good spirits are also known as
center of Rimac). Some Campas extend the radius of the known world the manínkari, the "Hidden Ones".
The good spirits have, as their places of residence, settlements loca-
2. The River and Pajonal Campas are more likely to call each other by the less ted (1) on the mountain ridges in Campa territory (these are the
friendly term of ayómpari, "our trading associates". The Pajonal Campas are otishisáti or "mountain ridge dwellers"), (2) along the rim of the known
referred toas the keshisáti, "grassland dwellers", by the River Campas.
192 Montaña Weiss 193

world (these include the intatonisáti, the otsitirikosáti and the irimaka- of birds and animals. The sacred birds of the Campas ‒those which are
sáti) , and (3) on other strata in the universe: the celestial strata, the good spirits in visible form‒ include ashívanti (the scissor-tailed fal-
stratum of the clouds, and the first subterranean stratum (these are con, Elanoides forficatus), tsonkíri (hummingbirds, Fam. Trochilidae),
the henokisáti, the menkorisáti and the kivintisáti, respectively). There neoránke (a particularly small species of hummingbird), kamévira (a par-
the good spirits live in their true, human form much the way the ticularly large species of hummingbird), tsiróti (the paucarillo, Cacicus
Campas live, except that they have all good things and know nothing cela), mankóri (the paucal, Cacicus uropygialis), píchoti (the "siete co-
of sickness, misery or death. They periodically rejuvenate themselves by lores", Calospiza chilensis), pitóroro (Eubucco sp.), yoríni (the cock-of-
bathing in Hananeríte, the celestial River of Eternal Youth. the-rock, Rupicola peruviana), áávo (the grey heron, Ardea cocoi), katári
(the black cormorant, Phalacrocorax brasiüanus), and shankénti (the ti-
Some of the henokisáti or "sky dwellers" are visible as stars (impó-
melo, Parra jasana?). These are the most commonly recognized sacred
kero) in the night sky. The Pleiades are Mashíkinti with his family. As
birds, there are others whose recognition is less common. The highest-
a Campa here on Earth, Mashíkinti was the first to use ayahuasca and
ranking sacred bird is ashívanti. In each case, the visible bird is un-
instruct the Campas in its use. Mashíkinti and his family reached a sta-
derstood to be the "clothing" of the good spirit appearing in that form.
te of perfection by taking ayahuasca with suitable continence over a
Significantly, the Campas have chosen as the material manifestations of
period of time, and flew to the sky and immortality on a raft. The
their good spirits living forms possessing a power denied the Campas
belt and scabbard of Orion is Porínkari. In one version, Porínkari was
‒he power of flight‒ and of these the Campas have selected those
Mashíkinti's brother-in-law, whom Mashíkinti so loved that he let down
most beautiful in plumage or most stately in flight to admire and reve-
a rope from the sky for Porínkari and his family to clamber up. In
re. The sacred animals of the Campas are the otters, both the small
another version, Porínkari was a Campa pursued by a warrior wasp (still
and the large species (parári and charavapána, respectively). Generally
in human form at that time); Porínkari escaped by climbing a rope
speaking, these sacred birds and animals are referred to as itómi Pává,
connecting Earth and sky and then cutting it, but not before receiving
"sons of the Sun". The Campas also believe that good spirits, when they
an arrow in his leg. Another henokisáti is Kírákiri, the red star Antares
so will, can materialize in visible human form, as amatsénka instructing
in Scorpio, a nearby dark streak in the Milky way is itsakaménto Kirá-
and leading a group of Campas for a time; an interesting case of this
kiri, "Kirákiri's diggins stick". Kirákiri taught the Campas how to cultiva-
kind is reported by Padre Sala (in Izaguirre, 1923-29: X, 532-33, 546).
te their gardens; when Kirákiri ís overhead at nightfall, it is time to plant
maize (shínki). Other features of the night sky are recognized: the Cam- Certain game birds are understood to be raised and consequently
pas have names for the planets, for example, and identify the Larger provided by the good spirits who reside on the mountain ridges. The
Magellenic Cloud as a sloth (soróni) and the Coal Sack in the Sou- Campas call these birds ivíra itómi Pává or ivíra otishisáti, "creatures
thern Cross as a bee's nest (aéri). But the Campas do not presume that raised by the children of the Sun, or the mountain ridge dwellers".
all the stars are henokisáti, or even to know what they are. They include the toucan chári (Ramphastos ambiguus), the curassow
tsamíri (Mitu mitu), and the pavas kanári, sankáti and tsióni (Pipile cu-
As with mortals, there are both male and female spirits, and they
manensis, etc.). The mountain ridge dwellers also raise the game ani-
have offspring. The good spirits, however, are equipped with diminuti-
mal kapéshi (the coati, Nasua nasua) as their form of the dog (irotsí-
ve genitalia, lack the passion of lust, and reproduce by means other
tite otishisáti). The peccary (shíntóri), an important game animal, is
than sexual union. Furthermore, the good spirits are spared the burden
ivíra Pává.
of infant and child care: their offspring are born standing, and reach
adulthood in a single lunation or so. In addition to the sacred beings mentioned, there is a small num-
ber of creatures with ambivalent status: they are good spirits and not
In their true form, the good spirits are human in shape but invisi-
demons, yet they do only harm, in one way or another. One of these
ble to the normal human eye. Only shamans have the ability, as a re-
is the yaanáite, described as a kind of arboreal beast living in the mys-
sult of their special powers, to see spirits in their true form, both when
terious, uninhabited mountain reaches of Campa territory. These yaanái-
good spirits come to visit and when the shaman himself (or rather,
te kill and eat any Campa intrepid enough to enter their habitat. Yet
his soul) goes to visit the good spirits at their places of residence. The
the yaanáite are not demons: they are identified as itómi Pává. The
good spirits, however, do take on visible forms when they visit or pass
description of the yaabáite suggests that, if it is not an entirely imagina-
through Campa territory. Lightning flashes mark the passage through
ry creature, it may be some species of anteater, or the opossum, or some
the air of good spirits or of the souls of shamans traveling to or from
composite of these animals. Two species of birds can also be noted in
distant places. Good spirits can also assume the guise of certain species
194 Montaña Weiss 195

this connection: amémpore and etsóni. From its description, aménpore only to abandon his project (the dam-like mountain of Kentipánko is the
would appear to be the condor. In Campa thought, Amémpore ‒i. e., remains of this earth-work ).
the "father" of the amémpore birds‒ resides between Earth and sky.
A number of natural features along the Tambo River are understood
The danger is that the soul of a Campa will encounter Amémpore, take
to be human beings, etc., transformed by Avíreri into imperishable rock.
him to be the "true God", which he is not, and remain with him. Etsóni
On the face of a cliff overlooking the little salt spring of Tívíha on the
is another species of bird, a swallow perhaps, with black plumage and a
right bank of the Upper Tambo is a natural formation of rock, roughly
white throat. What seems to have caught the imagination of the Cam-
human in outline. This formation was once the "owner" of the spring, a
pas is the sight of flocks of these birds wheeling in circles in the air.
malevolent person whom Avíreri, passing by, transformed. A good-sized
The shamans say that when etsóni fly in circles, they are playing pan-
stone on the left bank of the Tambo below Tonkáma, one having an
pipes and dancing (as if they were human). The souls of just-deceased
unusual shape, is understood to be the petrified remains of a woman
Campas rising to join the good spirits in the sky will be intercepted
caught in her bath by Avíreri and transformed. The huge rock called
by Etsóni ‒i. e., the "father" of the etsóni birds‒ and, if they are not suf-
Manihiróni (the Peña de Wertheman), located on the right side of the
ficiently good, will be flung back down. Souls thus falling from the sky
Tambo just below the mouth of Onkonéni, was a launch manned by
are seen as meteors. Amémpore and Etsóni, "fathers" of the amémpore
Caucasians heading upriver to molest the Campas, and transformed to
and etsóni birds, are what we can recognize as "species masters", each a
stone by Avíreri. Along the river there are rock outcrops cracked into
spirit personifying and controlling an entire species.
rectangular blocks: these are crates and bales of merchandise left by Cau-
Sacred plants inelude the tobacco plant and the hallucenogenic aya- casians and transformed to stone by Avíreri.
huasca vine (Banisteriopsis sp.), used by shamans to perfect their po-
Avíreri's life among the Campas ended in this way: His sister and
wers. Associated with each species of sacred plant is a specific group
the others became so angry at him for transforming her sons that they
of good spirits. A shaman will have one or more spirit "wives" from
plotted to get rid of him. His brother-in-law excavated a hole under
among their number, with whom relations are purely spiritual: a special
the dancing area of the settlement, leaving a thin roof of earth over
word is used by shamans, the word nomankiáro, to signify "my spirit
the hole, then Avíreri was invited to visit and induced by his sister to
wife, my narcotic drink".
dance. Avíreri thereupon fell through into the hole. When he was not
At the pinnacle of the hierarchy of good spirits stands a small given any assistance, he transformed his sister into the tree shimáshiri
number of beings, the most powerful in the universe, which we may and his brother-in-law (who had wrapped himself in his sleeping mat
identify as gods. The Campa term for these beings is tasórentsi, the out of fear) into the armadillo etíni. He then used his power to extend
substantive form of the verb "to blow". The Campas believe that these the hold to Otsitiríko, and emerged there at Ríver's End. He was gree-
beings have the power to transform one thing into another, that the uni- ted by Pachákama who, not wanting Avíreri to return and wreak more
verse as it is today carne into existence partly as a result of many such havoc, requested his assistance in holding up the Earth. A strangler
transformations, and that the typical way for a tasórentsi to effect such vine wrapped itself around Avíreri, and there he remains to the pre-
a transformation is with a simple puff of breath. Another term used by sent day. The hole into which he fell (imóro Avíreri) is still to be
the Campas to refer to their gods is pinkátsori, literally "he who is fea- seen on the pajonal Mapínini, located just above the tributary Yorináki
red"; this is the Campa word for "ruler", The most important of the on the left side of the Upper Perené River.
tasórentsi are Avíreri, Pachákama, Inkanítari, Kashíri, Pává, and Inka.
Avíreri's grandson, Kíri, was left behind. Heartsick for his grandfather,
Avíreri is the great mythological transformer of the Campas. Accor- Kíri began the long trek down to Otsitiríko. He was pursued and over-
ding to the mythology, Avíreri was originally a Campa among Campas; taken, however, by a number of the others. They tried to kill him for
he lived with his grandson whom he carried on his back wherever his complicity in Avíreri's activities, but were unable to do so. Finally,
he went, and habitually visited his sisters to drink manioc beer and to Kíri instructed them to take a wooden stake and drive it into his head,
socialize. In the course of time, as related in a lengthy myth cycle, down through his body, and into the ground. When this was done, he
Avíreri transformed many of his nephews into rocks, monkeys, and nests was transformed into the kíri or pihuayo palm ( Guilielma speciosa),
of insects, thereby bringing these things into existence; he created the whose fruit is used today by the Campas to make a wholesome fer-
alternation of day and night, of dry season and wet season; and he at- mented drink. In another version of the same myth, the figures of
tempted to dam the main river at Kentipánko on the Upper Tambo,
196 Montaña Weiss 197

Avíreri and Kíri are not distinguished, and it was Avíreri's fate to beco- According to Campa mythology, Pává was born hereon Earth, a
me the kíri palm. Campa among Campas, but gave off so much heat that he burned his
mother to death. The young Pává matured rapidly, his body heat also
Pachákama is the god who holds up the Earth at Otsitiríko. He
increasing until it became clear that he would incinerate the Earth if he
seems to have certain tree-like properties. The distinction that the River
were not raised to the sky. The manner in which this was accomplished
Campas make between Avíreri and Pachákama do es not appear to be
varies in different Campa accounts. According to one version, Pává's mo-
made by the closely-related Machiguengas, who use the two names in-
ther's father carried him in tongs to the western end of the Earth,
terchangeably in referring to the equivalent of Avíreri in their mytholo-
where Pává was set in his trajectory. Another states that a number of
gy (see García, 1935-37: XVIII, 11). This suggests either that the Cam-
different flying creatures attempted to carry Pává to the sky, until at
pas have divided one deity into two, or that the Machiguengas have
last one species of bird, kentíparo, after wrapping Pává in layer after la-
merged two deities into one. In either case, the name of Pachákama ís
yer of new cushmas 3 to protect themselves from the heat, succeeded in
surely derived from that of Pachacamac, the deity worshipped on the
the difficult task. Yet another version describes how Pává ascended to
coast of Peru in pre-Conquest times. While Avíreri is widely known
the sky with many of his terrestrial entourage by means of a cable
among the River Campas, the recognition of Pachákama appears to be
(vine) connecting Earth with sky, after the very tiny hummingbird
limited for the most part to the Perené region.
neorónke carried one end of the cable up to the sky and attached it
Inkanítari is the god of rain (from inkáni, "rain"). He resides at there. In any event, today Pává is a celestial being, rising at Otsitiríko in
the level of the clouds and is the ruler of the good spirits of that realm. the east and setting at Irimáka in the west. How Pává ‒or any of
He does not play a part in Campa mythology. the celestial beings for that matter‒ returns from west to east, remains a
mystery to the Campas; they readily admit that they do not know
Kashíri is the Moon. He is male (as are all the Campa gods) and
how this is accomplished.
father of the Sun. At first, human beings (i. e., the Campas) knew no-
thing of cultivation, and subsisted on a diet of earth to be exact, the One other deity should be described. .The Campas belíeve in a
nests of the termite katsíkori (from which the Campas themselves had technological genius held captive by the Caucasians: it is he who preví-
been fashioned originally by some tasórentsi). Then Kashíri appeared des the Caucasians with their superior material culture. This personage
to a young girl in her menarche hut, introduced her and her people to is Inka, originally an important man among the Campas, who ro de out a
manioc and its cultivation, and took her to wife. She became pregnant flood on a raft but was swept down to virakócha terrítory and taken into
and gave birth to the Sun, but was burned to death in doing so. custody. His attempts to retum to Campa territory have failed thus far,
Kashíri's stay on earth ended in the following way: He began taking because the Caucasians do not want to have the technological imbalance
his nephews (the sons of his sister) on hunting trips into the forest, whe- between themselves and the Campas reversed. Time may be on the side
re he slaughtered and ate them. Finally, he was found out, his brother of the Campas, however: Inka never dies.
brother-in-law threatened to kill him and he escaped by rising up into
Generally speaking, the goodness of the good spirits lies in their
the sky, where he now resides. Kashíri's cannibalistic tendencies conti-
being good, not in their doing good. They are paragons of virtue, of chas-
nue: the waxing of the moon is understood to be the filling of Kashíri's
tity, of beauty, of excellence, and so they are admired and revered by
belly with the souls of the dead that he has succeeded in capturing.
the Campas. They personify the Campa ideal, an ideal toward which
Kashíri, then, is a god, but he is not a god that, at present, does good,
some Campas may strive but which most Campas recognize they could
and it will be the fate of many Campas to be consumed by him.
never begin to approach. By contrast, the good spirits are not expected
Sometimes the Campas use the term Tasórentsi, with what appears to do anything good for humankind: they come and go as they will,
to be a capital T, to mean not "god" but "God". When they do so, it is they appear and disappear as they will, they are contemptuous of hu-
usually possible to determine that they are in fact referring to the Sun, man frailty, and no Campa expects any good spirit to come to his aid
commonly called Katsirinkáiteri, "he who is hot", but spoken of in a no matter how desperate his circumstances.
theological context as Pává, "our Father", And it is true that the para-
mount god of the Campas is Pává, the Sun. From Pává all good things 3. "Cushma" is the local Spanish term for the cotton robes worn by the Campas
and neighboring tribes. The Campa name for the garment is kitsárentsi. When
flow-warmth, light, the useful products of the Earth, the good order of
new, it is clean and white, with woven stripes, to be worn only on special oc-
the universe. The Campas are forever grateful to him, thank him, and casions. Once soiled, it is dyed brown and used for everyday wear, becoming
at their festivals dance with panpipes in his honor. increasingly dark, dirty and tattered.
198 Montaña Weiss 199

The demons, or evil spirits Sashínti is another type of demon, one distinguished by its extreme
thinness. To the Campas, thinness is a bad quality, probably because
Demons are called kamári, and they are legion. The term kamári they associate thinness with the emaciation due to sickness. When a
is used more broadly to refer to anyone or anything repugnant, malevo- sashínti appears to someone, it "breaks" his body into pieces, then reas-
lent, or reprehensible. sembles and blows on them to revive him. The victim, remembering
fully what happened to him, returns home to sicken and die rapidly.
If the good spirits keep themselves aloof from mere mortals, all
demons consider human beings (i. e., Campas) their legitimate prey. In- The irampavánto demons raise opémpe toucans (Ramphastos cu-
deed, it would appear that the hordes of evil spirits in the universe are vieri) as domesticated fowl. An irampavánto will appear to a man alo-
driven by an insatiable urge, automatically triggered, to attack and in- ne in the forest in the form of an attractive woman, perhaps looking
flict maximum damage upon any human being they encounter. The like his wife, but with an opémpe on her shoulder ‒ and excite coitus.
breeze of a passing demon (atántsi kamári) causes sickness; the attack Afterwards, the demon informs the man of the truth, he is frightened into
of a demon, or the mere sight of one, causes instantaneous or rapid death, or helplessness, and the demon beats him to death. The victim later re-
a form of a madness in which the victim does himself physical in- - vives and, with full remembrance of what happened, returns home to
jury until he is finally killed by his own people out of fear. sicken and die rapidly (alternatively, the victim may become insane).
This demon can also appear in the form of a man to a woman with
Sharinkavéni, the netherroost stratum of the universe, is the abode the same results.
of vast numbers of demons, ruled over by the Lord of Demons, A míroni (or amimíro) is a demon that takes the shape of a large
Koriosh(i)píri. The existence of Sharinkavéni for the Campas was re- tapir or mule with huge eyes and a gigantic penis or, alternatively, of
ported over two centuries ago (Adam, 1890), and so ís very likely an a little old man dressed in an old cushma, carrying a walking stick
indigenous belief. There is one other stratum where demons abound: and possessing the same genital abnormality. In either form it is a po-
Kamavéni, the Earth. Here on Earth they inhabit, not the ends of the werful demon. It will attack a solitary man in the forest, driving its
Earth as do the good spirits, but Campa territory itself. Close by, lur- member into his body. The victim dies, then arises as a female míroni.
king in the forests and teeming in the waters, they are an everpresent This demon attacks only men, since it is frightened at the sight of wo-
danger. Among the demons of the Earth the Campas distinguish many men's breasts, which appear to it as immense penes.
different kinds.
A kasónkati demon likewise will appear as a large tapir or mule, or
The élite among the demons are the mankóite. These demons re- in human form. This demon has a hole in one or both knees, into
side within the great cliffs of Campa territory. They are described as which it blows to produce a fearful noise. The kasónkati like to kill
human in form, but with mane-like hair, dressed in old cushmas, with a people by crushing their bones.
red parasitic plant (anánta) instead of proper red macaw feathers stuck The korínto are man-devouring monsters as big as houses. They are
in their wicker crowns. The mankóite are powerful demons; their powers no longer to be found in Campa territory, shamans long ago trapped
approach those of the gods. A Campa who sees a mankóite can expect them all in a cave near the headwaters of the brook Tsikiréni, a tribu-
instantaneous death. Usually, however, the damage done by mankóite is tary of the Ene River. It is said that when the world ends all the
sickness resulting from atántsi (the breeze of their passing). Living as houses will be transformed into korínto, which will then go about swal-
they do in the cliffs overlooking the rivers, their specialty is capturing lowing Campas.
the souls of children voyaging on the rivers with their elders. Water demons include the imposhitóniro and shonkatiníro, which
The katsivoréri are demons that live in caves in the hills and go live in the whirlpools and bad passes of the river, where they wait to
abroad at night. Each katsivoréri is a small, black creature with wings, drown and eat voyagers passing by. The father of the shonkatiníro is
carrying on its back a smaller companion. From the demon there ema- Tsomiriníro, who collects the souls of drowned Campas in his stomach,
nates a light, which can be seen flying through the air as the demon then transforms them into virakócha to be the husbands of his daugh-
makes its nocturnal forays. The demon will attack any human being it ters. There are, in addition, the keátsi, spirits in human form living in
encounters, holding him with its powerful grip and driving its gigantic the rivers and lakes. The keátsi are not demons categorically: some are
penis into his body, thereby killing the victim or transforming him into good and some are bad. When a drowned person's soul does not return
another katsivoréri. The nocturnal lights that the Campas identify as to make noises, it is presumed that the person still lives, but has joined
katsivoréri may be a natural phenomenon: ball lightning. the keátsi.
200 Montaña Weiss 201

In the foul places of the rivers and brooks reside demons in the Witchcraft constitutes a special category of demonic activity. The
form of zungaros marked with longitudinal stripes. They collect food Campa term for witch is mátsi, and the Campas believe in the exis-
wastes thrown into water and with these material s practice witchcraft, tence of both human and nonhuman witches. Nonhuman witches are
bringing sickness to whoever ate the food originally. A rainbow is the the various species of ants and bees. These take food refuse and exuvia
smoke from the campfire of one of these demons or else is the demon's to their nests to practice witchcraft upon them, producing sickness in the
cushma, for the Campas are undecided on this point. Both the demons individual from whom the materials came. The symptoms vary with
and the rainbow are called oyéchari or, alternatively, tsaviréntsi 4. the species of ant or bee involved. When someone falls ill, and the sha-
Another partially visible demon is the Iíttle whir1wind or dustdevil man's diagnosis is that a particular species of ant or bee is causing the
that kicks up dust and leaves, and swirls around the c1earings of the sickness with witchcraft, the members of the community will go out to
Campa settlements from time to time. This category of demon is ca- search for the nests of these insects in the vicinity, to destroy them and
lled by any of the following terms: kaviónkari, tiviónkari, shinkíreri. It hopefully destroy the materials being used for witchcraft.
commonly causes atántsi sickness. Human witches are almost always children, usually girls, who bury
A number of insects are demons. The morpho butterfly (Morpho sp.), such material s as pieces of mat, bones, and manioc cores around the
called sánta or ankáro, is a demon. The owl butterfly (Caligo sp.), ca- house, these materials then enter someone's body and make him se-
lled maatsarántsi or "old clothes", is a demon. Its name derives from its riously ill. Children are seduced into witchcraft by any of a number
color it has the khaki-color of old cushmas and is supposed to be what of species of demonic insects and birds. The katydids shíínti and tsináro
becomes of the old clothing of a bad person when he dies. The adult (Fam. Tettigoniidae) and the cricket tsivivínti (Fam. Gryllidae) are de-
ant lion or shiénti (Fam. Murmeleonidae), with its thin body, is a de- mons that teach witchcraft to children. There is also supposed to be
mon. All these insects cause sickness. In addition, the scorpion (kitóniro) an insect that only witches can see, called tsempokiríriti, that does the
is a demon, and all verminous insects are believed to be of demonic same. The birds tsiváni (the chicua, Piaya cayana) and eentiopéti (uni-
provenience. dentified) likewise are demons that teach witchcraft to children. When
A number of birds are demons. All owls (mamáro) are demons. The these demons appear to children for this purpose, they appear in human
vulture (tisóni) is a demon. A large bird of rapine, black with a white form. A child approached in this way is innocent but defenseless, and
breast, called aróni (unidentified), is a demon. The khakí-colored hum- once it becomes a witch it is a social menace. When a shaman diag-
mingbird tsíísanti is a demon (unique among the hummingbirds). The- noses an illness as being due to human witchcraft, he designates some
re is also supposed to be a demonic bird associated with the demon child in the community, even in the victim’s family, as the witch. The
sashínti, a bird called machémporo or, altematively, ishitáshi sashínti, child is treated brutally and forced to dig up the materials it has bu-
"the mat of sashínti". Some other species of birds are also believed to ried. If the victim recovers, the accused child may be let off with a
be demons. warning to cease and desist from further witchcraft; if the victim dies,
A number of animals are demons. These include all jaguars (maníti), the child is killed or traded to the Caucasians.
bats (pihíri), and rabbits (kíma). The demons of the Campa universe are both real and imagina-
The Campas have also taken over the wide-spread pish(i)táko belief ry beings that embody some combination of repulsiveness and harmful-
of the Peruvian Highlands. According to the Campa form of this belief, ness. The qualities which the Campas identify as demonic can be poin-
there are diabolical Caucasians in the towns who kill Campas to extract ted out with particular clarity in the demons that are not wholly ima-
the grease from their bodies for use in automobiles and airplanes. ginary. Whatever can do serious physical harm to human beings is a
The Campas, indeed, cast a suspicious eye on all Caucasians. For demon: thus jaguars and blood-sucking bats are demons. Whatever is ex
the Campas, there is something demonic about Caucasians: they are po- tremely thin, thereby recalling the emaciation due to severe illness, is a
werful, yet not benevolent, they are wealthy, yet not generous; are they demon: therefore the extremely thin shiénti (adult ant lion) is a demon.
human, are they mortal? There appears to be a tendency for the Cam- Whatever has the khaki-color of decay ‒the, color that the Campas call
pas to consider the virakócha as mankóite. kamára (or kamárari)‒ ís a demon: therefore the khakí-colored hum-
mingbird tsíísanti and the butterfly maatsarántsi are demons 5. Whatever
4. Zungaros are the giant catfish of these rivers. They do not have longitudinal
stripes. The stripes ascribed to the demons of this category are imaginary, then, 5. Kamára is a color category that includes the various shades of cream, khaki,
and probably relate to the stripes of the rainbow on the one hand and, on the tan, brown, olive drab, and lead. The term is translated as "khakí" in this pe-
other, to the vertical stripes on the cushmas worn by the Campa men. per as a simplification.
202 Montaña Weiss 203

appears to be other than it is ‒whatever presents a false appearance‒ is of the soul. Generally speaking, Campa thought seems to vacillate bet-
a demon: therefore the katydids shíínti and tsináro, insects that look ween a view of the soul as something that ''I'' have (thus, "my" soul)
like leaves, are demons. Whatever would serve as a bad example for and a view of the soul as the essential "I".
human imitation is a demon: therefore tsiváni, a bird that is not only ug-
When a Campa dies, he (i. e., his soul) may join the good spirits
ly in Campa eyes but also a slovenly nest-builder, is a demon. These
as a manínkari if he was sufficiently good in life. However, with their
are the qualities that, in various combinations, are attributed to the ima-
strong sense of human frailty, the Campas consider it far more likely
ginary demons as well: the imaginary demons do the greatest harm in
that a deceased individual's soul (ishíre) will become a malevolent ghost
inducing sickness, madness and death; if they wear clothes, it is old clo-
(shirétsi, "unpossessed soul"), revisiting the settlement where it had li-
thes (maatsarántsi) with their characteristic kamára color; and one im-
ved and attacking the living. For this reason, the Campas commonly
portant category of demons ‒sashínti‒ is distinguished precisely by its
abandon a settlement where someone has died, moving some distance
extreme thinness. Certain other characteristics are repulsive or even frigh-
to establish a new residence. Shirétsi can wander the forests in their
tening to the Campas, and are attributed to some of their imaginary
human, though normally invisible, shape at least for a time; they can
demons. These characteristics are old age, with its decay and presenti-
join one or another category of demons, becoming one of their number;
ment of death, and excessive sexuality: thus, some demons are seen as
or, alternatively, they can become peári. A peári is the soul of a dead
little old men, and some are visualized as possessing enormous genita-
person, or any demon, that takes the form of a game animal or game
lia. The Campas themselves, of course, do not make such interpretations
bird: it looks like that animal or bird but it is not ‒ it is a demon. When
as these: they are content to recognize their several categories of demons
a hunter bags an animal or bird and discovers that it has no body fat,
with their distinguishing characteristics. But Campa demonology does
is infested with worms, or has pustules, tumors, patchy fur or unhealthy-
appear to 1end itself to this kind of interpretation.
looking organs, he knows that it is a peári, and consequently unfit for
In their lives, the Campas are beset by dangers, sickness and death. human consumption. The suffix -niro is used to refer to a particular
The demons of their universe stand as conceptual embodiments of all peári: a peccary is a shintóri, a peári in peccary form is a shintoriníro;
the terrible forces in the world that make the life of man poor, nasty, a deer is a maníro, a peári in the form of a deer is a manironíro; etc.
brutish, and short, In terms of these personifications the Campas can at The suffix -niro means "looks like", and from this primary meaning
least think and attempt to defend themselves. there derives a chain of other meanings: "has the appearance of, but is
not really", "false", "demonic".
The soul of a Campa attacked by a demon will, when the Campa
The nature and destiny of the human soul dies, become a demon of the same type. When a witch is executed, its
soul joins the particular class of demons that taught it witchcraft and be-
Every Campa is mortal ‒ he will die. But within him is his soul comes one of them. To prevent this from occurring, the corpse of a
(ishíre), which can leave his body in dreams, etc., while he is alive, witch or madman is sometimes cremated, with the understanding that
and will survive his death to join one or another of the hosts of immor- the potentially dangerous soul will be destroyed by the flames along
tal spirits. An individual's soul looks like him, though normally invisible. with the body. The souls of those who, in their lifetimes, committed
The soul is centered in the heart- indeed, the same term is used for such heinous offenses as incestuous fornication, are punished by torture
both: noshire, "my soul, my heart" 6. The soul is what animates the bo- in Sharinkavéni by Koriosh (i) píri and his demon cohorts. In the end,
dy, if the soul remains away from the body for any considerable length the tortured soul is eaten by the demons or becomes one of their num-
of time, as when it is captured by demons, the individual will waste ber, or else is purified and joins the manínkari.
away and die. For short periods the soul can leave the body without
ill effects, as when one's soul goes abroad in one's sleep, or when a sha-
The Campa cosmos
man sends his soul on a flight to distant places. One point of interest
should be noted: and individual says that he has gone here or there
In Campa thought, the universe in its present form came into exis-
in his sleep, a shaman says that he has flown to distant places.
tence through a series of transformations and, sometime in the future,
This appears to express a belief that an individual's soul is that indivi-
will be destroyed by the will of Pává. The Campas take as a premise
dual. Indeed, the Campas say the body is only the "clothing" or "skin"
that the universe has not always been as it is today, that it has gone
6. An alternative term is nasánkane, with the same double meaning.
through a developmental process. To this they add a thoroughgoing
204 Montaña Weiss 205

transformationism: for them there is no such occurrence as a creation about sensational transformations simply by expressing their will, or with
of something out of nothing, hut only a transformation of something out a puff of breath, and have the physical strength to throw up mountains.
of something else. Consequently, in their thinking, the original condition It is a world operating according to certain mechanical principles of the
of the universe was not Nothingness hut Somethingness. The general sort we would call magical: thus, as a form of direct magic, the expres-
structure of the universe existed to begin with, as the stage on which sed will or puff of breath of a being with the requisite power will have
all the dramas of Campa mythology would he acted out. And, when its effects, thus, as a form of homeopathic magic, during pregnancy both
the curtain goes up, the actors are already on stage: the primal Campas, prospective parents will refrain from eating turtle meat, for fear that
human beings living here on Earth but immortal, many with powers to do so would make their child slow-moving and slow-witted; thus,
exceeding those possessed by mankind today. There were some special as a form of contagious magic, a witch supposedly utilizes someone's
features, later to be changed: the sky was much closer to the Earth, food refuse or exuvia to strike him with sickness; all of these are exam-
and the Earth spoke. Whatever else existed in the universe at that ti- ples of "action at a distance", the distinguishing characteristic of magic.
me is indicated only sketchily in the mythology, but it was an impove- It is a world, again, of transformations, and of beings and things passing
rished universe lacking many features that would come into existence in and out of visibility, in and out of tangibility. It is a world which,
only with the passage of time through transformation. Campa mytho- for the Campas, is one of death, of debility, of sickness, of tragedy, becau-
logy is largely the history of how one after the other of the primal se "mere mortals" ‒the Campas‒ are the weakest of beings, and in
Campas came to be irreversibly transformed, each into the first re- constant danger of being crushed by the greater forces of the universe.
presentative of some species of animal or plant, or into some astronomical Yet, despite their profund understanding of their predicament, the Cam-
or terrain feature. The mechanism of change in each case is either pas laugh, act vigorously, grip life, and survive.
the action of a transformer deity, or auto-transformation. The develop-
It would be easy to dismiss the cosmological thinking of the Cam-
ment of the universe, then, has been primarily a process of diversification,
pas as false in its assertions of fact, as absurd in its premises, as childish
with mankind as the primal substance out of which many if not all of
in its simplicity. But to do so may be an error. We must recognize that
the categories of beings and things in the universe arose, and with the
the Campas, like every other human group, have attempted to make
Campas of today as the descendants of those ancestral Campas who es-
sense out of existence, have had to do so on the basis of limited infor-
caped being thus transformed. Mortality carne also to be added as a
mation, and have succeeded brilliantly on that basis and for their pur-
feature of human life and, with the cumulative occurrence of death, the
poses. They may personify forces that we would view as impersonal, but
Earth gradually ceased to speak. The widening gap between mortal
this permits them to think concretely instead of vaguely about matters
life and that of the good spirits was punctuated by the moving apart
that affect them intensely. What would be the point of telling the Cam-
of the sky and Earth. When the present universe is destroyed, the Cam-
pas that a diseased game animal is not really a demon, when that ani-
pas will be destroyed with it and a new world will take its place, with
mal is unfit for human consumption, i.e., is inimical, and when the central
immortal inhahitants. The sky will be close to the Earth, and the
meaning of kamári is "deadly"? Whit a clarity that can best be obtained
Earth will speak once again.
from simplicity, the Campas have incorporated into their cosmology a
And what is the nature of the universe in which the Campas find number of fundamental moral concepts of the utmost relevance to the
themselves? It is a world of semblances, thus, for example, what to us human predicament: they distinguish between good and evil, dividing
is the solid Earth, is airy sky to the beings inhabiting the strata below the beings of the universe into two great hosts on that basis, and they
us; and what to us is airy sky, is solid ground to those who inhabit revere the good while despising what is evi1; they recognize the diffe-
the higher strata. It is a world of relative semblances, where different rence between good and bad actions, wishing that their actions could
kinds of beings see the same things differently: thus, human eyes normal- be only good but knowing that bad actions are all too easy ‒ and their
ly can see good spirits only in the form of lightning flashes or birds, mythology is full of cautionary tales about Campas transformed into les-
whereas they see themselves in their true human form, thus, in the eyes ser creature as punishment for objectionable behavior; they have intuited
of jaguars, human beings look like peccaries to be hunted; etc. It is a the contrast between chastity and lust, cosmologically expressing their
world in which there exist beings with powers out of all proportion to admiration for the former and their contempt for the latter by the way
their appearance, the most extraordinary powers that the Campas can in which they describe the anatomy as well as the actions of the good
imagine, and powers which the Campas themselves lack: thus, for exam- spirits and the demons of their universe; they have grasped the essen-
ple, the gods, though visualized as human in size and form, can bring tial ingredient of human dignity, that of acting properly and with pride
206 Montaña Weiss 191

in self, rather than corruptly and ignominiously. The Campas do re- COMERCIO Y COLONIZACION
cognize their own imperfections and limitations, and consequently in the EN LA ZONA DE CONTACTO
ideal cosmos of their imagination they place themselves in an interme- ENTRE LA SIERRA Y LAS TIERRAS BAJAS DEL
diate, secondary position, caught between the cosmic forces of good and
evil, and far less mighty than both.
VALLE DEL URUBAMBA, PERU

REFERENCES

ADAM, Lucien
1890 Arte de la Kengua de los Indios Antis o Campas. Bibliothèque Linguis- Daniel W. CADE
tique Américaine, Vol. XIII. Paris: J. Maisonneuve.
FAST, Pedro W.
1962 Naciones aborígenes en la Amazonía peruana. La Montaña (La Merced),
V, 1vi, 7-7.
GARCIA, Secundino
La cultura y la economía son los factores que han separado tradi-
1935-37 Mitología Machiguenga. Misiones Dominicanas del Perú (Lima), XVII,
95-99, 170-79, 220-28; XVIII, 2-13, 86-97, 121-39, 166-76, 212-19; XIX, cionalmente a los pueblos serranos sedentarios de los Andes Centrales
11-17. de las tribus seminómadas de las selvas tropicales del Este: El contacto
IZAGUIRRE, Bernardino en el pasado entre estos dos grupos acabó en un intercambio de mer-
1923-29 Historia de las Misiones Franciscanas y Narración de los Progresos de cancías y en la expansión de los andinos hacia el territorio de sus más
la Geografía en el Oriente del Perú. 14 vols. Lima: Talleres Tipográ- primitivos vecinos. En épocas recientes, los procesos de extinción, acul-
ficos de la Penitenciaría. turación y migración han desdibujado la fisura geográfico-cultural que
WEISS, Gerald antaño caracterizó la ocupación humana en los dos medios contrastantes.
1969 The Cosmology of the Campa Indians of Eastern Peru. Ph. D. disserta-
tion. Ann Arbor: University Microfilms.
El marco ambiental

En el Perú meridional este contacto tuvo lugar en cinco de los prin-

cipales valles ribereños (los del Urubamba, Kosñípata, Marcapata, San
Gabán y Tambopata), que conectan a la sierra, de clima templado, con
la selva húmeda baja. Los habitantes de la selva penetraron en uno u
otro momento en estas depresiones hasta los valles mientras las condi-
ciones tropicales prevalecieron. Las fuentes etnohistóricas y los datos
recientes sobre el valle del Urubamba revelan la dinámica del contacto
ínter-cultural aplicable, a grandes trazos, a otros valles orientales li-
mítrofes de los Andes Centrales.
El río Urubamba corre a través de diferentes zonas en su curso ha-
cia el norte, para confluir con el río Ucayali, importante tributario del
Alto Amazonas. El clima y la vegetación natural de la depresión del Uru-
bamba cambian del ichu de la sierra a arbustos de clima templado a
3,700 metros sobre el nivel del mar. A los 2,300, esta faja se convierte
gradualmente en un bosque semitropical cubierto de nubes (Ceja de
Montaña).
A 1,500 metros, el fondo del valle y las laderas inferiores se cubren
con una vegetación boscosa tropical que deviene gradualmente más alta
208 Montaña Gade 209

y densa conforme se va internando uno más adentro en el valle. A 650 taña, del Urubamba. Prontamente diferenciaron los españoles a los in-
metros, aproximadamente, domina ya la vegetación lluviosa de la selva dios cristianos de la sierra, que hablaban quechua, de los indios bravos,
alta. o infieles, de la jungla. Tanto los españoles como los indios quechuas
Los impasables rápidos del río Urubamba impiden que las embar- ‒ambos habitantes de las serranías por preferencia ambiental‒ efectua-
caciones puedan servir como medio de transporte entre las zonas altas ron exitosamente cambios profundos y duraderos en la antropogeogra-
y las bajas. Tan sólo al norte de Cocambilla (750 metros) se ha utili- fía de la montaña del Urubamba.
zado el río para la navegación, pero aún en este tramo, el viaje en bote
resulta azaroso durante gran parte del año, debido a la velocidad de la Comercio entre la zona alta y la baja
corriente y a los rápidos. Todo intento de navegar directamente hasta
la confluencia con el Ucayali tropieza con el temible Pongo de Mainique, Período anterior a la Conquista. Las grandes diferencias cultura-
una sucesión de veinte kilómetros de desfiladeros de rápidos y agitados les entre los serranos y los Antis no constituyeron obstáculo alguno pa-
remolinos traicioneros que obligan a efectuar peligrosas maniobras o que ra el comercio, toda vez que cada uno de estos grupos poseía bienes que
deben sortearse con gran esfuerzo. en su mayor parte no podían obtenerse en la otra región. En realidad, ha
A lo largo de una extensión de más o menos 150 kms. al norte de quedado ya bien establecida en la historia cultural de los Andes Cen-
Huadquiña, la facilidad de acceso y el atractivo agrícola del valle del trales, la existencia de una larga tradición de intercambio entre las zo-
Urubamba crearon una zona de contacto cultural más extensa que las de nas tórridas de la selva a oriente y de los territorios a occidente. En la
otras partes de la montaña peruana (Fig. 1). La gente de las alturas, árida costa se conocían, desde el período preincaico, una serie de pro-
desde los agricultores de la época pre-incaica hasta los actuales mesti- ductos y animales de la Montaña (la selva), tales como coca, monos y plu-
zos, se ha asociado can los naturales de la selva tropical en esta faja ri- mas de guacamayo.
bereña que pertenece hoy a la provincia de La Convención. Hasta bien En una época muy posterior, los incas comerciaron con las tribus
avanzado el siglo veinte, se llegaba del Cuzco a la zona de contacto por selvícolas, permutando con ellas diversas clases de maderas, tintes ve-
sendero de huella; primero practicando un largo rodeo sobre el paso Má- getales, medicinas, alimentos y adornos (Jiménez de la Espada, 1, 1965:
laga y después de 1890 a través del mismo valle del Urubamba. Poste- 192). La madera sumamente seca y durable de la palmera chonta (Bac-
riormente se construyó un ferrocarril de vía estrecha hasta Machu Pic- tris ciliata) fue uno de los productos de las llanuras más codiciados por
chu, en 1927, que llegó a Huadquiña en 1951 y a Chaullay en 1966. Hacia los incas. La rígida madera de este árbol se utilizó para la fabricación
fines de la década del 60 se terminó de construir una carretera, que une de lanzas, clavas y macanas, así como para mangos de aparejos agrí-
el Cuzco con la zona de contacto. colas, anzuelos y tablas para techos.
También se obtenía de la montaña plumas de pájaros tropicales de
Los habitantes brillantes colores, cuyo valor estribaba en que se las usaba en las gran-
des ceremonias imperiales.
No cabe duda de que los pueblos de la meseta alta del valle del Uru-
bamba llegaron a poseer una cultura superior a la de los habitantes de Los productos provenientes de la selva que, de acuerdo con la tra-
la selva adyacente muchos siglos antes de la era cristiana. Sin embargo, dici6n serrana, vinieron originalmente de oriente, pudieron haber sido
más de un milenio después, el Imperio Incaico, altamente organizado, traídos a la sierra en el período incaico. Los serranos de esta zona co-
había extendido sólo en forma marginal su hegemonía en el Antisuyo. La nocían probablemente grasas animales, miel de abejas silvestres y re-
pequeña porción de selva bajo dominio de los Incas era la constituída sinas olorosas y medicinales. Los colorantes y condimentos tropicales
por tierra montañosa, ya que aquéllos no penetraron al Este lo sufi- genipa (Genipa americana), annato (Bixa orellana) y palillo (Escobedia
ciente para encontrar la clásica monotonía de las llanuras amazónicas. scabrifolia), pueden haber sido, junto con la vainilla silvestre, la cás-
Los pueblos primitivos de la selva, conocidos en conjunto como los Anti, cara de Aniba con sabor a canela, y el cacao, vendidos a la gente de la
eran totalmente diferente de los Incas, tanto en lo concerniente a la cul- sierra. Aunque los incas producían algodón, pueden haberlo adquirido
tura material como a la no material. Se movilizaban en pequeños grupos igualmente de las tribus selvícolas. La farmacopea de los habitantes
y sus medios de subsistencia eran la caza, la pesca, la recolección y cul- del Tahuantisuyo incluía plantas tropicales medicinales con propiedades
tivos de roza ocasionales. Con la conquista española llegó una cultura purgativas y afrodisíacas, especialmente el wanarpo (Jatropha ciliata)
extraña, que alteró en forma drástica los patrones indígenas de la mon- (Santa Cruz 1968: 289).
210 Montaña Gade 211

Es probable que ciertos frutos, como el maní, la palta, la guayaba, la fuerza de la corriente, que hacía imposible la navegación durante la
la chirimoya y la piña, hubieran sido traídos al Cuzco para la nobleza y estación lluviosa, remontaban el río en canoas cuando bajaba su nivel;
para un consumo más amplio en ocasiones especiales, por ejemplo el aún así les tomaba tres meses la travesía a contracorriente, mientras
festival del Inti Raymi. que el regreso lo hacían en quince días (Miller, 1836: 176). El inter-
Puede ser que, hasta mediados del siglo XV, la coca haya cons- cambio de mercancías y, algunas veces, las hostilidades con los machi-
guengas a lo largo del trayecto, motivaban frecuentes interrupciones del
tituído uno de los más importantes artículos de comercio con los chun-
viaje (Alvarez, 1960: 72).
chos, los que, probablemente, fueron los primeros en cultivarla. Tal vez
fueron los Machiguengas, una de las pocas tribus selvícolas que culti- Las primeras apariciones de los Piros para comerciar con los se-
van y usan la coca, los que la hicieron conocer a los pobladores de las rranos, de que se tiene noticia, tuvieron lugar en 1711 (Scipión, 1903:
zonas altas. 97), aunque la evidencia más importante de este intercambio data del
Período posterior a la Conquista. Dos tribus de Antis, los Machi- siglo XIX. Era costumbre que el comercio entre los Piros y los
guengas y los Piros, comerciaron con los habitantes de la sierra en el serranos se llevase a cabo en la unión ("El Encuentro") de los ríos Uru-
valle del Urubamba. Los Machiguengas (conocidos antiguamente como bamba y Yanatile. En 1835, Miller (1836: 176) observó a 200 ó 300 pi-
los "Mañaries"), constituyen una sub-tribu que se separó de los Campas, ros que habían remontado el río y dispuesto sus mercancías en ese te-
de dialecto Arawak, cuyos territorios tradicionales limitan al Oeste con rreno llano y abierto. Algunos Piras continuaban río arriba para ven-
los de los serranos. El primer contacto de que se tiene mención entre der sus productos en la Hacienda Echarati, durante la festividad de
los españoles y los Machiguengas del Urubamba tuvo lugar, probable- Nuestra Señora del Carmen, del mes de julio (Lavandais, 1851: 1025).
mente, en 1572, luego de que la derrota de Túpac Amaru franqueó a los Todos los fundos de la zona de las inmediaciones se familiarizaron con
españoles el ingreso a la zona (Levillier, 1925: 437). Los Machiguen- estos conatos comerciales de los Piras durante esta época del año (Fry,
gas usaban la cusma (una especie de camisa de corte abierto), cazaban 1889: 41).
y sembraban mandioca, maíz, maní y frutas (Ocampo, 1907: 235). Es- En el período posterior a la conquista se permutó una gran varie-
tos agricultores tenían una organización tribal débil. Mas o menos ha- dad de productos de la montaña por mercancías serranas. Animales vi-
cia el siglo dieciocho, los Machiguengas ya habían adquirido algunos ras- vos (monos, loros y otros pájaros); animales muertos (pieles de jaguar,
gos de cultura material de los serranos (Quevedo, 1900: 483, 492). El plumas de papagayo); comestibles (cacao, vainilla, pescado seco) y ob-
intercambio de los Machiguengas con los habitantes de las zonas altas jetos de artesanía (telas de algodón y ropa confeccionada con ésas, ar-
se asentaba sobre bases casuales, pero bastante sólidas. cos y flechas, semillas de chaquira y hamacas de fibra de árbol); todos
El otro grupo Anti del Urubamba era el de los Piro (o Chontaquiro) estos productos fueron objeto de comercio (Gonzales, 1833: 50; Lavan-
quienes, en el siglo diecinueve, habitaban las márgenes del río Sepahua, dais, 1851: 1025; Miller, 1836: 176; Alvarez, 1960: 72-3; Wiener, 1880: 351,
hasta cerca de la desembocadura del río Paucartambo (Steward, III, Raimondi, 1898). Muchas plantas medicinales de la región, tales como
1948: 540). Probablemente emigraron del río Ucayali al Urubamba en la zarzaparrilla, la quina y la quinaquina (Myroxylon sp.) eran altamen-
un pasado histórico (Menéndez Rua, 1948: 73). Los Piro poseían una or- te apreciadas en la sierra por sus virtudes curativas. No era menos ávi-
ganización tribal bien cohesionada, con una agricultura y una economía da la demanda de remedios de valor terapéutico más dudoso, como la
dé recolección más diversificadas que la de las tribus vecinas (Fara- uña pulverizada de .tapir, que se tomaba contra la epilepsia. Las resi-
bee, 1922: 55). Eran excelentes remeros y astutos comerciantes; a ellos nas olorosas que se obtenían de los árboles silvestres se apreciaban
se debió, probablemente, la difusión de elementos de la cultura mate- como incienso, y la cera de abejas servía para fabricar velas para las
rial de la sierra bastante al interior de la hoya del Alto Amazonas. muchas iglesias de la sierra (Coba, 1, 1956: 270; Tschudi, 1847:. 280).
Algunos de ellos hablaban quechua. La influencia occidental entre También fueron llevadas a la sierra la manteca de manatí, para la
los Piro se inició a fines del siglo diecisiete, por obra de los misione- cocina, y el aceite de tortuga, que se empleaba para iluminación (Fer-
ros españoles (Markham, 1859: 179), pero su conversión al cristianismo nández, 1952: 251). A veces, hasta niños fueron vendidos en estas fe-
no se completó sino a comienzos del siglo veinte. rias (Wiener, 1880: 351).
Estos aborígenes, de fértiles recursos, remontaban anualmente el A cambio de estos productos exóticos, los indios de la sierra pro-
Urubamba, atravesando el pongo y nueve series de peligrosos rápidos, porcionaron a los de la selva artículos de metal muy codiciados por és-
para comerciar con los serranos (Maúrtua, VII, 1906: 198). En razón de tos: hachas, machetes, cuchillos, tijeras, agujas, y, algunas veces, armas
212 Montaña

de fuego. Se negociaban igualmente objetos de menor valor utilitario,

tales como espejos, botones, sonajas y cuentas de vidrio, junto con te-
jidos de lana y vestidos confeccionados con estos tejidos. Entre los ali-
mentos más apreciados por los selvícolas se encontraban la sal, el al-
cohol, el queso, las tortas y las cebollas. Aparentemente, este intercam-
bio permitió a los Piras gozar de los beneficios de la civilización tal co-
mo se la conocía en la sierra en ese entonces. En 1874 (Buendía, 1874:
265), algunos representantes oficiales de los Piras viajaron a Santa Ana
para solicitar al gobierno peruano asistencia en la construcción de pue-
blos, caminos y otras comodidades de la vida moderna.
Al llegar el siglo XX las ferias anuales en la zona de contacto
habían ya desaparecido. El tráfico de esclavos, llevado a cabo por los
traficantes del caucho, desbarató los patrones de comercio largamente
establecidos entre los Piras y Machiguengas, y los andinos (Farabee,
1922: 61). Algunos Machiguengas continuaron comerciando a través de
las misiones o adquirieron bienes del exterior trabajando en forma pe-
riódica para los serranos. También aproximadamente por esta época,
los serranos ya habían penetrado en estas zonas cálidas, para apropiar-
se directamente de productos exóticos, tales como incienso y tintes ve-
getales. En la actualidad, el intercambio sistemático de bienes en el
valle del Urubamba entre los Piras y los andinos ha desaparecido; el
que se efectúa entre los Machiguengas y los serranos se ha comercia-
lizado en alto grado. El café, cultivado en los centros misioneros y des-
tinado al mercado exterior, ha llevado al establecimiento parcial, entre
los Machiguengas, de una economía basada en la moneda.

Pre-conquista. Establecimiento en la zona

Por lo menos hasta el período incaico, el establecimiento humano

en el valle del Urubamba por sobre los 1500 metros de elevación se asen-
tó sobre una base firme; da fe de ello la gran cantidad de vestigios que
prueban sus conocimientos arquitectónicos, agrícolas y de ingeniería.
Empero, es difícil encontrar evidencias indubitables de ocupación in-
caica por debajo de, aproximadamente, 1500 metros. Uno de los facto-
res que determinaron el fracaso de los incas en incorporar plenamente
la zona de contacto del Urubamba en su esfera de colonización, fue el
exagerado temor que éstos sentían de los Antis. Este pueblo poseía en-
tre los andinos una reputación legendaria de salvajismo y canibalismo,
pero esta reputación era sin lugar a dudas exagerada (Cieza de León,
1959: 61; 297; Garcilaso de la Vega, 1963: 21) e, indudablemente, jugó
un rol importante en la decisión de los serranos de renunciar a estable-
cerse en la montaña del Urubamba. Ello puede explicar igualmente la
construcción de Machu-Picchu, una ciudad fortificada situada estraté-
gicamente y destinada a la protección del centro nervioso del imperio,
214 Montaña Gade 215

junto al Cuzco, contra cualquier posible intrusión de los habitantes de simular la posibilidad de contraer enfermedades tropicales. Aunque se
la selva. ha encontrado cerámica incaica en la zona de contacto, la ausencia
de ruinas incaicas de importancia hace pensar que los incas fundaron
Además de los extraños y temerosos chunchos, otros vecinos temi-
pocos establecimientos permanentes en la región, si es que fundaron al-
bles de la selva pueden haber influenciado la idea que, de esta zona, te-
guno. Luego de la derrota del nuevo Inca Túpac Amaru en 1572, en la
nían los andinos. El jaguar, el oso de anteojos, el pecarí y el vampiro, al
selva del Urubamba, desapareció la influencia andina en la zona por de-
igual que la anaconda y las venenosas bushmaster y fer-de-lance, deben
bajo de los 1500 metros, y algunos chunchos pudieron haberse retirado
haber infundido verdadero terror en los habitantes de la sierra, como
a ese vacío. Sin embargo, el establecimiento machiguenga del valle del
lo infunden en la actualidad. Miríadas de insectos mordedores y agui-
Urubamba, al sur de la unión con el río Yanatile, siempre ha sido, pro-
joneadores que poblaban los territorios húmedos y tórridos producían
bablemente, disperso.
verdaderos sufrimientos. Un gusano endémico que se aloja en los múscu-
los (sotuto), provocaba dolores agudísimos (Cobo, I, 1956: 338). La más
Período posterior a la Conquista: interés incaico
temible entre las diferentes enfermedades tropicales que prevalecían
en las zonas tropicales del Urubamba
en la zona de contacto era la leishmaniasis (uta), caracterizada por una
grotesca desfiguración cutánea. También infestaron a los incas, cuando
Haciendas. Hacia fines del siglo dieciséis, los españoles comenza-
se aventuraron en las zonas tropicales, la enfermedad de Chagas y, pro-
ron a establecer feudos en la zona de contacto del Urubamba, enfren-
bablemente, la fiebre amarilla. El Antisuyo debe haber sido un territo-
tándose inmediatamente con el problema de la escasez de trabajadores
rio extraño y carente de atractivos, para aquéllos acostumbrados a las
agrícolas.
alturas, más frías y saludables.
En un comienzo se trajeron negros para que se ocuparan de las la-
La falta de habilidad de los incas para enfrentarse con la base de
bores del campo (Ocampo, 1907: 239), pero queda la duda sobre si su-
recursos de este medio ambiente, tan dramáticamente diferente, y poder
cumbieron, se mudaron a otros lugares o fueron absorbidos. Durante
mantener, sin embargo, su modo de vida habitual, puede haber consti-
el período colonial, los Machiguengas no eran lo suficientemente nume-
tuído otro verdadero obstáculo para su establecimiento en la zona de
rosos o accesibles, o bien no estaban dispuestos a trabajar en las ha-
contacto. La agricultura, sobre las bases firmes y altamente producti-
ciendas. Posteriormente bajaron los indios de la, sierra a trabajar en
vas conocidas en la sierra, era difícil, cuando no imposible. Las par-
las de azúcar y coca, aunque el temor a los reptiles y a las enfermeda-
celas de tierra cultivada no podían usarse en continuidad debido al ago-
des era tan grande entre ellos que, en muchos casos, fueron llevados a
tamiento del suelo y a las devastaciones periódicas provocadas por las
la zona de contacto contra su voluntad (Lizárraga, 1968: 60, 64). A par-
hormigas que hacían que los rendimientos de las cosechas fueran in-
tir de 1650, los jesuitas establecieron haciendas comerciales en la zona
ciertos. Tampoco podían cultivarse los productos alimenticios de la
como un medio para ayudar a financiar las muchas escuelas que tenían
sierra, como la papa y el maíz, ni mantenerse permanentemente en la
en la sierra; ellas no constituían misiones. Por la época en que fueron
zona a los auquénidos. Es probable que los incas hayan sido en extremo
obligados a abandonar el Perú; en 1768, los jesuitas poseían algunas de
inflexibles en sus métodos agrícolas como para poder adoptar el siste-
las más prósperas haciendas en el valle entre Huadquiña y Cocambi-
ma de cultivos de roza migratorios de los Antis.
lla (Menéndez Rua, 1948: 31). Hasta la apertura de una trocha a Chi-
Sin embargo, todas estas reservas de los incas sobre las selvas rumbia, en 1804, Cocambilla era el límite del "mundo civilizado".
orientales no impidieron el interés que se suscitó por este extraño me-
Después de la Independencia se logró esforzadamente establecer
dio ambiente. Pachacútec, al frente de sus soldados, entró al territorio
algunas haciendas en tierras otorgadas por el gobierno peruano como
de los Antis al norte del Cuzco, más o menos en 1440, con el fin de ga-
una forma de pago de deuda. Estas haciendas de frontera penetraron en
nar más súbditos y bienes para el imperio. Los arqueros del ejército
el territorio de los machiguengas y, por primera vez, se estableció un
imperial eran, todos ellos, indios de la selva, ya que los incaicos mis-
amplio contacto con los Chunchos en esta región. El Conde de Sar-
mos no usaban arcos y flechas (Rowe, 1946: 275); muchos pueden ha-
tigues, que viajó por esta parte de la zona de contacto en 1834, observó
ber sido Machiguengas de la selva del Urubamba. Dado que la coca era
que los hacendados obsequiaban vacas, cerdos y aves para asegurarse
muy apreciada entre los andinos, fueron enviados grupos de agriculto-
buenas relaciones con los Machiguengas (Lavendais, 1851: 1029). Se
res a la zona de contacto del Urubamba, para poder disponer de abun-
emplearon algunos trabajadores Machiguengas, cuando se les pudo con-
dantes provisiones de esta hoja. Probablemente se efectuaban emigra-
seguir (Bowman, 1916: 42), ya que el trabajo de los quechuas era más
ciones e inmigraciones continuas y de las plantaciones de coca, para di-
216 Montaña Gade 217

costoso en la zona de contacto que en cualquiera otra parte del depar- ven actualmente a los campesinos quechuas que han inmigrado a la
tamento del Cuzco (Buendía, 1874: 265). zona.
Misiones. La misión constituyó otra de las fuerzas importantes en Recolección de quina y caucho. El interés de los andinos por la mon-
la modificación de los patrones aborígenes en la montaña del Urubam- taña del Urubamba aumentó considerablemente hacia fines del siglo pa-
ba. Ya en 1538 se otorgó a las órdenes religiosas un privilegio real pa- sado, cuando la quina y el caucho cobraron valor en el mercado mun-
ra "civilizar y evangelizar" estas tierras. En 1572, un grupo de expedi- dial. La búsqueda frenética de estos productos provenientes de árbo-
cionarios españoles, bajo el mando de Martín García Loyola, erigió una les silvestres trajo como consecuencia una alta tasa de mortalidad en-
capilla en Santa Ana, en territorio de los Antis (Ocampo, 1907: 235). tre los Machiguengas y su desplazamiento territorial. Entre 1850 y 1890,
En 1715, una exploración río abajo conducida por el jesuita Cristóbal la quina ("cascarilla"), del árbol chinchona, fue objeto de una implacable
de Quevedo (1900) resultó infructuosa en su empeño de operar conver- explotación al sur del Pongo (Castelnau, 1853: 290). Algunos estable-
siones duraderas. En realidad, 'no se hicieron esfuerzos para llevar a cimientos –Koribeni, Rosalina y Chahuares– sirvieron como centro de
cabo una actividad misionera de importancia entre los Chunchos hasta recolección de la corteza. Con anterioridad a 1895, se realizaban en Ro-
que en 1798 los franciscanos llevaron a 44 Machiguengas a su nueva mi- salina ferias periódicas de quinina (Fernández, 1952: 18).
sión de Cocambilla (Maúrtua, VII, 1906: 198). Empero, algunos años
Entre 1880 y 1910, el caucho se obtenía de árboles silvestres en el
después, este centro desapareció como consecuencia de dificultades
valle del Urubamba: el jebe fino (Hevea brasiliensis), al norte del Pon-
operacionales y de su ubicación marginal con respecto del núcleo prin-
go de Mainique, y el caucho de calidad inferior (Castilloa elástica), al
cipal de los Machiguengas, río abajo. Aún más efímeros resultaron los
sur del Pongo. Los traficantes del caucho que venían de la sierra es-
intentos franciscanos para establecer dos misiones al norte del Pon-
clavizaron a los Machiguengas, obligándolos a recolectar y procesar este
go (Izaguirre, VIII, 1928: 318).
producto en provecho de aquéllos (Bowman, 1916: 12); en esta for-
La organización misionera más estable en la zona de contacto ha si- ma devastaron íntegramente muchos establecimientos nativos a lo largo
do la de los dominicanos, quienes llegaron primero a Santa Ana a fines del Urubamba (Farabee, 1922: 1). Para escapar de los buscadores de
del siglo dieciocho, luego de la expulsión de los jesuitas. Luego, en 1900, caucho, muchos Machiguengas abandonaron el valle principal durante
la Santa Sede designó oficialmente a los dominicanos para evangelizar esta época y se refugiaron en las colinas altas o en valles laterales ais-
toda la región del Urubamba y de Madre de Dios. lados (Bingham, 1914: 213). Otros Machiguengas resistieron a los in-
trusos foráneos agrupándose alrededor de Fidel Pereira, su mestizo pa-
Su primera misión entre los Chunchos se fundó en 1902, en Chirum-
triarca y protector, que llegó a controlar algunas partes del río, esta-
bia, en 1918 se establecieron otras misiones cerca del río, en Koribe-
bleciendo allí su feudo. Aún hoy en día al sur del Pongo, sus hijos ejer-
ni y en Timpia. La misión de Sepahua, al norte del Pongo, fue organi-
cen influencia. La escasez de indios selvícolas para la recolección del
zada en 1947. Los sacerdotes y los hermanos llevaron a cabo frecuen-
caucho fue compensada llevando a la selva serranos sobre todo después
tes visitas a los Machiguengas que vivían en pequeñas agrupaciones fue-
de 1900, cuando se abrió una trocha de acémilas de 130 kms. entre Rosa-
ra de estos centros misioneros. Además, los dominicanos mantenían
lina y el Bajo Urubamba.
en Quillabamba, iglesia, hospital, internado para niños y niñas, museo,
granja experimental y centro de comunicaciones radiales. Muchos ni- La penetración de buscadores de caucho, misioneros y agricultores,
ños Machiguengas fueron enviados allí desde el interior ("adentro") por diezmó la población indígena de la selva, creando condiciones sociales
los misioneros. propicias para la difusión de enfermedades mortales. Los dos princi-
pales asesinos entre los Chanchos fueron la malaria y la viruela. Has-
En la actualidad, aproximadamente el 80% de los Machiguengas han
ta la década de 1880 se habían registrado cuatro grandes epidemias de
sido convertidos al cristianismo y hablan algo de castellano; el 20%
malaria. El último y más serio brote de malaria en el valle del Urubam-
restante se halla bajo diferentes grados de influencia dominicana. Con
ba duró de 1932 a 1936 y ocasionó, una seria mortalidad y un grave re-
excepción de algunas familias aisladas, los Machiguengas han abando-
troceso de toda actividad humana en la zona de contacto.
nado su modo de vida original por obra, en gran parte, de la actividad
misionera. En el primer año de establecida la misión de Chirumbia, to- Reciente inmigración de "Cholos". La colonización espontánea lle-
dos los Machiguengas usaban la tradicional cusma; hoy en día ninguno vada a cabo por campesinos cholos en el territorio tradicional de los Ma-
de los que viven en Chirumbia, y muy pocos de los de Koribeni usan es- chiguengas ha variado el carácter cultural de la zona de contacto del
te indumento (Fernández, 1952: 56). Estas dos misiones también sir- Urubamba más que cualquier otro proceso reciente. Ya desde el siglo
218 Montaña Gade 219

XIX, los serranos quechuas fueron inducidos a emigrar a las par- dominante cultura andina. Aunque los Incas tenían ciertos intereses en
tes altas de la zona de contacto, cuando los hacendados entregaron a los esta área, no fue sino con posterioridad a la Conquista española que, en
arrendatarios (arrendires) pequeñas parcelas de tierra a cambio de busca de tierras y de conversiones, comenzaron los andinos a modificar
trabajo en la hacienda. A partir de 1904, una ley de colonización pro- seriamente la antropogeografía de la zona.
movió la adquisición de tierras más alejadas, valle abajo, de la zona de
El intercambio formal de bienes que había tenido lugar entre los
la hacienda. Desde que se erradicó definitivamente la malaria, hacia
Serranos y los Chunchos durante un período de por los menos 200 años,
1940, los campesinos de las alturas comenzaron lentamente a movilizar-
se había detenido ya al finalizar el siglo XIX. Por esta época,
se aún más lejos valle abajo, colonizando las tierras utilizadas primiti-
igualmente, el número de Machiguengas había disminuído considerable-
vamente por los Machiguengas para la caza y la siembra. Esta migra-
mente, debido a la alta tasa de mortalidad. La distribución de estos pue-
ción se aceleró después de 1955, en que la creciente hambruna de la Sie-
blos selvícolas ha variado, conforme los andinos se han ido introducien-
rra volcó a más quechuas en la zona. La construcción de una carrete-
do en su territorio y los han ido empujando más lejos valle abajo. En el
ra a Koribeni en 1958 y un puente moderno sobre el Urubamba, en Cha-
siglo XVIII, se encontraban algunos Antis viviendo en Cocambilla, esto
huares, en 1962, facilitó este movimiento.
es, bastante río arriba; actualmente el habitat tradicional de los Ma-
Todas las tierras que conforman la extensión lineal de frente del va- chiguengas, fuera de las misiones, comienza tan sólo en Comberciato.
lle del Urubamba hasta el Pongo de Mainique han sido asignadas ("lo-
El tercer cambio consiste en la desintegración de los Machiguen-
tizadas") a alrededor de 350 "denuncios". Muchos serranos trabajan en
gas, consecuencia de la influencia occidentalizante de los misioneros,
sus chacras de la selva únicamente de mayo a octubre, antes de regre-
agricultores, traficantes caucheros y colonizadores cholos. La división,
sar a la sierra para la siembra. Durante este período, cosechan café,
respetada por mucho tiempo, entre los "civilizados" Serranos y los "bár-
cacao, achote y productos de panllevar, además de lo cual hacen la lim-
baros" Chunchos ha perdido validez en el valle del Urubamba. Unica-
pieza de una pequeña extensión adicional de tierra para cumplir con las
mente en algunos valles laterales aislados (cabeceras) mantenían unas
disposiciones de la ley peruana sobre inembargabilidad de hogares. Sin
pocas familias Machiguengas su acervo cultural original. Probablemen-
embargo, menos del uno por ciento de la tierra denunciada está sembra-
te, la duración de todos estos procesos se habría acelerado notablemen-
da con productos de panllevar.
te si en las arenas del río Urubamba se hubiera encontrado oro y/o si
En la década pasada, los campesinos andinos (llamados Puñarunas hubiera ocurrido' algún importante conflicto intercultural, como suce-
por los Machiguengas) han solicitado también tierras al norte del Pon- dió en algunos otros valles. Es evidente que los bosques tropicales del
go, y por lo menos 4000 personas de origen serrano ocupan actualmente Urubamba, que durante tanto tiempo actuaron como una barrera contra
las que se encuentran entre el Yanatile y el Siapa. Esta migración que- la penetración cultural, continuarán transformándose, junto con sus ha-
chua ha estrangulado a la gente de la selva, especialmente entre los ríos bitantes aborígenes sobrevivientes, al ritmo que se acentúa la presión
Yanatile y Cosireni, donde, menos de un cuarto de la población es de ori- de la región occidental del país.
gen Machiguenga. Como ejemplo puede citarse a Sirialo, donde actual-
mente todos sus habitantes son quechuas, mientras que en 1806 una ex-
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