CALIFORNIA STA'l'E UNIVERSITY, NORTHRIDGE

THE DEVELOPMENT OF f.\ CA.PI'IA!~.IST NODE

OF PRODUCTION IN l'llll.i\ZONIAN PETW

A thesis submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degr0e of Maste~ of Arts in

by

Ruth Anne M<1rgolis-·Hay3.r~o

Jarma:ry, J.982 The Thesis of Ruth Margolis-Hayano is approved:

Dr. Cal~ol fvJackey

Dr. Keith Morton, Chairperson

California State University, Northrhige ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I'd like to express my gratitude to my committee members, Drs. Kei·th Morton, Sondra Hale, and Carol

l'-1ackey for their many suggestions, time 1 energy, and cooperation in helping me to complete this thesis

"on time." To Dr. Gregory Truex, who spent time reading and editing a draft of the thesis and who

made some very valuable suggestions for future work 1

I extend my appreciation.

I'd also like to thank my husband, David, for listening t.o my many 11 thesis stories," for making many pertinent organizational and editing suggestions and for his total support in helping me keep a sense of humor during times of "thesis str:ess. 11

I also want to extend my very warm appreciation to my naren·ts and brother who encouraged my t:rips to the

Punazon jungles of Peru and who understood over the years when I couldn't make family gatherings because I was working on my thesis.

And, to JVlatti Gerome who spent many hours over the

Christ.mas holidays typing the final draft so I could meet my deadline, I thank you.

iii Table of Contents

Page

List of Tables, Figures, Maps v

Abstract . vi

Chapter

One. Introduction 1

Two. Ecology of the Tropical Forest Culture 19

Three. The Effects of Extractive Economies . 43

Four. Economic Integration of the Peruvian Selva . . . 71

Five. The Bora 118

Six. Surnrnary and Conclusions . 155

Notes 162

References . . 172

Appendix A. Effects of Resource Exploi t.ation on Indigenous Populations 191

Appendix B. Government Agencies of IntGgrat~ion . . 195

iv List of Tables, Figures: and Maps

Tables Page

I. Yields of Major Crops on Inter­ flu"~Tial Soils 30

II. Oil Companies Exploring the I~azon Basin of Peru . 77

III. Oil Companies Exploring ·the Amazon Basin of Peru . . 78

-r-.:r .1. y • Value of Extractive Production 88

\.l. Price of Plantain Stalks in 1976 90

~7T V.J...o Urarina Estimates of Time Expended in Logging 138

VII. Working Days in the Honth of March, 1974 ... 148

VIII. Bora Non-Utilitarian Craft Produci:ion . 150

IX. Bora Utilitarian Craft Production 150

Figures

I. Pyramid of Social Stratification of the Peruvian Selva 57

II. Pyramid of Socio-Economic Strati­ fication at the Local Village Level 117

M.aps

I. Indigenous Language Groups in Peru . 44

II. Peru Jungle Oil 76

III. Bora Territory . 12.0

IV. Basic Village Plan of Brillo Nuevo . 129

v ABSTHAC'r

THE DEVELOP-r.1ENT OF A CAPI'I'AI..IST ...MODE

OF PRODUCTION IN A...MAZONIA.N PERU

by

Ruth Anne Hargolis-Hayano

Master of Arts in Anthropology

This thesis uses the premises of Dependency Theory to examine the state of historical and current social and economic changes in Amazonian Peru. Incorporation into an interdependent world system and loss of isolation caused peripheral sectors within Peru's

~~azon to replicate not only the capitalist character­ istics of the national economy, but also Peru's domi­ nated and dependent status as a satellite nation.

Indigenous societies in the Peruvian Amazon have been undergoing socio-economic adaptations since the penetration of outside economic forces extracting jungle products. Because of internal colonialism, the

vi national government, multi-national corporations, internal middle-men and missionaries, have brought indigenous societies out of isolationv exposed them to the demands of the world market and incorpora.ted them into the capitalist system as exploited laborers.

Fieldwork among the Bora in Peru's northeast lLrnazon has demons·tra.ted the repercussions of incorpor­ ation into an interdependent world-system at the village level. The influx of historical economic intrusions resulted in their geographic relocation and a greatly diminished population. More recently, traditional

Bora socio-economic relations of production have changed in order to accommodate capitalist cash­ production and labor migration. Because of this, the Bora have become a dependent, marginalized segment of Peruvian national society and they have now lost their self-sufficiency.

vii Chap·ter One ·

lnt.roduction

The anthropology now required in Latin

~~merica is not that \vhich relates ·to

Indians as objects of study, but rather

that which perceives the colonial situation

and conunits itself to. the struggle for

liberation (Declaration of Barbados for the

Liberation of the Indians, Bridgetown,

Barbados, January 25-30, 1971).

This thesis analyzes the indigeneous responses to the introduction of capitalism in the Peruvian Amazon. On a macro-level I explore the international and national conunercial forces that have affected poli·tica.l and socio-· economic relations of the indigenous populations since the 1700's (Bodley 1975; San Ramon 1975i Uriarte 1976; varese 1972a, 1972b). On a micro-level I will outline the effects of outside contac·t and commercialism in det:er-· mining changG in the mode of product. ion of the Bora, an

1 1 et.h no .~..J..nguls• • t lC• group se·t t".J.e d J.n• ..p eru I s nort.h east: , l-'.ma :zon .

.Hy analysis of Bora changes in socio-economic organization due to loss of isolation, commercialism, and the intro- duct ion of a capi talis·t market economy will supplement the few, but growing, number of case studies on this topic {e.g., Harner 1973; Johnson and Johnson 1975;

1 2

Kramer 1978; Murphy 1954; Murphy'ahd Murphy 1974;

Sivert.s 1972).

THEORE'riCAL APPROACH

This study uses the Marxist concepts of exploi- tation, class stratification, and relations of production as they apply to the capitalist growth process. In analyzing this process in Amazonian Peru, I will also be applying the theoret.ical framework of Dependencey Theory.

'l'\vO groups of theorists ·tend to be associated with

Dependency Theory: (1) the neo-Marxists exemplified by

Frank (1967), Godelier (1977), Varese (1972a, 1972b), and perhaps Wallerstein (1974a, 1974b); and (2) the non- r.1arxists, for example Stavenhagen (1975), Furtado (1970), and sometimes Brookfield (1975). Some of the above

·theor ist:s have been criticized for neglecting certain significant aspects of analysis. For example, Wallerstein has been criticized for neglecting to discuss internal colonialism {Smith 1978) and Godelier has been cited as negligent in treating the issue of division of labor

(Siskind 1978). Other neo-Marxists and some non-Marxists do not neglect these matters, thus creating a difficulty in dist.inguishing bet.\.veen the two groups. Because a clear differentiation between nee-Marxist and non-Marxist

Dependency theorists is not always clear and has been discussed as complementary in understanding capitalism.

(Smith 1978:577) I will draw from both groups, but with 3

a primary concentration on a nee-Marxist Dependency

frame\vork.

While 'l.·lOrking within the model of a dependent war ld­ system (Brookfield 1975) and internal colonialism

(Stavenhagen 1968), in the examination of outside contact my study will apply t.he Harxist concepts of exploitation, class st.ratification, and relations of product.ion (Varese

1972a, 1972b; Wallerstein, 1974b). The above concepts will be used in interpreting the influence of capitalism on indigenous Amazonian societies.

The (inter-related) concepts of exploitation, class stratification, and relations of production were no~ applied extensively to studies of Amazonian indigenous

groups prior to mid-century. Until that t.iml';, 1 studies of Peru's l':..rna zon cons is ted mainly of missic~ary account.s

(e.g., Figueroa 1904; Fritz 1922; Izaguirre 1922), trave­ logues (e.g., Clark 1953; Guillaume 1888; Herndon 1853;

Whiffin 1915), short. descript.ive eUmograpn.ic 2.ccounts of individual groups (e.g., Casement 1912; Fejos 1943;

Hardenburg 1912; Steward 1948; Wolf 1936; Woodrof:fe 1915).

These were basically synchronic, isolated studies; but, they are relevant today for providing historical infor­ mation relating to social changes in the area.

With the increase in international trade of raw materials after World War II Dependency Theory gained prominence as an approach to the study of Lat.in American 4

economies. It was during this time that the interde- pendent "-world-system" subsumed many small independent economies (Brookfield 1975:xi; Orlove 1977:1}. Within the frame-vmrk of an interdependent~ world-system (national and international history, the influences of capitalism, exploi-tation and colonialism) the organization of economic structures was attributed not only to isolated internal factors, but were also in strong reaction to external influences (Brookfield 1975:xi).

With Dependency Theory there came a shift from terms such as "modern~ .and "traditional" (terms used by Modern­ ization Theorists such as Marion Levy [1966]) to "metro­ poli-tan" and "satellite 11 (Frank 1967:124). 'I'he latter two ·terms came to be interchangeable with "developed" and "underdeveloped'' (Furtado 1970:xvi; Peoples 1978:535~

Stavenhagen 1975). In Dependency Theory the relationship of dominance and dependence between metropolitan and satellite nations explains the continued exploitation and underdeveloped status of Third World satellites as compared to a progressive development within metropolitan nations (Orlove 1977:9).

Dependency Theorists view the situation of growing developmen-t or underdevelopment as a result of colonial history. The rich nations get richers and the poor poorer and the "diffusion of skills from developed to underdeveloped nations does not by itself generate 5

economic growth» (Peoples 1978:536). Extending the

colonialist relationship, Dependency Theorists profess

that the relationship between metropolitan and satellite,

developed and underdeveloped (or "undeveloped" [Smith

1978)) nations is replicated within the dependent or

satellite country itself. I specifically apply. this

concept to my discussion of the Bora. I demonstrate that

the repercussions of international and national capital­

istic colonialism is replicated in a situation of depend­

ency, underdevelopment, and domination at the local

structural level of Bora economy and society.

Explaining further, due to loss of isolation and

incorporation into an interdependent world-system,

indigenous or minority sectors within nations sometimes

replicate the dominated status of satellite nations

(Frank 1969:6). As metropolitan is to satellite,

"central" or "core" ('che national economy) is to·

"periphery" (the regional or marginal economies). The

peripheral economies are not isolated from the national

economy, but integrated in a system of exploitation known

as "internal colonialism" (Batalla 1972; Hechter 1975:8;

Larsen and Bergman 1969; Stavenhagen 1968) where the "core

is seen to dominate the periphery politically and to

exploit it materially" (Hecht.er 1975:9). Under such con~ 2 ditions of exploitation, formerly egalitarian societies may (be coerced to) rearrange their economic organization G

into systems of "accommodation" (Kramer 1978:abstract) in

response to imposed capitalistic influences and exploi·­

tation of classes.

As a "class," people in peripheral economies, such

as the Bora, are made to play out the role of "lumpen­ proletariats"--colonized, dominated by and dependent upon the national bourgeoisie for material goods and their means of production (Stavenhagen 1963:99,103). Frank

summarizes the situation,

this "marginal" or 11 float.ing" population is

in the process of becoming, or in some

instances, is fully integrated into the

society in a way which prejudices c:md which

defines the urban or rural sector, social

position, and economic region or locality

as "underdeveloped."

These considerations suggest that Latin

America is not a "dual" society, but rather

an integrated one, and that many of its

members are not so much marginal as they are

integrated in a way that prejudices their

most vital interests (n.d. :9).

Frank's discussion of "marginal" members of a society,

Staven.hagen's use of 11 lumpenproletariats," Hechtner's concept. of "internal colonialism?" and Brookfield 1 s

"interdependent world-system" have become extended 7

vocabularies specific to a nee-Marxist approach of economic analysis. This voca.bulary direct.ly concern the relationships of exploitation and class stratifi- cation which identify and are necessary to capitalist relations of production. These are concepts, which in conjunction with Dependency Theory~ are the theoretical focus of this study.

In a capitalist system exploitation may be said to operate on at least. two levels: humans exploit themselves as well as the resources around them. ~xploitation of the first type concerns the appropri?..t.ion of labor from the producing class. Labor is under-valued and t.hus is exploited in support of the controlling class. then becones a commodity :for material and monetary profit:.

This type of exploitation is a necessary presupposition in the reproduction of capitalism (Marx 1956).

The second type of exploitation occurs when htunans or human societies exploit the natural resources avail-

E.ll)le fo1:- s1J.bsis·ter1ce and/or cash produ<~tion. In Marxist

·terminology these resources are the "means of produ.ci:ion," e.g., tools, water, animals, and land.

In the past, exploitation of natural resources in dH~ Amazon b.a.d been exclusively for subsistence and

5 lldi.~Jer.to,us gt~oups lived in balance v'1i th t.l1e px·oducti vit~' and r:eproduct.i vi ty of the environment. But since ·the 1800's and the encroachment of an extensive profit- moti va·ted, extractive economy by multinational industries

{e.g., rubber, oil, and lumber), the delicate balance between man and nature has been drastically altered. The

1\mazonian "green hell" is becoming a "red desert"

(Goodland and Irwin, 1975; see also Denevan 1973), no longer sati.sfac·torily reproducing itself in order to pro- vide the resources to sustain normal subsistence patterns for indigenous human populations (see Chapters II-V).

Class Stratification

Human relations of exploitation create a system of class s·tra.t.ification in which individual and/or group status is determined by economic criteria (Godelier, l978a:768) and the relationships of power are defined by 0\..Ynership of t.he means of production. If we view

Amazonian groups as peripheral economies, the infertility and shortage of land seems to be the key factor contrib- uting to the "proletarization" of the people (Frank

1967:130i Varese 1972b) and their subservient position in relation to the power of the bourgeoisie.

A discussion of power relationships and status neces- si tates an analysis of social mobility vli thin that system

{see Chapters IV and VI). Stavenhagen states that,

Social mobility is an important fact in

every society, especially when it is

studied in relation to the structures of . 9

power, political behavior, and changes

in social structures (1975:25).

'I'he ques·tion of social mobility and economic rela- tionsh:tps between groups in the Peruvian Amazon has not only been defined in terms of class relations, but has also been equated with inter-ethnic relations formed in response to economic exploitation (Varese 1972b:3). An analysis of social stratification within the entire perspective of relations of power, inter-ethnic relations, status, and social mobility develop such questions as:

Can individuals or groups of individuals move between class boundaries? How flexible are those boundaries, and \¥hat is t.he criterion for movement?

Relations of Production

This discussion of exploitation and class strati- fication has been, in effect, an introduction to the relations of produc·tion among producer, distributor and consumer in a capitalist mode of production. Within an international and national setting we can explore the relations of production on a micro-level by looking at how labor is organized and arranged (e.g., division of labor) in small communities in response to external influences.

Siskind specifically emphasi:~es t.he importance of an analysis of division of labor in her criticism of

Godelier, Heillassoux, Terray, and Berthoud who have used 10

a Marxist approach in their economic studies. She feels

that they have ignored or taken for granted the division

of labor between the sexes as essential relations in the

organization of production:

this lack is particularly glaring since the

strength of the concept of a mode of pro­

duction is that it direct.s attention not

only to those elements which anthropologists

include under the heading of subsistence

type . . , but focuses upon how labor is

organized, how access is gained to resources

and \vha·t rights are involved in claiming ·the

product. Clearly the division of labor is

impor-tan·t here (Siskind 1978:862).

~ethodology

In 1975-1976 and 1977, I made two trips to the Bora

community of Brillo Nuevo, spending three and two months

respectively. I initially arrived in 1975 with the

intention of studying the division of labor in Bora art,

since the Bora are one Amazon group that incorporates much of their traditional material cul·ture into their daily lives. I was specifically interested in their use of llanchama, a bark clo·th. Obviously, Bora art does not exist in isolation, and so I observed, questioned, and collected information on as many other apsects of

thE~ir culture as I possibly· could during my stay. Some 11

of these data include outside commercial relations, cash­ production, religious activities, subsistence practices, settlement patterns, and division of labor.

The methods I used for gathering information con­ sisted mainly of interviewing and observation. Although many of my interviews were unstructured with only general t.opics in mind, I formally set up a number of interviews with specific questions to cover. I also made numerous appoin'cments with communi t.y members to observe activities such as fishing, specific agricultural related practices, the process of making ~lanchama, the gathering of vege­ table dyes, pottery production, and the process of making coca powder.

I selected my informants through availability, con­ cerrtrating on those who approached me most often and those

I fou~d to be most verbal and willing. Although my informants were usually limited to t.hose who had a vlorking knowledge of Spanish in addition to their Bora dialect, at times I was able to use a translator from Bora into

Spanish. My primary informants for structured interview- ing were both males and females. I relied heavily on the

11 leaders" of ·the community, that is to say the Chief (and previous President of Brillo Nuevo), two of his sisters

(one of ltJhich served as an informant on Bora folklore for the Summer Institute of Ling·uistics), his half-brother

(who has had extensive external experience), and t.he 12

"professor" (school teacher) \-lho is married to one of the

Chief's sisters.

At all times I used a tape recorder and took written notes at t.he time the information was gathered .• or I recorded it as soon as possible afterwards. I also kept. a diary and documented ·the various facets of Bora culture with photographs.

As I had envisioned myself entering a very >':ra.di-­ t.ional, isolated Amazonian society, I became immediatel.y a\,]are of the importance the Bora placed on out:si.de com­ merical relations (including labor migration), cash­ production, and the acquisi ticm of consumer goods. These activities had assumed such a degree of importance tha·t the Bora of Brillo Nuevo have incorporated a V.7estern­ style, political-economic structure into thei~ tradi- tional, egalitarian, horticulturalist society. This new structure (discussed in detail in Chapter Five) has facilitated Bora relations with outside govr:;.cnment and loan agencies which have aided them in increasing cash- production.

On my second trip I observed a glaring increase in outside co~~ercial relations, cash-production, and a fe~vor for Christianity. Two reasons can be cited. The first .is the presence of the Summer Institute of Linguis·-· tics. During the ·three months of my first residence in

Brillo Nuevo, the two member SIL team was not in 1~

residence·, but were in Yar inacocha, the Institutes •

Peruvian base; but, during my second trip the SIL was

in residence in the village. At. that time I observed

an increase in both church related activities and trips

to Iquitos markets to sell Bora products. The increase

in river trips to Iquitos I attribute to the fact that the Bora had access to the SIL's "engine" (as I recall a

25 or 40 horsepowe:r) when )che members are in residence.

The noticeable increase in church related activities on one level can also be attributed to the SJL. During

t.heir residence (seven months annually) 1 they impose a rigorous schedule of church meetings. This consists of

Tuesday and Thursday night hour-long meetings and Sunday servicef;, sometimes held both in the morning and evening.

Other sporadic meetings might be called by the SIL to show slides which are always prefaced and/or closed with a short Bible reading and/or prayer.

A second outstanding reason for an increase in church activities and commercial relations was because the

Baptist Church, based in Iquitos, held their annual con- vention. I travelled two days up-river with various mem- bers from the three Bora cormnuni ties (Brillo Nuevo, Las

Colonias, and Puca Urquillo) to attend this three-day conference, which v:ras also attended by Huitoto and Yagua represen)catives. For five days I at.e well, a.s three full meals a day were furnished fOI' all by the Church, I 14

lis·tened to. Christian songs sung from sun-up throughout

the night, sometimes until Jcwo or t.hree in the morning, attended Bible rea.dings and services two or three .times a day, and observed the interaction between Boras,

Hui·totos, Yaguas and---the ffi@S-t-izos and na:tional_s of

Spanish descent who were sent in as conference leaders from Iquitos.

Prior i:o the conference Bora women spent long days and nights making enough casab~ (a type of bread made from grateCI yucca) to sell to members of the conference.

'.I'.he men prepared for the conference by buying Vaseline to apply to their newly cut hair, body cologne, toothbrushes, toothpaste, combs, and had t:he.ir best 11 Ci ty" clothes mended, 1.vashed, and even in some cases, ironed.

It was during this second trip to Brillo Nuevo that

I decided to study the relationship between the accept­ ance of Christianity, outside commercial relations, and cash·-product.ion. After much observation, interviewing, and discussion not only with the Bora, but with other

out.side groups, such as SIL members, oil interests 1 lum·- bermen, traders and buyers who influenced Bora socie·ty,

I began to see a connection between historical and present-day repercussions of market penetration, the introduction of capitalism and exploitation, and the role of the SIL (i.e., the Church) .

Upon returning to the United States, I began reading ethnographies and economic studies of the region. I found myself reading more and more of the approaches to economic studies of Lat.in !'l.merica put forth by Marxist and Depend- ency •.rheorists. It was evident that these approaches most. closely fit the present economic situation of indigenous groups in the Peruvian Amazon.

Together, a Marxist analysis and Dependency Theory allow for an economic study which connects micro-level. phenomenon, i.e., individual villages, to a more inclusive macro -·level framewor:k. In this case connection between the two are t.:he demands of national and international markets. 'rhe Bora are connected to the national economy which, in t.urn, ties them to the world economy through

Peru 1 s export industry.

I initially planned to make my field experiences the nucleus of my thesis while intertwining the national and international influences within my explanation of Bora

crhis then v,rould have been a micro to macro mode of analysis. As I read more about historical and present economic influences affecting the Bora, I decided it was necessary to strongly emphasize a v1ide picture in order to form a clearer picture of the Bora connection to the world economy. This approach was strictly a matter of personal choice.

A definition of exactly what is and how to approach

Marxist anthropology is still in a stage of formation and lG

clarification. At the recent symposium of the American

Anthropology Association annual meeting held on

December 5, 19 81 in Los Angeles, on "~.Vhat is Marxist

Anthropology?" the discussants came to no firm conclusion.

Therefore, I feel that either of the two approaches to my s·tudy of capitalist economic growth in the Amazon would have been legitimate. Z.l...lthough using the Bora as the lar9f}:t:' framework of my thesis would have made it com­ pletely ethnographic in scope, the library study necessary to apply the macro (global) to micro (Bora) has been presented in order to fully understand the connections

Amazonian indigenous economies have with the world system.

The information incorporated into Chapter Five is ethnograt,,hic in scope and makes a preliminary attempt to remedy the fact that a complete ethnography of the

Bora has not yet been written.

Organ_i.z~!Jon :?J"~hesis

Godelier (1977) emphasizes that a proper Marxist ana.lysis of a society must include a balanced combination of synchronic and diachronic socio-economic formations;

·therefore, my analysis will begin in Chapter Two with a historical overview of the Peruvian tropical forest ecology and levels of subsistence within a framework of resource exploitation and settlement patterns.

In Peru, inter-ethnic relations broadened the con­ cept of class stratification based solely on economics. 17

B<:.~cause of the importance of inter-ethnic relations to

t.he sit.ua i:ion ef Peru's indigenous Ama zonians, it will be discussed in both Chapters Three and Four. In Chapter

Three, I· discuss the organization of labor of indigenous minorities in the Peruvian selva within the context of a wider study of the political-economic system of national and '\-vorld--wide dominating interests which have engulfed them since the 1800's. More specifically I present a discus:::~ion of certain conunercial interests, rubber, agri- cult:. ural and animal products, oil, and lumber, which have fdrced indigenous groups into the realm of internal colonialism, consumerism and inter-ethnic relations.

Chapter Four examines Peru's policies toward inte- gratim; native ~.mazon societies and the role of the Sum..rner

Institute of Linguistics as a medium of the government to initiate integration. According to Frank the problem of the Indian is not due to lack of integration, "bht lies rather in his very exploitative metropolis-satellite integrat~ion int.o the struc·ture and development in general"

(1967:142).

Bringing all of this into a specific case study, the Bora vd.ll be the subject of Chapter Five. I discuss the effects of market penetration a11d outside exploita·tion by various capitalist forces on t.heir mode of production.

Chapter Five will demonstrate their changeover from an 4 11 indigenous economy" (Hosk 1965:155), or subsistence .01"

economy, to one of cash-production. I will show that the Bora economic organization is not merely one of accommodation to external influences,. but as a peripheral econony they are replicating the na·tionalist mode of production, in this case capitalistic.

Hy study will conclude in Chapter Six with a synthesis of the hypothesis that as a result of internal colonialism, the Amazon indigenous societies are doomed to the dependent status of reserve laborers. As lu~npen- pi:oletariat:s they are given no means of up•#ard mobility arid access to the sources of production. Chapter Two

Ecology of the Tropical Forest Culture

A society in order to reproduce itself must success­ fully extract its material existence from its geographical setting and physical environment. Popular opinion seems to suggest. that indigenous Amazonian societies can easily sust&in a successful level of subsistence. Initially one might surmise that the proof for this assumption lies

1.vith t:he rain forest.' s vast amount of vlater and land resources, seemingly lying untapped and available for exploitation. Further, given the appearance of lush tropical vegetation as evidence to the fertility of

Amazonian soils, and, noting the great variety of fish and game, one might assume an inexhaustible supply of available protein.

Autonomous indigenous groups had been able to provide for themselves a successful and reliable level of subsist­ ence until approximately one hundred years ago. At that time the fragile balance between the subsistence level of these indigenous groups and nature was interrupted by commercial exploitation and consequent destruction of

Amazonian land and prot:ein resources. Unbalanced exploi- tation resulted in severe limitations placed on the subsistence possibilities open to indigenous groups.

External commercial demands requiring excessive jungle

19 20

resource extraction (e.g., rubber and timber) not only

placed restrictions on indigenous migrations used as a means of insuring productive agricultural cycles, but

also forced the displacement of entire villages into less

productive ecological zones.

'l1 he purpose of this chapter is to explore the ecolog·-·

ical zones within vJhich Amazonian groups ex·tract their

subsistence. This discussion will develop partial answers to two questions: (1) How has indigenous subsistence and

sctt.lemen·t pa·tterns been affected by commercial infiltra- tion? and, {2) is it, and will it: be possible for these groups to successfully reproduce the traditional subsist- ence patterns of their society?

Dividing the discussion into three sections, I will begin with an overview of the population .in its geographic and ecological setting. The second and third sections

~;.vill place an emphasis on the two main ecological zones of the Amazon rainforest, the fluvial and interfluvial, along with a discussion of the cultural adaptations made in response to each of them. I will also begin a discus- sion of the effects of commercial resource exploitation on the Tropical Forest Culture which will be explored in greater detail in Chapter Three.

GEOGFAPHY AND POPULA'l'ION

Peru is divided geographically into three major regions, ·the coast, sierra (mountains): and the selva 21

(jungle}. Of the three :r.·egions, the selva is the largest,

incorporating 57% of the total area of Peru. Varese cites

the 1970 census of the Peruvian National Office of Statis­

tics listing 1,307,156 (85%} non-natives in the selv~,

\nfhile he es·timates 220,850 (15%) natives, thus bringing

the total population of the Peruvian selva to approxi­

mately 1,500,000 (Varese 1972b:l2}.

This population is not evenly spread over the tropi­

cal rainfores·t. While 'che overall population density

is 2.07 persons per square kilometer, density increases

sharply in the areas considered to be good agricultural

land (fluvial regions). In these areas the population

density rises to 400 persons per square kilometer (Varese

1~72b:13). These statistics bring into focus the situ­

at.i.on of fierce competition between nat:ive and non-native

colonial groups over good, but scarce, agricultural land.

Scarce, because according to studies made by the National

Office of Natural Resource Evaluation, only 13% of the

Peruvian tropical rainforest can be considered suitable

for agriculture, while only 3% of this 13% is suitable

for permanent agriculture due to fertile alluvial soil and annual flooding (Meggers 1960).

The small percentage of densely populated agricul­ tural land in comparison to the large percentage of unsuitable land with a low populatinn density, accounts for the seemingly vast expanses of unsettled area with 22

"untapped potential." In the face of competition for

good agricultural land, what are the repercussions on

human groups of forced migration into the less desirable

regions? In light of the variation in population density,

these questions can be examined in terms of human adap-

tation to t.he productive possibilities of two quite

distinct ecological zones.

Geographers describe the Peruvian rainforest a~ a

region consisting of two major zones with sharp ecological

boundaries and very different potential for protein pro-

curemen·t and agricultural produc·ti vity (Carneiro 19 60;

Gross 1975; Lathrap 1973; Meggers 1971; Ross 1978). These

regions are the: (1) fluvial, also known as the flood-

. . . , -1- _. d p 1 c;un r r1 ver 1.ne env1ronmen'-, or var ze_~, an , (2) the inter-

fluvial, non-floodplain, or terra firme. The fluvial

and interfluvial have different resource potentials.

'):'he fluvial region encompasses 13% of the Peruvian

tropical rainforest with a population density of 400

persons per square mile. Fluvial zones lie along the major rivers and large tributaries feeding into the

Amazon Basin. The key to their attraction for human populations is in the rich soil, continually fertilized by the annual flooding and subsequent drainage of a 23

voluminous.water supply during alternating wet and dry

seasons.

The seasonal changes in water levels provide a

varied productivity of aquatic, game and soil resources.

Human populat.lons benefit from the comparatively concen·­

trated abundance and ease of resource procurement during

the dry low water level months, v1hile the advent of the

wet season causes a tightening of resource availability

(Ro3s 1978:3) due to the difficulty of fishing, hunting,

and agricultural practices during heavy rains. This does

not mean that the wet season cr.eates a "disharmony." On

the contrary, a period of resource rejuvenation is neces­

sary and periodic river flooding brings with it rich

alluvi:J.l silt.

Therefore, due to changing water levels, fluvial

productivity varies with aquatic, terrestrial and soil

resources.

?>qu~_!:i:!-?.. Resourc~s Changing water conditions also produce ecological niches well-suited to a wide variety of both small and

large sized fish and other types of aquatic animals.

Concerning the original diversity of fish in the deep waters of the Amazon region over seventy years ago,

A9assez wrote:

The Amazon nourishes about twice as many

species of fish as the Mediterranean, and 24

a more considerable number than the

Atlantic Ocean from one pole to another.

All the rivers of Europe combined, from

the Tagus to the Volga; do not feed more

than 150 species of fresh water fish, and

yet in one little lake in the neighbor­

hood of Man&os, called Lago Hyanuary,

which has an area of 500 square yards,

we have discovered more t.han 1200

distinct species (Meggers 1971:33).

The profuse abundance of fish in the fluvial zone

""as enhanced by the presence of large aquatic mammals.

The manatee which may reach a length of ten feet is valued for both meat and oil (Meggers, 1971:33). The freshwater dolphin, or buffeo, attains approximately a six-foot length and a weight of three hundred pounds, but to my knowledge is not used as a food resource. Meggers agrees \v:i.t:h this observation, and states the !?.:!ff~~ has become an object of superstition and is taboo. In accord with Ross' theory that food taboos, diet, and hunting s·trategies in the Amazon are essentially ecological adjustments (Ross 1978). Buffeos had been hunted extensively for the commercial value of their skins

(Goodland 1975:86), but it is not known if they are now comme:ccially exploited.

In contrast, the freshwater turtle and their eggs, 25

vlhich are laid on the sandbanks of receding floodwaters, are prime sources of food. Because they are considered a world-wic1e gastronomic delicacy and are also sought after for i:heir rich oil and fats, a commercial market for these resources has developed. The rate of indige­ nous consumption prior to commercial exploitation re.main(~d in balance, and Amazonial1 societies were able to depend upon the turtles and their eggs as an annually renewed resource. Because the rate of recent commercial exploitation created a situation of possible extinction, th~ natives no longer rely on turtles as a dependable food resource. Fortunately, Peru has now begun to place restrictions on their export.

Changing water levels produced another ecological niche which was suitable for human resource procurement in the form of fluvial lakes. Fluvial lakes are made up of a combination of periodic inundation of river water and rainwater. This creates an ecological niche suitable for small fish, aquatic plants and phytoplankton (Meggers

1971:13). The plants and seeds along the lake shores, in conjunction with the turtle eggs laid on the sandbanks during the dry season, attracted great varieties and numbers of water birds (e.g., storks, ducks, herons), cayman (a species of allig-ator), and large ground-browsing terrestrial animals (e.g., capyvara, tapir). The commer- cial plundering and killing of these resources have made 26

their presence along the floodplain extremely rare today

except in recently protected areas (e.g., Parque Manu

in the Department of Madre de Dios).

In sumt fluvial productivity is characterized by

alterna·ting periods of abundance and scarcity. The main

determinant is the relatively abundant, but changing water

supply during wet and dry seasons. The deep waters

furnish a habitat for a large variety of fish and aquatic

rnarrun.3l s . The changing water levels create sandbanks and

fluvial lakes with abundant small fish, shoreline vege­

tation and swamp plants. 'l'hese are ecolog·ical niches

well suited to the feeding and reproductive cycles of

turtles, water birds, reptiles, and attract terrestrial

animal::; ou·t of the monte, deep impenetrable jungle area.

This concentrated abundance of animal productivity facil­

ita·tc~d fluvial protein procurement un·til commercial

exploitation was introduced.

Game

Prior to European contact, indigenous Amazonians

did not domesticate animals for subsistence purposes

(Gross 1975:527}. Their main sources of animal protein

consis·ted of vlild deer, sloth, monkey, peccary, tapir,

armadillo, capyvara, and birds. Although a seemingly plentiful list of available protein, this abundance was only during the dry sea. son when t.he large quadrupeds were attracted by shoreline vegetation; otherwise, small game 27

species (e.g., monkeys and birds) were plentiful.

Animal protein serves two nutritional purposes.

First, it is a direct source of protein, but while compar- atively abundant (to interfluvial regions) fluvial protein intake has been shown to be barely adequate or even below nutritional requirements (Gross 1975:531). With the probabili-ty of an ext.remely low daily animal pro·tein 1 intake-, the second necessary function of game in a protein scarce environment arises. Where populations are able to depend on the manioc tuber (e.g., the Peruvian

Amazon) as t.heir principal food staple, which prevents overoredation of animal resources, game serves as a catalyst in the production of vegetable protein.

'There are two species of manioc tuber, one is swee'c and readily edible, but the other is toxic to the human body and necessitates de-toxification through the extraction of its poisonous juice. The ingestion of amino acids through animal protein aids .i.n de- toxification and functions as a catalyst in counteracting the toxic material by converting it into a non-toxic vegetable protein.

•rhe function of game in serving not only as a direct source of protein, but also as a de-toxifying agent means that guarding against overpredation and securing its availability is crucial for Amazon populations.· While vulnerable to overpredation, studies show (Denevan 28

1966:348; Meggers 1971:34) that game, animal protein, is

available (although scarce) and inexhaustible under

aboroginal methods of exploitat.ion. Therefore, the

changes in aboriginal economy and game availability due

to overpredation, perhaps by commercialism or forced

sedentarism (see Chapter Three) is critical. Gross

em~)hasizes this point in a. summarizing st.atement,

The data suggest that the protein

intakes of native P.mazonians approach

or fall short of a minimal acceptance

level. Fairly small changes in the

availability of dietary protein could

be quite crucial to the health status

of these groups (1975:532).

Soil

Throughout the literature on fluvial and inter­

fluvial. soil fertility, it is of general consensus that

fluvial productivity is greater than in the interfluvial

regions (Carneiro 1960; Gross 1975; Lathrap 1970; Meggers

19 71) . Land along the floodplain is the mos·t sui·table

for repetitive agricultural cycles because of·the annual

rejuvenation from alluvial silt deposited during river

flooding. This factor assumes such acute importance that

the fluvial chacras, farms, prod.uce progressive yields

"often two or ·three times greater than even the initial harvest. from a comparable area of interfluvial" (Meggers 29 I '

1971:31). (See Table I page 30.) These facts are

extr.emely important to remember because it was (and is)

the interfluvial zones that indigenous groups have been

forced to abandon due to commercial exploitation and the

influx of Andean penetration into the jungle regions.

'I'able I shm•7s t.hat both fluvial and interfluvial

regions are suitable for not only manioc, but also rice

~ . c:.nd g_~aJ. ze, corn. It also demonstrates that fluvial farms

do not~ stop yielding aft.er the third year of harvest as

do t.he in:terfluvial, but continue to produce through to

the sixth. Therefore, the fluvial soils are not only

better adapted to a high production of manioc, but also

to maize and domestica)ced rice.

It needs to be emphasized again that although the

fluvial regions seem to have unlimited potential, it shows

this potential only in relationship to the interfluvial

areas. Taken a step further, a comparison between fluvial

soils in the more t.emperate tropical zones of the world

\•7ould demonstrate tha·t ten out of ·the thirteen percent

of the floodplain soils proves to be remarkably infertile It (Meggers 1971).

The relative infertility of soils and scarcity of

protein required ecological adaptations to be made by

aboriginal populations. They became known as bearers

of the Tropical Forest Culture (Meggers 1971). 30

1:'.?-bl~~. Yi~lds of major crops on inter-fluvial and fluvial soil~*

Crop Yield per 2. 5 acres per year or harvest Inter fluvial Fluvial lst 2nd )rd 4th 5th

Corn 1, }25- 1,6)0 1,150 Abandoned·-----· 2,650 1bs. lbs. ;;· lbs. Corn 3.300 ),)00 J, 300 3. 300 ),)00 lbs. 1bs. 1bs. 1bs. lbs. ------Bitter manioc (12 mo. variety) ~1J ~10 Abandoned----- tons tons Bitter manioc .( 6-ruo. 12-19 12-19 12-19 12-·19 12-19 variety) tons** tons tons tons tons Sweet manioc (6 .. mo. + + + + variety) -9 tons -9 tons ~9 to~s -9to~s ------·------Domt>sticated 2,650 1,750 1,}25 Abandonf:d------rice lbs. lbs. lbs.

Domesticated rice 6,600- 6,600- 6,600- 6,600- 6,600 9,900 9.900 9.900 9.900 9,900 1bs. *" 1bs. lbs. 1bs. lbs.

"After Lima, 1956,108,11),154-157, In lt.e,c;gers, 1971:22.

i>*Yariation ln Yield reflects differences in variety. 31

~ropi£a~-~orest Culture

One basic characteristic of the Tropical Forest

Culture was that aboriginal populations were limited at

a level lower (although higher than interfluvial popu­

lations) ·than necessary under optimum subsistence con­

ditions. Low village populations functioned as a safety­

valve against overpredation of game and the annual

possibility of 11 excessive 11 river flooding vJhich vmuld

destroy their farms cutting off food supplies. It S\~rved

as a type of buffer zone which assured each person a

sufficicient, although low, annual protein intake.

The Tropical Forest Cultural adaptations set forth by Meggers and Evans (Meggers 1954; 1971:97-113) have

been summarized by Gross as aiding in the: {1) Hainten­

ance of small settlements which minimizes the impact of human predat:ion on fish and game within t.he area acces-·

sible to settlements. Some cultural traits favoring small

settlement size are lack of strong political leadership, disptltes ove:c women, witchcraft, accusations, a11d seasonal dispersals, all of ~tThich favor the fissioning of settle­ ments; (2) Low ra·te of population grmvth which eases the pressure on resources; some traits favoring low natality are infanticide, particularly female infanticide which lowers the number of reproducers, abor-tion, contraception, and taboos on sexual intercourse; (3) Disperson of set­

t.lements as opposed to clumping 1 to avoid overlapping 32

areas-of exploitation. This is favored by warfare where a constant danger of attack exists; (4) Maintenance of

"no-man's lands" between settled areas forming "preserves" where prey species may reproduce unhindered by human pre­ dat:ion; ( 5) Frequent movement of settlements to avoid overexploitation. This is favored by warfare, fission, 2 and the practice of shifting (swidden) agriculture

(Gross 1975:535).

In both fluvial and interfluvial regions, indigenous populations extract the majority of their subsistence from the land using swidden agriculture. There is one critical factor in the successful production of a swidden system stressed in both ecological (Carneiro 1973; Conklin

19~)4; Gomez-Pampa 1972; Goodland 1975; Gross 1975; Harris

1972; Meggers 1971; Ross 1978) and socio-economic studies

(Frank 1967; Harris 1972; Varese 1972a, 1972b). The critical factor is land. There must be enough land to involve the impermanent agricultural use of plots.

The in~ermanent use of agricultural plots requires that there be sufficient land to enable the shifting of one plot to another, an un-fixed method of land utiliz­ ation in contrast to a fixed, permanent method of farming.

On a production level, outsiders (Westerners and Peruvian nationalists) have tended to look upon shifting culti- vation as "primitive," unproductive, des·f:ructive and wasteful, and/or an inefficient method of land utilization, and have used these judgments as excuses

to instill change on selva groups.

Refuting these conclusions, studies (Carneiro 1973;

Harris 1972) demonstrate that the swidden method of agri-

vulture can be highly productive given enough land which 3 allmvs plots to lie fallow. The impor-tance of sufficient

land for the cyclic use of swidden plots has also been

shown t.o be a very efficient means of adapting technology

and t.ime--labor efficiency to production yields and that negative evaluations of the system often stem from Western ethnocentric sentiments.

The properties inherent in an impermanent land use

system assume immeasureable importance when contrasted to t:he destructive effects of permanent. larrd------,.rtil_;__zat±an------w·hich has taken place vlith recent Andean penetration and commercializa-tion. Goodland contrasts impermanent land use with the detrimental results of permanent highways buil·t as inroads to commercial exploitation of tropical resources. He states,

Studies of the history of the region have

shmv-n that the small clearing in the

forest made by indigenous populations will

regenerate over the years, but that the

areas cleared for the highways are much

larger, and the changes of regeneratibn

are slight. The entire population of a 34

particular species may be wiped out, and

there will then be no propagules for its

reestablishment even if the area were

allowed to regenerate~ The restoration

of primary forest in cleared areas is

entirely dependent on there being

enough primary forest left to re-stock

the secondary ones (1975:110).

Gomez-Pampa adds,

We cannot. overs·t-.ress t:he importancr~ of

the space factor in these considerations,

because it makes an enormous difference

if we use or destroy thousands of square

kilometers or if we destroy one or two

(1972:763).

Today only a few remnant groups remain in the Amazon rainforest who represent the true Tropical Forest Culture

{Lathrap 1973:83). What happened to the other groups can b~ understood by looking at the characteristics of the

interfluvial environment into which fluvial groups have been resettled because of protein scarcity or the influx of commercial economies.

In·~~rf!u~J.-~1 Regi_~ns_

The interfluvial zones incorporate 77% of the

Peruvian Amazon basin \tlith an average population density of 2.07 persons per square kilometer (Varese 1972b:12). "J,.. ..,.) ;)

It has been defined as "land not subject to annual inun-

dat.i.on i elevation varies from immediately above flood

level t:o several thousand feet" (Meggers 1971:178).

Interfluvial aquatic resources are spoken of in terms of rela.t.i '-le scarcity with a.n absence of large aquatic mammals due to unsuitable ecological niches and feeding conditions (Ross 1978:4). The shallower streams and rivers supply only a few varieties of small fish. The

scr.:trci ty of a.qua·tic animals means the importance of fish

in the interfluvial diet diminishes. This forces a greater dependence upon exploitation of other protein resources, such as game, which is susceptible to overexploitation.

Game

Inter fluvial resources such as birds, marmnals, and primates are present but sparse and dispersed. The largest game anixnals such as capyvara, peccary, tapir, and deer which concentrate by the shorelines in a fluvial zone are rarely present in interfluvial regions (Ross

1978:3). When available they are more dispersed and inclined to rapid local depletion from human predation due to their smaller numbers and long gestation periods.

This brings about a greater protein dependence on small game animals such as monkeys, birds, and rodents 36

(exclusive o£ capyvara) (Lathrap 1973:84; Ross 1978:9) which exist in greater numbers and have a higher rate of reproduction.

:E'orced to depend heavily· upon game because of poor aquatic resources and the infer·tility of soil (see

Table I page 30) .• interfluvial groups had to adapt to t.he possibility of overexploitation and the eventual disap­ pearance of animal protein. With either very small village populations or constant village movement (~ n01nadic way of life) the problem of diminishing game would be alleviated. ~hey chose smaller village populations favoring the advantages of a more sedentary way of life

(Meggers 1971:100). Before European contact this allevi­ ated the problem of a potentially dangerous diminished protein intake, but recently with outside extractive forces plundering game resources, limiting land availa­ bility, and inhibiting village fissioning and hrinting, numerous problems have risen.

One Campa village (see map page 44) studied had an average population of five to fifteen people. Even with this low population their animal protein intake per capita per day was a mere fifteen to ·t-r.venty grams (Gross 19 75) .

Carneiro (1970} studied the AIT,ahuacas who responded to limited land availability with an intensification of hunting. Because hunting cannot be increased ~ithout quickly reaching a point of diminishing returns (Siskind 37

1973:229), Carneiro found t:hat their communities with as

few as fifteen pe6ple severely depleted local game

resources within two years (1970:245).

Soil

According to Meggers (1954; 1971) and Lathrap (1970),

a predominant interfluvial feature is its infertility

and relatively unproductive soil. Infertility is a

result of the age of the soil and the climatic conditions

of t.emperature and rainfall.

In terms of the aged soil, interfluvial regions do

not share the advantage of annual silt rejuvenation which

characterizes fluvial soils. Therefore, due to continu-

ous chc~mi.ca.l \•Jeathering the interfluvial soils have been

progressively robbed of nutrients resulting in aged,

mature soil conditions. Because the tropics are not

t:emperate, the climatic conditions are able to create a

balancing effect \.Yhich allows for a certain amount of

soil fertility, but not enough for continuous

agrlculture.. - 4

Because interfluvial soils do not benefit from the

annual rejuvenation cycle of silt deposits, the high tern- peratures (77°F plus) and rainfall as critical factors

in creating humid conditions serve as a buffer to complete

infertili t.y. In effect, a rainforest is a giant humid greenhouse, at work developing an abundance of lush trop- ical foliage. The umbrella of high dense vegetation 38

shades the soil and acts as a cooling system which lowers

ground temperatures. This enables the formation of a

small amount of humus which in turn retains enough soil

nutrients and allows for enough·porosity enabling a ~hacra

to sufficiently produce under swidden technology for at

least three consecutive years. The umbrella of vegetation

al.so prevents the t.orrents of rain from pounding the

ground wi·th such force that it completely erodes -!.:he

surface soil.

Con:sidering the importance of high temperatures,

rainfall, and thick foliage, the question arises that

with the extensive amount of current forest exploitation

{e.g., five million hectares out of seventy million

destroyed as of 1976 [Anonymous 1976:13]), what happens t:Jhen the umbrella~like protection of foliage is dest:royed?

Already predictions, and in fact verifications have been made public, that the destruction of foliage will cause

climatic transformations turning the lush tropics into

a desert-like envi.ronment. (Gomez~Pampa et: al. 1972;

Goodland and Irwin, 1975) that will eventually result in

the total extinction of animal species and the Tropical

Forest Culture .

.!E_t~rfluvi~_l Adapta_tion

Interfluvial adaptive characteristics have taken

the form of swidden agriculture, as in the fluvial areas, but. favoring a greater dependence on ·the manioc r:oot and 39

a lessening of dependence on corn and rice which require

wetter {e~g., flooding for rice) conditions.

Other adaptive characteristics have taken the form

of limited and dispersed village populations, a more

nomadic hunting economy with great importance placed on

small game, and simpler material cultures. These adap-

tations have beeR discussed in conjunction with such

, terms as 11 cul·tural deterioration" or "deevolution"

(Lathrap 1970; 1973), concepts which come into play as

a direct result of forced migrations into interfluvial

:z.ones.

Interfluvial adaptive mechanisms are needed to main-

>cain a state of homeostasis between population and suffi-

cient caloric and protein intake. To achieve this

equilibrium additional time is required in agricultural

related activities because of the infertile conditions.

Soil infertility, in turn, means more time must be spent

by men on hunt.ing trips due to the added importance of 5 game an d 1ts. sparse d'1spersa 1 .

As time passed it became obvious that not only were

fluvial tribes pushed into the hinterlands of the inter-

fluvial zones as a result of inter-tribal conflicts (war-

fare due to resource competition), but as will be shown,

outside exploitative interests pushed them further and

further until they were, so-to-speak, with their backs

against the jungle wall. 40

Summar)~

'l'he Amazon rainforest is anything but an unmitigated paradise of untapped, continuously rene~able potential.

It is, in fact, a fragile, protein scarce environment, an ecosystem productive only when utilized with constraint and renewable only within a state of equilibrium.

Equilibrium had been maintained by indigenous cul­ tural adaptations made in response to fluvial and inter- fluvial environment:s. The Tropical Forest Culture utilized controlled exploitation of resources preventing overpredation, therefore guaranteeing for the people a successful and reproducible sUbsistence.

The question is: Can indigenous Amazonian groups now successfully reproduce the traditional subsistence patterns of their societies? The answer lies in the repercussions of outside influences on the ecology and native cultural adaptations that have been critical to the maintenance of resource equilibrium; and, therefore, to the reproduction of a successful subsistence pattern.

The belief that the rainforest has renewable and unlimited potential has allowed the overpredation of game, the over­ exploitation of tropical resources, and the permanent clearing of forest areas by outsiders who neglect to conserve t.he natural equilibrium required to prevent the

Amazon from turning into a desert environment.

Finally, t:o emphasize my discussion of the 41

destructive effects of outside exploitation, I offer two

follow--ups. The first, published as recently as May 25,

1980 in the Los Angeles Times describes the effects of

t:he Trans-Amazonian Highway in Brazil. The article

strongly applies to Peru, except for the fact that

settlement programs and cattle grazing are not subsiding,

but increasing.

Recently, settlement programs and cattle

grazing in the Amazon have subsided,

although estimates show forests are still

being stripped at the rate of 400 square

miles a year. Researchers have found that

jungle land stripped of trees is unsuitable

for farming and grazing. The forest depends

on falling leaves to build up a thin organic

layer on the jungle floor; without that,

ecologists have warned, the Amazon is in

danger of turning from "green hell to red

desert" (Part 1:2).

'' '" A second study describes the current situation of

game availability in fluvial regions. In 1967, Heltne

explored the fluvial regions which should have been

abundcm·t with game resources especially close to water

areas. He found,

Wherever I inquired, army officers, mis-

sionaires, and natives insisted that 42

animals and good forest could be found

"en el centro" (area.s direct.ly away

from the major waterway in the area) .

However, after half-day treks into

forests of a type in which experience

led me to expect many animals, I found

none, even though I had been previously

as~ured that I was in a "good" area.

Not once did I see any mammals or any

large birds or reptiles. The usually

conunon armadillo trails were extremely

rare; feces or signs of feeding or rest-

ing vlere extremely scattered, and no nest:s

were spo·tted. A colleague who has worked

the Amazon from the Columbian border into

Brazil and another who has worked the

headwaters of the Pachitea River confirm

these observations (1967:134).

The following chapter explores the socio-economic factors of external capitalism and export economies

(commercialism) in the Peruvian selva. The emphasis will be placed on socio-economic stratification and relations of productions between indigenous and com- meri.cal groups. Chapter Three

The Effects of Extrac~ive Economies

The present situation of the tribal

minorities is more than anything else

the result of a process of the submis­

sion to the dialectics of national and

international politics and economics

(Varese 1972b:7).

In this chapter I discuss the historical and economic. facto:cs tha·t b~ought the Peruvian selva into the world economic system. Many indigenous groups (see map follow­ ing page) became involved in European market economies, primarily through their historical relations with Spain in the sixteen·th, seventeenth, and eighteenth centuries and then England, the United States, and Japan in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

The Great Rubber Boom in the late nineteenth century fostered the development of relations of domination and exploitation between natives and non-natives. Within the system of inter-relations, the Amazonian indigenous groups ¥7ere denied access to the means and/or factors of production, in this case land, and became a class of surplus laborers. While the economic centers and the comrnodities extracted changed over time, the structural relations between indigenous peoples and external economic

43 44

II.NEXO: M!,PA DE :i:.OS CRL!POS JDIOHATICOS

Ach ua 1-J.{b~ ro 1 .A gu~!-wle 26 kr.>.!.hu~ ·:: & 37 A!r.aJ::!k!!leL·i :Jl Amuesha 5 A.rabf:j a 7 Box-a 73 Ca.1t~c; ! e s L~~r •.f.nca 3'i C~·~a f-•:1:_->! rl.i:•PH. i 36 Ca...>n p,\ d~J 'h ::h 1~ 24 Ca;nP ~ !HJ!"",a ..- ~ !.l.' Ueu~ a Cen··P-: pa jO;"' '\.l l no 3 l'<\!"!d~S~lJ -Sh.1pr .~ 16 <'Apo.l :lahu'" 10 C!. s:t: r. .::. 27 C\shi :l::.h .la Culine Cha\'ah ~· :.. t.a Hue't:.bi sd. Rui.t otc mun:i" 3l Jr.iach ~ g ,_ ,er,g~ 1< Maj•o t·ur.a Oca.ina • On.·)6n 1. 7 ~ ir c- l9 Qu~chua l~P. J.,nc a sh 3C Q.Jer:bua d-e ·\: 'li C'I,IC~o 35 {l;.>!;!c;1 u a de~ HwA:'! tT CO Qu~c!1u<'l de Junf u {;uc.:.:hua del f .:ts t.a za '.)uf. .: twa de Sa.; Ma:-t.!n Sh '\ =-~:'!ahua -H" r ind.hua lO ~~ipi!.;I)-Coti.i bo ~3 'raush..o.l'O l~t 'ticuna 10 Una:-1r,,a 11 Ya qu~S. 38 Ya;r.lrJ.:!hua

Map Indigenous Language Groups in Peru Source: Summer Institute of Linguistics forces remained constant--a system of external economic

domination.

Chapter Three has four sections, each discussing various economic penetrations in historical sequence:

(1) Early Explorations and Missionary Contact, (2) The

P-eriod of Nascent Capitalism, (3) The Rubber Period, and . 1 (4) The Period of Economic Depresslon. These pene·-

trations should not be read as if isolated in time and

space. Instead, they brought accessible, indigenous groups out of isolation, independencef and self-

sufficiency and brought them into a situation of wage 2 labor and dpE·ndency. Furthermore 1 extractive economies have caused game depletion, land infertility, and group migration to interfluvial regions. More precisely, extractive economies have destroyed the Tropical Forest

Ecosystem and Culture.

In the mid-1500's Spanish soldiers under Gonzalo

Pizarro and Francisco de Orel-lana_ ventured into the upper

Amazon and IYiaranon regions searching for "El Dorado, 11 the land of gold (Kramer n.d. :3). They did not find the gold, but they did bring out the news of "primitive" peoples living in these treacherous, deadly jungles.

This news piqued the interest of countries looking for new territory and people to conquer for expansionist reasons, including a quest for new religious conversions. 46

It was at this time that expansionism began to subject

indigenous Amazonians to colonial vmrld forces.

In the 1700's Spanish Jesuit and Franciscian mis­

sionary posts were established in the Peruvian Amazon. 3

With the influx of more outsiders disease and violence

spread among indigenous peoples, and the reorganization of conmmnit:ies began.

The Jesuit and Franciscian missionaries attracted 4 nai:J.ves. Wltl.'l Western goo d s, an d nn.ss1ons.. b ecame a meet1ng. and living place for many se~vati_cos, indigenous jungle inhabit.ants, v1ho moveC. av.Jay from t.heir villages. Many wanted only to acquire outside goods, but they even- tua.ll y became "tamed" (a ·term coined by the Spanish) and were rejected by their tribes. They were then totally dependent on the mission for food, land, tools, living quarters, and even protection against warring tribes.

In exchange, the Indians were obligated to attend relig- ious services and to produce jungle products, i.e.,

·aqricultural, animal, and native crafts, which the mis- sionaries would sell or trade to the outside. In turn, the traded jungle products insured the missionaries of an incoming supply of Western goods to use as a means of instilling greater and more widespread economic depend- ency. In this manner the indigenous groups were incor- porated into a foreign economic system as a cla~s of laborers \'l·orking for and dependent upon foreign interests a.nd imported goods.

During·the eighteenth century more missionaries,

Spanish soldiers, explorers and some feudal lords came to settle along the main navigable rivers in Peru. Growing antagonisms between natives and non-natives due to social and economic disturbances, displacement, killings and disease brought about numerous native uprisings and revolts. A case in point was that of the Campa tribe li.v.ing in the south-central !~mazon region. In 1742, they organized and forcefully resisted further contact and

"drove out all outsiders and enjoyed nearly two hundred years of autonomy" (Bodley 1975: 171). Fortunately, dl..le

to their acquired reputation for fierceness 1 the Campas did not need to relocate to gain their autonomy. But, for many other groups, autonomy was not without its draw- backs. Normally, complete tribal reisolation required migration away from the rich fluvial zones suitable for highly productive cycles of swidden agriculture into the less desirable interfluvial areas (Varese 1972b).

The government of Peru, foreseeing the economic import:ance of intermediaries in their relations with tribal groups, countered the isolated attacks and organ- ized uprisings and offered protection to the missionaries.

At this time missions established a permanent' foothold in the selva. Varese comments on their omnipotent presence: 48

The mission has a special characteristic

of its own: it is the only institution

of t:he national society which has always

been present in inter-ethnic relations

during the last four and a half (4~)

centuries. No other institution seems

to have lasted as long (1972a:120).

1769-1880

The beginning of this period is marked by the expulsion of t:he ,Jesuit missionaries by the Spanish government in Madrid in response to dissatisfaction with

t.heir violent acts of force on indigenous groups. The

Jesuits were replaced with Franciscans and with these changes the socio-economic system established by the

Jesuits was replaced by a new, mercantile, capitalist

system (San Ramon 1975).

The mercan·tile system arose in response to an increase in national and international interest in jungle resources. This interest resulted in population migrations east from the Andes into the jungles, the first relations with regat6nes, professional traders, and p~trones, labor contractors, filling new demands for labor.

There were two periods of Andean penetration into the highland jungles which were inspired by the national

Peruvian government. One period of expansion was 49

considered liberal and the other expansionist. In 1824

Sirnon Bolivar decreed that any person in de facto pos-

session of land could sell it (Varese 1972b:8). This

decree caused the break-up of Andean communities and had

two major repercussions. First, it contributed to the

expansion of the latifundio, large estate, system; and,

second, permanent highland penetration of the tropics

was init~iated.

The expansion of the latifundio was accomplished

as a number of the indigenous highland groups sold their

land to the Spanish or mestizosJ who in turn became large

landholders. The backlash to this "liberal" policy was

that many Indians los·t control over their means of pro-

duction (the land) and were forced to become a class of

landless laborers on the latifundio. Some were "allowed"

to live and work on the land with "rent" paid in the form of labor and agricultural products to the estate owner,

then ·tl:"J.e dominant class in control of ·the means of . 5 pro d uct.1on.

'l'he displaced Indians, who did not remain as

laborers, migrated to the high jungle areas and settled along the fluvial waterways. This penetration was not a new ph.;.::nomenon. The pre-Inca and Inca groups of the

Andes already had developed a "vertical economy" (Murra

1966) that. involved obtaining resources from the higher

jungle zones and returning with them to the sierras. 50

h~at was new were the permanent settlements which created further population pressure and the displacement of jungle communities.

A second period of population influx into the jungle zones began in the mid-1800's; this can be called an expansionist intrusion. The government of Peru created an ima9e of the tropics as an area of mystery, an area to be conquered and developed. At this time the

1a!_ifur;.0_io system expanded into the high jungle regions after t.he national government gave a large area of land by t'he Upp(::r Perene River to the. Peruvian Corporation to open up coffee plantations. This land was occupied by some Amuesha and Campa groups who were now faced with outsiders demanding their land and the demand for a labor force to ·,vork the coffee plant.ations (Varese 19 72b: 9) .

Confronting these demands, they could ei t.her become wage­ laborers, ·;;,vhich would place them in a situation of dependency and force them to become subjects or internal colonialism: or relocate to more isolai.:ed interfluvial regions.

During this period of expansion, contact with indige­ nous groups along the main waterways was further inflated with the arrival of ~egatones, professional traders, who were usually mestizo. As representatives of a mercantile system these traders lived in urban centers with expan­ 6 sive economic connections. ~ega>c

as a means of ingratiating themselves to local populations

and breaking down resistance. Thus they established

desires for Wes·tern commodities including alcohol, and

nat:ive exploitation became the predominant mode of inter-

racial relationships between Fegat6n and indigenous

groups, ~~z~ and indi~ respectively. At this time, having no knowledge of, or access to, market systems and

fair pricing, the _!="egatones became the communicators,

an int.:ermediary force between native societies and. the

cft.y market. 1'he native became obliga·ted to t.he regaton 7 to trap, produce, and trade his jungle products at low exchange rates for Western goods (clothing, toothpaste, bread, machetes, salt kerosene, alcohol) at inflated 8 prices, and was therefore exploited.

•rhe exportation of jungle products and the impor- tation of Western goods were facilitated by the advent of steam navigation. During the latter half of the

1800's, the Peruvian government commissioned tvm new 9 steam engines from London to be assembled in an Iquitos factory (San Ramon 1975:100). The use of steam engines enabled more rapid transportation and communicat.ion be·tween the jungle and both national and international markets. The capacity of steam-powered boats for long distance t:ravel. px:-ovided access to a large international market desirous of jungle products. The consequence was expanded involvement of Amazonian societies in the 52

world-market': economy.

On a larger commercial scale, the patron, a labor

contractor, increased the commercial influences on indige--

nous societies. The patron was, again, usually a mestizo,

wtih access to commercial markets. Acting as an economic

int.ermediary between the jungle and the world markets 1

a.emancs,, 'l ror~ Jung• 1 e pro d ucts, th. e patron, c 1 a1mea, . " ae~ _ f_.9-Cc.O, ~

areas of land from which to extract resources. Large

scale extraction required a labor force. The system used

to acquire manpower came ·to be knmvn as the Patron System,

or debt-peonage. It was a systemwhich indebted natives

by furnishing commodities on credit at inflated prices.

In return, the native was obligated to work for "his

E~_!:ro_~_" on "his :e_atr_on 1 s land" (often far from his native

village) and re-pay his debt with labor-time in the pro-

duction and extraction of demanded resources. In fact,

the native would never quite get out of debt as the

! ~- pat.ro.2_~ would often al·ter the records, forget entries for

payments, and continually encourage t:he need for more

supplies to be furnished on credit.

The Patr6n System had an extensive stronghold over 10 selva societies through the 1960's. The system

reappeared in the late 1970's, in the Department of Madre

de Dios with the influx of large-scale gold mining.

Requiring male labor migrations and creating a dependency

on Western goods, the system ultimately resulted in 53 . '

large-scale socio;....economic changes in native village life

(e.g., break-up of communal life-style, more individual-

ism, changes in relations of production, and the devel-

opment of cash-cropping) (see Rubber Period, pgs. 56-64;

Chapter Five; and Murphy 1954).

The introduction of the patr6n, the regat6n, and

the missionaries involved the native groups in the initial

stages of class formation. The exploited were the natives

and the exploiters non-natives. This stratification fully

developed in 1880 with the introduction of the Great

Rubber Boom and the resultant native involvement in'the

capitalist mode of production.

------The Rubber Period: 1880-1914 One of the national and international

economic phenomena which most contrib-

uted to determining the present socio-

cultural structure of the selv~, with

its ethical and class stratification

and its pattern of intermediary and 'i a-symmetrical relationships, is to be

found in the economic boom resulting

from the world demand for rubber

(Varese 1972a:l23).

From ·this time on, the Peruvian Amazon was involved

in a series of "boom or bust 11 extractive economies. Once

involved in the changing demands of a world-market, the 54

indigE"nous societies became suscept.ible to fluctuations

in the national and global economy.

The advent of the automobile increased the demand

for rubber. Wild raw rubber, or latex, could be obtained

by tapping the Hevea brasilinis tree indigenous to the

t.:.ropical jungle. Charles Goodyear of the United States

and Thomas Hancock of England discovered that once latex

was treated with sulfur it was pliable enough to make

tires. During this period the Amazon saw the massive

influx of fo.r:eign industries, such as B. F. Goodrich of

the United Stat.:.es, British au·tomobile industries (Cf.

Phelos 1975; Wolf 1936), and the British-owned Peruvian

Amazon Co., Ltd. (Bodley 1975:32), who came to export

rubbe.r.

'l'he world demand for rubber required a large labor

force. The indigenous Amazonian became the prime source of labor. In addition to some import.ed labor, twelve

thousand Indians were working in the Putumayo area in

1905 (Fuentes 1908). It was rationalized that they were better adapted than irnport.ed laborers to the tropical environment, accustomed to .it.s dangers and highly knowl­ edgeable in terms of locating the trees and tapping the

latex. The Patron System \vas ·the foundation of labor acquisi·t.ion. It was an exploitative method of labor acquisition which included corre£las, slave-raids,

involving t.he invasion of native villar:Jes, killing off 55

of resisting men, and ·taking women and children to be

sold as slaves (Bodley 1975:31).

An internal commercial hierarchal system of pro-

duction, habilitaci6n, was established. The relative

position, high or low, held in the hierarchy determined

t:he earning power. The further removed from the actual

labor of tapping rubber, the greater the profits. The

large foreign commercial houses (mostly North·-P..merican

_and English corporations) showed the largest margin of

profit at 12%, the principal commercial houses of Iquitos,

8%, the rubber patron, 6%, .and the pe~n cauchero (rubber

tapper), 0% (San Ramon 1975:128-129).

The internal system of rubber production placed the

patr§r~ as a managerial middle-man, responsible to and

controlled by a regional company official. This official

represented the exporting corporation that controlled

initial investments (Bodley 1975:32). The patron, in

. I,. turn, ccntx:olled and dominated the caucheros who were responsible for meeting extraction quotas. WheE a quota

was not met, due t.o any numbex:- of reasons, such as 11 illness or inaccessibility of trees, the worker was

punished. The tapper "was beaten for the first failure,

lost an ear for the second, another ear for the third,

and was killed for the fourth" (Schreider (1970:116).

'I'hrou9hout. the Putamayo area, there were "floggings,

tortures and murders, slave-breeding camps, and 56

:e.at::r:6n-sired boys raised to be v-Thip-wielding guards"

(Schreider 1970: 116). These events came to be knm'm as . . 12 t h e Putumayo A t roc1t1es. The Atrocities resulted in the decimation of 80% of the population (Varese 1972b:5).

The Putumayo Atrocities were eventually brought to the attention of the Peruvian and British governments. Their reaction, however, was one of denial and claimed ignor- ance.f and neither government intervened to exert control

{Bodley 1975:33).

Analyzing the Rubber Period in terms of labor and the! control of production demonstrates that the Rubber

Boom creat.ed a capitalist system which was characterized by vast economic inequalities. With the status of the indiv.id.ual being defined "first and foremost by economic criteria" (Godelier 1978:768) a pyramid of social strat- ification developed in the Peruvian Amazon. The exploi- tation of labor-power placed the native groups iri the lowest level of social stratification; exporters, execu- tives of foreign industries, and segments of the Peruvian oligarchy became the "elite capitalists" (1%) of the jungle, an elite that constituted the dominant group of the socio-economic levels of selva society (San Ramon

1975:163). (See Figure I following page.)

Positions on the pyramid of social stratification in the Peruvian selva are not only relegated according to pure economic criteria, but are also made on the basis 57

Professionals '·i Have control of' ndustrial executives of foreign f.egt onal Ban.k. . . industries Houses of major commercial H:r-h functionaries of military Major ·transportation dministration

e owners TJar e and medium regat5rtes Publ c and private bureaucrats Small agriculturalists and cattle manae,ers

14% Small ~M~ones (traders)~ Patr5nes'with large settle nts Small E!!.r.§nes · . · Independent technical worker Urban artisans

Workmen Domestic workers Laborers Ribereno (immisTant or ex-rubber \e€;. living in the se_lv:J., has ettlement cvlono along river, but identifie con:~ national urban culture} Street vendors

Marginal Groups: vagrants, prostitutes, vagabonds

Adapted fromr Jesus San Ramon 1975:166 (my translation) 58

of the inequality of race relati.ons. The lowest class consists of Indians, native laborers, the middle class is made up of mef?._i;:izos (including the patron_ and regaton) and ·the upper class members are nationals of

Spanish descent or foreigners. Bet'i.-veen mestizos

(la.dinos) and Indians in Latin America, Stavenhagen maintains tha·t,

it is their commercial relations that are

most important. The Indian participates

in these relations as producer and con-

sumer; the ladino always the merchant,

the middleman, the monopolist . . It

is precisely the commercial relations

~"'1hich link the Indian world wit.h the

socio-economic region, the national

societ.y as well as the world economy into

which it is integrated . . It is obvious

that the commercial relations between

Indians and ladinos are not relations of

equality (1963:80).

This type of social stratification clearly divides the indigenous from the non-indigenous Amazonian in their access to the means of production.

Peru's involvement in the world-marke·t system created an economic base ( infrast.ructure) in which the international corporations held the ultimate control 59

through capital. The national government of Peru, the oligarchy~ the military, and the consenting middle-man

\vere all out to make money. To do so they depended on international corporations. The subordinate indigenous communities, objects of international and national

{internal) colonialism, were left with no controlling power ~nd at the mercy of the consenting national powers.

Two quest.ions can be raised regarding the differen­ tial in access to and control of the means of production.

~'lhat was the national economic and poli t.ical mood of Peru at this time t.hat encouraged incorpora·tion into the world­ market1 and what were the repercussions of this involve~ ment on a national scale?

The late 1800's saw the initial formation of Peru's oligarchy which resulted from a consolidation of the upper classes. Because of their origin (Spanish) they were "not nationally oriented," but allied to foreign interests and oriented toward export (Larsen and Bergman

1969: 260-261) . The oligarchy at the time of the Rubber

Boom were in a position to take advantage of economic expansion. What occurred during the Rubber Boom were marginal or peripheral economies (i.e., indigenous

Amazonian societies) becoming the objects of internal colonialism. These were subordinate to national interests (i.e., internal capitalism). They, in turn, were subordinate and dependent upon the world-market 60

economy (i.e., international capitalism and foreign

money) .

For Peru, 1880-1914, was a time of national economic

development and expansion, but at the ultimate cost of

underdevelopment. Frank sees "economic development and

underdevelopment" as "opposite faces of the same coin"

(Frank 1969:9). The expansion of the capitalist system

created underdevelopment of indigenous st7lva societies

(sometimes to the point of cultural ethnocide or physical genocide) and the economic underdevelopment of nationa.l

Peru by creating a dependency on the world-market and

foreign money, an agent of imperialism.

Haya de la Torre, a Peruvian political leader now deceased, focused on imperialism and capitalism hy st.ating that imperialism represents the means by which capitalism breaks through "destroying all potent.ial competition

. and partially using (the) primitive feudal and semi­ feudal economic architecture, converting it into a docile ally and servant" (de la Torre quoted in Larsen and

Bergman 1969:17). As an ally to foreign interests, dependency led Peru into an economic depression when the

Rubber Boom eventually led to a "Rubber Bust."

And by 1914, it was a bust. Seeds of the Hevea brasilinsis tree had been taken out of Brazil to Asia.

Rubber plantations were started in Ceylon and Malaya

(Wagley 1968:50). Due to easier accessibility and 61

extrac·tion, it became more profitable to work the rubber thE:~re. The Great. Rubber Boom was brought to a sudden halt and there followed a period of economic depression

in Peru that spanned the years 1914-1943.

Pe:t:iod of Economic Depression: 1914-1943

Two historical markers influenced Peru between 1914 and 1943. One was a shift and expansion of export indus- tries; the second was the border conflicts with Ecuador and Columbia.

After the rubber bust of 1914, the Peruvian oligarchy and the remaining English and American businessmen tried to acr,ivate the economy and searched for different jungle resources to exploit for export. About 1919, vast are:1s of land confiscated from the Indians were cleared for cotton, cor1..ee,~.c and tobacco latifundios (San Ramon

1975:173).

Six major products were exported during this period.

First, tagua, ivory-nut, a fruit from the palm tree

"phytelephas," was exported until 1925, when it was replaced by an artificial product. Second ~alata, or

~oma plastica, a type of glue extracted from the

"NimusOE_?. bident:a ta" tree. Unfortunately, to extract this product ·the entire tree must be cut down meaning the original resource was destroyed. Each time more balata was to be extracted it became necessary to go mas ~n~ro, further into the inaccessible jungle 62

regions. Eventually exportation of balata declined.

Third, .J-eche caspi, a latex obtained from the 11 Couma

~~acrocarpa" tree extracted in the same manner as balata and was exported until 1935, again replaced by a syn- thetic material. Fourth, barbasco, obtained from the

"I,onchocarpus nicou 11 plant which con>cains a strong alkaloid used for insect:icides. (~.ma zonians use barbasco as a poison to stun fish causing them to float to the water's surface, thus facilitating the catch.)

Exportation of barbasco began in 1931, but soon declined due to its commercial sale being declared illegal and . , the invent.ion of a synthetic insecticide. Fifth, anJ_ma ..l. hides, skins, and oils (i.e., jaguar, ocelot, cayman, turtle) were hunted without controls and exported in great quantities (San Ramon 1975:172-174). In 1974 the killing

and exportation of certain species had been prohibited 1 but large legal and illegal export markets exist today and threaten the v7elfare of Amazonian wildlife (Hel tne 14 1967:134)

A six'ch export economy developed 'rlith 'the exploi- tation of 'cimber in 1918, by a North American lumber firm. Timber remained a primary export product. domi- nated by foreign industry until 1943. At that time Peru nationalized the timber industry but in ac·tuali ty it was still supported by foreign interests (ORDENORIENTE 1971:

154). A real timber 11 boom" developed in 1971, but during 63

the first half of the twentieth century, exports concen­ trated on cedar and mahagony. Unfortunately, the growth pattern of t.hese two species is only one tree per hectare

(approximately two and one-half acres) and their regener­ ation requires twenty to forty years (ORDENORIENTE 1971;

White 1975:65). Eventually cedar and mahogany became a depleted resou:r:ce, and today other types of timber are exploited.

With foreign money and exports encouraged by Peru's proximity to the Pacific Ocean and the Amazon River, the natural resources of the jungle proved to be economic­ ally valuable during this period of economic depression.

But, Peru also has its g~ographic disadvantages. Bor­ dered by five countries, Brazil, Bolivia, Chile, Ecuador, and Colurnbiar border protec-tion became a constant pre- occupation. Between 1914 and 1943 Peru engaged in border conflicts with Ecuador and Columbia over rich lands and access to the Amazon River. These border disputes not only affected the political geography of Peru, but affected entire native populations who were conscripted into military service or forced to relocate. As Peru began to defend itself, military outposts, Gua:l?naciones_

~.ilitares, became prevalent. in the jungle regions along the f:contier borders and t.he g·overnment not only recruited urban males, but searched for men in isolated tropical villages. 64

'I'he conflict with Columbia prompted Peruvian pat~ones

to relocate tribes living within the disputed territory

in the northeastern region of Peru. The tribes most 14 affect.ed were the Huitoto and Bora (San Ramon 1975:185)

whose settlements were north of the Putumayo River. Major

.., segmen·t:.s of these two g-roups were relocated south of ·that . 'h .. I'J.Ver VJ., lCD nmv serves as the Peruvian-Columbian border.

For these migrant populations, relocation resulted in

extensive tribal divisions and transformations of

tr~ditional cultural patterns (see Chapter Five) . .,. The role of the patron in the infrastructure of

economic relations and mode of exploitation was still

that of an intermediary between the controlling foreign

interests and the national government, and the native

vlorkers. The patrc;n, using less coercive means of labor

acguis:i.·tion thc.m those of the Putumayo Atrocities and

slave camps, developed a more paternalist role. He

developed 9or~pad~e relationships with "his Indians" as

a protector, benefactor, friend, and godfather to their

children (Kramer 1978:112) in order to maintain a

dependent labor force.

Each native village worked under the "guidance" of

one patron who ensured the loyalty of his clientele and

labor force by offering "protection" agains·t army

induction or "imprisonment for polygyny or marriage to a

minor" (marriage to a minor was an event which would not 65

_,. occur unless instigated by the patron in the first place

[Kramer 1978:112]). The patron might also furnish medi-

cines to care for the sick, which further developed native

dependency while also ensuring him a healthy labor force . .. So.metimes dependency on a patron would require local

group relocation. Resettlement was often required either

to e[.;cape an ext:remely exploitative p~_ron in order to

vvork for another, or when t.he patro!:. desired a different

resource t:o be extracted, a desire which depended upon

the demands of a fluctuating market (Kramer 1978:134).

Kramer cit.es a case of a Urarina group living on the

Chambira River system (see map page 44),

Orlando's local group moved from the

Urituyacu River to the Tigrillo River to

escape an exploitative relationship with

their patr6n. On the Tigrillo River, they

contracted themselves to \vork for another

'. ~atron who ordered them to tap oje

(Ficus anthelmercus, a base for anthelme1:is

medicines) . Orlando and his co-residents

found that the native Tigrille~os were

already t.apping the local oj~- trees, so

they relocated, once again, to the rela-

tivel.y unpopulated Upper Chambira River,

where ·there was less competition for wild

. -"' OJe. The relocation turned out to be a 66

.,. short-term migration. When the patron

ceased ·to exploit oje, he ordered Orlando's

group to plant barbasco and, later, to cut

timber.. Both of these activj ties could be

performed on the Chambira River, and

Orlando's group continued to live there.

several years later, t.heir pc~tror:-:. decided

to establish a fonda (ranch or farm) on the Ii '. Tigrillo River. He needed laborers to cut

a pasture and to plant rice fields, and

Orlando's local group returned to the

Tigrillo River to work at. the fonda. When

the ranch was est.ablished, they relocated

to San Lorenzo, on the middle Tigrillo River,

along with several other local groups which

were assigned to plant new rice fields.

After harvesting these rice fields, the -~ Eatr~~ intensified his exploitation of

'cimber. The Urarina living at San Lorenzo

remained there and cut local mahogany,

cedar, and other valuable trees (1978:134).

While the position of t.he patr6!1 became more pater-

nalistic, the regaton during this period retained

basically the same role as in the Period of Nascent

Capitalism (see pages 48-53). As a necessary figure in

t.he network of commercial transportation, he traveled o.,...7

the rivers furnishing alcohol and material items at inflated (i.e., for profit) pri6es in exchange for jungle products. Kramer (1978) has shown that the Urarina, with whom she did fieldwork, realized the regatones' position of domination and exploitation, but accepted it because the !egat~n furnished items they desired, such as alcohol; which vJas not. supplied by their patron. The

E_§_g~_!~o~: (generally) did not develop personal relation- ships with indigenous Amazonian groups, but oftentimes delivered messages for them or took orders for a special item which he delivered upon a following visit. (e.g., sewing machines) (Kramer 19 78: 114} .

~_§!gaton~-~ and patrones, while playing important roles in the economic base of the selva, were only a small segment of the non-native population in the jungle during Peru's period of economic depression. The bust of the Rubber Boom left a large population of colonists to be integrated into the jungle hierarchy. The 1940

Census of the Department of Loreto lists 180,000 colon- ists, 61 percent Of these were Anglo, Asian, or mes-ti.z~ 1 and 38 percen'c indios the majority of which came from the Department. of San Martin (San Ramon 1975:177, 180). r.'l.any of these colonists became members of a sub-hierarchy within the larger system of Amazonian stratification.

They were incorporated into the third or fourth levels of stratification of 14 percent or 50 percent 68

respectively, of the selva popu.lation (see page 61}.

'I'he sub-hierarchy consisted of the patron, pequeno­ pa_!:_!Ol~ (small patron) I and t.he colono comun (common colonist). The status of the patron was the highest, being in control of large Indian populations. The

Pequ~~-patron occupied the intermediate position living on modest plots of land and employing· a few Indians or

~c1est.izos. His !'employees" were almos·t totally dependent

~ ~ upon the :e_eq~(:~no-patron. On the bottom level of the sub- ... hierarchy was t.he colo_!lo cornun who has been defined as having various life-styles (San Ramon 1975:177}. He might be a self-sufficient colonist living and working just with his im...'1lediate family consisting of his wife and children; or, he might be a colonist who frequen·tly utilizes the labor of his god-children, dependent. adolescents, orphans, stepdaughters or stepsons, and these people together with his wife and children formed the "colonial family" (San Ramon 1975:178}. Often a

~ol~? comun will accep·t work for others as a. day- laborer for agriculturalists (San Ramon 1975:177-178) which delegates him to the lowest echelon of the colonial hierarchy.

I have discussed in this chapter how and why the indigenous Amazonian was coerced into participating in extractive export economies since the 1700's. At this 69

time the Peruvian Amazon was involved in a wider system

of social stratification. The development of a large-

scale, profit-making, capitalist system during the Rubber

Boom solidified the natives' position on the lowest rung

of the socio-economic hierarchy as a class of resource

labor. Dependency was fostered and male laborers and

entire villages became the "property" of a patron who

required them to extract various resources upon his

demand. The patron formed the labor controlling liaison

be·tween the members of the exporters, in control of the

money and living in urban centers, and the extractors,

indigenous laborers of jungle extraction.

p,.ft.er ·the fall of the Rubber Boom in 1914,

extraction of resources ot.her ·than rubber were commer-

cially developed to boost the Peruvian economy. Although

the resources changed, the social stratigraphy did not.

People with the controlling interests, money, were mostly

white foreign bureaucrats; the in·termediary labor organ~

izer claiming tracts of land, was the patr6n, usually a . i mestizo; and, the lowest class consisted of native

laborers who lost t.heir land, indios.

The repercussions of relationships between indige-

nous Amazonians and external economic forces since the

1700's have resulted in the strangling of native popu-

lations and cultures (e.g., Putumayo Atrocities,

genocidal in nature, and transformations in traditional 70

socio-economic patterns, ethnocide). Recently, the__ term · ethnocide has been used in describing the repercussions of attempts by the Peruvian government to integrate the native cult.ures of the Amazon (Varese 1972a, 1972b) into national society. In view of this situation, the inte- gration of indigenous Amazonian societies becomes the subject of the following chapter. Chapter Four

Economic Integrati?n of the Peruvian Selva

Even the indigenous people of Latin

America, whose supposed non-market

economy is so often said to isolate

them from national life, find themselves

fully integrated into the same capitalist

structure, albeit as superexploited

victims of capi-talist internal imperialism.

Since they thus are already fully integral

parts of the capitalist system, the all­

too-e·common policy of trying to "integrate 11

the Latin American Indians in·to national

life through one conununity development

project or another is useless and condemned

to failure. The particular condition of

the supposed backwardness of the Indians,

far from being due to isolation, must be

traced to and understood in terms of the

same capitalist system and struc l:ure of ·the

particular manifestations of underdevelopment

to which they give rise under differing cir­

cumstances (Frank 1967:VIII).

Integration policies place peripheral indigenous economies in a moderat.e position between isolation and

71 72

full E~conomic ass.imilation with the national economy.

Integration has been said to benefit the peripheral economy because it has the capacity for preserving certain aspects of a traditional culture which will ease the transition t.o eventual assimilation and modern- ization (Bodley 1975:166). On the other hand, a key benefit for the national economy is that during the period of integration the central government assumes adminis·trative control over the peripheral economies, the land, and its natural resources.

'I'he Peruvian government has ra·tionalized the bene­ fits of integration as preserving the best aspects of the traditional culture while acquiring the best of the national. Bodley identifies this as ethnocentric theo­ rizing, the "Best of Both Worlds" Fallacy (1975:166).

The fallacy is that, in actuality, integration does no'c

"preserve,," but destroys all unique cultural character­ istics. He sees a domino effect: as one characteristic of the traditional society is changed this affects another which in turn acts on another and so on until the entire original cultural make-up can no longer be identified. Traditions which were unique to that partic­ ular culture are replaced one-by-one until the repro­ duction of the traditional socio-economic system is no longer possible. The new structure of the society then becomes a replica of the national system, in Peru's case 73

a capitalist system.

In Peru the plans for development and integration

of ·the eastern montana (highland jungle areas or ~ej~

de la selva) \vere initially formulated during the

Presidency of Ramon Castillo (1845-·1851). But it was not until the 1930's that the first roads of penetration were made. Later, in 1943, the opening of the Trans-

Andean Highway began to open for use the natural resources and indigenous populations of the Peruvian

Amazon. Two factors motivated the building of the Trans­

Andean Highway. One was a political and econbmic action taken by the national government in order to guarantee its borders with Brazil, Ecuador, and Bolivia. The second~ since this was a period of economic depression, was that Peru needed to expand their resource extraction for export (Johnson 1977:165).

~he world economic situation created a market for

Amazon resources in 1945. The post-World War II recon- struction boom gave rise to an increase in the demand for wood and oil. In turn, workers' food requirements resul t.ed in the growth of a plantain (banana) market.

Although the real oil and lumber "booms" did not occur until the 1970's, the resources and necessary manpower needed for extraction were brought under national con­ trol through integration in the 1940's.

Facilitating integration, and therefore resource 74

extraction and marketing, was the expansion of both

transport systems (the Trans-Andean Highway and feeder

roads, railroads and airways) into the jungle areas and

government agencies exercising social, political and

economic control over indigenous groups. In the latter

group I include the Summer Institute of Linguistics

(tvhich •·?ill now be referred to as the SIL o:r ILV,

-~nstit.uto Linguist~co de Verano). I signal the SIL out

for discussion because of its dendritic network of influ-

ences which have been affecting indigenous Amazonian

groups since the 1940's. The SIL is not formally a

government agency but in 1946 they entered into a con-

tract with the Peruvian Ministry of Education and have

since openly worked as a cooperative extension of the

Peruviun government in their efforts to integrate

indigenous groups.

Through the efforts of the SIL and government

! i I agencies indigenous economies are now indirectly ruled

. ' as in·ternal colonies, involved in cash-production,

susceptible to fluctuations in the conditions of the

national and world market system and dependent upon state

institutions for credit (Bodley 1975; Cardoso and Faletto

1979; Frank 1967; L~ons 1979). The result of the process

of economic and political integration has been the loss

of autonomy for traditional societies,

In this chapter I will discuss the relationship 75

between market demands and the economics of reform. The

economics of reform are the major economic and political

tools used by the Peruvian government to systematically

integrate the Amazonian societies in order to satisfy

market demands.

Th.e Oi.l Boom

Oil vJas discovered in the Peruvian Amazon in t.he

1930's. During the next 30 years initial tappings were

made, but it was not until the 1970's that a real oil

boom occurred. In 1971 the national oil industry of

Peru, Petroperu, struck oil on the Corrientes River west

of Iqlntos. This prompted a concentration of oil explor~

aLLons in the jungles north and northwest of Iquitos

(Greenwood 1974:4-5). Later explorations expanded and

shifted south and southeast into the Pucallpa area and

the Departmen·t of Madre de Dios (see map page 76) .

In 1971 Occidental Oil Corporation based in Los

Angeles, California became one of the first foreign oil

companies to operate in Peru. It received the first

petroleum production license to operate in Peru's Amazon

Basin (Greenwood 1974:4-5). Within a three-year period an additional twenty-seven foreign financed petroleum

industries had developed drilling operations in the

same area (see Tables II and III, pages 77-78).

Because Peru's national economy fluctuated wi·th the ups and downs of world market demand, it had been boosted 76

Coiombia

Brazil

.,..T _ -· _ Project,. ~-

Tablell: 011 Companies Exploring the AnMzon Basin of Peru

Cor.:pan" Subsi~i~ry of: IT------Contract blocl::s :Hnerlli Hess C

Cf~. Pet. Pf.'cten del Royal Dutch-Shell 10 {so,;) !'eru (Shell-Pecten) (GB/Neth) Continen ta 1 Oil Co. Continental (US) 6 of Peru Deminex Deutsche Erdoel 12 (20%), 33 (25%), (WGer) 36 (33 1/3%), 39 (15%) El Paso de' Peru Co. El Paso Nat. Gas (US) 4 (50%), 39 (20%) Getty Oil_ (Peru) Inc. Getty (U5) 3 (SO%) Hispano"il de 1 Peru Hispanoil (Spain) 12 (15%), 36 (33 1/3%), 39 (20%) Occidental Pet. Corp. Occidentai Pet. (US) A of Peru Oceanic Explot·ation Oceanic Exploration 4 (37!:;%) of Peru (US) Pan Ocean Oii Corp. Pan Ocean (US) 3 (25%) del Peru Peru Cities Service Cities Service {US) 33 (22%), 46 (70%), ·. Pet. Inc. 47 (30%) Petro1eos del Peru Peruvian govt. 2. s. 17' 31, :15. 38, 42, 43 Phillios Pet. of Peru Ph ill ips Pet. (US) ., saga Pet. A/S Saga Pet. A/S (Kor.Jay) 12 (15%) Shenandoah Oil Corp. Shenandoah Oil (US) 12 (15%) Signal (Peru) Pet. Co. Signal Oil & Gas (US) 33 \35%) Sumi sho Peru Sumitomo (Japan) 33 ll%) Sun Ofl Co. of Peru Sun Oil (US) 6 Superior Oil Co. of Superior Oil (US) 33 (17%) Peru Tenneco Oi1 Co. of Tenneco Oil (US) B Peru Total Peru Cie. Francaise des 12 (15%), 36 (33 1/3%), Petroles (France) 39 (45%) Tnmsworld Peru Pet. Transworl d (US) 3 (25:<;) Gorp. Union Cii Co. of Peru Union Oil (lJS) B

Soyi_~: 'Peru Petroleum Survey 1974,' Andean Times, September 20, 1974, pp. 69-74. ----- T2.~en ..... rorn: :: ...-_thc·::z 197..J:~J. 78

Tablelii: Ofl Companies Exploring the J1.11azon Basin of Peru

Occidental 13 BP Union 14 Arco (70%) Tenneco Andes (30%) Champlin 17 r~troperu ~ Petroperu 31 Petroperu Getty (50%} P

~o~~: 'Peru Petroleum Survey 1974,' Andean Times, September 20, 1974, pp. 69-74. -----

latin Ameri~ Economic _!le..2.9rt, May 9, 1975, p. 70 (map). 79

by the participation of foreign investment in oil. With the acquisition of drilling licenses foreign contractors agree to "finance their own operations. If they find oil, t_hey exploit it for thirty years, receiving payment slightly less than half th~ oil. After that, it all reverts to Petroperu" (Greenwood 1974:4-5). This system guarant:eed that Peru would not only have the advantage of foreign investment, but it did not have to pay for the extraction of the oil it used internally. Peru also ber1efited by having the costliest oil pipeline in history bullt for them at $1 billion for which they receive a per annum rate from the foreign corporations who use it

(Greenwood 19 76:1) .

The piping itself is from Germany, the United States and Japan. Statistics show that one-third of the $700 million in construction cost alone was invested by Japan

Petroleum Development Corporation which also supplied

$22.7 million for interest rates. Both California Wells

Fargo Bank and Iran supplied $100 million each and

Crocker National Bank $15 million. The 36-inch pipeline can handle a flow of 500,000 barrels of oil a day. It extends from ·the desert coast of Peru through the I\ndean mountain rang13, down through the high jungle areas and through 290 miles of low jungle and swamps. It was constructed by t:he Bechtel Corporation of San Francisco and an Italo-Argentine group, International Technical 80

Company (Techint) .

But. while the national economy of Peru was boosted by foreign investments into its oil resources, this fund of wealth has also created economic and social problems.

In the process of oil extraction, the initial stage of explorations for appropriate well sites is the most time consuming and requires the maximum labor force. During

·this stage a great influx of outsiders from the mountains and the coast migrated into the Department of Loreto (of v-1hich Iquitos is t.he capital) seeking employment. At the E.ame time approximately 15,000 indigenous Amazonians left their home villages to work for the oil companies

(Anonymous 1975-6:16). After the initial stage of oil explorations many of these workers remained in the urban centers.

In spite of the extensive amount of foreign money, land and labor pumped into Peruvian oil exploration, the

Oil Boom turned into an Oil "Bust" by 1976. Only two firms, Petroperu and Occidental of Los Angeles, had struck commercial oil. Up through 1975 no other companies had reported major oil finds. By late 1975 seven oil companies had ceased operations and Petroperu and Occidental had slowed down.

The ci>cy of Iqui tos was overrun with the unemployed;· foreigners, colonists and indigenous Amazonians. Within five years of the beginning of the oil boom in 1971 81

Iquitos grew from a population of 60,000 to 160,000

(:Mathe\vs 19 76:76) . This rapid growth meant. problems of

unemployment: and food shortages. As one official st:ated,

"having earned what for them is a small fortune in a few

years, few of the families are going to be willing to

return to their subsistence life on the chacra"

(Anonymous 1975-6:16). Up until this time the Depart.ment

of Loreto ·was self-sufficient.. Now because so many

Indians had abandoned their villages and chacras "less

than five years since the discovery of major oil deposits

in the jungle, 70 percent of the food eaten here has to

be transported across the Andes from the Pacific coast,

mostly by air" (Mathews 1976:73).

Problems of large population growth, a high rate

of unemployment, and a shortage of food, combined with

inflation have created slum conditions in Iquitos. In

a society that bases social position on origin, race and

language, it is the indigenous Amazonian who occupies

the lowest socio-economic level and makes up a large

'J portion of the slum dwellers. In 1964, 43 percent of

the occupants in the slum area of Bel~n, Iquitos, origin-

ated from the jungle (Oviedo 1964:116 in de Rios 1974:56).

Today that percentage could be higher due to the large

population growth in the 1970's. The social stratigraphy

of Iquitos has recently been described as clearly divided

into three segments (de Rios 1974:50). They are, 82

1. High society (12%) - This group is

involved in socialite activities. It

comprises tradesmen and their families,

high government officials, army officers

and professionals. Many of them have

migrated to the jungle from coastal and

highland cities. They are much better

educated than the other two groups.

They tend to be lighter skinned. ' ' 2. Triguenos (35%) - These people are

lighter in skin pigmentation. They are

avvare of their skin tones and hair forms

which set them apart from the cholo.

This group is made up of artisans,

clerical personnel, itinerant peddlers,

non-commercial army personnel and their

families. They are Roman Catholic.

They "treat the cholo they meet in the

marketplace, in domestic service and

the like with open and obvious disdain"

(de Rios 1974:53).

3. Cholos (40%) - Cholos are dark-skinned,

nominally Roman Catholic and whose roots

extend back to the jungle. They sell

wholesale jungle produce and/or are

fishermen (de Rios 1974:50-53}. 83

The occupants of the lowest level, cholos, are poor,

underfed, dominated and exploited in a system v1here

illiteracy and inexperience with the Spanish language makes well-paying jobs unattainable and allows them to

be taken advantage of in ·their socia·l and corrunercial

relations. They are referred to as chuncho~ or cholos,

both derogatory terms. Chuncho is "originally a Quechua word meaning a native of the eastern forests. It has

been incorporated into Peruvian Spanish with the same me~ning but with the implication of racial and cultural

inferiorityn (Smith 1974:34). It is also used to describe Indians who do not produce anything, "a savage

Indian" (Uriarte 1976:35). The term cholo informally denotes a dark-skinned, low-classed, illiterate person

from the :mountains or jungle. In Peru, a country shown

to have the grea·test barriers to upward mobility in all of Latin America (Beals 1965:351) racist attitudes as reflected by these labels severely limit any possibility of upward socio-economic mobility for the indigenous

Amazonian.

Leaving the urban situation it is important to explore the effects of oil extraction on village popu­ lations and their territory. Oil explorations were made into very isolated interfluvial regions of the jungles.

Reminiscent of the Rubber Boom, oil interests sought out and integrated isolated indigenous Amazonians into the 84.

labor:force. They were hired to clear jungle areas and build helicopter pads while be~ng exploited, cheated by

labor con·tractors and made dependent upon the cash economy

(Hathews 1976:73). The disintegration of their communities and subsistence patterns were rapid. As oil discoveries were made on their territory, their land was encroached upon by colonists. The indigenous populat.ions were treated as "obstacles to development" in the advance of civilization and opposed to the discovery of oil. Their land was confiscated with rights given over to oil con­ cesslons and if protests were staged, the protestors were often killed. 'l'he history of some of these events from

March 1964 through Decerrl1er 19 73 have been documented by Varese (1974:4~5} and are li;:;ted in Appendix A.

In 1974 a Jungle Development Law was passed with intentions of providing protection to native communities.

Not only did this have little effect in the face of strong economic forces, but it actually increased exploitation by establishing large zones for the raising of cattle and timber ext.raction to boost the national economy and to feed and house oil workers (Mathews 1976:73). In actual- ity, their land was taken away and \.Vhat -v,ras left to them in t_erms of resource procurement (rna inly fish and game) became limited. Waterways were reported to be "scummed up with crude oil and sewagen (Schreider 1970:81) \vhile the use of helicopters and machines to perform large 8.5

scale hunting and fishing severely depleted protein

resources. Varese sums up the situation by stating that:

Nearly 7,000 workers, with helicopters,

airplanes, hundreds of machines, and boats

running the riveri to kill animals and

fish to feed the workers does not create

the most optimum condi t.ions for the

tribal minorities (1974:5).

The L1..1mbe~_Industry

Throughout this discussion I have made mention of petroleum explorations in terms of housing requirements for laborers. Prior to the Oil Boom in 1971, Peruvian lum.ber was also an important export item. 'rhe export. indu.stry was initially developed by a North American firm between 1918 and 1943. Since then, with the open­ ing up of new transportation systems, the national timber industry developed rapidly, but only with continued foreign financial and technological aid (ORDENORIENTE,

1971:90). Cedar and mahogany were in such demand that those resources were soon depleted. Other trees were substH:uted, such as lupuna (Chroisia integrifo~ia or

Ceiba pentandra) , marupa (Simarouba amara) and copaiba

(Kramer 1978:130-131). Additional species of wood were also extracted for commercial export value in the paper industry. By the 1960's the Peruvian paper industry became a major exporter. Combined lumber requirements 36

for both the construction and paper industry resulted in more than five million out of a total seventy million squarehectares of Amazonian wooded area being devastated

(Peru Informa 1976 (22) :13).

As described by Kramer,

the extraction of lumber is financed by a

well-integrated chain of habilitaci6n.

The typical system of habilitaci6n has at

lease five components: the urban buyers,

the habilitados who live in cities and

negotiate formal contracts with the

buyers to receive financing for extraction,

the sub-habilitados who make verbal con~

tracts with habilitados to receive £inane-

ing to collect and transport logs, the

:2.9-trones who receive financing from the

sub-habilitado~ ·to extract logs, and the

extractors who receive financing from the

~atro~ and actually extract the logs.

Habilitacion may be given in the form of

either cash or merchandise at any level of

this chain. Credit interest rates and the

costs of transport are included in the

~abilitacion, and so each successive

habilitado absorbs part of the costs of the

preceding intermediary link (1978:118). 87

'fhe E..9-_tron extends habilitacion (credit) to the work group by crediting the account of a group leader who has had a long standing relationship with him or to one who speaks Spanish.

'l'he power structure of habili'cacion resembles a pyramid with the fewest, the non-producers at the top controlling the greatest earning power. The actual producers, the indigenes, the largest. in number earn the smallest profits. The rate of profit earned by the middle-men, the sub-habilit~ldo and the patron, are in descending order according to their relationship to the actual extraction of timber.

The following table explains the per capita profit in relationship to the active populat.ion and the total value received between participating members of lnmber production (see Table IV, page 88).

The Plantain Market

The plantain market in Peru "boomed" between 1969 and 1972 because of the high influx of petroleum workers requiring a staple food product. Moreover, severe flood- ing along the Upper Amazon regions caused formidable losses for commercial and domestic plantain plantations

(Kramer 1978:115). These two factors opened up oppor- tunities for more individuals in other areas to exploit the market.

Hany indigenous communi ties began to cash·-crop the 88

TABLE IV

VALUZ 0? .SXTRACTI\'2 Pi'.C~uCriQ.;J

(Given in Thous2.ncis o:' soies)

Total Per :;conomic Active Value Carita .. 3trc t3. Po?t.:l2.tion :=:ec:2,iveG. ?ro;~i_!__Ul :":-bilj t:.do 60 1!!0,000 500 ( 2) ~7~-=-7~:..:,1 ~..l t:·.-:!o 200 llO,GQO 250 ( 2) ~-~-..,...---...---- .--~ :;.:--.:.1 500 60,000 60 :::x~rc.ctor 5,000 40,000 (J) 8 (4)

::ot2s: {1) :'he di.::'.i'ere:1ce o:· recE.ivec vzlt.:e by one str2.tu;;;, ~i.n~£- th:?..t o.: tl;s; lo··:t::r str2.t~1;.. , di·\·idcd Dy t·ne zctive pcpul:J.tio~.

(2) ?2rt·o: th~ ;ro:it is desti~e~ to ~~iLtsn=nc2 2.n:: rc~10-l.?~ tio:1 o: t:c;,ui~xuant a:1C. :or :'ir2ncisl cover cil::.re;:es.

(J) An estimzte~ lO,COv,COO sclss are collected in G.irsc t tl... :..ns;-orts. tio:.; co s1.s ~0-~,~·:c-cn th~ £:x~;ractor a;;d the ~·in:..l ·.:;1.,;ysr.

(L;.) Fro:i t is collect in consumer goods •:.11ich =e ov0r-priced. 89

plant.ain. The plan·tain buyer became an important member

of the infrastructure of Amazon economy as a main con-

nection with the urban market. Kramer (1978) notes that

the relationship between the plantain buyer ~nd the

indigenous producer is a more balanced one than between

the .indigenous producer and the patrol!_ or £_e•::rai:...~E.:

bebveen the producer and the plantain buyer t.he majority

of ex.changes are on a cash basis. Kramer states the

U:ca.rinas feel more in control of their own produce and

because they are aware of city prices through radio

communication they can demand what they feel is a fair

price. "The Urarina speak favorably of selling their

produce t.o buyers, saying simply of the interaction that

'one cannot deceive with cash'" (Kramer 1978:117}. The

offered price, which the individual or community can

accept or reject, in this case, is not based upon the ethnicity of the producer, but upon the locale of the purchase (Kramer 1978:126). The following table com­ pares plantain prices paid to the Urarina or ribere~o

(an individual who lives along the river but who con- nects himself with the urban setting) producers in dif­ ferent locales on the Tigrillo River with those paid by wholesalers and consumers in Iquitos. 90

TABLE V

PRICE OF PLANTAIN STALKS IN 1976

--·------···------·------·---- Price (in Soles) Paid to the Producers on the Tigrillo River

Upstream Urarina s/ 40-60 Mid-river Ribere~o s/ 70-80 DmvnstreamRili-ereno s/ 80-90

Price Paid by Vvholesaler in ' Iquitos to Transporter s/ 80-150

Price Paid by Consumer to Iquitos Retailer s/180-250

(Ta.ken from Kramer 1978:123)

------·------·------

The Economics of Reform

In order to fully understand the position of the selva Indians during the period of integration, it is necessary to link the external interdependGnce of economy, politics, and class relations. Presently foreign finan- cial control assumes a position of great importance.

During the Presidential terms of Manuel Prado

(1956-1962) and Fernando Bela6nde Terry (1963-1968) economic integration and colonization of the tropics was tightly interwoven wi·th national agrarian reform move- ments (Varese 1972b:6-7). This meant "redistribution of land-ownership in favor of cultivators and greater social con·trol over the use of agricultural land and water resources" (Strasma 1972:156). Bela~nde Terry saw this 91

as a means of increasing the area of land available for commercial cultivation (Snyder 1967(67) :88). He also envisioned agrarian reform to be a fast economic solution in advancing the economic level of Peru and its many landless peasants. Eventually Peru would be able to control its mvn economy v'li thout depending heavily on foreign investments.

'I'hrough the 1960's Peru had continued to be con­ trolled by an oligarchy which encouraged heavy depend­ ence upon foreign capital. The majority of capital pro­ ducing resources ... cotton, sugar, fish meal, lead, zinc, silver, copper and oil ...were extracted and/or exported by American-ov.;rned companies (Sigmund 1980: 180).

Dependence upon foreign capital and technology restricted Peru's development as a self-sufficient economy. It contributed to its system of land and income distribution \vhich has been described as the "most inequitable in the world" until the mid-1970's (Sigmund

1980:180}. Up to that time, sixty-seven percent of Peru's rural population lived at or below the poverty level, while two percent of the rural population owned ninety percent of the arable land. One percent of the national population controlled twenty-·five percent of the national income; the bottom twenty percent controlled only 2.5 percent {Sigmund 1980:180-181).

These inequities resulted in the emigration of large 92

nu.mbers of ru:cal landless peasants in the 1950's. They migrated from the sierras and the countryside into urban

cent.ers searching for employment and better living con-

ditions. Finding little improvement they were forced to work a·t menial tasks and lived in extreme slum conditions.

During the late 1960's and 1970's the nationaliz- ation of industries and agrarian reforms aimed to balance

the inequalities of land and income distribution (Petras and Rimensnyder 1970; Sigmund 1980). Agricultural and

industrial cooperatives were formed and ~ie~ra emigrants were discouraged from flocking into the cities. With promises of credit and land to work they were rerouted into the jungle areas.

Foreseeing· the importance of future jungle settle- ment and production, Belaunde Terry proposed the con-

struction of a "road-colonization" system, the Carretera

~arginal de la Selva. The Carretera is a road system formed at the eastern foot of the Andes which traverses the highly cultivable highland jungle regions of Peru,

Ecuador o.nd Columbia. The Carretera is made up of penetration roads, transverse roads, feeder roads, and the main carretera (Snyder 1967:88,92).

The Carretera was intended to facilitate distri- bution and marketing of jungle products while raising the standard of living for settlers. Unfortunately,

Bela6nde was shortsighted on numerous counts with his agrarian reform attempts. First, in Belaunde's planning of the Carretera he only took into consideration the technicalities of types of land and their various ratios of production yields to amount of investment. This came out profitable, but only for products which were already in abundance, such as coffee. Second, the effects of the Carretera and the subsequent migrations and settle-

·ment ·patterns on land already inhabited by indigenous selvaticos were not taken into consideration. Third, the effects of permanent agriculture on the land as a resource itself was not considered. Lastly, the

. ~ Carret:~_!.'a_, nationalization of foreign controlled lnaus- tries:and the half-hearted attempts at breaking up large landholdings ( ~atifun~io~_) seemed only to benefit the already affluent. The expropriation of foreign con- trolled industries laid money in the hands of the oligarchy while laying off many workers already in the lower economic class. Apparently, Belaunde made no real attempt: to break up the latifundios in order to give land to the landless nor to actually change the socio-economic structure of Peru (Petras and Rimensnyder 1970i Varese

1972b). In fact, the

agrarian reform enacted in 1964, did not

even keep pace with population growth,

some 40,000 families being added during his

period in office to the million landless 94

peasants (Petras and Rirnensnyder 1970:18).

One problem hindering the break-up of the

latifundios was the influence of American ideology and

action. Many Peruvians who wanted to eradicate the

latif~lndios to benefit the peasants felt. that turning

them into state-owned farms instead of small family

plots or producer cooperatives would be the best

solution.. rrhis suggestion Y.Jas iimnediately countered b:l

the United States government in conjunction with Ameri-

can businessmen who owned some of the largest farming

operations (Strasma 1972:157, 179). On a purely

ideological level,

many Americans were taught as children

that sta·te or "collective" farms are the

epitome of evil. If not assured that

family farms will result from agrarian

reform, these Americans would rather

leave the latifundia system in place.

Our agricultural attach~s seem particu-

larly prone to this view (S·trasma 19 72:158).

The economic and political influence of the United States during this period was heavy and agrarian reforms in Peru during the 1960's were almost negligible.

The Carretera, therefore, became an expeditious means of placating reformists by opening up productive areas of the selva and offering plots of land to peasants. 95

In actua.li ty f the land, in most cases, was out of the peasants' economic reach,. They were a landless and moneyless class who did not have the economic means to finance the offer of land. Although credit was offered

there is no doubt that until recently

most bank credi·t for agriculture, both

at cm:nmercial banks and at the state­

owned agricultural development bank (BFA)

went to the relatively large landowners

(Strasma 1972:174).

And, although insinuated to be otherwise, the stipu­ lations attached to land acquisition could only be met by those already with financial backing. As evidence of this Belaunde Terry stated in 1965,

Our proposed Road-Colonization system (the

Carr:etera) is based on the premise that

jungle lands will only be sold to those

who are willing to assume the primary

expenses necessary to access. The State

will provide technical direction and plan­

ning, and contribute the necessary struc­

tures like bridges, but the major cost

must be borne by the landholders. Under

this system, owners of land concessions in

the jungle will retain clear title to their

property; however, an assessment will be 96

levied to cover the expense of road

construction benefitting their holdings

(Bela6nde Terry quoted in Snyder 1967:90).

With these stipulations the beneficiaries of the

Carretera are a minority of individual peasants. The majority were large scale entrepreneurs, mest:izos, and vlni tes. The opening up of these lands east of the Andes allowed powerful individuals to

acquire the frontage sectors in vast tracts

along these transportation arteries (the

Carretera), effectively blocking access

to the interior. Mestizos and whi-tes with

capital, and often with government backing,

monopolize choice and better serviced col-

onization zones of the central and northern

montanas (high jungle areas} (Crist 1973: 120).

The break~up of the latifundio system did not occur.

Guaranteed land rights were given to entrepreneurs and individual immigrants able to develop cash-crops such as coffee, tea, peanuts, tobacco and coca (Crist 1973:101) suitable for internal and external exports. In effect this extended the latifundio system into the jungle. The selva became a national corrLmodity exploited to bail Peru out of a perilous economic position through large-scale production.

With the expansion of the _latifundio, immigrant. 97

peasants and t.he indigenous Amazonians already inhabiting

the rich fluvial lands v..rere forced out if they were not

somehmw involved in cash production, either as the actual

producers or seasonal or long-term laborers. Expulsion

was accomplished by physical force and through the

Peruvian Constitution in the form of Law 1220. The

Peruvian Constitution grants citizenship to all persons

born within Peru's borders. Law 1220, Ley. de Tierras

~e Hon·~a~~J proclaims all fluvial forest regions to be

state propert.y. Thus indigenous sel vaticos, as Peruvian

citizens, are allowed to officially acquire and be guar­

anteed title to "state" territory, but only after ful­

filling the following four requirements:

1. enlistment in the public records

(census rolls);

2. have served in the military and hold

a service card; t 3. prove literacy; and,

4. prove an abi1i ty to coTILrnunicate in the i I official language, Spanish (Siverts

1972:23).

The State considered the "jungle area as its free

disposition to be adjudicated to anybody who solicits

a piece of land" and who meets the previous four

requirements (Siverts 1972:23). Unable to fulfill some

or all of these requirements, most of the indigenous 98

1\.ma.zon peoples were left in unprotected positions incap­

able of obtaining legal title over their own land. The

highly productive fluvial jungle areas, therefore, came

to be overrun by colonists in the name of Agrarian

Reform. Luis Uriarte (1976:57) calculates that approx­

ima·tely 75 to 84 percent of the sixty-seven Amazonian

ethnolinguistic groups do not possess legal title to

their land~ and, 54 percent occupy territory infiltrated

and broken-up by colonists.

'j~he indigenous Amazonian was again trapped in the

net of national and international economic expansion.

They were given no governmental protection in securing

their t.erri·tories. Peruvian policies working against

the better interests of the selvaticos forced them to

either migrate off rich fluvial areas (e.g., by 1970

expanding coffee, fruit and forestry plantations pushed

18,.000 Campa off their land and again in 1980 these same

people are again threatened with further displacement

by a lumbering concern [Anonymous 1980:9]) or to live

. I· in small "pockets" within a wider area cut-up by the

Ca,!:Te~~ and inhabited by colonists.

Indigenous groups, restricted by land boundaries,

were unable to expand their population or to prac·tice

successful slash-and-burn agriculture (see page 33).

They faced ethnocide with possibilities of ultimate

genocide (Siverts 1972:46). One case in point follows: 99

In March, 1968 the Ministerial resolution

No. RH-0096-68-DC was enacted. It was an

eviction notice issued to a group of

Aguaruna in the Huahuasa River area. It

stated that 500 hectares of Aguaruna lands

were to be "granted for the Northern

Agrarian University, Lambayeque, which are

going to be used exclusively for the con­

st:ruction of buildings, dwellings, instal­

lations, shops, and for the Experiment­

ation and investigation of agriculture and

cattle breeding" (Siverts 1972:45).

Si·...rerts comments on this situation,

When it was decided that the Huahuasa

(Wawasa) area was to be an experiment.al

zone dedicated to tropical forest agricul­

ture sponsored by the Lambayeque University,

the local inhabitants, the Aguarunas, were

·told ·to get out. Later, when the project

turned out to be a castle in the air, the

Aguarunas got permission to stay on con­

dition that they did not extend their present

fields, nor were they allowed to let other

Aguarunas have access to the neighborhood.

When it was pointed out to an engineer,

representative of the Lambayeque project 100

presumably, that these conditions implied

the slow but effective destruction of the

population and their way of life (read:

ethnocide) and hence tantamount to genocide

in its ultimate result (though the pro­

tracted process of debasement and starvation

1- is bound to be considered worse from the point of view of the victims), he did not

understand a word. He had to be spoonfed

that without being able to marry and denied

the right to continue rotational cultivation

(the use of successive fields by slash-and-

burn) the Aguarunas were simply doomed

(1972:46).

An epilogue to the ultimate effects of the Carretera

might be stated. The Carreter~ not only opened up colon­

ization of indigenous territory, but also facilitated

the influx of disease. Epidemics of smallpox, measles,

tuberculosis~ influenza, whooping cough and gonorrhea

(Siverts 1972:22) became prevalent. Many deaths occurred

in low resistant populations. Onchocerciasis, a disease

commonly known as African River Blindiness (associated

with elephantitis and dwarfism) has been reported to fol­

low the opening of roads in the Brazilian Amazon (Crisp

1956; Oomen 1969; Schoumatoff 1978). It now threatens

populations in other areas of Lat.in America. Having been 101

reported in Mexico and Guatemala, it might now be spread­

ing in Peru (Crisp 1956).

Agencies of Integration -·

Integration is achieved through agencies of political

and economic domination. They are established to perpetu­

ate the interests of the economic class or group in power.

Agencles of integration try

to establish through the political process

a system of social relations that permit

it to impose on the entire society a social

form of production akin to its own interests;

or . . tries to establish alliances or to

control the other groups or classes in order

to develop an economic order consistent with

its interests and objectives (Cardoso and

Faletto 1979:15).

The dominated societies (colonies) have minimal means

of bargaining with the agencies. The entire system of

domination and con·trol "increases external and int.ernal

I ~ . inequalities" (Larsen and Bergman 1969:25).

In the Peruvian situation fronts of national, mili­

tary, political and economic expansion have been estab~

lished as agencies of integration. A summary of the

functions of ten government agencies which exercise

social, political and economic control over the Peruvian

Amazon can be found in Appendix B. Uriart.e (1976) 102

discusses these fronts as government agencies exercising

economic domination and social control of selva societies.

He·does not list the Summer Institute of Linguistics as

a government agency, per se, but I will develop the fact

that t.hey are used by the government as a "tool" in in·te­ gration. The SIL, therefore, becomes an agency of economic and political expansion. A separate discussion on the SIL is presented.

§urr'!_~~:c Instit.ute of Linguis·tics

The Peruvian government invited the SIL to begin research and applied linguistic work on minority lan- guages in June 1945. In June 1946 the SIL entered into a contract with the Peruvian Ministry of Education in connection with the Official Programe of the System of

Bilingual Education.

The SIL is a Protestant Evangelistic affiliate of t.he \.Vycliffe Bible Translators home based at the Univer­ sity of Oklahoma, U.S.A. (Dosta 1972:393). Since 1946 linS'fUistic teams have worked with thirty-eight ethno­ linguistic groups in the Peru,.rian Amazon (Uriarte

1976:34). Upon contact with a new ethnolinguistic group, the SIL's main goal is to learn the group's language, create an alphabet and translate the Bible. This they do as one step in preparing the group to accept

Christianity. They later draw up primers and bilingual,

Spanish and the native dialect, materials for reading 103

and math. They simultaneously train "the most promising" members of the community to become teachers.

On paper, the SIL is contracted to work only in an

advisory capacity to the Ministry of Education and the

System of Bilingual Education. In actuality, the lack of Peruvian personnel with decision making abilities allows the SIL to enforce their own policies and decisions for tribal groups (Varese 1972a:136-137).

'l1 he SIL has become the most influential missionary group in t.he Peruvian Amazon and the most useful to out­

side economic interests because of their means of support and the amount of time they spend in direct cont.act with indigenous societies. Each SIL member is financed inde- pendently through their own solicitations. This opens the door ·to infiltration by almost any interest with money or offers of exchange of services. Since the interests of organizations with offers of support often­ times coincide with religious conversion, ·the SIL has been able ·to promote and act as an intermediary force.

They are able to "mask the pursuit" (Bonilla 1972:71) of private aims such as oil and timber extraction and forward information to the government for political and economic purposes of integration.

Since their foundations, the Catholic and

Protestant missionary centres have been,

and continue at the present time to be, 104

sym.'tlols and focal poin·ts of internal col­

onization, because the institutionalized

!"eligious interests harmonize with ·the

interests of the colonistsLthe State and

~ven of the oil companies (Robinson 1972:

112-113) (emphasis added) .

Because the Protestant SIL is independently financed

and the Catholic Church is not (Bonilla 1972:70), the

Peruvian government is able to utilize them with rela­

tively low financial investments. The Peruvian govern­ ment subsidizes a few of the SIL necessities such as

aviat~... on fuel when performing government functions,

financing of the bilingual education program, money for

teacher-training and provides rent-free offices in Lima's

Ministry of Education (personal conversation with SIL members). It is a give-and-take situation, advantageous

to both parties. The SIL profits by having some of their

expenses offset, and the Peruvian government benefits by having an influential tool to further integration.

The SIL has considerable influence due to the fact that one or more missionaries live wit.h "their" respec­

tive group for seven to eight months each year. The remaining four to five months are spent at Yarinacocha, a town ten miles outside the major jungle city of Pucallpa.

Yarinacocha serves as the Institute's Peruvian base where

SIL members congrega·te and attend seminars to discuss 10.5

their respective groups' religious progress. Since missionary activities not only influence the religious sectors of culture but also social, political and economic structures, the groups' "progress" in terms of integration is evaluated.

Yarinacocha contains a clinic 1 hospital, cafeteria, teach,:;:r training school, a private airstrip, aircraft hanga:x, and maintenance facilities. The Institute owns a small fleet of hydroplanes which serves in medical emergencies and for the transportation of missionaries and supplies to and from tJ1eir respective villages. To offset the Institute's expenses, the fleet is used for

Peruvian government purposes, general paying passengers and rescue operations.

In addition to hydroplanes, the Peruvian government is able to utilize a larger fleet of airplanes owned by a subsidiary of the SIL, the Jungle Aviation and Radio

Service (JAAHS) .

'I'he Summer Institut.e is peculiarly attract­

ive to Latin American regimes because of

its subsidiary Jungle Aviation and Radio

Service (JAARS). Ranging through remote

jungle areas, JAARS maintains a fleet of

thirty aircraft in Latin America. It has

provided transport and communication ser­

vices for army units moving against. Indians. 106

Guests at WBT/SIL bases in Peru, have

included the Ministers of Education, War,

Health and Government, as well as the com­

manding generals of the Peruvian Army and

Air Force. Besides providing support for

remote military outposts, JAARS trains

mt~chanics and pilots for the Peruvian Army

(Varese 1974b:4).

Another example of the SIL functioning as a govern­ ment and industrial tool is reported by the Indigina newspaper after an attack on workers in a Peruvian oil exploration camp set up by a North American petroleum company. An initial report attributes the attack to be by ·the hmahuaca Indians. Indigina reports:

Two days later representatives of the

company (Andes Petroleum Company, Ltd. and

Peru Cities Service, Inc.) routinely n~ga­

ted the story, affirming that not only are

there no problems between the workers of

U1e company and the natives, but that the

Indians in their occasional appearances in

the labor camp have demonstrated a totally

peaceful attitude.

Informed sources in Madre de Dios, however,

insist that the company has been arming

workers under threat of a strike. One 107

source notes that on December 27, 1973,

members of the Su.mmer Institute of

Linguistics were brought by the company

from a base at Yarinacocha (Pucallpa) to

help resolve the problems between workers

and ·the native peoples and to provide a

diagnosis of the tribal groups of the

zone (Varese 1974a:5).

In Ecuador, with selva groups involved in the same type of contact situation, the function of the SIL has been described as follows:

Extremely dispersed and accused of

killing intruders, the Auca managed to

stay in control of their territory until

very recently.

A 1971 Wycliffe publicity flier describes

how WBT/SIL helped change that, however.

"Twenty-five years ago, the Shell Oil

Company lost many workers t.o Auca spears.

For several reasons, Shell decided to leave

Ecuador. Suddenly, with the discovery of

a vast reserve of oil under the Eastern

jungle r twenty-one companies a.re -vmrk.ing

1SOO men there."

As they (the oil companies) advance, we fly 108

ahead of them and explain to Aucas living

in their pat.h that they are corning. We

persuade them that they ·should move out of

the way. This is done by Auca Christians

through a loudspeaker mounted on the plane.

As the Indians move, we notify the oil

companies. P.s a result of this close coor-

dination by radio and telephone, through

our Quito office there has not been one

life lost to date. PRAISE GOD!! (Varese

1974a:5).

The collaborat.ion between the Peruvian government and t.he SIL in integrating selva societies is summarized by ...Tos.i Guabloche Rodriguez,"" Director Superior of the

Ministry of Education and Colonel of the Peruvian Army.

He states,

This year completes twenty-five years of

cooperation between the Ministry of

Education and the Institute in the work

of integrating a sector of our cornpa-

triots into Peruvian national life.

It has been amply demonstrated that it is

precisely by the study of the indigenous

languages that other possibilities for a

more rapid integration of previously

marginal groups can be obtained. .And 109

scientifically it has been proved that the

mother tongue is the best vehicle for

teaching literacy before introducing

Spanish to a monolingual people.

The Ministry of Education takes pleasure

in, and at the same time congratulates

itself on sharing in, the accomplishments

attained to date and hopes, confidentially,

to be able to continue offering permanent

published results which begin today with

this volume. It will be without doubt, a

scientific base for all those who wan·t to

join forces in patriotic collaborations in

the incorporation of all Peruvians into

national life, the foundation of the growth

and unity of the Peruvian nation (Rodriguez

1971:5).

Many external forces, church, state, industrial,

labor contractors and traders, v1ork conjointly to inte­ gra·te traditional societies and, at the same time, to break down traditional cultural patterns. The unequal balance of economic relations between indigenous groups and these various segments of "allied" imperialistic forces have no·t simply contributed to integration but have fostered ethnocide.

The SIL is but one of these segments in a "network 110

of ethnocidal pressures" (Moore 1972:115). The fact that the SIL 1 s primary purpose is ideological in nature does not limit its effects on other aspects of traditional cultures. Maintaining that the SIL can be seen as

"cultural imperialists" we can further describe their function in collaboration with national economics and politics. Focusing on the effects of the SIL at the level of specific ethno·-linguistic groups, the ethnocidal e:f:fects of this tool become more apparent. Moore's treatment of ethnocide opens this avenue of examination.

In order for ethnocide to occur, there

must be a series of unequal exchanges

associated with economic imperialism

(Moore 1979;114).

In order for ethnocide to be complete,

it must go beyond the usual definition of

economic exploitation. The victims of

e·thnocide must sacrifice not only their

natural resources and their labor, but

also the technological, sociological, and

ideological foundations of their culture

(Moore 1979:114).

By bringing the teachings of the Bible to indigenous societies, a concomitant breakdown of traditional ideolog- ical systems has occurred. The removal of a traditional belief system to that of Christianity is easily documented 111

in villages when~ SIL members work and live. Church

services (oftentimes given three to four times weekly) ,

the singing of religious songs (in both Spanish and native

dialect), annual regional Christian or Catholic con­

ven·tions many villagers travel long distances t:o attend,

.::md the high respect given to t.he community member trained

to serve as a Pastor, all attest to a large acceptance of Bible teachings.

Yet, the SIL's contribution to the collapse of tradi­

tional socio-economic relationships, subsistence patterns

and technology is less obvious. But evidence can be drawn

from two sources: the SIL base at Yarinacocha and the

local village. The results of transporting individual villagers to Yarinacocha, either to train as teachers or pastors, to work as an informant or translator, to

administer medical aid, or jftst to visit are similar to outside labor migrations. They return to their ~illages with newly-adopted Westernized beliefs and values repre-

sentative of the SIL and the state. At Yarinacocha, often ref(~rred t:o as "Little America," indigenes are confronted with a class-structured society. Participants themselves, they often ltlork as domestics or gardeners to repay the

SIL for their room, board, training and/or medical att:ention. Or, if they are serving as an informant they can earn additional money by performing extra duties.

The money buys t.hem clothes, radios, tools, to take back 112

to t:he village, or maybe even a record player. This in

itself fosters econoinic class structuring in the village;

but they eventually become so involved in the institute

that a change of values and ethnic identity is evidenced.

Once returned to their village, this introduces schisms vd thin native communi·ties and breaJ~s down ·the ethnic unity, It has been reported that many ~elvat:_i_cos now refer to themselves as, "Yo soy del ILV . . yo soy de la Hision . yo soy Evalg6lico . " {Uriarte

1976:35}. ('I'ranslation: I am from the Institute of

Li:nguist5.cs . I am from the Mission . I am

Evangelistic.)

In local villages the SIL contributes to the depend- ence on a monetary economy. Codere discusses the devel- opmental order of a money system as goods, money-stuff, a number or counting system, an amounts or weights and measures system, and a system of writing and recording

(1968 ~561-562). Following is a summary of the role 'che

SIL plays in the changeover of various non-western tradi­ tional methods of numbers and exchange systems to the establishment of a money system as it would characterize a Western economy. It becomes apparent through this examination that the development of a money economy influences and changes socio-political organization, subsistence patterns, and technology.

Prior to the arrival of the SIL material goods were 113

brought in and encouraged by early explorers, mission-

aries, traders 1 and patr6nes. Outside labor migrations also brough·t a great many indigenous Ama zonians into con- tact with material goods. The SIL adds to these influ- ences by bringing many material items into the village with them to use, sell or trade. These items might include tools, nails, medicines, small radios, cloth, lamps, kerosene, gasoline, various canned goods, books, school supplies, hunting bullets, cassette tape recorders, cassettes, etc. The desire for these items, often expressed as "needs'' necessitates a means of acquisition, the "money~stuff."

Amazonian groups in Peru had become acquainted with the Peruvian sol as the national currency. They did not often use ·the "money" as they 'irlere working under a debt~ peonage system where their labor was exchanged for items they received on credit. As the exchange regularly

:favored the trader or patron, ·the SIL helped to encourage the payment of labor in actual money wit.h which the sE~l v~!~~co_ could actually "buy" ma.ter ial or food items.

In conjunction with added competition over time, the SIL aided in breaking the power of the Patr6n System (personal conversation with SIL members). Selvaticos still continue to labor in payment for goods received but not to the same harmful extent that occurred with the Patron System effective through the 1960's. (The power of the patr6n 114

has re-occurred in the Department of Madre de Dios in

the 1970's with the advent of a "Gold Rush.")

Native Amazonian groups utilized various systems

for counting, but with the influx of western economic

influences, the knowledge of a decimal numerical system

was imperative. The SIL encouraged and taught the "tens"

! '\ t system in the bilingual schools they instituted and indi- vidually to older coiUJ."lmni ty members. This enabled the

indigenes to deal on a more equitable basis with outside

suppliers, contractors, and buyers.

Because the SIL oftentimes brings in certain means

with which indigenous societies are able to increase their

cash-production, they must teach them to account for the

products' use. The SIL might bring in an electric saw

(see Chapter Five) which they loan out to the village men

to facilitate lumber production. Taught to measure and

cut lumber according to the metric system, they pay the

! I SIL a percentage of the profits of their sales. Or, if

the lumber cut on the saw was to be used in the community

·they pay a nuse rate" to the SIL. Accounts of types,

lengt.hs and amount of wood cut is reported on paper by

the villagers to the SIL. The SIL has also brought in

cattle to be raised (see Chapter Five) and eventually

sold in order to bring in money to the community. Records

of these sales, poundage sold and amounts received mus'c

be logged as the SIL receives a percentage of the sales. 115

Because the SIL is concerned with their respective

villages' cash-production and fair relations with out­

side economic influences, they are often the only ones

available to teach the basics of the national language

and a western money system. Theyemphasize the protection

t.hey recei w~ in writing and recording business trans-

action::;. Tr; do this, they t:rain the "most responsible"

community member to keep records of labor expended and money earned by each worker, sales (to whom and for how much), and items bought both by the community and

individuals.

The institution of a ~\'estern-type money economy was

established through a patron-client relationship not only

between indigenous and outsiders, but between the SIL

and the community. These relationships emphasized indi-

vidualism and competition between members. More aggres­

sive individual community members earn more money and

establish greater buying power. The greater accumulation of material goods of one over another gives rise to a

"have and have-not" situation characteristic of capital­

ist societies.

The end product of this situation could be a pyram­

idal social structure with status based upon economic buying power. The largest, but lowest, segment of the pyramid is made up of the non-competitive individual with

some earning power and access to material goods. A higher 116

segment would include the most aggressive, .:most respon­ sible" members of the community with high earning capa-· bilities and an even greater access to material goods.

This segment might include the SIL trained teacher and/or pas·to:r of the community. In communities where the SIL is involved, it is they who would occupy the uppermost tip of the pyramid for they are the ones with a seemingly unlin1i.ted supply of money, they oftentimes control the primary means of expanding- cash-production furnishing such things as cattle and lumber saws, they have command of the Spanish language and the knowledge of how to con­ duct business with the national society, and they aid in obtaining loans for communities to produce cash-crops.

Again, the smallest number has access to the greatest wealth and actual control of the means of production.

In viewing the pyramid of economic stratification at the local level (see following page) the power struc­ ture can be seen as a replica of the larger national system \vhich has me:~:·ely been transferred in miniature to many local communit.ies. The SIL with its seemingly unending access to material goods and objects of advanced technology (airplanes, radios, recording equipment, stoves, refrigerators, tractors, saws) will always appear to be in a "position of awesome superiority" in the minds of indigenous Amazonians "whose technology appears so simple by comparison" (Moore 1979:188). 117

\ /\·/\ /srL \ 1- J I j Most pompetiti e /community I?embers I 1.nvol ved with caEjh- \ p:roduction to the sacrifice of subsistence practices. They have the highest access to .. mater:i.al gain.

More competitive members combining subsistence practices with cash­ I production. Some access I to material gain.

II I The majority of community members, i i / \ I' non-competitive with low access to material gain. Involved mostly with subsistence practices. 1I !

I~----·----~· ------·------~-----· ~·· Figure II Pyramid of Socio-Economic Stratification at the Local Village Level Chap·t.er Five

The Bora

It is necessary to elaborate concepts

and explanations able to show how

general trends of capitalist expansion

turn into concrete relations among men,

classes, and states in the periphery

{Cardoso and Faletto 1979:xviii).

If social life is subject to certain

lavrs, these must make themselves felt

in practice. This happens through the

successive readjustments that a society

makes in its own "rules" of functioning

when the situation, or in other words

the facts, demand that this be done

(Godelier 1978b:58).

The Bora are part of the Huitoto linguistic family in the Macro-Caribe trunk (Ribeiro and Wise 1978:71; San

Ramon 1975). Population statistics reported by the Summer

Institute of Linguistics show great fluctuation: for example, between 1910 and 1940 Bora population dropped from 15,000 to 427 because of the Putumayo Atrocities, the Peruvian border conflicts, and smallpox and flu epidemics and other infections (Ribeiro and Wise

1978:71; Whiffin 1915). In 1971 the SIL reports the

118 119

Bora population of three communities at 600: Brillo

Nuevo, 200, Las Colonias, 140, and Puca Urquillo, 240.

'rhe 19 75 SIL census numbers the Bora population at 1., 000 to 1,500, which includes the above ·three Bora conununities and t:hose north of the Putumayo River, in Columbia

(Ribeiro and Wise 1978:71).

In 1976 Uriarte (1976:40) estimates the Bora at approximately 800, which brings to question the actual

Bora population. The only reliable data I do have is f fo:t the community of Brillo Nuevo, which I recorded from their Civil Leger. According to the population statis- tics of 1977, the Bora of Brillo Nuevo numbered 218.

'I'his figure includes Ocaina, Huitot, and Yagua {and the resulting children) who have intermarried v-1ith Bora members of Brillo Nuevo.

Brillo Nuevo is located south of ·the Putumayo River and northeast of the Amazon. The community lies on the shores of the Yaguasyacu River, a tributary to the

Ampiyacu which in turn empties into the Amazon (see map following page) .

In this chapter I will explore the economic factors

""1hcih have affected Bora society since the Rubber Boom of 1880. Uriartes' cross-cultural survey of ethno- linguistic groups in the Peruvian Amazon points out other factors descriptive of the Boras (1976:9-58). I present

Uriartes' findings for initial consideration and further 120

--..,.,.------~ ·-~ ·· ------

! Fcu~DO~ , , ' ; -- / ... ,. -- I .... I ~ ( . ' f' tr -....,' .. _, I ., r-'' ) t:.~ S~;;S\L i '' ' ) ," __ ·~ .., P£RU \ / : ... ~ ,' .

' . .,.. '# . ~

tl T

Map III Location o f Bora in Peru 121

analysis of the current situation of the Bora. He states

that the Bora,

1. are living in land separated and infil­

trated by non-·nati ves,

2. have a weak ethnic identity (here he

takes into consideration endogamy,

types of economic activity, use of

traditional clothing, use of their own

language, and self-affirmation of the

group),

3. use an equal amount of Bora and Spanish,

4. have permanent contact with the national

society and there is clearly social

disintegration of the group,

5. have a modern life-style (t.hey have

nuclear family dwellings) ,

6. school children are instructed in the

Spanish language,

7. do not have legal title to their land

(my translation) .

The Bora have had permanent, often abusive relations with national and international economic expansion since

the advent of the Rubber Boom in 1880 (Ribeiro and Wise

1978:71-73). Since then and with the Peruvian-Columbian

border conflicts in the early 1900's, the entrance of

1 the Summer Institute of Linguistics in the 1950 s 1 and 122

various commercial relations (lumber, plantains), the

Bora became involved with inter-ethnic economic inequal-

ities, geographic relocation, and shifts in economic

organization.

In short, over the last century the Bora economy 1 changed from a subsist.ence-based economy to a. "modern"

peasantry. l>.s "modern" peasants (as opposted ·to "tradi-

-t:i.onal" peasants \vho are exploited by land tenure arrange-

ments) part of their production is integrated in·to the

national and international market system (Howlett 1975;

LeonE> 1979 :86).

Throughout the market system, the channels of

capitalism exploit the Bora. Because they are involved

in ca.sh·-produc·tion, ambi·tions of monetary and material

gain bring t.hern into contact. with inter-ethnic commercial

relations. These relations are stratified with the Bora

placed at the bottom of the socio-economic pyra~id, as

are all other indigenous Amazonians.

As the Bora have shifted from a subsistence economy

to the development of cash-production, they have begun to

acquire chara.cteristics typical of a "modern," capi·talist, economy. Through a capitalist economy, the necessary produc'cive labor force is developed to satisfy the contin-• uous growth of material desires which ensures ·the exist- ence of capitalism (Firth 1975:35). Marx describes this as an economy in which "production is the aim of man and 123

wealth the aim of production" (Marx 1930). Because

achieving wealth in a capitalist society necessitates

economic inequalities, it will engender "inequalities

within the peasantry" (Azeen 1979:102-3). As Meillassoux

demonstra-tes \vi th respect to the Bora, the inequalities

are manife~3·ted in the accumulation of "elite goods which

I :~. asserts the social superiority of the person who accumu­

lates them" {19 78: 14 3) .

Internally, Bora economic organization now incorpor­

ates these inequalities. Their newly developed economic

hierarchy delineates those who are economically ambitious,

heavily involved in cash-production and display their

monetary and material gains from those who are not (see

page 117).

This discussion of change in Bora economic organiz­

ation beg·ins with an overview of external economic

influences from 1880-1934. Following this I summarize

the influence of the Surruner Institute of Ling·uistics from

the 1950's to present. In a third section I concentrate

on the consequences of commercial relations (cash­

production) on Bora relations of production. Within the

larger frame-vmrk of relations of production I will focus

on changes in political organization and the division of

labor. Because both political organization and the

division of labor bind the community and the sexes

together in production (Siskind 1973)f changes in these 124

areas demonstrate the responses made by a subsistence economy confronted with capitalist influences.

Effects of the Rubber Boom - 1880-1914

The Boras, prior t.o and after the Rubber Boom have occupied the heart of the rubber belt, the Putmayo region.

At that. time the Putumayo region v-,;ras jointly governed by

Peru and Columba, and the Boras occupied the.area north of tl"le river. Until the Rubber Boom the Bo.ras were rela- tivcly unaffected by outsiders and numbered more than

15,000 (Whiffin 1915).

With the advent of the Rubber Boom the Boras became

"objects" of internal colonialism. Julio c. Arana, owner of ·the Peruvian Amazon Co. , Ltd., a rubber extraction and exporting company, exploited the Boras for rubber tapping and gathering (San Ramon 1975:185). 'I'hey became objects of forced labor migrations, victims of disease, poor working conditions, malnutrition, tortures and massacres. They were primary victims of the "Putumayo

Atrocities." By the end of the Rubber Boom in 1914 their population had been decimated by eighty percent (San

Ramon 1975:186).

Murphy's study (1954:3) on the Hundurucu demonstrates that the effects of rubber extraction contributed to individualism and an atomistic social organization. The rise of an atomistic social organization was in part a result of exposure to western commodities. Labor 125

migrations exposed villagers ~o outside material objects

such as western clothing, food (rice, bread, sugar, canned

goods, etc.) and metal tools (the machete was introduced

during the Rubber Period [Girard 1958:93]). Acquisition

of these objects became a goal "incongruent with the

cooperative labor and collective economy'of the native

social system" (Murphy 1960:188). The value of individual

gain was brought back to the village and opened the way

for changes to occur in traditional relations of pro-

duction. For the Bora, the acquisition of western com-

modities \vas achieved through further labor migration,

cash-production, and participation in the market economy.

Border Conflicts between Peru and Columbia - 1907-1934

In 1907 the Columbian government announced that it

intended to take control of the Putumayo region, which was rich in oil and timber. Until then, this area was

jointly exploited by Columbia and Peru. Columbia even-

tually gained possession of the area north of the

Putumayo River, and was now free to expand r·esource extraction without Peruvian interference. This meant having access to a port of export along the Amazon River which Columbia did not possess. Access to the Amazon would open the channels of export to the markets of the.

United States and Europe. Peru controlled all ports on the Amazon along the Peruvian-Columbian border. In 1932

Columbia fought with Peru over the governing rights to 126

the city of Leticia on the banks of the .Amazon. Conflicts continued until 1934 \vhen Leticia became Columbia's first direct entrance to the Amazon River (San Ramon 1975:

184-185).

The Columbian-Peruvian border conflicts had an over-· whelming effect on the Bora population. At that time t.he majority of them living north of the Putumayo River were working for Arana extracting rubber during theBoom and, later lumber. Because Aran.a was Peruvian, when the

Put:umayo became an area of conflict he decided to relocate many of the Boras (along with Muinanes, Andokes, Ocaina.s, and Witotos) south into Peruvian territory. This assured him a secure supply of labor to continue to extract lunmer for export. Betv1een 19 24 and 19 30 Arana and his patro~,

Carlos Loayza, transported families in groups of 50-100 south of the Putumayo River. He eventually transported over 6,700 people (San Ramon 1975:185-6). The Boras were set·tled in·to a village site named Puca Urco when once again they were uprooted. In 1933 Columbian troops leveled Puca Urco and the Bora were forced to relocate to anot~her site, Puc a Urquillo on the Rio ~,mpiyacu. Today half of Puca Urquillo is Bora, the other half Witoto.

Two other present day Bora sites branched off from Puca

Urqu.illo, Brillo Nuevo and Las Colonia.s, both on a tribu­ tary to the Ampiyacu, the Rio Yaguasyacu, close to t.he present Peru-Columbia border. 127

In short, during t.he Peru-Columbia border conflicts, the Boras became a segmented, decimated migrant popu-­ lation. Bor2. groups were divided by political borders v1i'ch some remaining in Columbia, but the majority were relocated into Peruvian territory. The combined effects of contact with patr6ns, outside labor contracts, Peruvian a.nd Columbian troops, geographic migrations over a ten-·year period, epidemics of measles, whooping cough, flu, tuber­ culosis, and smallpox, found a population further decimated by fifty percent (San Ramon 1975:187). In 1975 the Boras numbered approximately 1,000 (Ribeiro and Wise 1978:71).

Although this seems high when taking into consideration the SIL 1971 estimate of 600, it is a drastic reduction from ·the pre-Rubber Boom estimate of 15,000.

'I'he Summer Institute of Linguistics - Brillo Nuevo

The SIL entered the Bora cowaunity of Brillo Nuevo to learn the dialect, create a written language, and translate the Bible. A two-member married team have spent approximat.ely seven months annually in Brillo Nuevo.

They also oversee other Bora communities but do not spend long periods of time in those villages.

In Bri1lo Nuevo the SIL has supervised the building of a church and bilingual school, trained a pastor and a teacher, and have established a Christian community.

Many Boras nmv refer to themselves as Baptist and attend annual Baptist. conventions in areas to which it may take 128

many days of river travel. The·SIL has also been a major

contributing factor in the transition from communal living

in a maloca (Casa Grande or Big House) to nuclear family

dwelling (see map following page). Indigenous Amazonians

have often been told by outsiders to "stop living like

hu_~']._ga~~:' 11 "that is like peccaries in herds" (Kramer

! I, 1978:56), nuclear housing brings them more in conformity

with a western-style living pattern. once this is accom-

plished, other traditional cultural patterns become more

susceptible to infiltration. One Bora woman stated,

"We l.ike living in separate houses. We don't have to

share our food as much"; and, "The women don't have to

work as hard, we can get up later because we don't have

to make .00.?_:'3._be_ [a b:~cead made from yucca] for all the

other people" (personal conversation, January 1976).

The SIL has initiated, aided and supported Bora

participation in the conm1ercial market system. They have

furnished an electric saw to aid in lumbering; they have

given the Boras thirty-two head of cattle for which the

Institute receives a percentage of the sales; and they . l order and buy folk art which will be sold in the tourist

makret..

As linguists, the representatives of the SIL have

written many papers on the Bora dialect. They have also

collected and published data on Bora kinship, their

traditional number and communication (drum signal) 1 ~9

C,'\"l!.Y .,.... ~ ~- --

L· f

~ . ~ · i :' '

i:. ::.: :_- -

i 1 I .....------L Y ·.:. - ~~ _;:) ',' ,:'.:.('U v

Map IV Basic Village Plan of Brillo Nuevo 130

syst.ems, folk art, folk music and folklore. They oft.en refer to their work as anthropological in scope.

The External Market

The Boras are involved in relations with the external market primarily through the sale of bananas, lumber, and cattJ.e. They are also part of the tourist market through the production and sales of various crafts.

In the mid-1970's ·the Bora received two loans. One from the Ministry of Agriculture and the other from the

Banco Aqarario (Agrarian Bank) . These loans were based ·-....-.-•w---~--~·-- upon the recommendation of SINAMOS which organizes indige- nous populations in collective cash-production and over- sees these communities involved in loans (see also paqe 196). The loans took the form of money, tools, and supplies to be repaid with the sale of lumber and bananas.

The Boras felt that after they quickly repaid the original loans, they would be left with a sizeable profit..

With the profit individuals could buy necessary goods, and the remainder ~..vould be pu·t toward community goals, such as buying a small en~.rine for a canoe. While the entire plan of acquiring the loans, selling the c~sh-products, repaying the loans, and then buying needed supplies all sounded feasible, the Boras ran into probJems both in their own community and in Iqui tos, t.h('; closest urban center.

Small-scale individual selling and buying is often 131

conducted wit:h a regaton (trader) who frequents Brillo

Nuevo two or three times a month during the wet season,

but more sporadically during the dry low-water season.

In Iquitos, the Boras conduct major commercial business.

There they initiate loans, handle the necessary paper

work, bank, sell their produce or lumber and buy supplies

for the community and individuals.

The river trip to Iquitos from Brillo Nuevo can take

anywhere from forty-eight to sixty or more hours in a

nJ.ne meter collective (a large dugout canoe covered with

palm thatching) . The difference in traveling time depends

upon weather conditions, water levels, the combined weight

of the cargo and passengers (on some trips as few as four

or five people will go and on others twenty-five), and

the type and condition of the engine used. 'l'he Boras had

access to an eighteen horsepower engine (which belonged

to the teacher in Brillo Nuevo, a village leader), which was usually in a state of disrepair since the Boras have

limited mechanical knowledge and parts are difficult and

expensive to acquire in Iquitos. On occasion t~he SIL

couple \vould loan them their twenty-five horsepmver engine. Recently the community has acquired a twelve horsepo-v.rer peque-peque (named for the sound it makes) vvhich runs slower but costs less in gasoline (1976 prices were $2.70 per gallon) and is easier to repair.

once in Iquitos 1 due to the shorta.ge of money (they 132

often sell bananas, oranges, and the pijuayo fruit to ----- help finance their trips) they must sleep on the boat

a.nd eat what food they brought with them (usually farina,

dried grated yucca). The men often roam about town, drink

and get drunk while waiting to complete business, a matter

of sorting out bureaucratic inefficiencies and neglect.

These mundane problems of urban visitation are a direct

result of where the Boras are placed on the pyramid of

socio-economic stratification ... at the bottom. As

~~]- v5!t~.co.§_ t.hey are treated as third--class, or non-

ci~izens and their business is delegated to a position

of least: importance. Combine their socio-economic status

wit.h the way things generally work in Peru, "you must

know 'someone• to get anything done," the small likeli-

hood of their knmving anyone of bureaucratic importance

means help for them is negligible.

In February 1976, a delegation of three Boras went

to Iquitos to determine the status of their loan from

SINAM.OS to produce and sell bananas. The Boras were told

that a repref;en·tati ve would come to Brillo Nuevo over

a month ago to inspect a large community chacra (garden) which was cleared and ready for planting. It would be

upon the approval of this representative that the loan would be granted from the Banco Agrario. For 'l.veeks they were promised their money. The representative never came.

The Boras waited in Iquitos for two weeks trying to find 133

someone to help them. It was only through the inter-

vention of a Peruvian national who happened to have lived

in Brillo Nuevo studying Bora art at the time and his

relationship with a government man that proceedings began.

It was arranged that the Boras would speak with the

l,;.gricultural Engineer from the Banco Agrar_io. A.n agree--

ment wa.s made that the engineer vvould go to Bril~o Nuevo

to examine the chacra. Upon his approval and his return

to Iquitos t.he money would then be given to the Boras.

The problem, as stated by the Bora delegation, was that

they had cleared the land weeks ago and were now afraid

that: due to new growth it would not be approved. Manuel 1

the Bora curaca (chief), returned to Brillo Nuevo with

the eng-ineer, and then came back to Iquitos while the others waited.

Approval was granted. But then a problem arose of identification papers and who was to sign the lo~n documents.

Manuel, who does not hold identification papers, was not. allm.;ed to sign a.s the represen·tati ve of the Boras of

Brill.o Nuevo. As chief he felt humiliated and stripped of.h.is power. This insult gave rise to a growing resent- rnent between Manuel and Sergio, another Bora who had identification papers issued during his service in the

Peruvian Army. Sergio signed the papers, and Manuel spent the entire day and night drinking. 134

On February 20, 1976, a meeting was held in Brillo

Nuevo with SINAMOS to discuss problems the Boras were

having working the banana loan from the Banco Agrario.

Att.ending were two men from Iqui tos, one of whom repre­

sented Brillo Nuevo to SINAiviOS, and the other represented

SINAMOS to Brullo Nuevo. Twenty-six Boras attended.

There were five points that were brought up for discus­

sion. First, the 42,000 soles (approximately $950.00)

that was loaned and which was to be divided between the

thirty--eight people working the loan was an insignificant

amount. Second 1 transporting the goods to Iquitos was

time consuming, expensive, and transportation was not

always available and/or it is faulty. Third, they were

held up in Iquitos because of paper work. Fourth, identi­

fication papers for many who need them were and are not

available; and fifth, government officials and bank

administrators were stating one thing and doing ~nether,

such as when the money will be delivered and when the

communi·ty would be inspected.

' i The meeting ended with the SINA~'lOS representat.ive stat.ing that they would return to Iquitos and discuss

these problems with higher officials. SINAMOS was soon

after disbanded.

on the same trip in February 1976 to Iquitos, the

paper \'lark on the wood loan from the Ministerio de

Agric':!l tur~ was supposed t.o be signed. It took ten days 135

from the time of arrival (February 6-16) for the Boras

to even see the person in charge of their loan. First,

he said he knew nothing about the loan, then he told them

that the paper work was not ready, and then he asked them

to return the following day. Day after day for ten days

they were told to come back without any specific reason

qiven. 'l'he Boras having no one of "importance" to speak

for them, and no knowledge of how to break through this

urban bureaucracy continued to return each time they were i • t_old to do so. What. often happens to selvaticos corning

to an urban center and encountering this type of bureau-

cratic dodging, is that they give up and return to their

village, without the loan. This is precisely the motive

behind creating needless delays. Once the indigenes of

th~~ ~~lv~: give up on acuqir:i.ng their loan, more land and

money is available for individual mestizos or entrepre-

neurs to develop and extract resources on a larger scale.

Due only to their persistence, the Boras finally were

able to sign loan papers, but only after much frustration

a:nd wasted time.

'l'o cut specific types of wood the Ministerio de

Ag~ltura allows ~elva communities to work designated

areas of land not belonging to that group. 'rhe land

"loaned 11 to t.he Boras of Brillo Nuevo is thirteen hours

away by motor (if available) or more than twenty-four

hours by paddle; and, then an additional full days walk 136

"en dentro'' (inland through the densest regions of the

jungle). The Boras' responsibility is to cut the lumber

and send :i.-t down-river to the nearest lumber yard. There

are twenty-eight men and six women working this loan.

In addition to lumber and bananas, the Boras sell

cattle. A Cattle Committee was formed in response to

I , t.hirty-t\vo head of cattle given the Boras by t.he SIL and

was organized to oversee the upkeep, propagation and sale

of cattle to Iquitos markets. The administrative heads

of the Commi t.tee consists of a president, secretary-

t.reasurer and vocal. As of March 19 76 t:he working force

consisted of twenty-five men and three women with equal

earning power.

vvhen necessary, the cows are sold to an Igui tos

the money, the committee members are paid ten soles

(approximately $.20) per hour for their labor. Fifty

percent of the sale goes to the SIL. In February 1976

one head of cattle was sold in Iquitos. The sale allowed

the committee t:o purchase supplies such as medicines,

vaccines, bullets, kerosene, batteries, soap, machetes,

sugar, rice, salt, and metal files. The members of the

Cat·t.le Committee were entitled to buy these products at

cost while others paid an inflated price for any surplus

i 1:ems.

The remaining profits are put toward two community 137

projects: (1) the opening of a small store that will be

supplied with items bought from either the small town of

Pebas (a Franciscan missionary and Guardia Civil post),

a half~day river journey downst.ream of Brillo Nuevo or

Iquitos; and (2) a community twelve-meter boat supplied

\-lith an engine. The latter would facili t.a·te the trans­

portation of cash-products and supplies and eliminate

t:he use of: the r~gaton as a middle-man to Iquitos markets.

The time and labor put into bananas, lumber, and

cattle as cash-products have made serious cuts into the

time needed for subsistence. This is especially true of

lumber, where the best time for cutting and/or floating

lngs down-river interrupts the annual hunting and agricul­

tural cycle. During the wet season gardens must be ------cleared and more time is needed for hunting. But this is

also the best time to float the logs down-river on the

high water. In the dry season more time is needed for

agriculture, but this is also the time the logs must be

located and cut down ready to be floated during the wet

season. In short, "t.he consequences of commercial prac-·

tices affect non-cornmercial labor year-round" (Kramer

1978:31).

The actual labor time expended on extracting lumber

is significant.· A great deal of time is spent away from

the village felling trees, cutting them into sections

(boles) and clearing a path through the dense jungle to 138

a. river deep enough to float them. Kramer charts time

expendi·tures in logging by three different sized work

teams among the Uarian. (These time estimates could

also apply t.o the Bora.)

'l1ABLE VI

U.A.RIN.A ESTIMATES OF TIME EXPENDED IN LOGGING

1 Han 3 Men 4 Hen i ' 60-80 inch-diameter Lupuna To Fell 7 days 1 day To Chop into Boles

20-40 inch-diameter Copaiba 'I'o Fell 1 day To Chop into Boles 1 day 1 day

To Cut 100 meter-long by 5 meters wide path 5 days 2-3 days

(Kramer 1978:140)

The t.ime element in the sale of lumber is reduced by the

intervention of the SIL. The SIL owns a large elec·tric

saw ~cun by a generator. Once the Boras transport the

boles to Brillo Nuevo, they are allowed the use of the

saw, but only under supervision of the SIL. The SIL

receives fifty percent of all sales of lumber cut with

the saw (personal conversation with SIL). Thus, the saw

mutually benefits both the Boras in facilitating the sale

and transport to the buyers, and the SIL as it becomes a 139

source of income.

The relationship the Boras have wi~h lumber buyers has recently been changing. Originally a buyer would advance money and/or goods to the community; they in turn worked cooperatively to cut, transport, and deliver the lumb<3r.

'l'he Boras began to consider representatives

from lumber corporations a source of income

and goods . . and a major complaint of

lumber buyers became "They take the money

or supplies with a promise of lumber, but

most often they never delivered the lumber."

They use the goods and spend the money on

alcohol. 'l':tey then tell the lumber men ·that

the water was not high enough or the weather

not good for chopping down the trees (personal

conversation vvi th SIL member, 19 76) .

After such experiences some buyers refused to work with the Boras on a cownunity basis, and began to hire only those individuals who had proven to be responsible by delivering the lumber as promised. This type of working relationshjp created economic inequalities within the community. Individualism became emphasized and the more ambitious workers had access to more money and material goods.

The Bora involvement in the production of lumber 1 140

bananas, and the upkeep of cattle for outside market

consumption marks their complet.e en·trance into a cash

economy. It has meant that they must balance cash-

production with subsistence and other cultural practices.

But instead of there being an equal balance, as far as

time allocations and priorities are concerned cash-

production seems to be favored. To quote one Bora man,

"The Bo:r:as do not have enough time for their old fiests

are da.nces anymore because they're always working. " The

curaca's (chief's) sister states of him regarding his

hunting practices,

when he has time he goes to get it (meat),

when he doesn't have time he doesn't go.

Other people bring it to him or sometimes

he buys it. He buys it because he has a

lot of work there selling the bananas.

He doesn't have time t.o look for meat (1976).

. I The fact is that many Bora men spend less time hunt-

ing because of cash-production activities. This is one

reason for the general community complaint of "He don't

have enough meat.• " A second contributing cause is the

fact that the Boras now use guns instead of their tradi-

tional javelins or blow-guns. This presents numerous

problems. Oftentimes the guns are old and/or not in

vmrking condition and they must borrow someone else's;

and 1 they are often not in possession of bullets. They 141

must earn the money to buy a new gun, which takes a con­ siderable amount of money, or bullets which they can usually afford only one or two at a time. If they do have the money, they must either wait for a regat6n to come up-river to buy bullets from, make a trip himself to either Pebas or Iquitos to make the purchase, or wait for someone else to make the trip and make the purchase for him. A third and very important reason for low returns on hunting activities is that because of the infiltration of outsiders, their territory has been hunted ou·t and they must make longer hunting trips into denser parts of the jungle, still often with no sizeable re;turn. The Bora often go without meat for weeks at a time.

'l'he attemp·t to balance cash-production with sub­ sistence may mean the loss of independence as agricultural producers. This independence is replaced by a dependence on more goods and services that can be provided by a money economy. Wolf (1955:464) states,

The peasant is always concerned with the

problem of striking some sort of balance

between subsistence production and cash­

production. Yet an all-out effort to

increase his ability t.o buy more goods and

services of this kind may spell his end as

an independent agricultural producer. His 142

tendency is thus to rely on a basic minimum

of subsistence production to expand his

cash purchases only slowly.

Relations of Production-Political Organizat~o~

Communi·ty logging, the sales of bananas, the influ-

ence of SINAMOS, the Ninistry of Agriculture, and the

SIL has led to a break of the traditional authority role

of the curaca. The Boras now take on different and more

equal participatory roles in the political organization

of Brillo Nuevo. Their relations of production, as

partially realized through their political organization,

has had to adapt to meet the demands of an emerging

market economy.

P... l though the position of curaca still functions,

much of his power has been distributed to the Directiva

(Direc·ti ve) of the community. The organizational guide-

lines of the Directiva had been mandated and set-up by

SINAMOS as a. prerequisite to acquiring loans from the

c:Jovernment. The Directiva consists of eight officers,

president, vice-president, three secretaries, treasurer

and t.wo vocales. The president directs meetings, keeps books on hours worked and wages earned. He also has the responsibility of safeguarding community records. The vice-president assumes the responsibilities of the presi- dent in his absence. He also serves as a consultant to the president. The three secretaries take notes on the 143

meetings. The position of treasurer is currently held by one of the secret.aries, although this is not always

·the case. The treasurer has the responsibility of col-

lecting 1 distributing- and recording monies earned and spent. bo·th by the community as a whole and by individual members.

Voting power on officers and issues belongs to the

Assembly, both married ferpale and male community members.

Presen·tly ( 19 76) the g~raca now holds the Presidency of . . 2 t h t~ Dlrect1.va. In answer to the question, "Why is the

Curaca also the President?" it was stated, "Because there was no other man" who wanted that job. Although the tra- dit.ional title of Curaca will not be taken away from

Hanuel, his position as President goes up for vot.e every year by t.he Assembly, as do all other Directiva offices.

In the Directiva hierarchy antagonisms and conflicts have added another dimension to the loss of power and authority of the Curaca. The working relationship between t:he President. and Cur_aca, and secretary-treasurer is threa·tened by outside forces. The Treasurer, due 1.:o more outside experience, intensive religious training by the

SIL (he is the Pastor of Brillo Nuevo) and past military service, holds government identification papers and speaks

Spanish with greater fluency than the President-Curaca.

Both identification papers and Spanish fluency prove indispensable when dealing with outside agencies. Being 144

bilingual (Bora-Spanish) the Treasurer is able to act as a more effective intermediary between the nationalists and the Bora. Possession of government identification papers empowers him with the authority to sign official documents, much to the chagrin of the President-Curaca

(see page 133). As to why Sergio is Treasurer, one community mernber stated,

He wanted to be Treasurer. He said the

other men can't count money. 'rhe rest

can't read or write. That's the reason

we didn't put anyone else. For example,

if they called Aquila or Paiba, how are

they going to write, how can they sign

their names, how can they read? That's

why we put someone v.!ho knows a lit·tle.

The office of vocale is another opportunity for com­ munity members to partake in political responsibilities of the labor force. The vocale serves as an adminis- trator assuring that decisions and meeting procedures are observed, just as a chairman of a meeting in our culture becomes the guardian of parliamentary procedure.

'J:he Assembly consists of all working men and women in the community, but it is not t.he .entire Assembly that holds voting power. A woman has the power of vote only when her husband is not present .and she votes in his. behalf; or, if the woman is widowed or has become single 145

due to her or her husband's abandonment of the household.

She must remain an active working member of the community to retain her voting privilege. Although a woman has voting power in the Assembly, it is "not possible to hold office in the Directiva" (Manuel 1977: personal intervie-v;) .

There are two community positions of authority out­ side the Directiva organization. One is created by the need for a liaison between SINAMOS and Brillo Nuevo. The second position represents the Peruvian government in recording the births and deaths in Brillo Nuevo. Having the title of Municipal Agent, he is also responsible for ascertaining that men sixteen years of age register for military service. This position is filled through govern­ ment appointment.

Relations of Production - Division of Labor

The Boras' goals, to expand cash-production and acquire western commodities, is reflected in the equal earning povler between the sexes. Men and women continue to be concerned with traditional labor delegated by sex, but in much fewer respects than in the past. A strict division of labor has changed to one with more fluid boundaries.

A major contributor to changes in sex-role expect­ ations has been shown to be male wage labor migrations

(Hayano 1979}. In South America, labor rnigrat.ion, often 146

encouraged by women in order to acquire more western

goods (Kramer 1978:148; Murphy and Murphy 1974), has

often resulted in a depleted production force in the

village. This same condition has allowed Bora women to

·take on duties traditionally delegated to men, while

their desire to increase their purchasing power also led

many women to become involved in community cash-

production projects of banana and cattle sales.

r•1a1e migrat.ion and the desire for western material

items have enabled Bora women to develop economic inde-

pendence. This has allowed them to support themselves

and their families in the absence of a husband, purchase

their own tools, such as machetes and axes, and con-

tribute to the acquisition of larger items such as sewing machint"!s, the cost of which could be as high as 9, 500

soles 'vvhich is approximately $120. 00 ( 19 77).

The necessity of a larger, more productive work

force to satisfy the desire to acquire consumer objects gave rise to the equalization of responsibilities. 'l'his equalization can be witnessed in both agricultural and t.he domestic-household arenas. The Bora productive unity of male and female is now a close joint collaboration.

Brillo Nuevo has both individual family and com- munity gardens, one-half to one hec·tares and ten hectares respectively. Traditionally there were only family chacras. The community chacras are used to produce cash- 147

crops such as bananas and yucca and are under the control

of the Directiva. It determines what crops are needed

and how much should be planted. In the past, men would

perform the duties of burning and clearing the land,

while the women planted and harvested. Today both men

and women share all of the chacra labor. This facili-

tates production of greater land areas, and therefore

expands sales and financial profits for the conmtunity

and individual workers. After harvesting, the product

is either taken to Iquitos to be sold or the sale is

handled 'chrough a middle-man, usually a regaton. The

profits are divided between individuals according to

Lhe number of hours worked. The President of the

~hrec!:i:_va tries to give each worker five hours a day.

When the Boras are not involved in working the

community chacras they might be involved in fulfilling

their responsibilities toward the cattle. The Cattle

''.! Committee have their working hours regulated and charted

daily, five days a week Monday-through-Friday. With so

many hours working on cash-products it is possible to

see that the importance of cash-production has gained

some dominance over subsistence practices. The following

table charts the hours worked for seven members in the

first week of March 1974. 148

'TABLE VII

WORKING DAYS IN THE MONTH OF MARCH, 1974

5 6 7 1st Week M. Tu. Wed. Thur.

I. Aurora Panduro 8 8 8

2. Emilia. 8 8 8

') J. Chuhi 8 8 8 8 8

4 . V!aro 5 8 8 8 8

5. Ejujt 7 8 8 5

6. Zoil.a 8 8 8

7 .. Nehc6jt 8

'I'he sLr:uctured system of working the community

chac:t~as and the cattle is an extreme modification of their traditional system of strict male/female division of labor (Whiffin 1915:90) and unregulated working hours.

Addit.ional income is brought into the Bora household and community through other means. Bora u·tilitarian

(ceramic cooking vessels, baskets, textiles, or working implements) and non-utilitarian items (an object for ornamentation or pleasure such as jewelry; masks, musi- cal inst:rUJnents) are sold in great quantity as tourist items to Iquitos, the SIL, and the regat6n. Since the recent government ban on the sale of animal skins, supplying i.'cems to the r~~t;.on has diminished. But· the 149

-" slack in sales to a regato~ has been picked up recently

by ·tourist shops and travel agents in Iquitos. 'rhe SIL

also plays a major role in the marketing of Bora folk

art. They supply material items to other Institute

members through the folk art store in Yarinacocha and

are suppliers to urban tourist shops. The SIL often

places their order to the Boras months in advance for

it.ems such as hammocks, painted llanchama (cloth made

from the bark of a tree), baskets, purses, and necklaces.

They also advised the Boras that small replicas of their

decorated paddles and manguare~ (communication drums)

vwuld be good selling i terns. Now the Boras regularly

supply these items to the SIL and tourist shops.

The sale of these Bora goods has brought about some

fundamental changes in the sexual division of labor. The

following two tables demonstrate the current division of

labor of production among Bora utilitarian and non-

utilitarian items.

1'able VIII and Table IX demonstrate that the change

in the sexual division of labor has basically concerned

i tt!ms ~.Nhose production Nas tradi·tionally a male domain.

These items are necklaces, basket items and llanchama.

Seemingly only the duties of the female have been

expanded but there has been a trade-off. Many Bora women feel that the Bora men now help more in the house

caring for the children and even aiding in the production 150

TABLE VIII

BORA NON-UTILITARIAN CRAFT PRODUCTION

Ivlale Female

Headbands + Fans + Masks and Costumes + Musical Instruments + Necklaces + *·

*This item was traditionally produced only by

the males in the community.

-·------·

TABLE IX

BORA UTILITARIAN CRAFT PRODUCTION

Male Female

BASKETRY

Ced~~o~ (a type of sieve used to squeeze the juice from grated yucca) + +* Cedamas (smaller flat baskets) + +*

~an~~~~s (large and small cargo basket.s) +

~_:Lp~.!._~.: (long cylinder shaped sieve used to squeeze juice from grated yucca) + 151

TABLE IX (continued)

Male Female

STRING (Chambira made from the ----- palm leaf)

Bolsa.s de Chambira (large and small string bags used for carrying fruits and vegetables or small personal items) +

Hammocas (hammocks) +

WOOD Canoas (canoes) +

H.ernos {paddles) + Manguares {drums) +

Fishing Spears +

'TEXTILES

Llanchama (bark cloth) + +*

CERAMICS

Flat casabe cooking trays +

Bowls +

*These items were traditionally produced only by the males in the community. 152

of £.9-~-~- by peeling the yucca. Traditionally this has been the female's most time-consuming daily task.

The added part.icipation of women in the production of necklaces, basketry, and painted llanchama has expanded the cash-intake of individual families. These itemsf in addition to miniature paddles, manguares, and string bags, are the largest selling items. Of these, llanchama is the most arduous to produce. It involves cutting dovm a large tree with a machete, stripping away the outer bark and then the inner acidic bark. The inner bark is then brought back to the village where it is pounded with a heavy wooden mallet for six to eight hours, washed, stretched, washed and stretched again.

It is then left to dry for several days. Next, it is decorated by painting it with black huito (a vegetable dye). Traditionally the production of llanchama was men 1 s work while the painting vias women's work. But since the sale of llanchama brings a relatively high price, a single or married woman, most often during the absence of her husband (who might be on a wage-labor 3 expedition) , will produce, paint and sell her own llanchama. Also, because a woman might now be busy with other cash-production duties, a man will often paint his own llanchama for sale. In 1975-1976 llanchama sold for

80 solE~s ($1. 75) for two meters.

The sale of necklaces made from seeds, animal teeth 153

and/or .small monkey skulls are interesting because they

are th~ biggest selling item in the tourist market. Not

only are they sold in tourist shops but are also sold as

first and last minute souvenirs by street vendors who

meet all incoming and outgoing flights at airport.s of

the jungle urban centers. They are inexpensive and easy

to c:a:rry. They can also be seen on the streets and in

·tourist shops of all other major Peruvian urban centers

and they are sold in the ethnic folk art shops in such

distant places as Los Angeles and San Francisco. Sharing

ih the production of necklaces can therefore greatly

enhance the economic earning power of Bora individuals

and the family unit.

In sum, the Boras' participation in the tourist

market and the cash-production of bananas, lumber, and

cattle reflects their growing dependence upon and their

desire for western commodities. Their increasing depend-

ence upon consumer goods proportionately increases their

dependence upon outside agencies as a means of acquiring

them. They must depend upon government institutions to

lend them land, money and tools with which to produce

cash-cropsi they must depend upon lumber corporations, banana buyers, and regat6nes who set prices and give

them access to the market system; and they depend upon

the SIL which encourages and aids projects to facilitate

and increase income into the Bora community. Ultimately, 154

the Bora have increased their dependence on the national and world system which determines what products are saleable and for hmv much.

In order to meet market demands and assure them­ selves of a continuous supply of western material goods, the Boras have been forced to make chang·es in their traditional relations of produci:ion. This has been evidenced in t.he Directiva, the Cattle Committee and thE:'!ir more fluid division of labor with women partici­ pating in activities traditionally delegated to men. Chapter Six

Summary and Conclusions

The "Indian problem" therefore does not

lie in any lack of cultural or economic

integration of the Indian into society.

His problem, like that of the majority

of people, lies rather in his very

exploitative metropolis-satellite

integration into the structure and

development of the capitalist system

which produces undervelopment in

general (Frank 1967:142).

Since the 1800's economic gain and resource

extraction have motivated national and foreign involve-

ment in the Peruvian Amazon. The development of capital-

ism in the Amazon required the integration of peripheral

economies as a source of labor by which to extract

resources. Integration was accomplished through the

interdependent efforts of church, state and the national

and international market system.

The church functions as a tool servicing both state

and industry. It contacts, pacifies, and educates

indigenous peoples to be "compatible" with the national

culture. It also aids in developing indigenous depend- ency on material goods and on the cash-production system

15~) 156

necessary to acquire them. The state acts as an internal colonialist devising policy regarding the use of land and natural resources and regulating indigenous participation in political and economic matters. I have shown how state policies favor and respond to outside economic interests (entrepreneurs, small industry, and multi­ nationals) and the current market demands, rather than supporting and protecting indigenous populations.

The international market demand for rubber inspired large-scale incorporation of the indigenous Amazon in the 1880's. At that time economic class stratification was formed determined by race and control of the means of production. In the Amazon the most important means of production were land and the external factors of money and western technology (tools). As indigenous populations were pushed off their most productive resource, the fltlvial region, and did not have access t.o money or western technology, they became exploited laborers. As expl.oited laborers they occupied the base level in the socio-economic pyramid and the fact that they were Indians and not white, mestizo or of European descent solidified this position.

Over the years the exploitation of rubber gave way

1:o the large demands for other commodities, such as animal products, tree by-products, oil, and bananas. But, although the type of resource exploited and form of labor 157

changed over time, the position of the selvatico did not.

They presently continue to remain the exploited labor

class who are necessary to the reproduction of capitalism

and resource extraction. They are dominated by the

nationals and national bureaucracy, industrialists, and

entrepreneurs who hold the land, the money, the tools

and/or the labor and loan contract.

Ideologically, exploitation and domination of the

indigenous Ama.zon populations has been reproduced with

the approval of both the dominators (exploiters) and

the dominated (exploited) . Envisioned as an exchange of

services, the dominators profit from low-cost labor and the ability to buy jungle products at an undervalued rate. 'I'he domina ted, often not with ignorance, must accept their exploited status (Kramer, n.d. :10) as undervalued laborers and/or sell their products at a deflated price while buying at an inflated one. They accept these conditions because of their dependence on

\vest.ern commodities that are controlled by their domina- tors. In o·ther words, se~_yatico~ furnish labor and products at an undervalued rate but receive in return access to western material items they have come to regard as essential for three reasons: {1) selvaticos have simply go·tten used to them; {2) they have lost the ability or resources to produce a natural counterpart; and/or,

(3) use of western items symbolizes being more 158

"acc,~ptable," more like 11 them" (nationals) and more

"proper." They envision this as a means of advancing

socially and economically in the national society.

As it stands now, the political socio-economic

relations of Peru will not allow advancement of the

indiqenous Amazonian. It is the necessary exchange of

unde:r.:-vahwd labor for commodities (be it money or

material items) that reproduces capitalism. Already

integrated as a marginalized population, their position

is permanent with further marginalization a possibility.

Only should there be a "fundamental shift in the struc-

ture of society" will change occur (Tuden 1979:22). In

Peru 1 a country shown to have the most impenetrable

ba::.:.-riers t.o upward mobility in :Lat::.5_n America (Beals 1965:

351), the jungle protection policies and agricultural

reforms have not. altered the s·tructtn·e of Peruvian

society. The actual social and economic relations have

and wiLL rcrnain t.he same i.E exploitr::d:ion of the seJ.vatico

is used to advance the capital gains of international and

' ! nat.:i.onal. ir,dr:stry, t:.he me_.s·~izo, and white entrepreneurs.

A.:nrJt~11E~J:- ftj_nd:rance tcJ soc.. ia.l a.tld er:()rlorn_ic: ad'..rar1c~~rnen,t

of the selvaticos is that continued advancement of

capital gains requires that dependency on the capitalist

system be broadened and assured. Under-valuing labor is

one way. Another is to integrate a segment of ~ociety as

dependent by denying them the rights to land ownership, 159

which would ensure the reproduction of an economy indepen­ den-t of national controls. Government blockage to acqui­ sition of legal titles to tribal property and actual confiscation of ancestral land has been an important, if not the most important, factor in forcinsr peripheral economies to bend to the controls of the Peruvian national and international market demands. They are denied suffi- cient land which would allow them a successful repro­

duction of a subsistence economy; thus 1 they are dependent on outside resources.

The use of rich, fluvial, high yield land once belonging to indigenous groups, has been and is continuing to be given to entrepreneurs able to perform large-scale production. Seemingly more economically beneficial to the national economy, I have shown this assumption to be false. Of short-term benefit, permanent agriculture and continued large-scale resource extraction

\vill certainly deplete t.he Amazon of any economic benefit to both national and indigenous economies.

A degenerating life-style has resulted from the confiscation of sufficient arable land needed for suc­ cessful slash-and-burn agriculture, depleted animal resources needed for sufficient protein procure~ent, and economic integration into the national society as exploited laborers. Peruvian national and international spokesmen have denied this growing under-development. 160

They deny it through rationalizations, such as saying

that ,Amazon societies are allowed to integrate, to become

more "modern" and able to partake in the benefits of

national society, yet they can keep what is best of their

own culture. These rationalizations I see as false.

One case I presented, the Bora, are representative

; : ~- ' of many other indigenous Amazonian e·thno-linguistic

groups. Becoming "modern" and integrated meant they

were {1) to learn the national monetary system in order

to acquire more material goods; (2) change their politi­

cal and economic organization; (3) adopt a nuclear housing

settlement pattern, (4) accept the national religion;

{5) become involved in cash-production by depending upon

the national economy for financing and/or rental of land

subsequently to sell their products at deflated prices;

(6) become involved in outside labor migrations for under­

valued exploitative wages; (7) eat store-bought foods

because their resources are depleted; and, (8) attempt

to become literate and speak the national language so

that they can deal with the national system which exploits ' ~ .- them and denies them fair representation and legal title

to their own land which leaves it open to confiscation.

•ro be modern the indigenous society must accommodate

to and adopt the economic, social, and political patterns

of Peruvian capitalism. As accommodation occurs, the

Bora are becoming replicas of the national society and 161

all identifiable cultural traits known as Bora are being replaced.

If individuals are to become even more "modern," they will leave their native village and migrate to an urban center. There they will look for well paying jobs and better living conditions. They, in fact, only confront the reality of their racial and economic status as selvaticos. They are unemployed or underemployed as laborers, marginalized (under the guise of integration) into the urban setting as one of the many slum dwellers unable to advance socially or economically. This will occur because the economic advancement of capitalism has been and will continue to be given priority over the destruction of natural resources and the welfare of the indigenous cultures. Chapter One

Notes

1. Varese defines an "ethno-linguistic group" as a

group showing cohesion through common language as

distinguished from an "ethnic" group which has

many more con@on cultural traits. He feels the

distinction between an "ethno-linguistic" group

and an "ethnic" group must be made because of the

relatively recent break-up of the larger communi­

ties into smaller dispersed groups. This break-up

was, and is continuing to be, due to external

economic intrusions. As time goes on the separate

groups accommodate and change their cultural char­

acteristics in different ways. Although inhabiting

dispersed territorial areas and demonstrating dif­

ferent socio-economic characteristics, they can be

identified as the same group through language.

Varese further explains that the term "tribe" is no

longer correct because tribe alludes to two charac­

teristics that are no longer applicable, (1) cultural

and social homogeneity and, (2) territorial homo­

geneity (Varese 1972b:l2).

2. Egalitarian in all social aspects except age and sex.

There are no class distinctions and there is direct

162 163

access to the means of production. Surplus is

leisure.

3. Eo Terray states that a "mode of production is

determined by relations of exploitation through

which surplus labor (that over and above what is

needed for survival) is appropriated from the

direct producers" (1975:89-90; see also Deere

1979:27).

4. Indigenous economy is defined by a "high degree of

self-sufficiency; limited production for the market;

transactions based on custom and tradition, rather

than on market forces; little response to gainful

incen-tives; insula-tion from fluctuations in the

national ('money', 'commercial') economy of the

country concerned, including, of course, the fluc­

tuations originating in international conditions"

(Mask 1965:155). Chapter Two

Notes

1. Gross (1975) charts the daily per capita dietary

intake of animal protein in nine Tropical South and

Central American indigenous groups. Two of these

are fluvial Peruvian, the Sharanahua and the Shipibo

with 63 grams and 48 grams, respectively. He states

that_ while 63 grams per day is adequate, the lower,

4 8 grams, must. be supplemented with vegetable

protein (531-532). In his Appendix Gross discusses

these figures and states that in six out of the

nine groups he charts (mean per capita daily intake

is 3 5 grams) 1 one of ·the six being the Shipibo 1

the measurements were made during periods

of "normal" hunting activity and do not

reflect the decline in hunting and fishing

which usually occurs during the rainy

season and during the clearing and plant-

ing of new swiddens. No attempt was made

to correct for this probable bias in the

measurements. Thus the data do not reflect

season or annual variation in protein

capture rates (1975:539).

2. Do not confuse a "subsistence practice" involving

Sl.vidden agriculture with a "mode of production,"

164 165

an economic social system which incorporates kin­

ship and the division of labor (Siskind 1978).

3. One advantage to plot laid fallow is that regener­

ation begins with the remaining seeds which ferti­

lizes a second growth. An added advantage to a

plot laid fallow is that left-over tubers and the

new growth of leafy materials attract quadrupeds

such as deer, tapir, and sloth, small birds and

rodents. Abandoned swidden plots also help allev­

iate the problem of protein scarcity, especially in

the interfluvial, by attracting and concentrating

animal protein near human habitation sites (Gross

1975:536; Ross 1978:10).

4. The balancing effec·ts of tropical climatic con­

ditions can be viewed by initially looking at two

deleterious effects of temperature and high ~c.infall

in the tropics. High tropical temperatures (77°F

plus) burn off organic matter and prevent the form­

ation of humus, a substance which in sandy soils

helps to retain water and absorb plant nutrients,

and in clay soils allows for the absorption of

water. As humus grows in 77°F or less, high tropi­

cal t.emperatures destroy humus faster than it can

be formed (Meggers 1971:15). A healthy abundance

of humus could count:er the soil erosion and leach­

ing of nutrients promoted by high rainfalls. 166

5. Demonstrating cultural deterioration, or deevolution,

Lathrap cites a comparison between the fluvial

Shipibo/Conibo Panoan-speaking groups of the Central

Ucayali River with the interfluvial Panoans, the

Amahuaca, Cashibo, Mayoruna, and Remo who live east

and west of the Ucayali (see map pg. 44). According

to T....athrap, these groups likely shared a cormnon

culture more than 1,000 years ago. Whereas the

modern riverine Shipibo/Conibo culture through

contact vli th neighboring Cocama groups has grown

more complex, the culture of the Panoans, forced by

inter-tribal competition into interfluvial areas by

the more powerful Shipibo/Conibo, has grown

11 progressively simpler." Their life became more

.nonadic, their material culture (e.g., pottery)

deteriorated, and "agricultural practices were

rudimentary and slipshod compared to the sli.ipibo/

Conibo" (Lathrap 1970:187-188). Chapter Three

Notes

1. Numbers 3-4 were adapted and translated from

San Ramon, 1975.

2. "Extractive expansion, unlike the establishment of

farms, does not aim specifically at the occupation

of native territory for the permanent and decisive

installation of human nuclei. When the resources

are exhausted, the front of (economic) expansion

vli thdraws and completely disappears" (Varese,

1972b:10).

3. For a history of the Franciscans in Peru, see

Iaguirre, 1922 and Sylvest, 1972.

4. For a list of missionary outposts in the Peruvian

selva and which native groups were affected, see

Uriarte, 1976.

5. See Larsen and Bergman, 1969, and Mari~tegui, 1965

for a more complete discussion of latifundios.

6. ~egat6nes perfected the collectiva, a large

palm-thatched covered canoe powered by a small

outboard engine. The collectiva is able to carry

large.loads of commoties, and/or people, but small

enough to contact groups living along Amazon

167 168

t.ributaries.

A slow shallow water propeller has also been

perfected. Called a "peque-·peque" for the sound

it makes, it has allowed transport to and from

extremely isolated groups living off of shallow

quebradas (streams}. The peque-peque is the

least expensive type of engine to run due to its

low (12) horsepower, and has recently come within

buying range for some indigenous groups.

7. The products exported from the region were salted

fish, sarsparilla, beeswax, animal skins, wood,

balsam, copal, tortoise fat, and native palm fiber

crafts (Kramer n.d. :5; Uriarte 1976:22-3).

8. I am basing my use of the term "exploited" upon

Janet Siskind's definition of exploitation, "It may

be used casually to mean 'unfair' or formally to

describe a relationship between two classes, such

that one class extracts surplus labor from the

other" (Siskind 1978:866).

9. Iquitos is Peru's largest city on the banks of the

Amazon River.

10. Personal communication with members of the Summer

Institute of Linguistics. 169

11. They suffered from malaria, tuberculosis, smallpox,

syphillis, measles, hepatitis, eye disorders, flu,

and a great many respiratory infections contacted

from outsiders and easily spread due to bad living

conditions and low resistance (in passim, Davis

1977: Varese 1972b).

12. Fully discussed in Casemont 1912, Hardenberg 1912:

13. Heltne discussed this problem by stating,

The fur and live animal export markets

threaten wildlife over a wider range.

Demand always exceeds the fur traders'

supply, though tens of thousands of skins

are shipped from Iquitos every year.

Select species such as tapirr peccary,

ocelot, and jaguar are being severely

depleted over truly vast regions because

of the desirability of their hides. All

animals must be sought further and further

into the forests each year. The trends

set in motion by agriculture and the fur

·trade are compounded by exportation. Many

animal exporters are unable to fill their

huge orders--mostly from the u.s.--and

mainly for experimental animals. The

methods of hunting and capture are those 170

devastating to the breeding populations.

My experiences lead me to conclude that

through human intervention many species'

ranges are being truncated, perhaps

irreversiby, over large areas (1967:134).

14. These same tribes were decimated during the

Putumayo Atrocities. Chapter Four

Notes

1. Subsistence economy is known by a variety of terms

such as indigenous, regional, non-mone·tary, pre­

capitalist, and non-capitalist (Mosk 1965:155).

2. As of 1980, Roberto, the half-brother to Manuel,

holds the office of President. Manuel was voted

out due to inefficiency and drinking problems.

3. ln 1976 working out of Pebas for a lumber

corporation earned a Bora man 80 soles ($1.75)

a day with meals or 100 soles ($2.20) a day

·,.;ri thout neals. Although Peru has had a 3 50 percent

inflation rate since 1976, as of 1980, the Bora

men were earning the same wages.

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John Bale, Sons and Danielson. Appendix A

Effects of Resource Exploitation on Indigenous Populations

H<:rrch 1964: President Belaunde received gamonal (polit- ical boss) Don Gu.mercindo Flores, mayor and businessman of Requena; and assassin of the Mayoruna tribe. Don

Gumercindo is extracting lumber (much of it is being used t.o bnild housing for oil workers) along the banks of the Tapiche Rivers, and for this the zone has to be cleared of Indians. Various Peruvian newspapers report that Gumercindo has the support of ·the Peruvian Air

Force, and a detachment of North American "marines" especially sent from the Canal Zone in Panama. These acts of genocide are a general test for the repression of the native populations of the central selva in 1965, and need no justification in Peru.

1965-·1966: The International Petroleum Company (IPC) assumez3 an active and direct role in the genocide of the tribal populations of ·the _?elva. If previously, during the repression of the guerrillas, the IPC limited its participation to providing technical support, in the form of incendiary and fragmentation bombs for experi- ment.at.ion over some Campa villages, no-w it assumes the messianic role of firing directly on these forest people, the claim being that the Indians are an obstacle in the advance of "civilization" and opposed

191 192

discovery of oil.

1967: A group of engineers and technicians of the

IPC, who are carrying out mapping and exploration work in the forests of Madre de Dios, kill twenty Amahuaca tribesmen and wound a number of others attempting to flee. The IPC does not conceal the incident, no authority is preoccupied with investigating those responsible, and generally there is indifference to vThat occurred.

1968:1972: The revolutionary government begins to redefine and re-evaluate its position before the ethnic minorities of the _::;elva, and announces (in a message of

PreE;.ident Velasco of ,July 28, 19 73) that: a new law will be passed ·vvhich 'i.vill bring justice to the na·tive peoples, protecting them in their rights to territory and land.

Mear&hile, the conservative press claims that the tribal societies are an obstacle to national development, who must. be either wiped ou·t or incorporated as a labor force.

March 1973: A North American petroleum company working in the zone of the Tapiche and Yavari Rivers confirms reports that there have been attacks on workers in an expJ.ora·tion camp. Between the fear .of the workers and the business diplomacy of the company it is impossible to clarify the incident. 193

,June 19 73: 'rhe newspaper Impetu of Pucallpa reports that some petroleum companies have decided to organize armed bodies for the protection of workers, and have made a special call to discharged soldiers from the army.

December: 22, 1973: A headline on the front. page of

El Comercio announces: "Forest People Kill Two workers and vY"ound Five in the £.1adre de Dios River·." The article attributes the attack to the Amahuaca Indians against a group of ~vorkers of a petroleum company in the area.

Two c'!ays later representatives of the company (Andes

PE~troleum Company, Ltd. and Peru Cities Service, Inc. ) routinely negate the story, affirming that not only are there no problems between the workers of the company and natives, but that the Indians in their occasional appearances in the labor camp have demonstrated a totally peaceful attitude. Informed sources in Madre de Dios r hmvever, insist that t.he company has been arming workers under threat of a strike. One source not.es that. on December 2 7, 19 73, members of the Summer

Institute of Linguistics (Wycliff Bible Translators,

U.S . A. ) were brough·t by the company from a base at

Yarinacocha (Pucallpa) to help resolve the problems between workers and the native peoples and to provide a diagnosis of the tribal groups of the zone. .194

The problems between oil companies and indigenous

Amazonians :have more often than not been overtly denied.

Although not documented, the denial of the problems between t~he oil workers and the indigenes might have been clue to the oil company • s fear of the passage of a law which 'N'Ould end the 11 commerce in cheap Indians"

(Varese 1974:5). Appendix B

Government Agencies of Integration

1. Military - registers indigenous males for military

service. Military outposts serve as check-in

points which regulate river travel along major

transport routes. With the advent of engines,

military outposts serve as supplies of gasoline

during emergencies. They oftentimes have a

medical doctor on duty, but as yet I have no

information as to how often or in what cases

selvaticos are permitted to utilize the medical

services of the outpost.

2. Political Investigations of Peru (PIP) -PIP's

influence on indigenous groups lies in the

investigation of major crimes such as murder.

3. The Civil Guard (La Guardia Civil) - La Guardia

Civil has control in all conflicts between

natives and non-natives. I·ts major impact on

ethnic groups is in cases of discrimination

(Uriarte 1976:24).

4. Teniente (lieutenant, deputy), Governador

(governor), Alcalde (mayor), and ~uez de Paz

(justice of the peace) - exercise civilian

authority.

195 196

5. SINANOS (Sistema Nacional de Aopyo a la

r.1~_-yi:li zacio!:_f:!o~ial:_) - Created in 19 71, SINAMOS

was to organize basic populations (indigenous

communities) so they could function effectively

with the national society while developing

economically profitable cash·-products. Decreto

:f:.e¥.. 18 8 9 6, which gave birth to SINAMOS, declared

thatf

this organization was to act as a link

between the government and the people,

helping to make government bureaucracies

more responsive to the public and helping

the population to express its desires to

the government. This latter objective

would be achieved by actively organizing

the Peruvian population as a means of

creating links between the population and

t.he government and by 1 orienting 1 the

participation of the population (Article 4c) .

SINAMOS should help increase the capacity

of the population to promote its own devel­

opment, with the help of the government

(Article 5a) (Collier 19 76: 106-107).

Now disbanded, SINAMOS fulfilled Ley de Comunidades

Nativas (Law of the Native Communities) (Decreta

Ley 20653) by "establishing native communities 19 7

based on collect.ive endeavors" and .involved them

in the establishment of large cmmnc-'!r:cial a.gri-

cultural projects (Kramer n.d. :9).

6. Ministry of Agriculture - The Ministry of Agr.i-

culture carries out policies of agrarian reform.

It negotiated land arrangements and monetary

loans. It worked closely with SINP.... HOS and upon

their approval g-ran·ted loans ·to native com:muni-

ties t.o ini ti.ate cooperative commercial endeavors.

7. Ministry of Health - The Ministry of Health enters

communi t.ies to erradicate and irnmuni ze against

epidemics.

8. Ministry of Education - The Ministry of Education

has been a major force for the last twenty years.

The Ministry requires 40 students in order to set

up a school in a co~~unity either by the SIL or

the South .American Indian Mission (SAM) . The

Ministry with the aid of the SIL has set up a

system of bi-lingual education.

9. Department of Agrarian Federation of the

Socialist Jungle (FEDERA.CION Agraria Departmental

"Selva Socialista") - The f'EDERACION was estab-

lished in 1975 and marked the presence of the

Agrarian National Confederation (CNA) and the 198

Defensive Front of the Peruvian Revolution (FDRP)

(Uriarte 1976:25). Its function is to "organize"

the indigenes, but "these organizations are con­

sidered to be a serious danger for the self­

det.ermination of the indigenous groups" (my

translation, Uriarte 1976:25).

10. Peruvian Air Force - I am listing this as a front

of political and economic expansion because the

Peruvian Air Force played a major role in opening

up t.he Cej a de la Sel :ra (high jungle regions) .

It continues to play this role by transporting

goods to and from isolated areas otherwise

unreachable by other means of transportation.

SATCO (Servicio Aero _j.e !r~nsportes___ Cm~er_ciales)

pilots annually bring out thousands of tons of

coca, barbasco root, coffee, tea, peanuts and

other raw materials, either directly to Lima

or to mountain airstrips from which trucks

transport Uwm to Lima or other cons·ump·t:ion

areas (Crist, 1973:101).