Music Department Royal Holloway University of London Musical
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Music Department Royal Holloway University of London Musical Bamboos: Flute Making, Natural Resources, and Sustainability in the Bolivian Andes Sebastian Hachmeyer Thesis submitted for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy 2020 - 2 - Declaration of Authorship I, Sebastian Hachmeyer, thereby declare that this thesis and the work presented in it is entirely my own. Where I have consulted the work of others, this is always clearly stated. Sebastian Hachmeyer 23rd November 2020 - 3 - MUSICAL BAMBOOS Flute Making, Natural Resources, and Sustainability in the Bolivian Andes - 4 - Front Picture: Mounded kjirki tuquru Bamboos in Baja Minas (Photography: S. Hachmeyer) - 5 - To my father Norbert Hachmeyer († 2020) - 6 - … and the maestros Luriri Andrés Mamani Quispe († 2020) Amawt’a Carlos Yujra Mamani († 2019) - 7 - What a wonderful plant the bamboo. Floyd Alonzo McClure - 8 - Abstract In the Bolivian Andes, urban-dwelling highland flute makers from the specialised Aymara flute-making community of Walata Grande craft a variety of flutes from native woody bamboos collected in their natural habitats in tropical forests of the eastern Andean slopes. Over recent decades, sustainability issues surrounding their use and sourcing have come to the fore. The two main concerns mentioned by Walateño makers are: that bamboo habitats are being destroyed as the deforestation of the tropical forests accelerates, and that recognised bamboo collection sites are being overexploited. Understanding these issues calls for an interdisciplinary mixed methods research approach that involves studying both the flute making culture/economy and the ecology of musical bamboos. While the deforestation of tropical forests is a consequence of non-musical economic activities such as agriculture and cattle rearing, the overexploitation of collection sites is the result of shifting modes of highland flute making and bamboo sourcing. Highland flute making has always been dependent on bamboo species diversity and maturation/life cycles. However, as makers have become reliant on intermediaries, valuable sourcing knowledge is being lost, further challenging the viability of musical bamboos. Beyond the environmental degradation and destruction of bamboo habitats, a closer analysis reveals that shifting social and economic relations and knowledge transmission are also central to the sustainability of flute making and bamboo sourcing in the Bolivian Andes. Keywords: Flute Making, Natural Resources, Sustainability, Bolivian Andes, Walata Grande - 9 - List of Contents Declaration of Authorship 2 Abstract 8 List of Contents 9 List of Figures and Tables 12 List of Acronyms and Abbreviations 16 Acknowledgements 18 Prologue 21 Map of Research Context 22 1 Introduction: Musical Bamboos 24 Emergence of the Topic Research Rationale Introducing the Musical Bamboos of the Andes Walata Grande: Flute Making on the La Paz Highlands Natural Resources and Ecological/Environmental Knowledge Towards an Analytical Framework of Sustainability Organisation and Chapters of the Thesis 2 Methodology: Interdisciplinary Mixed Methods Research 67 Overview: Interdisciplinary Mixed Methods Ethnography among Flute Makers Phytogeographic Study and Herbarium Research Visits Fieldwork in Musical Bamboo Sourcing Regions Moving in the Field: Blurred Borders Negotiating Ethnographic Self-Image Internal Social Tensions and Turning Point Musical Bamboo Traders and Clientelisation Concluding Remarks - 10 - 3 The History of Walata Grande: Craft Specialisation, Economic Disembedding, and Shifting Context of Highland Flute Making 119 A Brief Archaeological Excursus: A Musical Bamboo Perspective Walata Grande and Flute Making Specialisation Embeddedness in Musical Seasonality Historical Transformations and Shifting Markets Contemporary Spheres of Flute Making Conclusions 4 Musical Bamboos in Flute Making Workshops: Bamboo Demands, Urban Supply, Perception of Shortages, and Musical Values 179 Story One: “With me, everything dies [out]!” Story Two: “You cannot earn anything from this!” Dynamics in the Andean Music-Culture Urban Bamboo Supply and Distribution Mechanisms Perceptions of Scarcities and Flute Makers’ Responses Musical Values of Bamboos Conclusions 5 The Geography of Musical Bamboos: Local Typologies, Distributions, and Habitat Destruction 240 A Country of Forests, and Deforestation Local Typologies: Musical Bamboo Types and Sourcing Regions Tropical Bamboos and Highland Flutes: Bio-Musical Diversity Geographic Distributions of Musical Bamboos Deforestation and Musical Bamboo Habitat Destruction Discussion: Deforestation and Musical Bamboo Sourcing Conclusions - 11 - 6 The Ecology and Economics of Musical Bamboo Gathering: Local Environmental Knowledge and Drivers of Unsustainability 294 The Dangers of Bamboo Collection Precious Chhalla Bamboos in the Zongo Valley The Impact of Bamboo Ecology and Phenological Sequences Musical Bamboo Life Cycles in the Bolivian Andes Implications for Flute Making Bamboo Maturity and Selective Collecting Resource Dilemmas and Overexploitations Loss of Ecological Gathering Knowledge Commodification and the Fate of Extractivism Middleman Trading and System of Exploitation Discussion: Ecological Limits and Economic Decisions 7 The Broader Context of Sustainability: Summary and Outlook 349 Synthesising Factors of Sustainability: Making Sense of Complexity Wider Contributions and Audiences of the Thesis Outlook and a Practical View Towards the Future Appendices 370 Glossary 402 List of References 420 - 12 - List of Figures and Tables FIGURES: Figure 1: Walata Musical Instrument Shop 30 Figure 2: Diagram of Chhalla and Tuquru Bamboo 40 Figure 3: The Valley of La Paz 43 Figure 4: Tupu Measuring Sticks 46 Figure 5: Flute Making Workshops 72 Figure 6: Musical Bamboo Sample 88 Figure 7: Archaeological Bamboo-Made Panpipes (Southern Bolivia) 122 Figure 8: Archaeological Bamboo-Made Panpipes (Northern Chile) 124 Figure 9: Village of Walata Grande 129 Figure 10: Diagram of Notched and Duct Flutes 142 Figure 11: Diagram of Autochthonous Flute Families 160 Figure 12: Diagram of Rural and Urban Panpipes 165 Figure 13: Diagram of Rural and Urban Notched Flutes 166 Figure 14: Diagram of Musiñu Saliwa and Urban Moseño 168 Figure 15: Hand-Tools and Machine-Tools of Flute Makers 170 Figure 16: Flute Souvenirs 174 Figure 17: Decorative Flute Souvenir Making 184 Figure 18: Drying of Musical Bamboos in El Alto 197 Figure 19: Storing of Panpipe Bamboos 200 Figure 20: Chhalla Bamboo Varieties 218 Figure 21: Panpipe Bindings 221 Figure 22: Irregular Nodes in Chhalla Bamboo 226 - 13 - Figure 23: Difference in Panpipe Tuning 228 Figure 24: Tuquru Bamboo Varieties 232 Figure 25: Hardwood Varieties 233 Figure 26: Map of Chhalla Sourcing Sites and Regions 245 Figure 27: Map of Tuquru Sourcing Sites and Regions 246 Figure 28: Map of Potential Distributional Patterns of Bambuseae 257 Figure 29: Distributions of Aulonemia and Rhipidocladum Species 259 Figure 30: Distribution of Chhalla and Sourcing Sites/Regions 260 Figure 31: Distribution of Tuquru and Sourcing Sites/Regions 261 Figure 32: Map of Deforestation in Bolivia 270 Figure 33: Deforested Area for a Coca Plot 271 Figure 34: Agricultural Frontier in Alto Beni 272 Figure 35: Map of Chhalla and Tuquru Habitat Destruction 274 Figure 36: Yungas Páramo Region 276 Figure 37: Inquisivi Yungas 277 Figure 38: Anthropic Area and Sourcing Sites 279 Figure 39: Old Yungas Dirt Road 1950s 281 Figure 40: Landslide on Yungas Road 282 Figure 41: Musical Bamboo Distributions and Protected Areas 286 Figure 42: ‘Old’ and ‘New’ Tuquru Tubes 289 Figure 43: Savino Mallea 301 Figure 44: Ch’umi in the Yungas Cloud Forest 302 Figure 45: Upper Zongo Valley 303 Figure 46: Tuquru Life Cycle Stages 2018 310 Figure 47: Chhalla Life Cycle Stages 2018 314 Figure 48: Qantu Panpipe Maker Joaquin Quispe 317 - 14 - Figure 49: New Tuquru Shoot 321 Figure 50: Qipu Chhalla Bamboo Collection 323 Figure 51: Half-Shade Drying of Qipu Chhalla Culms 324 Figure 52: Páramo Yungas Cloud Forest with Kjirki Tuquru 331 Figure 53: Drying of Tuquru on Moist Páramo Grassland 333 Figure 54: Slash with Dried-Up Chhalla Culms 341 TABLES: Table 1: Spheres of Flute Making 44 Table 2: Chronology of Fieldwork 68 Table 3: Fieldwork Sites in Recognised Sourcing Regions 86 Table 4: Chhalla Types and Characteristics 217 Table 5: Difference in Suri Siku Tuning 229 Table 6: Tuquru Types and Characteristics 231 Table 7: Chhalla Types and Central Sourcing Regions 249 Table 8: Tuquru Types and Central Sourcing Regions 250 Table 9: Tropical Woody Bamboos (Bambuseae) in Bolivia 253 Table 10: Deforestation Rates in Bolivia of selected Periods 267 Table 11: Deforestation Data 268 Table 12: Chhalla and Tuquru Habitat Destruction 275 Table 13: Tuquru Flowering Intervals and Life Cycle Stages 309 Table 14: Chhalla Flowering Intervals and Life Cycle Stages 312 Table A1.1: Main Flutes Types of the Aymara Altiplano 370 Table A3.1: Overview of Species Distribution Modelling 394 Table A3.2: Final Dataset of Woody Bamboos (Bambuseae) 395 Table A3.3: Final Dataset of Musical Bamboos 396 - 15 - Table A3.4: AUC Values 397 Table A3.5: Threshold Values 398 Table A4.1: Chhalla Sourcing Sites 399 Table A4.2: Tuquru Sourcing Sites 400 Table A5.1: Tree Cover Loss 401 - 16 - List of Acronyms and Abbreviations ABT – Autoridad de Fiscalización y Control Social de Bosques y Tierras (Authority of Inspection and Social Control of Forests and Lands) ACTO – Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organisation ADEPCOCA – Asociación de Productores de Coca de los