Arguedas and Identity

As I explored the novel Deep Rivers by Jose Arguedas, I began thinking about Indigenous identity…who counts as indigenous and who does not? Is more weight placed in genetic inheritance or the lived experience of being brought up in community. While some may be direct descendants of an indigenous bloodline but grow up disconnected from cultural wisdom and practices, others are more distantly related to their indigenous lineage, yet have been raised in indigenous communities and been the recipient of traditional ways of living and knowing. Which is more authentic? And who gets to decide?

I was interested to learn about Arguedas’ Cinderella-like upbringing and intrigued to see the way he integrated some of his experiences into the protagonist, Ernesto. For example, both Ernesto and Arguedas are mestizo, an identity which made them targets of abuse in their childhood homes. The abuse they suffered by some at home resulted in extra support and comfort from the indigenous servants of the house who imparted knowledge such as the Quechua and connection to the land on the boys. Though they are technically only ‘half’ indigenous, they appear to be highly connected to the wisdom and history of their peoples’ collective soul. (A positive outcome of the trauma they endured?)

Arguedas’ relationship to his roots becomes clear as he describes Ernesto’s connection to land and history when he explores Cusco for the first time. As he comes into contact with the ancient Inca wall, it seems to come to life for him. “The wall was stationary, but all the lines were seething and its surface was as changeable as that of the flooding summer rivers which have crests near the center, where the current flows the swiftest and is the most terrifying”(7). When Ernesto describes the wall as a “boiling blood stone” it reminded me of the tour at the Museo Larco and learning about the close relationship that the Inca and pre-Incan communities had with their dead ancestors. It seemed like Ernesto could sense the life of those who had lived before him pulsing in the giant stones.

This brings me back to identity. Ernesto clearly has a connection to and identifies with his culture despite being a mestizo. At the old man’s house however, Ernesto encounters another mestizo as well as the pongo. As he observes these two men, Ernesto notices the sharp  contrast that they present. The pongo is dressed in ill-fitting rags, without shoes, and is filthy, while the mestizo wore riding pants and boots. It is clear that the mestizo does not feel he shares identity with the pongo due to the insolent gaze that he casts in his direction.

These three characters exemplify three unique experiences in connection to their indigenous lineage. Questions I wish to put out there are:

• Who gets to determine the presence of indigenous identity?
• Is it more harmful to have this identity assigned by others rather than adopting it for oneself?