This past week we made a visit to the Andean community that is affiliated with the Associacion Kusi Kawsay. Though I felt tired and weak, as I spent the previous night sick with food poisoning, I did not want to miss out on this experience. Most days of our journey thus far, we have been bombarded with a ‘tourist-like’ experience that feels inescapable. This day, however, was a chance to get away from all of that and get a glimpse into the daily life of an average Andean community. Or at least that’s what I hoped for!
After a 45-ish minute bumpy bus ride that seemed to be going up, we were dropped on the side of the dirt road next to an open dirt field. After a bit of confused shuffling off the bus, we were ushered into the field where we were warmly greeted by half a dozen local-looking adults and one young child. With the exception of the child we were each embraced and kissed by each community member. As this is the standard greeting from many of my own distant family relatives, I felt comfortable, and genuinely welcomed into the community. Next we were directed to sit in a row in the field on a long narrow cloth that had been laid out for us.
We were then given a brief description of the typical morning ritual of an Andean farmer, which is to carefully select 3 sacred coca leaves, blow on them to make an offering to the mountains (apus), and then to chew on them for energy. They said that it is typical for an Andean farmer to have a bowl of soup for breakfast and then to sustain themselves on nothing but the coca leaves all day until dinner time. This was supposedly advantageous to the Spanish landowners who worked them all day. Though I do not intend to be dismissive of the cultural and spiritual aspect of this statement, it did cross my mind that there are more balanced ways of nourishing oneself while performing manual labor… but I also recognize that this thought may be a direct result of my western-colonial upbringing. For the next 30 minutes, coca leaves (in sets of 3) were repeatedly passed to each of us to chew, as was a black rock which we were also told to gnaw on. It was some sort of carbon-mineral and was meant to ‘activate’ the coca leaves.
This ceremonial session ended abruptly, at which time we were each dressed in traditional Andean clothing. Back in Canada this is considered cultural appropriation and I wouldn’t be caught dead doing so, but in this situation it would have been offensive not to accept the clothing. It was one of the ways that they welcomed us into their family. Suddenly heavy hand tools were being passed around and without any explanation we were put to work tilling the land. For me the clothing was very uncomfortable and dysfunctional for working in the hot sun, but they must feel differently or I can’t imagine they’d be using it; though I do think the male clothing was better suited to outdoor work than the female clothing. Unsure of what we were doing, why we were doing it, and when it would end, we clumsily struggled through the chores until lunchtime was announced.
As I am over my 500 word limit and most of you were there with me I won’t go into the rest of the details of the day, except to say the the remainder of the experience was closer to what I expected (eg. traditional lunch, weaving demonstrations, and an opportunity to purchase handmade crafts).
Points of discomfort/surprise for me were being dressed in their clothing, working in their clothing, and not knowing where my money (150 sols) was going as we didn’t pay them directly. I’ve been assured that much of the money goes to the community but I still find myself feeling skeptical which may also be a result of my wester-colonial upbringing.
What were your points of discomfort? Do you think they are designed to be that way? Was this yet another ‘tourist’ experience?
3 replies on “Discomfort in Andean Community”
“What were your points of discomfort? Do you think they are designed to be that way?” This last question and the content of your blog made me realize that perhaps I hadn’t thought enough about how we have commodified tourism around comfort versus discomfort. The money we all pay for tourism generally comes from having worked, something we agree is the opposite of leisure. In itself, tourist comfort is paradoxical: we buy it with our previous suffering, sometimes thinking about the promise of future pleasure. Is it the secularized version of heaven that religions promise us? (Are these categories even applicable to what we experienced in Amaru?)
Personally, I was a little uncomfortable with putting on the traditional clothes as well. I know we’ve had a conversation about traditional dress, appropriation vs. appreciation, so it’s pretty ironic that this happened. (And that they dressed me first!) I didn’t feel like I had much choice in the matter, but I think it was alright, I didn’t want to be rude and refuse. Even though I believe this was a tourist experience, I think it sets itself slight apart from most others–whether or not this is a positive, I am still trying to figure out myself. Still, it was an enjoyable day!
Hi Andree!
I’ve taken some time to ponder everything you’ve mentioned. I think that there definitely is a cultural aspect to what we deem “appreciation” or “appropriation,” and that will differ depending on how and where one was raised. In my opinion, the reason why to dress in the clothes of a culture one does not belong to is offensive in Canada is because there are so many different cultures that it’s more likely one is choosing to discriminate through doing that. If one is being offered these clothes by members of the culture, I think it’s safe to say that no one had any active intention of discriminating — but it’s safe to exhibit caution in how we present ourselves regardless.