Amuesha

ETHNONYMS: Amage, Amajo, Amueixa, Amuetamo, Lorenzo, Omage, Yanesha

Orientation

Identification. The name "Amuesha" is derived perhaps from aamo (capybara) and -esha' (classificatory). Formerly, many of the group used it to refer to themselves, but today they prefer "Yanesha'" (we people).

Location. The Amuesha traditionally occupied the region in the high central jungle of Peru between 9.7° and 11.1° S and 74.6° and 75.6° W in the present-day departments of Junín and Pasco, along the valleys of the upper Perene and Pozuzo rivers, the headwaters of the Palcazu River, and the southernmost headwaters of the Pichis River. Today their territory is between 9.7° and 10.8° S and 75° and 75.6° W. This reduced territory is also occupied by thousands of colonists.

Linguistic Affiliation. Recent studies demonstrate that the Amuesha language is a member of the Maipuran Arawakan Family (i.e., mainstream Arawakan, rather than an isolated branch of the Arawakan stock, as it was previously classified). The confusion in classification arose in part because it contains dozens of Quechua loanwords; many loans from Panoan languages; and numerous old, completely assimilated Spanish loans, as well as new Spanish ones. There are a few regional dialectal differences but they do not impede communication.

Demography. Epidemics in the last decades of the nineteenth century and the early decades of the twentieth reduced the population to about 3,500 in 1950. A conservative estimate of the population in 1989 is 7,000.

History and Cultural Relations

Linguistic evidence suggests that the Amuesha migrated to the eastern foothills of the Andes at least 2,000 years ago. For centuries prior to the arrival of the Spaniards the Amuesha were in constant contact with other jungle groups who came to the Cerro de Sal (Salt Mountain) in Amuesha territory to obtain salt for their own use and for barter with more distant groups. Linguistic, archaeological, and mythological evidence suggest that the Amuesha were later dominated by the Incas and were forced to work for them. The first important contact with the Spaniards was in 1635, when the Franciscans established a mission among the Amuesha and neighboring Campa groups (Asháninca, Ashéninca, and Nomatsiguenga) at Cerro de Sal. When hostilities broke out a few years later, the mission was destroyed. It was reestablished in 1671, and by 1673 the indigenous population reached more than 1,000. Again hostilities destroyed the efforts of the Franciscans until 1709. In 1742 the Campa groups and the Amuesha, led by Juan Santos Atahualpa Inca, rebelled and drove all outsiders from the area. More than 100 years passed before mission efforts were renewed in 1881 at Oxapampa on the headwaters of the Pozuzo.

In the 1860s colonists from the Tyrolean Alps established themselves along the Pozuzo and spread to the Palcazu; in 1890 the Peruvian Corporation was ceded 500,000 hectares along the Perene and Ene rivers. Thus, outsiders gradually dispossessed the Amuesha of the territory along their western and southern boundaries. In the southeast, the Ashéninca Campa now claim former Amuesha territory. The Amuesha have been in continuous contact with the outside world for more than 100 years, but today the contact is even more intense following the influx of colonists from the highlands after the construction of the Marginal Highway, which transverses the whole of Amuesha territory.

Settlements

Except for the large groups gathered into the early missions, Amuesha settlements were traditionally small, extended-family units 2 to 3 kilometers away from other such settlements. At present they live in at least fortyseven small communities ranging in size from two to more than fifty families. The largest community has a population of about 700. Approximately twenty-five of the communities are legally recognized and have land titles, although the amount of land suitable for agriculture is inadequate in most cases. The communities tend to be more stable at present, since parents wish their children to attend school, and land titles, for the most part, are in the name of the community rather than individuals. The school and soccer field are the center of most communities; some also have a small church and a public-health post. The downriver communities (350 to 500 meters in elevation) are usually built along the banks of the Palcazu or one of its tributaries; in the higher elevations (up to 1,800 meters) each household locates near a spring. Formerly, an Amuesha house had a palm-thatch roof, a framework of hardwood poles, and floors and walls of split palm-bark. Today, many Amuesha live in rough-hewn wood-frame houses with aluminum roofs.

Economy

Subsistence and Commercial Activities. The Amuesha were and are horticulturists. Crops include sweet manioc, plantains, sweet potatoes and a variety of other starchy roots, maize, and squash, as well as pineapple, papaya, and other fruits. Their slash-and-burn subsistence agriculture, typical of Amazonia, is supplemented by hunting, fishing, and gathering. However, except for pacas and agoutis—rodents that thrive on manioc—game and fish have been scarce for many years, especially in the upriver area. During the rubber boom at the turn of the century, the German colonists in the downriver area created necessities by introducing goods that drew the Amuesha into the patrón system, whereby they were obliged to work rubber and plunged into a cycle of perpetual indebtedness. In the 1940s the patrones persuaded the Amuesha to use their abandoned fields as pastures and raise cattle "by halves." Today, along with about forty purchased good stock bulls and other cattle acquired from outside the tribe, as a result, there are some 2,000 head of cattle in Amuesha communities, with individually owned production on the increase. Beginning about 1940, many Amuesha left the upper Palcazu communities for several months a year to work in the coffee harvests of colonists—primarily of German descent—in the upriver area. Since about 1955 the Amuesha themselves have grown coffee as a cash crop and hired other Amuesha to work in the harvest and other aspects of production. They have at least one coffee cooperative. Downriver there is an incipient forestry cooperative, organized by the Pichis-Palcazu Project, which implemented socioeconomic development as well as road construction and colonization along this branch of the Marginal Highway. Some cash income still comes from wage labor.

Industrial Arts. Aboriginal crafts included ceramics, weaving, fabrication of bows and arrows and adornments, and basket weaving. Today, Amuesha make only baskets, palm-leaf mats for household use, and some adornments.

Trade. Until the mid-twentieth century Amuesha men participated in networks of trading-partner relationships with the Asháninca and Ashéninca Campa. Traditional handwoven, long tunics, are still obtained by some of the men, who barter machetes and other merchandise with more isolated Campa communities.

Division of Labor. Men clear and burn new fields, help with planting subsistence crops, and manage plantain fields. Women help with the planting, do most of the weeding, and harvest produce for household consumption. Cattle and pastures are managed almost exclusively by the men. Men are usually responsible for the management of coffee fields, but both men and women participate in weeding and harvesting coffee. Women prepare food, wash clothes, weave baskets, and care for the children. In former times, they also did the spinning and weaving and made pottery, whereas men made bows and arrows and hunted. Girls 4 years of age and older help care for their younger siblings.

Land Tenure. Aboriginally, individuals had the right to occupy and cultivate land wherever they chose to live. With increasing pressure from colonists, Amuesha are largely restricted to small, individually purchased fields or to farming community-owned land assigned to them by local leaders.

Kinship

Kin Groups and Descent. Cognatic descent groups traditionally lived as territorial units; often there was conflict between them. Today, although many recognize themselves as being from one or the other group, bilateral kindreds are the only functioning kin-based groups. Within communities nuclear and extended matrilocal families form household units within clusters of patrilineally related households.

Kinship Terminology. Kinship terminology is of the Dravidian type, with sex and parallel or cross relations distinguished in three generations. Cross relations are equated with affinal ones; in fact, the affinal concept is predominant in the terms. Consanguineal, parallel relations are the stronger ones and require mutual respect and help. Amuesha deities are referred to by three terms. Joking relations are maintained between cross cousins of the same sex and avoidance relations between those of the opposite sex. The Spanish terms for "aunt" and "uncle" are used by many for siblings of both parents. Great-grandparents are referred to as classificatory siblings.

Marriage and Family

Marriage. Cross cousins or classificatory cross cousins are preferred marriage partners, but there are many marriages between nonrelatives and some with neighboring Asháninca and Ashéninca or with colonists. Polygyny-often sororal—is seldom practiced today. The prospective groom usually approaches his mother's brother or father's sister's husband to ask for the bride, but a mature man is sometimes approached by the prospective father-in-law. Formerly, the bride's father had the couple kneel before him in a simple ceremony before the groom moved into his in-law's household. Currently, some couples have civil or religious ceremonies, but there is often no ceremony. Matrilocal residence was the norm—at least until the first child was weaned. The groom, as part of his bride-service, was expected to bring in firewood and game as well as help his father-in-law clear new fields. When the in-laws started nagging about his inadequate service, he knew he was expected to leave. The death of one child after another is also a common cause for divorce. Some Amuesha have had as many as five or six spouses in succession; other marriages have lasted a lifetime.

Domestic Unit. Formerly, matrilocal extended families were the most common domestic unit. Today there is an increasing tendency toward nuclear families. Aged parents usually live with a married child.

Inheritance. Traditionally, when an adult member of the family died, the house and fields were abandoned so there was almost nothing to inherit except a few bead or seed ornaments. Since many have entered into a coffee-based market economy, a shaman is often paid to keep the spirits of the deceased away so that the family does not lose everything and have to start over. Inheritance patterns have not yet emerged, but the tendency seems to be toward patrilineal inheritance.

Socialization. Children are raised very permissively until there is a younger sibling. Punishment with nettles once or twice usually suffices to make the threat of their use an adequate sanction. Threats of injections or being attacked by cattle are also used to control children. Education is highly valued; most young people now complete primary school and many are enrolled in high school. Approximately SO percent of those under age 30 are literate in Spanish and about 50 percent are literate in their own language as a result of the government's bilingual education program, which began in 1953, and the efforts of some monolingual Spanish schools that were established a few years prior to that in Amuesha territory.

Sociopolitical Organization

Social Organization. The Amuesha were and are egalitarian in their social and economic interaction and highly value individual will and personal autonomy. At the same time, their cosmology and their relation to the priestly leaders and ceremonial centers show some hierarchical tendencies. Traditionally, there were no strong political leaders; instead local socioreligious leaders (cornesha' )— priests—gained authority and prestige by their generosity and wise leadership in worship and community matters. Some priests gained a measure of authority over a wider area, but there was never a cohesive sociopolitical organization that included all Amueshas. Even before the last cornesha' died in 1956, if there was no local cornesha', an older man who had lived in the community the longest was generally recognized as the leader. Generosity is still one of the main avenues for gaining respect. A would-be leader and coffee planter will impoverish himself by generosity to his workers. The high moral value placed on generosity is thus effective in preventing potential entrepreneurs from taking advantage of their less fortunate relatives and neighbors. Trained health promoters are rarely able to continue to purchase supplies of medicine, since their patients remind them that they cannot charge their relatives. Similarly, few Amuesha-owned shops have succeeded.

In 1969 an annual Amuesha leaders' congress was established, with two or three delegates from each community, who elected a president and other officers to maintain contact with government offices. Each community is organized according to the Peruvian system, with younger, more bilingual men often elected to positions of authority. In 1981 the congresses were reorganized as FECONAYA, a federation of Amuesha (Yanesha) communities. Although the federation officers do not exercise a great deal of authority, they—along with the Bilingual Bi-cultural Amuesha Teachers Association—have been instrumental in establishing a sense of tribal identity and pride. Perhaps the single most important factor in helping the Amuesha maintain their language and culture has been bilingual education and the development of written literature in their language—much of it written by Amuesha authors.

Social Control and Conflict. The Amuesha highly value peace; the ostracism that follows being known as an angry or stingy person is usually sufficient to keep most quarrels under control. There is always a certain amount of tension between affines, but open conflict is rare. Even when outsiders dispossess them of their land, the Amuesha will avoid a fight if at all possible. Homicide and theft were almost unknown in aboriginal times. Today criminal accusations are adjudicated by Peruvian authorities.

Religion and Expressive Culture

Religious Beliefs. Even before the arrival of the first Franciscan missionaries, Amuesha religion was syncretistic. Sun worship—borrowed from the Incas—was superimposed on the typical jungle aboriginal animistic beliefs. The early missionaries left numerous traces of their work in Amuesha mythology. Our Grandfather God is the supreme creator; his jealous classificatory brother Yosoper (Lucifer) created the reverse, evil counterpart of everything good. Our Fathers and, especially, Our Father the Sun, give life and breath and strength to humanity. The priestly leader led his people in ceremonial dances "making merry" to Our Father the Sun. At other times they made merry when a beautiful bird flew into the clearing to implore him to deliver messages from Our Father. Our Mother the Moon is of lesser importance. In addition, there are many demons and evil spirits as well as numerous animate and inanimate spirits. Most Amuesha in this century have been baptized by Catholic priests but have little understanding of the meaning of the ceremony except as a means to acquire a Spanish name. Beginning about 1960 small evangelical congregations were formed under indigenous leadership. Thirteen churches are now organized into two Amuesha presbyteries within the Evangelical Church of Peru.

Religious Practitioners. Until the mid-twentieth century the priestly leaders had considerable standing; they led the people in making cooperative gardens and in worship around the local temples. Shamans also enjoyed considerable status and influence, because they had contact with the jaguar spirits and other supernatural beings. There are also diviners who ascertain the cause of illness, receive messages and songs from Our Father, and advise on momentous problems, through chewing coca leaves. Today the Christian pastors share the leadership of the churches with the laity.

Ceremonies. The full moon—which provided light for dancing—was the occasion for most parties to "make merry to Our Father the Sun." Another important rite is the party at the full moon after a girl has been secluded for several weeks (or even several months) in a small leaf room following the onset of puberty.

Arts. Singing and playing the panpipes were important parts of Amuesha ceremonies and continue on a small scale in several communities. Amuesha designs were seen in intricately woven wristbands, which are rarely worn these days. Some men used the same designs in making the crowns that they wore on festive occasions and the carved wooden paddles used to stamp designs on the face.

Medicine. Until the mid-twentieth century children were accused of burning bones, a form of witchcraft, and severely punished or even killed if another relative died. Disease is also believed to be caused by the spirits of the dead; until recently, bodies were sometimes exhumed and cremated. Spirits in termite nests, the water, rocks, and so forth also cause illness. It is the duty of close relatives to burn the offending element to effect a cure. Herbal medicines and the efforts of shamans were also used. Today, Western medical help is usually sought, but shamans and specialists in medicinal herbs continue to practice.

Death and Afterlife. The Amuesha spirit was believed to be taken to heaven after death, whereas the "shadow spirit" lingered around the dwelling of the deceased or around the grave and caused close relatives to become ill. There was little ceremony connected with a burial. Today there is a wake with burial the next day, more or less following Peruvian custom.

Bibliography

Santos Granero, Fernando (1986). "The Moral and Social Aspects of Equality amongst the Amuesha of Central Peru." Journal de la Société des Américanistes 72:107-131.

Santos Granero, Fernando (1986). "The Power of Love: The Moral Use of Knowledge amongst the Amuesha of Central Peru." Ph.D. dissertation, London School of Economics.

Smith, Richard C. (1977). "Deliverance from Chaos for a Song: A Social and Religious Interpretation of the Ritual Performance of Amuesha Music." Ph.D. dissertation, Cornell University.

MARY RUTH WISE