﻿THE 
  AYMARA 
  

  

  By 
  Harry 
  Tschopik, 
  Jr. 
  

  

  INTRODUCTION 
  

  

  la 
  recent 
  literature, 
  the 
  Aymara 
  have 
  been 
  variously 
  described 
  as 
  

   "dull," 
  "stolid/' 
  and 
  "unimaginative." 
  While 
  these 
  adjectives 
  have 
  

   been 
  popularly 
  and 
  carelessly 
  applied 
  to 
  describe 
  the 
  individual 
  

   Aymara 
  "temperament," 
  they 
  do, 
  in 
  the 
  opinion 
  of 
  the 
  writer, 
  add 
  

   up 
  to 
  give 
  a 
  general 
  picture 
  of 
  the 
  way 
  in 
  which 
  Aymara 
  culture 
  today 
  

   strikes 
  the 
  outsider. 
  More 
  precisely 
  this 
  picture 
  applies 
  to 
  the 
  

   Aymara 
  of 
  the 
  towns, 
  fincas, 
  and 
  haciendas 
  rather 
  than 
  to 
  the 
  inde- 
  

   pendent 
  Indians 
  of 
  the 
  ayllus. 
  

  

  Perhaps 
  the 
  drabness 
  and 
  monotony 
  of 
  Aymara 
  culture 
  may 
  be 
  

   explained 
  in 
  part 
  in 
  terms 
  of 
  its 
  physical 
  environment 
  as 
  well 
  as 
  its 
  

   long 
  history 
  of 
  exploitation 
  at 
  the 
  hands 
  of 
  the 
  Whites. 
  The 
  Aymara 
  

   live 
  in 
  an 
  inhospitable 
  physical 
  environment 
  in 
  which 
  the 
  struggle 
  

   for 
  survival 
  is 
  an 
  ever-present 
  reality; 
  their 
  chief 
  preoccupation 
  is 
  

   with 
  food 
  and 
  protection 
  against 
  the 
  elements. 
  Basically 
  an 
  agri- 
  

   cultural 
  people, 
  they 
  must 
  contend 
  with 
  poor 
  soil 
  and 
  a 
  limited 
  choice 
  

   of 
  crops 
  in 
  a 
  region 
  where 
  a 
  harsh 
  climate 
  makes 
  farming 
  precarious. 
  

   To 
  the 
  Aymara 
  the 
  land, 
  the 
  crops, 
  and 
  the 
  flocks 
  comprise 
  all-ab- 
  

   sorbing 
  interests. 
  These 
  time-consuming 
  economic 
  activities 
  make 
  

   for 
  a 
  rigorous 
  and 
  monotonous 
  daily 
  routine, 
  with 
  the 
  result 
  that 
  

   Aymara 
  culture 
  impresses 
  the 
  outsider 
  as 
  being 
  extremely 
  "utilitarian." 
  

   Recreational 
  activities 
  are 
  few 
  and 
  infrequent, 
  and 
  the 
  material 
  

   aspects 
  of 
  the 
  culture 
  have 
  been 
  emphasized 
  at 
  the 
  expense 
  of 
  its 
  

   esthetic 
  and 
  ceremonial 
  manifestations. 
  Although 
  markets 
  and 
  

   trading 
  expeditions 
  have 
  their 
  entertainment 
  value, 
  emotional 
  release 
  

   from 
  the 
  daily 
  routine 
  finds 
  its 
  chief 
  expression 
  in 
  orgiastic 
  drinking 
  

   bouts 
  occasioned 
  by 
  weddings, 
  funerals, 
  and 
  fiestas. 
  

  

  The 
  basic 
  preoccupation 
  of 
  the 
  Aymara 
  with 
  the 
  economic 
  aspects 
  

   of 
  life 
  colors 
  the 
  whole 
  fabric 
  of 
  their 
  culture. 
  Owing 
  in 
  part, 
  perhaps, 
  

   to 
  the 
  uncertainty 
  of 
  existence 
  on 
  the 
  altiplano, 
  they 
  seek 
  omens 
  in 
  

   nearly 
  all 
  manifestations 
  of 
  nature 
  and 
  possess 
  an 
  elaborate 
  series 
  of 
  

   techniques 
  for 
  divining 
  the 
  future; 
  indeed 
  the 
  total 
  culture 
  of 
  the 
  

   Aymara 
  might 
  best 
  be 
  characterized 
  as 
  "apprehensive." 
  The 
  great 
  

   bulk 
  of 
  Aymara 
  magic 
  is 
  oriented 
  toward 
  controlling 
  natural 
  phenom- 
  

  

  501 
  

  

  