Suyu Jach’a Carangas (Choquecota) and Cusco, Peru

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Hello again. I have a lot to fill you all in on. Two weekends ago, I had the privilege to attend the annual meeting and changing of authorities of all of the Marcas (towns/villages) of the Jach’a Carangas region. Along with esteemed La Paz lawyer Marco Mendoza, I traveled 7 hours by car to the town of Choquecota in the department of Oruro. While there, I was able to sit in on an official meeting of Mama and Tata autoridades (male and female leaders of Aymara clans) regarding justicia ordinaria and originaria (they outlined their definitions of original versus ordinary justice). After 4 hours of discussion, which included many ritual blessings and cosmovisional language (including references to “pachamama” or “mother earth” and many thanks for the blessed coca leaf), the authorities composed a document explaining their understanding and definitions of justicia comunitaria. This is extremely recent material that I have access to due to family connections (Marco Mendoza worked with my anthropologist aunt Luz Maria Calvo), so I am lucky to have this resource.

After many more hours of meetings and discussions regarding a variety of important topics that all of the Marcas needed to review, such as education in the villages, the role of women, health, etc., it was finally time to share a large meal, light a bonfire, play traditional music, and dance. For not only was this an annual meeting of the authorities, it was also the Aymara New Year. The indigenous villagers began to drink massive amount of beer and chicha (extremely potent alcohol often times fermented by saliva) in order to stay up until the sun rises. We decided to hit the sack around 11pm and rejoin the rest of the group at 5am in order to hike a mountain, worship the sun at the top of the Calvary, and take part in a llama sacrifice. It was one of the most amazing and unique experiences of my life; they welcomed me, a gringa, as if I were their honored guest. I worshiped the sun with them, exclaiming "hallaya" ("life" in Aymara) with my palms turned toward the sunrise, drank chicha with them, chewed coca leaves with them, danced with them, and ate the sacred llama meat with them. There really are not many words to describe the experience so I will try to post pictures up to the blog or on my facebook. Even more, I was able to access information for my project that no other Westerner has access to at this point in time.

Two days after my arrival back in La Paz, my sister and I took a 13 hour bus ride to Cusco, Peru in order to witness the Inti Raymi festival (please google it if you are interested to know more; it is the Incan new year which also pays regards to the Sun God). Unfortunately, I fell quite ill within my first night in Peru. On the third night of our trip, I had no choice but to call a doctor to our Hostal, and he informed me that I was moderately dehydrated and had some sort of bacteria in my stomach, so we hopped in an ambulance to the clinic. After an IV injection and multiple tests, the doctor concluded that I had food poisoning and parasites (eek!), so I am now on antibiotics for the next week. Thank goodness that we caught that in time, it could have turned out much worse. The only regret I have from our Cusco trip was that we missed out on Macchu Picchu because we had been in the hospital instead. Oh well, such is life.

Until next time,

Nejla

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Comments

[Roberto J.]

You are indeed very fortunate in that you were able to attend and participate in the indigenous meeting in Choquecota, Oruro, as well as partake in the celebrations of the Aymara New Year. As you pointed out, it is a rare privilege for an outsider and requires an express special invitation from the indigenous authorities. This is something that money simply can't buy and I'm sure you'll consider it one of the highlights of your life when you look back!