Introduction
Why do ethnic identities persist and perish? In Ayacucho, Peru, most Late Intermediate Period (1100-1430 CE) ethnic group identities persisted until at least 1729 (Landa 2005). On cursory inspection, it seems inevitable that ethnic identities would gradually fade over such a long period of time. However, why the use of Late Intermediate ethnic identities persisted through a time of rapid and profound social change in the early to middle Spanish colonial era is peculiar and warrants more research. Why did the LIP ethnic names then cease to be as important in the late 18th century after surviving nearly three hundred years of dramatic social and demographic changes, first under the Inca and then under the Spanish? At the same time as the majority of Late Intermediate Ethnic names fell into disuse in late colonial Peru, new forms of bottom-up social identification emerged that united people across former ethnic lines. Steve Stern has noted that future research should be directed toward shedding light on the complex process of the shrinking scale of traditional Andean ritual and mythology on one hand and the emergence of a general notion of “Inca-ness” reexpanding horizons of Andean identification, memory, and cohesion on the other hand (1987: 146).
Purpose and background
This summer, I began to address this research problem by researching Spanish colonial obrajes or textile workshops in Ayacucho. The purpose of my field research was to clarify the links between the processes of identity change and the evolution of obrajes in colonial Peru. The obrajes, along with mines, played a crucial role in integrating the indigenous population into the Spanish cash economy. They were spaces where people from different ethnic groups toiled and died together, and therefore studying such spaces would help us understand how forms of interethnic interaction changed society through time. I specifically researched the obrajes of the colonial province of Vilcashuamán because some of the largest and earliest obrajes were located there. After the Spaniards conquered the Incas, they made Vilcashuamán one of the economic hubs of the Andes, and several obrajes, or textile workshops, were founded (Salas de Coloma 1998). Vilcashuamán was a crucial colonial economic center because of its central location on the main economic road of the Andes. The obrajes of Cacamarca and Chincheros in the Vilcashuamán region were founded by the Spaniards Hernán Guillén de Mendoza and Antonio de Oré in 1567 and 1570, respectively (Salas de Coloma 1998: 74, 167). To fulfill the mita labor tax and tribute tax (in cash), local ethnic Andeans worked in the obrajes. In the 1590s, the Hanan Chilques, Hurin Chilques, Pabres, and Condes worked in the obraje of Chincheros (Salas de Coloma 1998: Cuadro 175). However, the local Andeans often ran into debilitating debt with the low wages and high workload. The obrajes often employed young children, women, and old people because they were available when the middle aged males had to fulfill mita labor at the faraway mines (Salas de Coloma 1979: 71-72). Therefore, an ethnic Andean had to work endless hours to fulfill labor and tribute tax duties from a very young age until they die in obrajes, haciendas, or mines (Salas de Coloma 1979).
Outcome
This summer was very productive. I first gained access to the national archives in Lima, where I looked at 16th, 17th, and 18th century documents concerning obrajes and the loss of ethnic land. Among the documents found were testimonies relating to the sale of ethnic lands to Spaniards, the same lands which became the production zones for the obrajes. The lands were sold for pittances and the justifications for the low prices given by the Spanish were that the land was sickly, full of mosquitoes, and not farmed anymore (due to the reducciones policy relocating ethnic Andeans far away from their former lands). When I later visited the same lands near the modern village of Ccaccamarca (where the colonial obraje of Cacamarca is located), I saw that the lands were not sickly at all, but were very fertile and very well watered. The only true claim made by the Spaniards was about the number of mosquitoes.
The national archives also yielded detailed information in the form of accounting and salaries about the obraje of Cacamarca. There was one series of documents which had receipts of contracted work done by the native Andeans and where they were from, and from these receipts and other documents, I can reconstruct the economic circuits implicated by the obraje, as well as seasonal work routes. This will enable me to see the degree and nature of interethnic economic interaction. Furthermore, a visita or census from the early 18th century of all the villages, obrajes, and haciendas of the colonial province of Vilcashuaman will prove very useful in seeing how much interethnic marriage there was in the early 18th century. The names of the males of each population center were written down. Because the Spaniards imposed the surname system on the native Andeans, the surnames of both the mother and the father are known. By cross-checking with 16th century censuses of ethnic groups, I can see if interethnic marriage was common in the 18th century.
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Courtyards of the colonial obraje of Cacamarca.
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Also while in Lima, I met with Miriam Salas, a historian who has researched the obrajes of Ayacucho for most of her life. She provided excellent advice and encouragement. We discussed how identity change and obrajes were linked. Also, when I returned to Lima, I met with her again to show her the photos of Ccaccamarca. I also attended the talk titled “Discursos de identidad a lo largo de la historia: El caso de Vilcashuamán, Ayacucho” by anthropologist Ladislao Landa Vasquéz on how Vilcashuamán identities changed over time and what constitutes “identity” in general. He mentioned that in addition to having a territorial entity, identities in Ayacucho are maintained and created by andas, roughly translating to “walks.” The native Andeans to this day maintain and create new identities by their seasonal and ritual movements across the landscape, just as they did in the colonial era. I also met with Julian Santillana, who is an archaeologist. We talked about the lack of archaeological work done on colonial obrajes and the potential of starting up a research project.
After spending a week in Lima, I traveled to Jauja and Huancayo to visit ruins of the Late Intermediate ethnic group Wanka. Interestingly, although Quechua is seldom spoken in the area now, there seems to be resurgence in identification with the Wankas, thanks to in no small part archaeologists and historians. Identities constantly change and undergo many permutations. I then took a breathtaking but harrowing 10 hour bus ride from Huancayo to Ayacucho. Looking at the rugged terrain, I thought of the native Andeans in the colonial era walking hundreds of miles of the same terrain to work in the mines of Huancavelica, many to never return to their villages.
In Ayacucho, I visited various museums to see colonial collections, but they were predictably sparse. I also gained access to the Ayacucho regional archives, where I spent many productive hours photographing documents. In the Ayacucho archives, I learned how obrajes and haciendas evolved into prisons in the late colonial era. Most of the prisoners had ethnic descent. I also noticed an increase in the number of native Andeans utilizing the Spanish legal system to settle disputes in the 18th century. I also visited Ccaccamarca with an Ayacuchan friend. Ccaccamarca is the village where the biggest and most important colonial obraje of the central Andes was located. By a stroke of luck, I was in the same bus as the president of the community, and the obraje turned out to be his home. His name is Aureliano Quispe. Unfortunately, most of the above surface structures of the colonial obraje have been destroyed. We were presented to the community and the community asked me to tell them about the history of the community, which I did. Because only one bus goes to the community each day, I was invited to stay in Aureliano’s home for the night. Aureliano Quispe’s family was very hospitable, as most Andeans are. In the colonial era, there were several individuals with the surname “Quispe” at Ccaccamarca. When one meets the descendants of the people whose exploitation was documented by the dusty papers of archives, research gains added meaning and purpose.
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