Panel 6

Rethinking networks, Interculturality, and Justice

The first presenter, Ann Peters, discussed Aymara lands divided between Bolivia, Chile, and Peru. She brought up very interesting issues concerning the connection between the Aymara history and contemporary leadership. An issue that I also brought up in my presentation about the encomienda system she touched up on, which was personally interesting to me because I learned a little more about something I was also presenting on. She made the note that the Aymara community suffered a great deal from the encomienda system, the feudal form of it. She mentioned Potosi, where the silver mines are located and how there was a long distance llama caravan there. She connected the three countries, saying they were all put under labor obligations by the Spanish and during war, the Aymara would be put on the frontline to fight against each other and create conflict among the Aymara community.

The second presenter, Raquel Nava Ceball, presented an especially interesting topic covering altnerative medicine used by Aymaras in Bolivia. She even got to experience and observe a ritual which was the most captivating part of the presentation, seeing her pictures of the process. The main points that Ceball made during her presentation was the importance of both Biomedic and traditional Aymara practices. The Aymara believe in spiritual illness which means that the social order of the person, their relationship with the community, must be balanced in order to have a healthy life. The Yatiri (El que sabe) is a special ethnic group, who are taught and raised to be the "specialists" in the Aymara culture. Bio medicine focuses on the treatment of the person and the physiological illness they may have; whereas, the Yatiri acts as the mediator between deities and the sick person.
It was interesting to learn about Ch'iyara Misa (Misa Negra) on which she focused her case study. Misa negra, is basically something bad you wish on someone else, or someone else has wished upon you. In this case, Dona Estefa, the Yatiri ,was contacted by a young couple who had a spiritual illness that was affecting their lives. Since someone had put a Misa Negra on their lives(souls, aura,etc) their lives were unbalanced. The way in which Dona Estefa determined whether or not they had been cursed, is by breathing in coca leaves, where she knew and felt they were having problems with their neighbors in their community. Ceball mentioned how it was very risky for her to attend the ritual because strangers were not normally allowed. The ritual is not just the Yatiri performing, it's a very participatory process, which is why even Ceball had to particpate. In doing so, she had to become part of the ritual and get personal with the deities by chewing coca leaves and smoking cigarettes. Coming away from this presentation, I learned the importance in the Aymara culture of having a balanced organic and spiritual body.

The final presenter was William Fisher who went over the Regional Integration without power centers: trade in pre-Columbian and Contemporary Amazonia. This presentation focused on the social complexity through pottery which was found in some "black earth." This is rich soil which is great for planting that was filled with tiny remains, sediments in a way, of possibly a past civilization. He established an association of social inequality and specialization in the exchange in Amazonia. This association compliments the resources available in the different economic zones where relationships were developed and maintained. The observations that he made on trade theory were that there were unstable rates of exchange with very few exceptions; by maintaining equality accumulation is not a problem. An interesting point he made was that people trade to maintain relationships/ partnerships to receive news or in a way, establish themselves with a broader network. They may not need the goods, but in times of troubles, these relationships are the kind you want to have at your disposal.