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Chapter 8: Coping with Globalization
- University of Texas Press
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Coping with Globalization Otavalos consider certain traditions, beliefs, and lifeways important constituents of nuestra cultura (Sp. our culture) or nuestra propia cultura indígena (Sp. our own indígena culture). In the following discussion I am not implying that all Otavalos share the characteristics mentioned or that they agree on their importance; nor do I mean to suggest that these are natural or essential fixed traits and categories. Change and flux within historically and socially defined limits are salient features of Otavalo life in the s. Tourists who visited the valley in would recognize where they were in , but they would also be astonished by the growth of the market and the town and by the improvement in economic conditions among many indígenas. Less obvious are the changes in the attitudes, perceptions, and behavior of many Otavalos, especially those who have traveled abroad. In this chapter I analyze what these changes mean for Otavalo culture , that is, how Otavalos are coping with globalization. My central argument is that they are coping, if not thriving, which does not deny stresses, dislocations, and disturbing trends (both to Otavalos and outsiders ). I emphasize issues which Otavalos themselves consider important , especially land, Quichua, traditional dress, and fiestas. The extent to which travel and transnational migration have altered Otavalos’ assessment of their life and customs is evident in Otavalos’ publications and conversations. Many see their dispersion as a challenge to their cultural identity.These challenges are more a result of travel out than of travel in, and many young indígenas, especially those who have been abroad, are cognizant of this. Observing how other people live in their own communities (not just how they behave when they visit Otavalo ) can reinforce the view of Otavalo culture as natural or given, which means constructing others as unnatural and deficient, or it can challenge the concept of Otavalo life as natural, which calls for a reassessment Women singing Quichua hymns at a ñawi mallay. The younger women (top right) illustrate generational differences in dress: they are not wearing headcloths and their beads are smaller than the older women’s. Ilumán, May . of local lifeways and more or less conscious decisions to change or to preserve ‘‘our culture.’’ Pierre Bourdieu calls the taken-for-granted and unquestioned aspects of culture ‘‘doxa,’’ as opposed to the realm of discourse and opinion. He notes that an objective crisis ‘‘brings the undiscussed into discussion, the unformulated into formulation’’ (: – ). Germán Lema’s trip to Israel led him to make comparisons between Native Americans and other societies: [F]rom the epoch of the Egyptians and Romans the Israelites were persecuted and sacrificed for wanting their autonomy. Jewish immi- [3.235.120.15] Project MUSE (2024-03-29 11:44 GMT) grants in Europe continued to suffer persecution. In the same epoch that the Indians of America paid with their blood for the riches and predominance of Spain, the Jews were expelled from the territories of the Crown of Castile. (: ) Segundo Lema of Los Chaskis said his trips to Europe taught him how much indigenous culture was borrowed: ‘‘In Spain they have the custom of the vacas locas [Sp. crazy cows] to entertain the children. Here it is considered traditional, but it was brought by the Spanish. In Italy they have the custom of dancing with bells on their backs, from the Arab and Roman culture, but in San Rafael it’s traditional.’’ He also observed that ‘‘[t]he Spanish almost erased our culture. But they didn’t take away our language, the color of our skin and hair. Coraza [a fiesta] is nothing more than a mixture of cultures. Speaking of music, the guitar and charango— they call it the charanga in Spain. And the Italians play panpipes.’’ To many Otavalos it seems that almost everything is in flux. Some of them romanticize the past or certain aspects of it, although no one romanticizes wasipungu. Carmen Yamberla, president of FICI, said: ‘‘The youth are emigrating to Europe and the United States. They have been neutralized with respect to the community. Each one is working for his own gain’’ (Frank : B-; my translation). Despite Yamberla’s claim, we know that there has been tension for nearly a hundred years between the values of entrepreneurship and community, but I think these tensions have increased. Otavalos now have ‘‘modern traditions’’ (Windmeyer ). Nature and Spirituality Land, water, religion, and spirituality form a complex of practices and beliefs that have...