Acting Inca: National Belonging in Early Twentieth-Century Bolivia

3. Incantations of Nation and the Theatrical Performance of the Inca Past

86 La Paz intellectuals were not the only group needing to redefine Aymara identity following the civil war. In the post-1899 context, Aymara communities increasingly attempted to distinguish and disassociate themselves from the infamous and stereotypical image of their people as savage. In addition, local representatives sought to differentiate segments within the Aymara population. For example, the town authority Modesto de Campo wrote in his report on the situation in Poopó that things were under control, for the indigenous people there were “more docile than those of the Choqueyapu region” in La Paz.1 The Civil War of 1899 and its aftermath had real consequences for Aymara communities. In the canton of Hachiri, the indigenous people were struggling with public perceptions of their identity. Writing to the subprefect of Pacajes, the mayor of Hachiri, Dionicio Mollinedo, described the problems associated with being Aymara in this era. The residents of the ayllus of Ninoca, Laura, and Collana were merchants, he explained, and thus had to travel frequently within Bolivia as well as to the neighboring countries of Chile and Peru. “However, since the revolution and the besmirching of the image of the Aymara,” Mollinedo wrote, “ayllu members [comuneros] find it virtually impossible to accomplish anything on these business trips, since everywhere they go Bolivians and foreigners alike heckle them and call them . . . murderers.”2 3 incantations of nation and the theatrical performance of the inca past   incantations of nation and theatrical performance of inca past | 87 In response to this disparagement and discrimination, which had not only hindered their livelihoods but spilled across national borders, the Hachiri Aymaras, like those of Poopó, began to highlight ethnic distinctions and alternatives to the pejorative image of their population as savages. Along with the residents of the Ninoca, Laura, and Collana ayllus, Mollinedo recognized that some Aymaras had reacted and taken part in the war only as a result of extreme abuses carried out by the army under Conservative Party rule, but he assured the subprefect that the Aymaras of Hachiri had not taken sides in the war: “As honest and peaceful business people, we did not threaten anyone. . . . Rather, we rushed to the defense of the lives and property of the townspeople.”3 In this attempt to distinguish the population of Hachiri from the popular image of the savage Aymara hordes, Mollinedo emphasized not only that the Hachiri Aymaras had not taken part in the civil war but also that they had responded as model citizens in defense of their town, regardless of considerations of race and class. Mollinedo closed the letter by requesting , on behalf of the Hachiri Aymara merchants, that the subprefect extend them a written confirmation of innocence to carry on their travels as proof that they were different from the supposedly savage Bolivian Aymaras. The requested letter was to help protect what Mollinedo called “our denigrated race.” The subprefect responded favorably, extending the people of Hachiri a letter vouching for their innocence. The subprefect’s letter clearly stated that the Aymaras of Hachiri were not responsible for any deaths and that they had remained peaceful and respectful during and after the war. Yet the Hachiri Aymaras deemed that the letter was not sufficiently convincing to deter the racism they faced. They returned the letter to the subprefect and asked that it be certified and signed by the prefect in addition to the subprefect.4 In seeking to improve their image through both the prefect’s guarantee and the description of their community’s inhabitants as peaceful businesspeople, the indigenous residents of Hachiri illustrate the problem of being Aymara in early twentieth-century Bolivia. The example of the “Umala Indians” constitutes another attempt to create an identity more favorable than that of the “savage Aymara.” Umala is a highland community close to Peñas whose indigenous inhabitants fought in the civil war. Through a series of weekly articles about their wartime activities published in the La Paz newspaper El Imparcial 2, the Umala Aymaras claimed a space for themselves within the nation as patriots rather than as savages. In large part they accomplished this by defining their actions as separate from those of the Aymara leader Zárate Willka and his supposed 88 | incantations of nation and theatrical performance of inca past race war. According to the author of these accounts, the Umala Indians were not a threat because “they were completely aware that their race could...