9ods & Vampires
Sods & Vampires RETURN TO CHIPAYA
Nathan Wachtel Tr~nslattd by
Carol Volk
Til£ UNIVH"TY OF CttiCAC...
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9ods & Vampires
Sods & Vampires RETURN TO CHIPAYA
Nathan Wachtel Tr~nslattd by
Carol Volk
Til£ UNIVH"TY OF CttiCACO Pus• CJuc.,go~~J/.ndon
NATHAH WActrnLis pnftssorol hinory and the anthropology oiMao-andSoud.AmmcanSocinM::sarthc~okfran.;c. Th~ Unn~ o(Chiup Pnu, Chu4go 6007 Thr Umwnir, o(ChK:toprcssthereoord burton, and to tape Gregorio's con~ion. The n:st olhisstoryisequallypoigoant. They never stop slandenng 111e, I'm nol 5a(e, my life i.s lning threatened. Because now, 11's startrng all over agam. Some people haw gonen s~elt., and
bj
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they'reallsaying.-•Jt'sthekharisiriagain,itmustbe him, the sick havt needle marks, scars, il's the kharisin!" Tbe other day. the alcalde of Manasaya, Comelio, ct~lled D muting to Dlf!Tt the members of the community: ·se careful! It's back DgDin: my w1{e is sick, there Dre needle mt~rks. Be on the lookout, there may be {ore1gners, suspiciOU$ peopk Ul1n· dermg around the village at night. • I realiud I UJ4S in danger again, I told them: ·our body is butmiseT)I dirt, we may have many sCDrs, they don't necesSIJrily come from what you think. In the past I UJ4S slandered, persecuttd, but I'm not a{ra1d: I'm ready to sacrifice my bod). like Chr~st. • ·we're not thinking of you, • they respo.,ded. But I'm sure they suspect me, they think I'm guilty, thDt I'm the kharisiri. "So some people lrts1ek at the moment~" I asked (sincc:lhadn'tnoticedany~
"Since: when?"
For the past few weeks. I'm 11(raid they're going to Drrest me, thDt they're goi>1g to make a martyr of me 11gain, persecute my family. And this time tbey'llltlll me. Ytt there is no f!'JII in my heart,l've been chosen in this world, like Christ./ how that at the moment they're spying on me, they're watching me. Brother, whDt should I do? Should I stqy in the village or go to the cityf Brother, CDn you help me?
Thisisacryofdistress,acallforhelp.Gregorio's "7 handsareshaking,h•s forehead1sbathed•n sweat, ·11ir.\tlllm9Ju even I fed dizzy: not only ishetdlingmethestoryof his experience, but now I'm involved! How can I not help h1m? A terrible thought also creeps Into my head, a dreadful doubt: Can I trust him? What if someoneweretoseeus,conversingmysteriouslyin the dark of night? To all evidence, I'm an accomplice. Worse still, I suspect a Machiavellian plan: Why did Gregorio finally tell me his whole story if not to eompromise me in rum? Know.ng that he's being watched, is he trying to dnignate me as the real "boss" by coming 10 my house, to cast the blame on me, just as the youth of Ayparavi did to him? Will he pretend to have passed the infamous "machine" on 10 me? And if there really •sa ltharisiri affairrightnowinthevillage,I'Uhavenochoicebut to make a fast getaway! When Gregorio finally leaves, late into the night, pleading for my help (and promising to bring me all the documents in his possessionthenextday).lamsurprisedtofindmyself carefully bamcading the door behmd him.
'"'*......,
After reexamining Gregorio's fears, and my own, for therestoflhenight,itslriknmcthatahasrydeparture is our of the quesuon: 11 wo·~ld be an adm1sston
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of some sort of guilt. N~ertheless, when Martin comes 10 visit me rhe next morning, I ask him wilh particularmtercst,inwhatlhopeisan innocent manno:r,aftcrlho:healtholrhispeC5onandlhai.No, no one is sick, ~erythmgso:ems calm, at least on the Aransaya side. But m the other aylfu! I head to Cornelio's, the alcalde of Manasaya, with whom I re· cendy esrablished a relationship ol compadrazgo.!n response 10 my concern, he tdls me that my compadre feels a little "ttrcd. ~That's all he says. I seem todercctsomeho:sitationinhisamrudo:,afleeting glance:. Am I Imagining things~ He makes no refer· encc: ro the meo:ring of community members that Gregorio mentioned, and I am careful not to bring It up. I am wandenng, perplexed, through the village alleyways when, in tho: afternoon, still in Manasaya, I como: across an unusual scene: Celestino G., in the middle of his patio, is bendingbarecho:stedover a basin, washing himself. He is one of the prominent mo:mbersofthePento:costalgroup,someono:loften converse with. I ha~always known him to be sickly, and,infact,sincethcbeginningofmyvisithehas been complaining of mysterious pains. Celestino is alsooneofthosenamedbyGregorioasamongthe mosrunrelo:nringaccusers. Whenlgetcloser,lsay hello wirhoul interrupting him. There is something
disturbmg about this spectacle, for aside from de- ,;, fleaing sessions one vinually rever sen Chipayas ·IIIOf~hr attending to therr personal h}grene. Celestino is (..Y,""" oonscrennously rubbing his anns and chest, and scrutinizing his skin. I rcahzc: rrghtaway that he is scarchrng for suspu:ious marks, possible traces of thekhDrisiri! That n<emng I have a long srssion with Manin. My friendshrp for him has not been betrayed: I know he wasn't one ol Grcgono's persecutors. Srnce yesterday the tensron has been unbearable. This time I approach the subject head on, revealing to him that the unfonunate party has come to ask for my help: Docs he really think he's gurlty? Mamn remains caunous: ~cod only knows!" He remembers thatinl978hehimselffellill:onemoming,hediscoveredneedlemarksrnhislefr:arm;dlefol\owing few days he was weak, exceedingly tired. So he thinkshewasavierimofakharisiributgrantsthar, as far as Gregorio rs concerned, ~they found no proof." On the other hand, Martin adds. in Orina~:a the Mproof" was discovered: a kmd of synnge connected by a tube to a small machine ("a box that looks like your tape recorder!":. As for the current situationinthevillage,heconfirmsthatwhilethings arc calm in Aransaya, there is some trouble rn Manasaya. And Martin concludes: "Gregorio should
~·· lh•f"'T
watch out on All Saints' Day, something could happentohim!" The approach of the holiday certainly contributes tothcgcncraltcnsion:itwa5thcdayafterAliSaints' Day that the 1978cris.esbrokeout, andananniVCr5ary of this kind no doubt rckmdlcs Gregorio's anxiery,aswellasaccnaincollccrivefearinManasaya. Theno:tdayswill becrincal.lmpatiently, I awatt the friends who are supposed to pick me up aftertheholidaysandtakemebaekmthevan.Does this strange climate make people more ralkative? Pieccsofinformanon about thc:affatr abound, the ptcturc:lillsin.Durmgthtsrimeonevaudevillesque episode follows another, as I lind mysclfsurrcptinously vtsinng interlocutors (often my compadres) who are themselves mona! enemies with one another. Upon entering or leaving one of their homes, I cautiously glance: both ways, taking care to follow comphcateo( incc of Salamanca"; this crime was commtned by n,.,.,.. Juan and Luisa Carricado, an "mccsruous" brothu and sister, in order to fumish "children's blood," recommendcdbyahealer,toanchmanalsosuffering from consumprion. 14 So it is not surprising to find thesametypeof remedy in atrearise ritlcd Popular Medicine rn Galicia under the anicle "ruberculosis":"ltissaidthatasorccrn.sonccevendugup adeadchild,pullcdouthisheart,ando:tractedhts fat in order to admtnister them to a person suffering fromthisaflliction." 1 '1 Is there some relationship bc:tween the Spantsh sacamantecas and the Andean pishtako, or is this an example of cultural paralleltsm1 Aside from the fact that the laner o:planarion is only Of limited interest,thcresecmstobenotraceofthethemeof theslaughtererinpopularSpanishliteraturebefore thcbeginningoftheninet«nthccnrury. 111 Mightthe sacamJJnteC4S have been imported from Amenca? It is not impossible that this character, in tum, may haveinspi~cenainrecenttransformarionsinthc
Andean pUhtako.
The versions gathered in the 1950s by Efrain MoroteBestandjosC:MariaArguedasinthecentralre-
I> tMplt•
gions of Puu anribute a now-classic image to the slaughrerer {dark tunic, long pigsricker, magic pow· ders, etc.) while including numerous variarions. 17 While he often bears the fl:aturn of a blue-eyed gringo, the n13kaq may appear as an Indian or amesrizo,inwhichcaseheisdescribed,significantly,as anmtermediaryberwecntheindigenousmilieuand the out$ide world. In the mid-twentieth century, however, this theme seemed more "folkloric" than anythingclse,eventhoughinformantsoccasionally indicatcdthatsuchandsuchawell-knownindividualwassuspectedofbeingan13kaq,andthatcenain relatives or neighbors had been victimized. Arf: we dealingherewitharchaicbelicfs,stemmingfroma repcnoryoftalesandlegcndsontheirwaytobeing forgotten?Forthepasttenycarsorso,wehaveobservcd an astonishing phenomenon: a new outbreak ol rumors and panics prompted by the actions of a n13kaqwnhupdatcdcharacteristics. Inquires made in the 1980s recorded a very modem use of human fat: after bemg o:poncd to the United States, it scrvn to lubncate industrial machines, cars, airplanes, even computers, procuring enormous prolits for tts rrallickers. 20 At rhe same rime,anotherthemeisspreading,tharofcannibal practices: thepisht11ko isn'tcontentiUSttoexrract rhefatfromhisvictim;healsosellshisflesh,which
isconsumedinexdusiverestal.lrantsin Lima. Ac· cording to one of the versions gathered, dismemberedchildrenofAyaeuchofecdtheeapna1. 19 Thc senseofkarhasitscounrerpartinurbansertings, where the slaughtc:rers rake on various, seemingly contradictory forms: thieves, rapists, terronsts, or pohee and military men. In the suburbs of Lima, lynehingshavebeenreponedinwhiehthepc:rpctrarors were subjected to the punishment formerly reserved for the prshwko of the wild altiplano, but the crimes of individuals in uniform, wearing boots and sometimes masks, are also feared. The dim ate: of vrolcnccsustainedin Peruovertltepastfewyearsby guerrillas and repression bc:ge~ wild rumors: the slaughtcrerscany "idenrirycards,ft hold mrerings, oomm1t their crimes in groups, have formed an "organizatron,"andareeven"scntbytheg~m·
mcnt." 30 Is it by ehancc: that a spectaeular return of the prshtako can be observed in the region of Ayacucho,
theoriginalhomeoftheShiningPath?lnSeptcmbc:r 1987, for inst:mce, a rcnifying piece of news spread from the country to the CJ()': 6ve thousand slaughtercrs had suddenly mnerialiud, bearing special authorization from the president of the ~publie and sec: king human farm order to "pay the foreign debt" of Peru. These: 1/akaq arc white,
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bearded. dressed in long green or black coats, and armtd with knives, revolvers, and even machine guns. Some of them, having been arrested by peasants and rumed over to the police, were supposedly released by the authorities, who arc protecting them. Others were killed by the smderos, which is why packs of slaughtcrcrs arc now pouring back into the city, where they arc seeking refuge and a continued supply of fat to provide the government with. One woman was supposedly killed in the central market bathrooms; now no one dares go there anymore, especially after dusk. The residents of sev· eral Ayaeucho neighborhoods, in particular the shantytowns, arc organizing to form self-defense groups: they have established night pauols in which those on duty cai'T)' whistles and torches, and bum wood fires that light up the city. Incidents arc on the increase, and the victims arc those reckless enough to travel far from their homes after dusk. The tension and panic readied their peak on Septt'mber I I, 1987, when a young merchant from Huancayo was lynched after being accused of being a pi$htako.11 Another intense panic demonstrates tbc presence of the sJaughrcrcr, in unprecedented fofll15, as far off as the popular sccrions of Lima. On the morning of November JO, 1988, a rumor spread that gringos armed with machine guns hadt'ntcrcd a $Chool, kid-
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cndylucrariveacriviriesasayatiri.l'mawarcthathc has a tendency to be egotistical: "People consult me from all over!" He gives me his cxa« address, mvlting me to visit him in the city. His comments on Chipaya arc cyniC-'1, pessimistic: "The village is goingtodis.appcar,it'sover."Heisobviouslyreferringtothevillagealitwasyearsago,inlifeperme· ated by customs. In those days the Chtpayas who had emigrated to distant places returned at least once a ycarfortheSanraAnafcsuval;nowthercts no longer a fcsriva~andtheyneveroomeback.So Vicentedatmstohavelostinterestinrhevillage:he feels he's donccnoJgh forit{heeven assumed the post of corTegidor once again last year). He ts no longer demanding that Camtchlrl be upgraded to a canton. Buthecontinuestodcfcnd the division of theAransayaaylluintofoursecnons: thelieldsarc larger, the harvests more abundant. But what about the droughn, the pigs' demise? All the Chtpayas' misfonunes arc: due to the anger of the mtJI/ku$ andthesatnts,whohavebeenpitifullyabandoned. ViccntegoesontospeakdisparaginglyoftheCate· chists,thcEvangelicals,thePcnteoostals,andlinally the priest. When I ask htm about the 1978 khtJ,;s;,; alfa•r, he provides few detatls, as much out of dts· crenon, it seems to me, as out of concern to mam· rain dignity: since die affair brings no honor to the vtlla~, he prefers not to talk about it. I know, m
faa,rhathewasn'tamongthe~rsc:cutorsoftheac
cused.Andlhavetho:satisfaaion.olfindingoutthat ·Jt.llg••u Vicente, whom I always held in btgh esteem and had Qotm frio:ndlyfeelingstoward,tothisdaydefendsthcun· fonunateGregorio. In the course of our discussion !learn something thardisrurbsandconfusesme:lastyear,asmJTegidor, Vicente received a visit from Daniel Muricio, the ~president" of the Urus Moratos ol Lake Poopo. He was looking for Manin, Benito, and Fortunato, who had accompanied me in 1974 when I mer Danielforrhcfirsrrimeatrheest.JnciaofLiapallapani,as well as two years later when we Yisited the Urus·lrus of Desaguadero. Unfonunately my fnends were not in Chipaya at rho: rime, and I ca.nimagino: how dtsappointed Daniel must have been. &penally, Vicente adds,ashehadmado:tho:joumC")'becauschewanted Chipayateacherstocomeliveonthebanksollake Poopo and reach the Puquina language to the Urus Moratos.lcanpicturethesceneinllapallapaniand wonder what role I played in this dream ol Daniel's: his OO$talgia for the ancestors' language reverberates back tome.
I wanted to have a conversation with father Ramon, thepriestinChipaya,butaftcrlhcnationalholiday ol October 12, I saw him only occasionally, from a
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1916),97. 1l.lbod.,98. l2.\b.d.,98-99. U.lbid.,9"9. 14.1bid.,97-98. H. AI"Cb1': in Chipaya, designateS th~ clusters of houH-S that fonn hamln:s and are distributed among arable porrionsoithctcrritory. Ttam.l: o;ollcaive work in th~ servi-=e of the o;ommumry.
Corrqulor: in Chipaya, the
H~~JJ£~J:sac:redsite,sac:redobjea,divincmriry,eiC.
lr11: Chipaya male gannent, a kind oi poncho with line brownandwhilc~mcalstripes.
K11nuryo: "guardian of the
fields,~ designated each year tow:llchovcrtheculrivalcdareu. Kh11risiri: lisurc generally o:cprntntcd a a white man who extracts th~ fa! or !he blood oi the Indians at dusk oratnight,aflerhavingplungcdhisvictimsintoadecp siHp. KuUi: ground black rom (ritual oikring). Lilt"ichiri: S«Kharisiri. LlumfNltll: ground white r li.O)'III,J7-J9;rnd!...,..,.t
Dnnlnnt.ll2-Ul Dou.\o.,....,.,ll-15,17-18 Ed .. rdoQ .. ll-2.1
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E~ocaldlap.orumcha.,., on,B-H Orurornarl«.l8-n O!M,unoi,88-U l'oblnoo,l5-l6 Pxharnanl.l,117 l'apoo·CII ...... noromn,11~ ::~;oyna