Review: The Andean Herding Complex: New Studies on the Traditional Herders of the High

Andean Puna
Author(s): Benjamin Sebastian Orlove
Review by: Benjamin Sebastian Orlove
Source: Nomadic Peoples, No. 8 (May 1981), pp. 27-34
Published by: White Horse Press
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/43123990
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 - 27 -

The Andean Herding Complex: New Studies on the Traditional

Herders of the High Andean Puna

by Benjamin Sebastian Or love

Jorge A. Flores Ochoa: PASTORES DE PUNA: UYWAMICHIQ PÜNARUNAKÜNA.

Lima: Instituto de Estudios Peruanos,
1977, 305 pp.

Instituto de Pastoral Andina: PASTORES, LLAMAS Y ALPACAS. Allpanchis

Phuturinqa Volumen 8. Cusco: Instituto
de Pastoral Andina, 1975, 184 pp.

Felix Palacios Rios: "...Hiwasaha Uywa " Uywatana, üka üywaha

Hiwasaru Uyusitu. LOS PASTORES AYMARA
DE CHICHILLAPI. Tesis para optar el
Grado de Magister en Ciencias Sociales,
Especialidad de Antropologia. Lima:
Pontificia Universidad Católica del
Peru, 1977, 113 pp.

Several new studies have been published in the last few years on
Andean populations which live at elevations about 4200 m above sea level
of alpacas and llamas. The first studies of these groups were published
only fifteen years ago (Flores, 1964; Nachtigall, 1966). The more recent
ones described here share a tone of enthusiasm and urgency in their
descriptions of the complex ecological adaptations, forms of social
organization and economic strategies of these groups. In addition to
detailed descriptions of the herders, these studies challenge the
subordinate position of the herders within national society and
political systems. This review offers a summary of the new works, an
analysis of their themes, and a critique of their perspective.
The three works (referred to as Flores, 1977, Allpanchis 8, and
Palacios Rios 1977) demonstrate the recent development of social science
in Peru. It is worth noticing the institutionalization of social science.
The Instituto de Estudios Peruanos has been publishing several series of
monographs and edited works in the social sciences, and the Instituto de
Pastoral Andina works with the Catholic Church in the southern highlands
to develop social action programs among peasant populations. It also
publishes the journal, Allpanchis Phuturinqa, which examines social
organization, symbolism and ritual among the Indian peasantry of the
southern highlands. The National Catholic University has one of the
most significant and innovative graduate programs in Peru, where British
social anthropology has been integrated into the body of Peruvian
anthropology. In all these institutions, there is a collaboration between
Peruvian and foreign scholars, between archaeologists, anthropologists
and historians. All of them try to bring together general theoretical
issues in social science and more concrete studies in Andean social
conditions, and all of them confront in one way or another a sharp
division between Marxist and indigenistas , between those who apply
general theories and Andean area specialists.

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 - 28 -

Flores 1977 contains various articles. The introduction by Matos

Mar locates the book in the context of the various publications of the
Instituto de Estudios Peruanos. Flores has an excellent sketch of the
current state of knowledge of the history, ecology, social organization,
and culture of the herders. Two articles by Custred and Thomas describe
the ecological adaptations of the herders to their environment, and
summarize the ecology of the puna or high altitude grassland. There is
also a translation of an article published in English in 1969 by Gade
which presents and criticizes the standand image of llamas and alpacas
and their herders. Wing presents archaeological data on the transition
from hunting to herding and Miller complements her descriptions,
demonstrating the strong continuities between Inca and present day
sacrifices of camelids in southern Peru. Flores and Casaverde take the
theme of barter and interzonal exchange. They offer descriptions of
the journeys which herders take to carry their products to other
ecological zones. The irrigation of pastures, described by Palacios
Rios, is a technique and an adaptation which until the present has been
little known and described. Flores explains the native ideology through
a description of some rituals and ceremonies. Gomez Rodriguez and Mejia
present the impacts of the Peruvian agrarian reform on the herders.
They indicate the limits of the economic and political participation of
the herders and show how the new forms of organization created by the
state benefit groups other than the herders.
Allpanchis 8 presents a very parallel range of articles: another
summary by Flores, more archaeological data by Wing on domestication
of camelids and a description of barter and interzonal exchange by
Concha Contreras. Millones shows strong continuities between the past
and the present, particularly in ritual and in the importance of weavings
through an examination of colonial and republican documents and other
sources. Several other authors (Aranguren Paz, Nachtigall, Gow and Gow)
describe the rituals and the beliefs of the herders and show that non-
Western world views are still quite important.
Palacios Rios 1977 differs from the other books in that it is
written by one single author and it studies in much greater detail a
specific community of herders. It has detailed descriptions of the
puna ecology, the control of pastures and herds, and the social relations
which are connected with herding, with especially rich information on
rights of access to natural resources. The analysis of domestic groups
and families is particularly rich.
The three works share a series of themes. The points that they all
have in common are the harshness of the puna environment, the herding of
native camelids as the only possible response to the challenge of this
environment (except cases such as early pre-agricultural hunting or
recent mining enclaves) and the continuity with the pre-Columbian cultural
heritage. It would be possible to say that they all describe a pattern
which I will label "the Andean herding complex." Its major themes are
the following:
1) Ecological Adaptation. The elevation and the cold of the puna
did not permit agriculture. Herding is the only possible form of life
in this area. American camelids are better adapted to the climate and
the vegetation than European domesticated animals. The techniques of
the herders allow an efficient utilization of the scarce resources of
this zone. Important elements include transhumance, a dispersed settle-

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 - 29 -

roent pattern, daily and annual cycles of herd management, and the
exchange of pastoral products with agricultural ones from lower zones.
They particularly emphasize the distinction between the relatively
abundant pasture which occurs during the rainy season and the much
scarcer dry season pasture. The latter occurs in areas which remain
moist throughout the year. The access to these scarce dry season
pastures, known as bofedales, is a major theme which runs through the
discussion of the Andean herding complex. The authors disagree on the
limits of the environment. Palacios Rios. indicates the possibility of
increasing the carrying capacity of the puna through irrigation, while
Thomas insists, I believe incorrectly, on showing the puna as a fixed
background against which society and culture develop. He also insists
that ecological factors are not only important but are the sole
determinant of the way of life of the herders.
2) Social Organization. Ecology influences social life as much as
it influences herding practices. The dispersed settlement pattern is
related with the patrilineal system of descent which serves to control
and regulate access to herds and to pasture. The formation of new
domestic units implies the division of previous units and these changes
generate conflicts which Flores and Palacios Rios analyze. Community
organization also serves to defend rights to pastureland. Extra local
contacts are important particularly because they permit access to
agricultural products.
3) Interzonal Exchange. One aspect of ecological adaptation
and social organization which has received a great deal of attention
is the system of relations which herders maintain with agricultural
peasants in other zones, such as the Pacific coast, Andean valleys,
and the altiplano, or flat plains which surround Lake Titicaca. In
contrast with market relations, interzonal contacts are long-lasting,
and the rates of exchange are relatively fixed without the marked
variation of market prices (Flores and Najar, 1976) . The authors
admire the herders who are willing to take long journeys, some of
which last several weeks, across hostile, barren areas. They also are
impressed by the networks of exchange. Some herders go from the high
punas to exchange wool weavings and meat on the Peruvian coast for
coastal products, such as fruit and hot peppers, which they then take
to the Andean valleys to exchange with tubers and grains. The authors
also agree that the herders could sell their wool and meat at much higher
prices than the equivalent of what they receive in agricultural products
through barter. They disagree, however, when they try to explain the
motivation of the herders. Some of them find a set of mentalities and
values which are very different from those of Western economies (moral
sanctions make it impossible for herders to refuse to offer their
products to agricultural peasants) , while others emphasize different
institutions (the insecurity of the market influences the herders who
prefer the barter exchange relations because they are less risky, even
through they may also be less profitable) . The authors also disagree
on the character of the relations between herders and agriculturalists.
Some of them, like Casaverde, describe them as secure, while Concha
Contreras indicates that both groups frequently have difficulty in
maintaining these relations. He also says that the exchange rates are
more variable than Casaverde suggests. It would be difficult to
resolve this disagreement without taking into account the differences
in theoretical orientation and the regional variations in the two areas

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 - 30 -

which these people studied. It is worth mentioning, however, that Concha

Contreras uses data which has much greater historical depth than that
of Casaverde.
4) Ritual and Symbolic Aspects. The different articles on the
strictly cultural aspects of the high altitude Andean herders cannot
be characterized as simply a sharing of a few key themes. Some authors,
such as Nachtigall, only present present day practices and indicate
continuities with pre-Columbian traditions. Others, such as Gow and
Gow, present the coherence of the world view and cosmogony of the
herders, while still others, such as Flores and Aranguren Paz, stress
more strongly the correspondences which exist between ceremonial objects
and rituals on the one hand and the puna ecology and the annual cycles
of the herders on the other. Flores and Palacios Rios also present a
correspondence between ritual aspects of culture and native systems of
classification, showing that the herders are very competent and perceptive
as taxonomists.
These four themes which constitute the Andean herding complex appear
in the three works and give them a strong unity. (The differences are
less important. In comparison with Flores 1977, Allpanchis 8 emphasizes
the ritual aspects and gives less emphasis to social organization, but
the two works nevertheless share very clearly the same orientation) .
These themes have a relationship among themselves and this consistency
makes even more notable the strengths and weaknesses of the works. The
social organization and interzonal exchange form components of the
ecological adaptation because they guarantee access to material resources.
The ritual and symbolic aspects of culture might have two functions.
Either they are simply another element in the structure and coherent
way of life of the herders or they ideologically reinforce the material
adaptation. This relation among the four elements is demonstrated not
only by their functional integration but also by their chronological
persistence: the authors share a tendency to find historical continuities.
Some of these continuities are indeed notable. The high puna, for instance,
is the ecological zone in the Andes which has had the smallest number
of introduction of European domesticated plants and animals. And it is
also the zone where the native languages and certain techniques (weaving
for instance) have maintained themselves with the greatest vigor. The
Andean herding pattern also can be located well, within the pattern of
verticality described by. Murra (1975). One can also notice the
continuity of other elements, as Miller shows is an excellent discussion
of the practices of camelid sacrifice in the southern Peruvian highlands.
Other authors nonetheless go beyond the concrete details of their cases
to suggest that continuities always have priority over changes. The
continuities in ritual, for instance, can be shown in many cases, but
there are other ceremonies which have not continued. More work
like that of Wing is needed to establish the clear relations bètween
early and contemporary herding, although her work in Allpanchis 8
certain lines of continuity. It is worth remembering that it
suggests
is very difficult to establish continuities in aspects of social
organization (we do not know, for instance, whether the distribution of
herds among households was at one time more egalitarian than it is
currently) . Of the three forms of transmission of rights and livestock
that Palacios Rios mentions ( inawe , dute, irinsiya) , two of them have
names, and their closeness, not only to a Western vocabulary but
Spanish

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 - 31 -

also to a Western judicial system, suggests the possibility of external

influences. The authors seem equally pleased when they notice the
continuity of the Andean herding complex as a totality and the survival
of isolated cultural elements . They both serve to indicate that the
herders have maintained quite faithfully their pre-Columbian cultural
patrimony. There are two possible explanations for these continuities.
One is of a natural order (the puna is an environment which is so harsh
that it permits no other response) , and another of a cultural order (the
Andean traditions are very resistant) . The apparent contridiction between
these two can be resolved by an admiration of the capacity which Andean
culture has to resolve problems, even those so difficult as constructing
a livelihood in the puna.
It seems important, through, for the debate on the importance of
continuities to go beyond a simple discussion of the origins of concrete
elements. A strict insistence on the importance of continuities carries
with it a series of erroneous consequences. This insistence implies a
false dichotomy between continuity and change. The interest which the
authors have in the past notwithstanding (particularly Flores' discussion
of the involvement of herders in different state systems) , there is a
certain ahistoric tone to the articles, as in the case of Millones, who
freely takes information from different centuries without trying to
examine the trajectory of the societies which he studies. It also
brings with it a rather simple-minded indigenista or pro-Indian attitude.
If one accepts all the advantages which the American camelids have in
the puna, for instance, it is difficult to understand why there have
been so many efforts to populate the same area with sheep, and the
authors, such as Flores, do not offer satisfactory explanations. This
interest in the Andean studies restricts the comparisons with other
herding groups and other high altitude populations as a point of departure
(Rhoades and Thompson, 1976) .
Even more seriously, this emphasis on the continuities with the pre-
Columbian past directs researchers to work only in the most remote zones.
There is a corresponding lack of studies of herders who are more tightly
articulated with national economies. The studies do not seem to
distinguish between continuities among particular groups of herders and
continuities in the pastoral sector as a totality. Few authors (Flores,
Palacios Rios, Mejia, Custred) give the correct importance of wool
exports, a key factor in the history of the entire southern Peruvian
highland (Flores Galindo, 1977) . The relations with other economic
sectors are generally considered only through their relationship to
barter and market sale, and the authors all seem to consider barter
more important than market exchange, without justifying this for herding
populations as a whole (Moscoso, 1979) .
Very little attention is given to the sectors which are most
tightly linked with the herders, such as haciendas and the mines. Because
of this, these authors, in the analysis of the Andean herding complex,
are not able to make good use of the rich literature which exists on
the articulation of these sectors (Rochabrun, 1977; Spalding, 1977;
Montoya, 1978; Jacobsen, 1978) . Although the researchers on the Andean
herding complex wish to offer a complete description of the activities
of the herders, they omit important aspects, such as migration to the
Pacific coast or the tropical valleys of the Amazon Basin. The works do
contain some exceptions, notably the articles of Mejia and Gomez Rodriguez,

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 - 32 -

but the tendency to look for continuities and not consider articulations
with other sectors is very clear.
These tendencies form part of a break between Marxists and
indigenistas . The latter may be defined as those who strongly support
the native Indian populations in contrast to all other groups and find
in them an unequalled source of cultural and political strength. The
indigenistas/ primarily Andean area specialists, may be quite correct
in noticing that much Marxist debate is relatively sterile, unwilling
to analyse concrete cases, and marked by a tendency to reduce complex
socioeconomic formations to limited categories. But they also commit
dangerous omissions, such as the ones mentioned above of not locating
the herders within their wider social, economic and political contexts,
or failing to take Marxist themes, such as internal differentation of
peasant communities. This latter point is very important because there
are strong inequalities in the size of herds within herding communities.
The wealthy herders have a series of profitable forms which allow them
to obtain the labor force which they need. There has been very little
discussion of internal conflicts within communities, except with the
case of intergenerational conflicts (Palacios Rios, 1977) . One may
expect, however, a rapprochement between these two orientations, as
shown in the books in the Peru Problema series of the Institute of the
Estudios Peruanos and the research publications of the Peruvian Catholic
University. (The case of the Instituto Pastoral Andina is even more
notable. In their journal one can see the consequence of decisions of
certain southern Peruvian bishops and priests to adopt certain political
positions. And the recent double issue of Allpanchis on peasant
movements indicates an effort to relate ideology and symbolism with
economic and political bases) .
These reflections allow one to establish priorities for future
research among herders. Debate between the importance of continuities
and change among herders should be replaced with a true history of the
herders, which would simultaneously recognize the presence and strength
of the Andean herding complex and also locate the herders in their wider
social, economic and political context. The study of Bolivian herders
would change the overemphasis on Peruvian ones, and it would also bring
a concrete understanding of the influence of national economic policies.
Some tendencies in this direction may already be noticed: Mejia' s
interest in examining the way in which the articulation of herders with
other economic sectors reproduces the relations of production of the
herders, and several isolated but significant facts with Concha Contreras
presents (the organization of llama caravan drivers to present petitions
to the Peruvian National Bank to allow them to use salt mines without
paying certain taxes, the active role of village authorities in
establishing the rates of exchange between pastoral and agricultural
products); Flores' suggestion for the study of relations between
communities and haciendas. The advances of the works described here
should be utilized and continued. Ecology, social organization, inter-
zonal exchange and ritual, all deserve more research and the present
works may serve well as a basis for such future work. One might suggest
a comparative analysis between the herders of the eastern and western
cordilleras to see the influence of the different ecologies there, since
the western cordillera is considerably drier. Inheritance, access to
labor, techniques of herding and of pasture irrigation are elements which

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 - 33 -

are not yet as well understood as one might wish. What one could hope for
would be a synthesis between the particularizing successes of the studies
which have already been completed and the possibilities of a more historic
vision which might come out of the field research which is going on at the
present moment, done by researchers such as Deborah Caro, Jorge Flores,
and Felix Palacios Rios. Concretely, one might take advantage of the
fact that political and ecological boundaries do not coincide to study
the importance of these factors of the herders in Peru and Bolivia and
the east and west cordilleras with regard to the impact of agrarian
reform, involvement in market economy and wage-labor economies, and the
role of the governmental agencies.
To return to the beginning of the review, the tone of enthusiasm
and urgency is well deserved. The enthusiasm comes from the new
discoveries of the adaptations and forms of organization which previously
had not been studied and one must recognize the importance of the recent
studies of herders in récent review articles on Andean social organization
(Alberti and Mayer, 1974; Bolton and Mayer, 1977) . Flores is distinguished
as a pioneer in these studies. The Andean herding complex provokes this
enthusiasm. The urgency comes from other motives. For some writers,
it is a desire to preserve customs, myths, and rituals before they
disappear under the steady onslaught of Westernization. For others, it
comes from the new domination of the state on herding zones. Some
indigenistas take as their task recording of a culture. Other writers
are more aware of the implicit criticism of this ethnographic activity
and are more concerned with political and cultural reawakening. As
Matos Mar proposes in his introduction to Flores 1977, the study of the
herders and understanding of the Indian " contributes to
herding complex
the perception of the possibility of an alternative model of what role
development should be in the country and it is also necessary or orient
any panorama of change." This goal is still in its first steps of
realization. The study of the Andean herding complex could lead to an
analysis of the history of the herders and of their economic and political
relations with state systems. Without these elements, the works will
remain incomplete and partially wrong. With them, they could contribute
a much greater understanding of herding peoples, not only in the Andes,
but throughout the world.

References

Alberti, Giorgio and Enrique Mayer

1974 Reciprocidad E Intercambio En Los Andes Peruanos, Instituto
de Estudios Peruanos. Lima.
Boulton, Ralph and Enrique Mayer
1977 Kinship and Marriage in the Andes. Special Publication
Number 7. American Anthropological Association. Washington.
Flores, Jorcje
"
1964 Pastores del ande Sur-Peruano" in: Revista De La Universidad
Tecnica Del Altiplano, No. 2, pp. 131-138. Puno.
Flores, Jorge and Yemira Najar
"
1976 El Likira, Intermediario Ambulante en la Cordillera de
Canchis," Nos. 1-2, pp. 125-135. Cusco.

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 - 34 -

Flores Galindo, Alberto

1977 Arequipa Y El Sur Peruano Siglos XVIII-XX. Editorial Horizonte.
Lima.
Jacobsen, Nils
1979 "Desarrollo economico y relaciones de clase en el sur andina
" in: No. 5, pp. 67-81. Lima.
(1780-1920) Analisis,
Montoya, Rodrigo
1979 "Ejes regionales de producción no-capitalista y desarrollo
del capitalismo dependiente" in: Analisis, No. 4, pp. 52-
68. Lima.
Moscoso, Arturo
1979 "Apuntes sobre la Arrieria en el Cusco" in: Critica Andina,
No. 3, pp. 143-156. Cusco.
Murra, John V.
1975 Formaciones Económicas Y Politicas Del Mundo Andino. Instituto
de Estudios Peruanos. Lima.
Nachtigall, Horst
1966 Indianische Fischer Fielbauer Und Vienzuchter: Beitrage
Zur Peruanischen Völkerkunde. Marburger Studien zur Volkekunde.
Berlin.
Rhoades, Robert and Stephen Thompson
1976 "Beyond Alpine Particularism: Ecological Adaptations in
Mountain Ecosystems" in: American Ethnologist, Vol. 3,
No. 2, Washington.
Rochabrun, Guillermo
1977 "Apuntes para la comprensión del capitalismo en el Peru"
in Analisis, No. 1, pp. 3-23. Lima
Spalding, Karen
1977 "Estructura de clases en la sierra peruana 1750-1920" in:
Analisis, No. 1, pp. 25-35. Lima.

Benjamin Sebastian Or love,

Division of Environmental Studies,
University of California,
Davis, California 95616

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