People of Peru

8/18/2019 People of Peru

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...ransomed for God from everytribe, language,

people, and nation.Rev. 5:9


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PEOPLE OF PERU

Editor:Margarethe Sparing-Chávez

Layout and Design:Bill Dyck

Photographs and Drawings

Cover photo: *Daniel Fast

Drawings: *Víctor Churay Roque (pages 107, 117),from the private collection of Dr. Pablo Macera.

*Karin Pohl (pages 43, 87, 129, 133, 135).*Stefan Holzhausen (page 142;

watermarks: pages 94, 95, 113, 114).* Rebecca Fincher (pages 60, 104;

watermarks: pages 38, 39).

Second edition

(1st Ed. 1999)

Copyright © 2005Summer Institute of LinguisticsCasilla 2492, Lima 100, Peru

All rights reserved. Reproduction of any part of the contents without written permission is prohibited.


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Giving Credit . . .

This book is the result of teamwork. Most of the descriptions are based on information submitted byco-workers in Bible translation who have come to know the indigenous people through face to facecontact for years. The great majority are members or former members of Wycliffe Bible Translators(WBT) and the Peru Branch of the Summer Institute of Linguistics (SIL ). Not all contributors, however, were directly associated with WBT or SIL : Chris Beier and Lev Michael lived among the Nanti peoplefor extensive periods of time, assisting them with medical and public relations needs. They submittedthe historical and cultural information on the Nantis, as well as photographs (pp. 72, 73), for which Iam very grateful. Some information was gathered from the SIL archives or from books and journals which are listed in the Bibliography at the end of the book. Most of the photographs come from per-sonal collections of SIL members, some from WBT or SIL archives, and others were given to me. HereI am grateful to Rick and Lynn Norton for a number of Nomatsiguenga photographs, and to Daniel

Fast, working with the Achuar people, who took the snapshot on the cover. A number of drawings were done for the book by dear friends and gifted people, Karin Pohl and Stefan Holzhausen fromGermany, and Rebecca Fincher (SIL ). Dr. Pablo Macera gave permission to use the drawings of hisprivate collection done by Víctor Churay Roque, a native Bora artist. I thankfully acknowledge theirgenerosity in sharing their treasures with us.

My heartfelt thanks go to all my SIL colleagues who submitted texts and photographs, and to those who contributed their time to this project, often working extra hours: Director Ronald Ryan and myhusband, Jorge Chávez, gave me much wise counsel; Jorge Chávez and Theresa Nagle were themain researchers, Loys Mundy came from JAARS in Waxhaw, NC, as the main text editor. Ruth Cow-an, Rebecca Fincher, Melanie Floyd, Theresa Nagle, Nancy Rowan, Ronald Ryan, and Mary RuthWise edited and corrected many texts; Heather Higley helped keyboard corrections; Martha Jakwayand Sally Dyck checked the final manuscript. Sue McMahon organized many of the photographs,

Cal Hibbard of JAARS and Andy Peck scanned many photographs and Andy also kept the computerrunning. A big applause goes to Bill Dyck for using his creative gifts in doing the layout and givingthe People of Peru its outer beauty.

Finally we, the SIL members of the Peru Branch, want to thank God for calling and equipping us toserve the indigenous people of Peru, and the Peruvian government for allowing us to live amongand interact with the people in their isolated communities. We also want to thank the indigenouspeople of Peru, who have become very dear to us, for their generosity and patience with those of us who struggled to learn their languages and, no doubt, made many cultural blunders while adjustingto life among them. We dedicate this book to them.

MSC


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Catch a Glimpse...

More than 50 years ago a small group of idealistic young linguists arrived in Lima, Peru.Led by “Uncle Cam” (William Cameron Townsend, founder of Wycliffe Bible Transla-

tors), they were the first teams assigned to work with the Summer Institute of Linguisticsamong the native people of Peru. Motivated by the love of God, these youths set out to live inisolated places among people groups whose languages and cultures were totally foreign tothem. Their goal was to learn the unwritten languages, create alphabets, produce books, teachthe people to read and write in their own language, attend to the material needs of those of their communities, and translate the Bible.

The foundation of their activity was the deep conviction that all people should have the op-portunity to hear and read the Word of God in the language of their heart.

For more than half a century, many more have followed their example. They have shared

their lives with the people ... their joys and heartbreaks, their hopes and disappointments,and their aspirations. All have learned from one another. It has been a rich experience!

The work is done in partnership — linguists and support personnel cooperating with the na-tive peoples, with Peruvian authorities and educators, with foundations and organizations like

The Bible League and the Peruvian Bible Society that publish Scripture, and with people likeyou who pray, encourage and give. YOU have an important share in this good work!

This “People of Peru” book is for you. We want you to catch a glimpse of some of the peoplegroups —the cultural richness, the vast diversity, and the common elements of their lives as we have discovered them through the years. It will give you “glimpses” only, for pictures and words cannot give the full story.

As the years have passed, the world around us has changed. Life in the Peruvian Highlandsand in the Amazon jungle has also changed tremendously in many places, and yet remainedalmost untouched in others. Since 1946, when the first Bible translators arrived, some of thesmaller language groups have assimilated into larger groups or have become extinct. Othershave grown dramatically, even doubling in population. The experiences vary widely fromone group to another.

Some of the pictures of this book, taken many years ago, show you the way things were.They help us to remember... and appreciate the past. Some of the views are brand new, butin a few more years, as the future overtakes us, they will also become pictures of the past.

In the midst of life’s inevitable changes, our expectation is that the unchanging Word of God will be a source of hope, light and life for the native peoples of Peru, just as it is for you

and me.

I hope that reading this book will be an enriching and enjoyable experience that enlargesyour vision and appreciation for the people of Peru.

Your partner in service,

Ronald W. RyanDirector


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Table of Contents...

Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7Peru — The Land of Many Contrasts . . . . . . . 9

People of Peru: HighlandsQUECHUA LANGUAGE FAMILY . . . 14

Ambo Pasco Quechua . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Ayacucho-Chanca Quechua . . . . . . . . . 18

Cuzco-Collao Quechua. . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Cajamarca Quechua . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Focus on Scipture Promotion . . . . . . . 24

Corongo Quechua . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26Huallaga Quechua . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Huamalíes Quechua . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Huaylas Quechua . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

Focus on Christian Radio . . . . . . . . . 34La Unión-Cotahuasi Quechua . . . . . . . . 36

Lambayeque Quechua . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

Margos-Yarowilca-Lauricocha Quechua . . . 40

North Conchucos Quechua. . . . . . . . . . 42

North Junín Quechua . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

Focus on a New Testament Dedication . . 46Pachitea-Panao Quechua . . . . . . . . . . 48Pastaza Quechua . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

San Martín Quechua . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

South Conchucos Quechua . . . . . . . . . 54

Wanca Quechua . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

People of Peru: Jungle

Focus on the Rubber Boom. . . . . . . . 60 LANGUAGE FAMILIES

Arawakan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62Panoan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64Jivaroan and Witotoan . . . . . . . . . . . . 66Small Language Families . . . . . . . . . . 68Isolates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70

Achuar-Shiwiar. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72

Focus on Onomatopeia . . . . . . . . . . 74 Aguaruna. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76


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Amahuaca . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78

Amarakaeri. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80

Arabela. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82 Asháninca . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84

Ashéninka . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86

Bora . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88

Focus on a Jungle Telegraph . . . . . . . 90Cand o shi-Shapr a. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92

Focus on a Changed Life . . . . . . . . . 94C a p a n a h u a . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 6

Caquinte . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98

Cashibo-Cacataibo . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100

C h a y a h u i t a . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 0 2Culina. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104

H u a m b i s a . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 0 6

Kashinawa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108

M a c h i g u e n g a . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 1 0

Matsés . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112

Muruí Witoto . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114

N a n t i . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 1 6

Nomatsiguenga . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118

Ocaina . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120

Orejón . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122Pajonal Ashéninca . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124

S h a r a n a h u a . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 2 6

Shipibo -Co nibo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128

Taushiro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130

Ticuna . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132

U r a r i n a . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 3 4

Yagua. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136

Yaminahua-Chitonahua . . . . . . . . . . 138

Yanesha’ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140

Focus on Literacy . . . . . . . . . . . . 142 Yine. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144

Yora . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146

Focus on the Story of Jeremías . . . . . 148Glossary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150

Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152


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Preface...

“You are mistaken, there are no people groups living in the jungle that speak languages other than Spanish.They live in Brazil and Colombia, and in Ecuador, too, but in Peru? No! You came to the wrong country.”These were the words of a taxi driver in Lima in 1973 when I, shortly after arriving in Peru, told him of myplans to learn one of the many unwritten languages spoken in the Peruvian Amazon Basin.

The People of Peru is about the indigenous people groups that did not exist in the minds of most people liv-ing in Lima two to three decades ago. Yet they inhabited the land long before Columbus discovered the NewWorld. These people live in the highlands and lowlands, in areas that, to a great extent, can only be reachedon horseback or foot or by small planes or canoes.

The Ethnologue of 1996 lists 103 people groups for Peru. During the 20th century many have become extinct,others have lost or are in the process of losing their linguistic and cultural identity by assimilating into the dom-inant Spanish speaking mestizo culture. But some have clung to their heritage and take pride in their languageand culture. They have withstood the pressures and temptations to assimilate, living up to the claim implied intheir own name, “We are the real people,” as is the case with the Cashinahuas of eastern Peru, who call them-

selves Juni kuin ‘real people’.

This book describes and illustrates 52 of these language groups. It will give the reader glimpses into the history,language, customs, beliefs, values, and daily activities of the indigenous people of Peru. It is organized by lan-guage families based on the classification of linguists who study South American languages. Languages with lin-guistic similarities belong to the same language family. The book begins with the Quechua language familyconsisting of people groups that predominantly live in the Andes mountains and have large populations, somenumbering half a million speakers or more. Then it describes language family groups that live in the lowlands, be-ginning with the larger ones and ending with the smaller ones and those that cannot be classified as belonging toany language family, the so-called isolates. Some of the jungle groups have less than 20 speakers left.

During the 53 years that members of the Summer Institute of Linguistics have been working in Peru, besidestranslating Scripture, they have written and are still writing many articles and books on the cultures and lan-guages of the people: ethnographic descriptions, folklore collections, dictionaries and grammars in English and

Spanish, as well as instructional or text books for the bilingual schools and for adults in the languages of thepeople. For detailed information on these publications, the reader might want to browse the Websites of Wycliffe Bible Translators: www.wycliffe.org or the Summer Institute of Linguistics: www.sil.org.

At times the reader will find colloquial expressions that might be unfamiliar. These are, for the most part, initalics and their meanings are explained in a glossary at the end of the book. The population figures quotedare estimates. Statistics vary greatly. The names of the language groups are those officially recognized in thecountry. Most of the names have been given to the groups by outsiders or neighboring indigenous groups cen-turies ago. Often they are based on a unique characteristic of the group, some reflect the geographical locationof the group, others are names of animals that have become associated with them through their clan system.They are rarely complimentary, some are derogatory. Other names represent the name the people call them-selves. Within the last few decades a number of people groups have rejected the names given to them by out-siders and have requested to be officially registered with the name of their choice. The Matsés are a case inpoint. Sometime in the past Quechua speakers named them Mayoruna ‘river people’ (although they never re-ally lived on the rivers). A few years ago they chose to be called Matsés ‘people’.

Today, 26 years after my arrival in Peru, the public, the news media, and the government have become veryaware of the indigenous population of their land and most acknowledge their presence with kindness. Manytake pride in the cultural and linguistic richness of Peru. It is my sincere hope that the reader might discover inthe pages of this book the beauty hidden in cultural and linguistic diversity, and the courage and tenacity theindigenous people demonstrate in their struggle to survive.

Margarethe Sparing-Chávez

Lima, April 1999

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PERU —THE LAND OF MANY CONTRASTS...

Where in the World is Peru?

Twice the size of Texas, Peru is the third largest coun-try in South America. It borders five countries: Ecua-dor, Colombia, Brazil, Bolivia, and Chile. The countryis divided into three distinct geographical regions:costa, sierra, and selva. The costa is a narrow strip of desert bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean andon the east by the Andes mountains. It extends fromTumbes in the north to Tacna in the south. The sierrais the Andes mountain chain with a dozen peaksabove 20,000 ft. At 22,205 ft., Mount Huascarán isthe highest mountain in Peru. The selva is the rain-forest located in the Amazon Basin. Together with

the rainforest of the neighboring countries, the Amazon rainforest is considered the largest inthe world.

Lima, the capital, is situated 12 degrees southof the Equator. It has a mild year round cli-mate, and does not receive rain falls. The coldHumboldt Current that flows from south tonorth along the Pacific Coast of South Americacreates a mist, which hangs over Lima and thedesert, cooling the air and giving the region a temper-ate climate. It is only when you travel to the junglethat you realize that Peru is in the tropics. Peruviantime is the same as U.S. Eastern Standard time theyear around.

How Do You Reach Peru?

Today you can travel to Peru from anywhere in the world by plane, by ship or, if you are adventurous, bycar, driving from the US on the Pan AmericanHighway.

The Spanish conquerors reached South America inthe 16th century, travelling in sailing ships across the

Atlantic. In 1513 Balboa discovered that the distancefrom the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean was not very faracross the Isthmus of Panama. The Spanish built astone road across Panama that opened the way forthe first conquerors, missionaries, colonists, and oth-ers who began to arrive around 1530.Travel from Eu-rope and other countries was much easier after theopening of the Panama Canal in 1914.

Did You Know?

More indigenous/native people live in Peru than in allthe other South American countries combined: nearly12 million. Peru’s population of 24 million consists of 49 to 54 percent native people, 8 percent unmixed

white, mostly Spanish ancestry, and nearly 40 percentmestizos, people of mixed Spanish and native blood.

Another 2 percent is comprised of people from theOrient and of African descent.

Beautiful examples of Spanish colo-nial architecture in the cities of

Lima, Cuzco, Ayacucho, and Arequipa contrast with fasci-

nating archeological ruinsfrom ancient native civiliza-tions. The Chavín civiliza-tion dates back to at least900 B.C. The ancient LostCity of the Incas, Machu

Picchu, located near Cuzco,is considered South Amer-

ica’s most spectacular archeo-logical site.

Fifty-four rivers flow from the high western slopes of

the Andes to the Pacific coast where the inhabitantsand their agriculture depend on them for their watersupply. Lima’s nearly 8 million inhabitants receive

water primarily from the Rimac River. Rivers also flowfrom the eastern slopes to the jungle, feeding the riversystems of the lowlands. The jungle rivers are impor-tant avenues of transportation. They eventually emptyinto the great Amazon River which flows another4,000 miles before it pours into the Atlantic Ocean inBrazil.

Built in 1870, the Central Railway of Peru is the world’s highest narrow gauge railroad. From Lima toHuancayo, after climbing by a series of switchbacks

and tunnels, it reaches its highest point of 15,606 feetat Ticlio.

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Discovering Peru.

Discovery is finding out what is already in existence.

Thus the Spaniard Pizarro and his 200 men in 1532began to find out many details about Peru, its land,people, and cultures that remained unknown to Euro-peans until that time. In the same way, at an un-known point in time, the Incas discovered the peoplegroups that lived on the coast and in the jungle. Noone really knows who were the first to arrive in thedifferent parts of Peru or when. Ancient ruins and arti-facts are still being found in the coastal and highlandareas today, some dating back thousands of years.What has been discovered indicates early peoples

who were artistic, resourceful, and ingenious in theirown distinctive ways.

Spain’s control over Peru lasted from 1532 to 1824.These were years of exploitation of the land and na-tive people. Forced labor of the native people inmines, haciendas, plantations, combined with themany epidemics which accompanied the white man’spresence, accounted for over 10 million deaths in theHighland and Coastal areas. Many years later, junglenative populations were decimated from the brutaltreatment and epidemic diseases they suffered duringthe infamous “rubber boom” in the Amazon River Ba-sin from 1880 to 1912.

The independence that Peru gained from Spain in1824 did little to improve the lot of the native peoplebecause the roots of colonial society remained. Al-though many Spaniards and Catholic Church leadersspoke out against the mistreatment of the native peo-ple, and laws were passed to improve their condition,these remained in the archives. They were seldomcarried out.

From 1980-1993 two subversive anti-governmentgroups —the Shining Path and the Tupac AmaruMovement (MRTA) —wrought havoc throughoutthe country. The Shining Path alone

accounted for more than 25,000 deaths and is activestill in isolated areas. But today there is hope in theemerging church and community leadership. Since

the 1940s the government and the general public hasbecome aware of the importance of the native com-munities, both of their needs and their contribution tothe nation of Peru.

Although Spanish became the official language of Peru, it never became the heart language of theQuechua, Aymara and the Jungle people. At presentthe Aymara population in Peru is estimated at 1 1/2million and the Quechua population 10 million. TheQuechua people (including some groups in the low-lands) are speaking over 20 variations of Quechua,many of them different enough to be considered dif-ferent languages. There are over 300,000 jungle

dwellers speaking nearly 60 different languages. Thismakes the jungle the most culturally and linguisticallydiverse region in Peru.

The real riches of Peru are not to be found in its min-eral resources, oil, exotic wood, furs or other prod-ucts. Rather they are found in its people. In the past(and in some places still today), the native people

were despised because of their “inferior” heritage.With the analysis of their languages, recording theiroral history and folklore, studying their customs,teaching them to read and write, and translating theWord of God into their mother tongue, their self es-teem is being restored and they are becoming

equipped to participate in the affairs of their local andregional governments. Even more importantly theyare understanding that in the eyes of God they have

value as individuals.

Few who arrive in Peru for the first time know muchabout the country and its history. Most travel guide-

books do not go beyond surface impressions.Many discoveries await those who want to un-

derstand this land of many mysteries. You maydiscover these things and much more as

you read the pages of this book!

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SIL Discovers Peru.

In June 1945 SIL Director William Cameron Townsend signed a contract with the Minis-try of Education in Lima, thus opening the door for the beginning of the work of the Sum-mer Institute of Linguistics in Peru.

In April 1946 the first 18 SIL members arrived in Peru.

In July 1946 the first linguistic team started to work among the Aguarunas, a jungle lan-guage group.

In June 1949 land was obtained for SIL ’s center of operations along Lake Yarinacocha,near the jungle city of Pucallpa on the Ucayali River.

In November 1952 the Ministry of Education, in cooperation with SIL , established the

first training center for men and women from different language groups of the jungleto become Bilingual Teachers in their own communities. The campus was built ad- jacent to SIL ’s Yarinacocha Center. It still functions today.

1960 marked the completion of the first New Testament in a jungle language, Piro, nowknown as Yine.

In 1962 a pilot project for bilingual education in the highlands was started in Ayacucho. A center was established at Quicapata.

In 1966 linguists were working in 36 native groups including three dialects of Quechua.

1996 marked SIL ’s 50th anniversary in Peru as well as the publication of the 25 th and26th New Testaments. The 27th and 28th were published in 1997.

The commitment of SIL is to translate God’s Word in the native languages of Peru, enablethe people to read it for themselves and apply it to their own lives. SIL works in partnership with believers around the world in bringing the Gospel to those yet without it.

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...ransomed for God from everytribe, language,

people, and nation.Rev. 5:9


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The Quechua Language Family

Quechua is often referred to as the mother tongue of the descendants of the Incas. Many people think of itas one language with a number of regional dialectsspoken in the Peruvian Andes.

Instead Quechua is the name of a language familythat has many members; some with several dialects.The Quechua language family extends from southernColombia to northern Chile and Argentina. It includesColombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Argentina, andChile. In addition to the highlands Quechua lan-guages are also spoken in the foothills and lowlandareas east of the Andes in Ecuador and Peru.

The widest geographic range and the greatestdiversity of Quechua languages and dialectsare found in Peru. The degree of difference be-tween individual Quechua languages is similar to thedegree of differences between Spanish, Portuguese,French, and Italian.

The Quechuas themselves do not re-fer to their language as Quechua.The name most of them use is runa simi, ‘human or native speech’. “Theterm Quechua appears to have

emerged as the result of theSpaniards’ mistaking the word for ‘valley’ in the dialectaldesignation of qheswa simi ‘valley speech’, for thename of the language” (Mannheim, 1991:6).

In the Peruvian highlands Quechua speakershave incorporated many loan words from Spanishand in some areas speakers are slowly replacingtheir mother tongue with Spanish. In the Peru-

vian lowlands on the other hand, some lan-guages are assimilating loan words fromQuechua while others, such as Arabelaand Taushiro, are giving way toQuechua.

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QUECHUA

An interesting feature of Quechua languages is the use of inclusiveand exclusive pronouns for “we”:

Ya'anchic ‘we’ includes the person or persons addressed.

Ya'acuna ‘we’ excludes the person or persons addressed.

This phenomenon is also reflected in the verbs:Wälamancha Wanayüta lishun.‘In the morning we (including you) will go to Huancayo.’

Wälamancha Wanayüta lipäcusha.‘In the morning we (excluding you) will go to Huancayo.’

(Wanca Quechua)


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The Aymara Language Family

The Aymara languages are Jacaru

or Tupina and Aymara. The for-mer is spoken south of Lima inPeru and the latter in the high-lands of Bolivia and southernPeru.

Quechua languages anddialects spoken in Peru:

Group I1. Corongo2. Huaylas

3. North Conchucos4. South Conchucos5. Sihuas*6. Ambo-Pasco7. Huallaga8. Huamalíes9. Pachitea

10. Margos-Lauricocha-Yarowilca11. North Junín12. Wanca13. Pacaraos*

Group II A14. Cajamarca15. Lambayeque16. Chachapoyas*

Group II B17. Pastaza18. San Martín19. Napo*20. Tigre*21. Santarrosino*

Group II C22. Ayacucho23. La Unión

24. Cuzco-Collao

Aymara25. Jacaru*26. Aymara*

*These languages are not featured

in this book.

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QUECHUA

12

3

4

23

2224

14

15

106

78

11

12

16

17

19

18

20

21

9

5

13

26

25

QuechuFamily


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Although the people of Ambo and Pasco speak thesame variety of Quechua,

there are two different groups repre-sented in this region. In Ambo thecommunities are primarily agricul-tural and pastoral. In Pasco they area blend of agricultural, pastoral, andmining communities.

The Ambo-Pasco Quechuaslive in villages ranging in sizefrom just a few houses to sev-eral thousand inhabitants.They are accomplished

farmers and herdsmen, andtheir life-style is remarkablysimilar to Old Testamenttimes. They herd sheep andgoats, plow with yoked teamsof oxen, and use an ox goad.They pass their fields downfrom father to son, and have astrong attachment to the vil-

lage of their birth.

Houses are generallytwo stories tall, madefrom large adobe

blocks with corrugated tin roofs.Some homes have tile roofs and oth-ers use straw. Men do the construc-tion, the farming and fieldwork. The

women help in the fields and are re-sponsible for cooking and laundry.They also card and dye wool, knitclothing, and tend animals. De-pending upon the community, menor women weave woolen cloth for

ponchos, mantas (large squarecloths) and other clothing items.

The people of Ambo-Pascoplant corn, wheat, barley,many kinds of potatoes, and

several local tubers like olluco, oca,and masha, as well as habas (largeflat beans) and several varieties of squash. They raise pigs, goats,sheep, cattle, and llamas in thehigher regions. Guinea pigs, chick-ens, and rabbits are raised in theirhouses. Llamas, horses, and mules

are used as beasts of burden.

Ambo-Pasco dress is distinctive fromother Quechua groups. The formalhat for women is white pasteboard with a broad rim and a wide ribbontied around the crown. The womenpart their hair down the middle, andbraid it into one or two braids. Theirskirts are dark blues or greens. The

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Ambo-Pasco Quechua (Group I)Population: 90,000. Location: Central highlands, in

Ambo province in the state of Huánuco, and in Pasco province in

the state of Pasco.


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mantas are wool, not cotton. Themen’s poncho designs set them aparttoo. The designs identify the owner’scommunity of birth.

Linguistically, Quechua is an exam-ple of an agglutinative language.

Just as gluten in wheat makes breaddough stick together, so Quechua

words permit many pieces of the lan-guage to stick together in one long

word. When translating II Peter 3:2,

the Quechua co-translators used onelong word to convey the meaning of a phrase that requires several wordsin English. (The hyphens which areused in this example to separate theindividual suffixes, do not appear inQuechua texts.)

The mestizo culture surrounding the Ambo-Pasco people has broughtmany changes to their lives and cul-

ture. Satellite dishes have broughttelevision to small highland commu-nities exposing the people to manymaterial things. This results in dissat-isfaction because they cannot obtainthe things they see advertised. Useof the Quechua language is beingaffected by Spanish on television, innewspapers, and in schools.

Since the early 1500s theCatholic Church has beenpresent in the area. The

Ambo-Pasco Quechuas are gener-

ally familiar with the idea of Godour Father, Jesus the Son who diedon the cross, and the concepts of sin, salvation, and the final judg-ment. However, traditional animisticbeliefs still prevail. It appears thatthe Gospel preached in Spanishis difficult for them tounderstand.

SIL linguists began workingin the Ambo-Pasco area in1980. The language has

been analyzed and translation be-

gun. Literature and literacy materialshave been published in the

Ambo-Pasco variety of Quechua.

A Christian radio stationbroadcasts regularly inQuechua and the Life of

Christ video in the language of thepeople is also available.

Ambo-Pasco Quechua

Chaynuy niptin Jesúsniran: —Mamä

cushicunganpitapis mascushisha caycan tayta

Dios ninganta chrasquicurcäsucogcuna.

He replied, “Blessedrather are those who hear

the word of God andobey it.” Luke 11:28

Life of Christ video

in progress

yachra-chi-päcu-shu-nga-yqui-cuna-ta-pis‘also those things which they taught to you’

Bilingual dictionary

Ambo-PaQuechu


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The second city foundedby the Spanish in Peru inthe 16th century, Ayacucho

is now the capital of the state of Ayacucho. First established as anoutpost for the Spanish betweenCuzco and Lima, the village wascalled San Juan de la Frontera, andlater renamed Huamanga. The Bat-

tle of Ayacucho took place above thecity on December 9, 1824, givingPeru its eventual independence fromSpain.

Ayacucho, called “a cor-ner of 16th centurySpain”, is filled with re-

mains of colonial architecture suchas ornate patios, skillfully designed

wooden balconies and majesticchurches. The city still has a strongreligious heritage that dates back tothe Spanish occupation. Ayacucho isfamous for its colorful Semana Santa(Holy Week) ceremonies, which in-clude a mixture of Roman Catholicand Inca traditions.

Quechuas in this area speak the Ayacucho-Chanka language. Itclosely resembles Cuzco-CollaoQuechua, with the main differencesprimarily in pronunciation and indi-

vidual words. Living in villages andcommunities scattered throughoutthe region, the Ayacucho-Chankapeople divide themselves into five

social groupings: alta sociedad,decentes, mestizos, cholos andindios. Many of these people used to

work on the large haciendas of theupper class before the Agrarian Re-form of the 1960s. The landownersoften granted their campesinos smallgarden plots to grow food for theirown family use. Housing and livingconditions among the cholos are

very poor.

The mountain highway north andsouth of Ayacucho follows the oldImperial Inca road from Quito, Ecua-dor to Cuzco. Parts of the roadwere so narrow in places thattraffic traveled in one directionon Monday, and the other wayon Tuesday! With the introductionof air service and new roads to thecoast, many changes have come tothe area.

18

Ayacucho-Chanka Quechua (Group II c)Population: 900,000. Location: South Central region of

the Andes in the states of Ayacucho,Huancavelica, and Apurimac.


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SIL was asked to help estab-lish an experimental Bi-lingual Education

program with the Ministry of Educa-tion for monolingual Quech-ua-speaking children in the early1960s. This was a pilot program inthe highlands of Peru. Many localQuechua leaders recognized the

value of educating children in theirnative language.

Teachers (bilingual inQuechua and Spanish) tookspecial university classes in

bilingual education teaching meth-ods in cooperation with the local uni-

versity, Quechua leaders, and otherprofessionals. Vernacular literature

was produced, and an experimentalprogram in bilingual educationstarted. The program also included

vocational training and animal hus-bandry. From 1965 to 1970thirty-nine teachers were trained inthis pilot program. As a result there

were Quechua readers in more thantwenty communities across threestates. By the early 1990s reports es-timated there were 200,000Quechua readers.

The Ayacucho QuechuaNew Testament was finishedin the late 1950’s. This first

translation, however, was not easilyunderstood. Twenty years later thesame translator requested help fromSIL to revise the translation. The newtranslation was dedicated in January1982.

A gifted Quechua man also trans-lated the Old Testament. The com-plete Bible was published by the

Peruvian Bible Society in 1987. Twoeditions of 20,000 copies eachsold out quickly. A third printing

was made. The Bilingual Educationpilot program had prepared manyQuechua readers for just thatpurpose.

Two opposite forces were at work during the 1970s: thefirst Quechua music groups

and the early beginnings of a studentMarxist group that later developedinto the Shining Path movement.

The small Quechua music groups developed and started to travelthroughout the Andes, including themost remote corners where Quechua

was spoken. These conjuntos usemusic as an evangelistic out-reach combining Bible teaching andScripture set to music. They nowtravel all over the country, perform-ing in special concerts and programs.

Every year hundreds of Quech-ua-speakers look forward to thesemusic festivals held in various loca-tions with conjuntos now represent-ing Ecuador and Bolivia as well asPeru.

19

Ayacucho-Chanka Quechua

1958, 1987


Chaymi Jesusñataq nirqa:—Aswan kusisqaraqmi

Diospa palabrantauyarispa kasukuqkunaqa

—nispa.



Ayacucho-ChQuechua


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Legend has it thatCusqueños and

Arequipeños said Quechuaspread only with new Inca con-quests, and that Cuzco was theQuechua “homeland”. The varietyof Quechua spoken in the centraland northern highlands was thoughtto be a “corruption” of the classicallanguage of the Incas spoken in

Cuzco. Today there is consensusamong scholars and linguists thatthere were several dispersions of theQuechua language from the Quech-ua “homeland” placed in either cen-tral or coastal Peru, long before theIncas made Quechua the official lan-guage of their empire.

The Imperial City of Cuzco is called“a monument to a brilliant peo-ple who had no wheels, no iron, nobeasts of burden other than thellama, and no written language, butestablished one of the great civiliza-tions and empires of all time.”(Weaver 1964:254). Cuzco was estab-lished in the 11th century. FromCuzco the Incas conquered lands as

far north as Ecuador and as far southas Chile and Argentina. During colo-nial times, Cuzco was the most im-portant seat of colonial poweroutside of Lima. Today Cuzco andMachu Picchu are world famoustourist attractions. It is thoughtthat Machu Picchu, the “lost city of the Incas”, may have sheltered Incarefugees after the Spanish invasionin 1533.

There are many Quechuafarmers whose ancestors

were never enslaved by theConquistadores. They live high up inthe mountains around Cuzco. Theirancestors moved to land consideredundesirable by the colonists so they

were left undisturbed. Today thereare approximately 850 such groupsregistered.

There are five social class group-ings of Cuzco Quechuas (Lefebvre,

1964:328):

alta sociedad (the upper class).People of the alta sociedad own largeestates and generally own severalhomes, including one in Lima. Span-ish is their first language, but oftenthey have been raised by monolin-gual Quechua nurses. As a resultthey are usually also fluent in

20

Cuzco-Collao Quechua (Group II c)Population: 1,500,000.

Location: States of Cuzco, Puno,

and Arequipa.


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Quechua. Their children are edu-cated in Lima, but with few excep-tions, they refuse to speak Quechua

though they understand the lan-guage to varying degrees.

decentes include the professionalclasses, such as teachers, small busi-nessmen, owners of small haciendas,and army officers. Spanish is theirfirst language though they speakQuechua with varying degrees of proficiency.

indios are peasants who are not reg-ular residents of the city. They cometo town for occasional jobs and busi-

ness. Most are monolingual Quechuaspeakers. If they become residents of the city they are incorporated intothe cholo group. It is estimated thatmore than half the Quechuas arecholos.

cholos include construction workers,potters, domestic servants, street

vendors, and soldiers. All speakQuechua as their first language. Mostare monolingual. Their children learnSpanish in school but speak Quech-ua at home and in their neighbor-

hoods. Many cholos used to work onthe large hacienda landholdings of the upper class where they weregiven small plots of land to cultivatefor their own needs. Their housingand living conditions are consideredamong the poorest of all classes of Quechuas.

mestizos include carpenters, leather workers, butchers, truck and taxidrivers, factory workers, storekeepersand policemen. They are bilingual,learning both Quechua and Spanishduring childhood. They speakQuechua at home and amongfriends, and Spanish in public places.

A Bible in Cuzco

Quechua wasfirst printed as

early as 1901. The NewTestament was revisedand finished in 1947. In1988 the complete re-

vised Bible was pub-lished. SIL expects to dofuture literacy promotionin the Cuzco-CollaoQuechua dialect.

21

Cuzco-Collao Quechua

Paytaq nirqan: —Aswankusisamiyoqqa Diospa

siminta uyarispahunt'aqkunan, nispa.



1901, 1947, 1988

Life of Christ videoGenesis video

Cuzco-CoQuechu


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Men and women have clearly de-fined roles: men are responsible forplowing and raising crops, and

women are responsible for thehousehold chores and spinning the wool for clothing. The women orolder children also look after the live-stock, taking the animals to pasture.The children are expected to helptheir parents by caring for theiryounger brothers and sisters.

Sheep, cattle, andpigs are the mostcommon livestock,though a few Quech-uas also raise the

more traditional alpacas and llamas.The most common predators arelarge Andean foxes and eagles. In afew canyons, however, mountainlions also stalk the animals. Like KingDavid of old, Quechua shepherdsrely on slings, stones and sticks todefend their flocks.

Thieves are also a common threat,and many Quechua communitieshave organized night patrols to pro-tect themselves from rustlers. Witch-craft, the dangerous spirits of the

mountains, waterfalls, springs andlakes, plus different kinds of devilsand evil spirits also cause great fearamong the Quechuas. However, sev-eral thousand Quechua Christiansnow find comfort and peace in

verses like:

“Chayri Dyustalla tukuy shunqokasushpa, Dyabluta kuntrashunllapa.

Chayshinakuntraptinchiqmi,nuqanchiqkunamanda rin mitikaq.”

“Therefore, submit yourselves to

God, resist the devil and he will fleefrom you.” James 4:7

In 1981 SIL began workingin Cajamarca Quechua.

The New Testament isalmost finished. The Life of Christ video has been dubbed into the lan-guage and Quechua literacy classesare being conducted.

23

Cajamarca Quechua

2004father taytamother mamaland pacha

water yakufire ninasun rupaymoon killahouse wasiman runa

woman warmichild wambra

¿Imashinam kangi?‘How are you?’


CajamQuech


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Our heads aren’t tired*

Cajamarca Quechua Scripture Promotion

The Cajamarca Quechua people along with manyother Quechua speakers throughout the Andeshave a low opinion of their mother tongue. Mis-

takenly they have come to believe that theirlanguage is inferior to Spanish.

In many local mountain churches, even where fewpeople speak Spanish well, their mother tongue,Quechua, was not used for church services. Thereforethe promotion of Scripture in Quechua began longbefore the translation of the New Testament, in orderto prepare the Quechua speakers to receive God’s

word in their heart language.

In the early years of the Cajamarca Quechua transla-tion program, Cruz, a native Quechua speaker andone of the co-workers of the translation team, stood inthe crowded plaza of his village of Chetilla. In hishand was a bundle of Old Testament Stories inQuechua, the first published Scripture, that had justcome off the press. Cruz had helped translate thosestories.

“Would you like to see this book?” he said to eachperson who passed. “It’s God’s Word in Quechua.”“Not now,” some replied. “I’m in a hurry.” “I can’t

read,” said others, or, “Didn’t you bring any bread tosell?”

But some people stopped to look. “Is that really God’sWord? Please read it to me!” And when they heard,they said in amazement, “This doesn’t makemy head tired, like Spanish does.” “I’ve been anevangelical for years,” said one, “but I have never be-fore heard how God made the world.”

The people’s reaction ranged from apathy to mild in-terest to great excitement. The evangelical churches in

the Quechua areas have also shown mixed reactions.Some church leaders are opposed to using Quechuain church, even though their members do not under-stand the Spanish Scriptures. Other leaders allownewly trained teachers to read Quechua Scriptures intheir services, but they have never preached or taughtin Quechua themselves, even though it is their firstlanguage.

A complicating factor is that most Quechuapeople expect church services to be ritual, butnot communication. They feel no need to hearScripture, hymns or sermons which make sense. Theygo to church to please God by participating in a reli-gious ceremony.

Can anyone come to agenuine knowledge of theLord under these circum-stances? Some do—espe-cially the very few whoseSpanish is better thanmost. But the vast ma-

jority simply follow aset of rules. They livecut off from effectivesources of spiritual

nourishment.

* Adapted from Heidi Coombs, In Other Words, Vol 12, 1986.

24

Focus on Scripture Promotion


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Yet, God is working. One dayCruz walked to a neighboring

village to attend a baptism. He

took along copies of the Old Testa-ment Stories and Quechua chorusbooklets. The entire church service

was conducted in Spanish, as usual,but afterward the people gatheredaround to see the books. Cruz begantalking to them in Quechua. “Do youreally understand what you’re hear-ing?” he asked, “Now listen.” Thenhe read a brief passage of Scrip-ture in Spanish and asked ques-tions about the content. No onecould answer correctly. Next heread the same passage in Quechua

and asked the same questions. Eventhose who had never gone to schoolcould answer. “Read us some more!”they begged.

Cruz began to read the story of Jo-seph. By that time a large crowd hadgathered and his narration was punc-tuated by exclamations of delightand nodding of heads. About half-

way through he paused. “I don’t want to tire you, we can finish later,”he said. “No, go on!” they cried.“Our heads aren’t tired! We

want to hear the end!”

So Cruz went on. Soon he arrived atthe part where Joseph’s brothers, notrecognizing him as the ruler of Egypt,said to him, “Our brother died manyyears ago.” The crowd burst intolaughter. They loved the irony. Andwhen Cruz finally finished verylate that night, no one wantedhim to leave. So he stayed until thenext day, teaching Quechua cho-ruses to the people and readingmore Scripture.

In more recent years, music fes-tivals, cassette tapes, and aQuechua hymnal have stirred upgreat interest in Quechua Chris-tian music. When people hear the

words in their native language ac-companied by their own style of mu-sic, the message reaches their heartsand truly speaks to them. Recently

translated New Testament books areused as the basis for the words to thesongs, and melodies reflect the well

loved Quechua tunes. These songshave created more interest in study-ing God’s Word in Quechua.

In many churches, QuechuaChristian leaders are teachingBible based courses in Quech-ua. Pastors and leaders have learnedto read more fluently and to preparelessons and sermons in Quechua us-ing culturally relevant illustrations.They are also using drama, music,and the Life of Christ video to com-municate the Good News in

Quechua.

25

The Cajamarca Quechua people arebeginning to understand that their mother

tongue is capable of giving life to amessage that has been considered dead

for so long.


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The capital of the provinceof Corongo is also calledCorongo. It has become

known as “the townof the padlocks” be-cause over the last30 years, perhapsmore than half of itsinhabitants havelocked up their

houses and gone tolive in Lima or else- where on the coast.Many young people of the surround-ing communities have done thesame, in search of further education,

jobs, and better lives. Most of themdo not return to live in Corongoonce they leave. Many, however,make an effort to return home for theannual fiesta of Tayta Pedru (cele-bration of Saint Peter) on June 29,traveling in caravans of buses fromthe coast. Those who make the trip

are demonstrating loyalty to theplace of their birth and their youth,and also to their families. This fiestatime in June is the main time of year

when extended families get together.

Corongo is located approximately557 kilometers north of Lima—thetrip taking about 24 hours. The Pan

American Highway going north takesthe travelers first through one of thedriest deserts on earth, a ribbonof sand along the Peruvian Pacificcoast. Leaving the highway, the busturns east and slowly winds upthrough the mountains. Crossing a

14,000 foot pass it descends into thebeautiful green Callejón de Huaylas(Huaylas Valley). The bus continuesdescending alongside the SantaRiver through the Cañon del Pato(Duck Canyon), where it passesthrough a myriad of tunnels. Aftertraversing yet another desert at about4,000 feet, it climbs back up to over10,000 feet and arrives at the city of Corongo.

Corongo’s pallas are well knownthroughout Peru. They have an im-

portant part in the June fiesta. Noone knows exactly how this customoriginated, but it appears to be manycenturies old. The palla dancersperform a graceful dance in thestreets that imitates the soaringof a bird. The wide sleeves of thecostume represent the bird’s wings,and the elaborate headdress, cov-ered with multicolored flowers, rib-bons, and feathers represents thebird’s head plumage. Traditionally,only young ladies who have not yetmarried are chosen as pallas. But asthe population in the area has de-creased, married women have beenallowed to participate. Little girls be-gin learning the dance when they are

very small.

The dancing pallas are accompaniedby a musical group of three or fourmen who play the traditional violin,reed flute, skin drum, and sometimes

26

Corongo Quechua (Group I)Population: 8,500. Location: Northern region of the

state of Ancash, at the northernmostpart of the Cordillera Blanca (White

Range).


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a harp. The flute player also simulta-neously plays the drum. Shacshadancers wear bands of shacapa seeds

tied around their lower legs that rat-tle when they dance. The seeds pro- vide a pleasing percussion sound when the dancers stomp their feet atthe appropriate times. Every year anew melody is created especially forthe fiesta and is added to the reper-toire of former melodies. The melo-dies are soft, haunting, andsometimes a little sad.

Corongo Quechuas livemuch as their fathers andgrandfathers did as subsis-

tence farmers. They grow wheat,barley, corn, and several varieties of potatoes, cabbage, onions, peas,beans, habas, and many kinds of herbs. Alfalfa is grown to feed theirguinea pigs. Too steep for tractors,their fields are plowed using a

wooden plow and a pair of oxen.Grains are harvested by hand, usinga sickle. The people carry large bun-dles of sheaves on their backs to thethreshing floor where horses andmules tread the grain. While the ani-mals rest, family members throw the

threshed grain into the air with wooden winnowing forks whichblows much of the chaff away.

Family cooking is donein clay pots set on a fire of eucalyptus wood. The

Quechua womenprepare an infinite

variety of flavorfulsoups. The familycould probably eatsoup every day fortwo months and not

have one repeat.

Spanish, the language of high prestige, is the lan-guage of choice on the

streets of the city of Corongo. In theoutlying communities, however, peo-ple feel more comfortable speakingQuechua. Here children still enterschool speaking very little Spanish.

Language survey done bySIL personnel in l986-87showed that the people of

Corongo need reading materials dis-tinct from those being produced inConchucos and Huaylas, the two va-rieties of Quechua most closely re-lated to Corongo Quechua. Newpersonnel are being assigned toCorongo to research possible transla-tion needs.

27

Corongo Quechua

father tëtamother mamaland patsa

water yacufire ninasun rupëmoon quillahouse wasiman runa

woman warmichild wamra

¿Imanöllatan quëcanqui?‘How are you?’

survey of translationneed in progress

CoronQuech


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The Huallaga Quechuaslive in the geographiccenter of Peru, along the

eastern Andes. Culturally HuallagaQuechuas closely resemble thePachitea Quechuas in beliefs, folk-

lore, marriage practices, style of dress, agriculture,house styles anddiet. These twogroups show aclose affinity toeach other, andregard theQuechua peopleto the west andto the south asdifferent.

Despite the many common practices,the Huallaga and Pachitea Quechuasdo differ linguistically and culturally.Linguistically the vocabulary variesgreatly between the Huallaga andPachitea dialects. Because they are

on the geographic edge of theQuechua-speaking area, PachiteaQuechua is considered a “relic dia-lect”. It has been the last to undergothe waves of changes coming fromthe “centers of innovation” to the

west. Culturally, Pachitea has pre-served some beliefs and prac-tices that date back to the timeof the Incas, such as having analtar near each house to makeofferings to the spirit of themountain. The Pachitea Quechuasare generally a bit more conservative

than the Huallaga Quechuas.

Spaniards invaded theHuallaga valley before1540. From then until the

Agrarian Reform of 1968, most agri-cultural land was held as haciendas,particularly in the rich valleys thatsurround the upper Huallaga River,but also in some independent com-munities in the more remote areas.The Huallaga Quechuas were madeto be completely dependent on their patróns. They became quite western-ized and subservient as a result. Be-cause the people were generallydenied education, most Quechuaspeaking adults today have little orno formal education. There are someindependent communities in themore remote areas.

28

Huallaga Quechua (Group I)Population: 40,000. Location: The Districts of

Churubamba, Santa Maria del Valle,Huánuco, Amarilis, and San Fran-

cisco de Cayán in the Province of Huánuco. The Huallaga River flowsthrough these districts and the sev-eral communities located in the prov-ince of Leoncio Prado in the jungle.


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Most of the older Huallaga women wear traditional dress of a long,black, multipleated skirt over many

woolen petticoats, a white blouse with elaborate embroidery on thefront, and numerous homespun

white shawls. One is worn over thehead to protect them from the hot

Andean sun. Younger Huallaga women now tend to wear skirts andblouses in bright solid colors made of store-bought cloth rather thanhomespun.

Traditionally the menmigrate seasonally tothe jungle to work crops

such as coca and tea. Some havebenefited considerably from theboom in the cocaine industry and asa result many young men now owncars, motorcycles, televisions, and ra-dios. Modern technology and materi-alism have brought many changes tothe traditional Quechua world.

Non-print media is veryimportant in the HuallagaQuechua area because the

educational level is low. For morethan five years Huallaga Quechua

Christians have conducted a25-minute radio program in Quech-ua each weekday morning. It com-bines Bible reading in Quechua andQuechua Christian music. The read-ing and rereading of books from theOld and New Testaments has cre-ated a large, faithful audience.

Video is another impor-tant non-print media.From the New Media Bible,

which closely follows the text of Scripture, the Gospel of Luke andthe book of Genesis have beendubbed into Huallaga Quechua.There is a great demand to showthese in churches and municipali-ties, and even at big birthday par-ties. Thousands of people havebeen deeply impressed by seeingthe videos while hearing the Scrip-ture in their own language.

SIL began working withHuallaga Quechua in 1973.

Bible translation of both the Old and New Testa-ments is in progress. Primers andreading materials are being pre-pared to encourage the people toread in their mother tongue. A tri-lingual dictionary in HuallagaQuechua, Spanish,and English hasalso beencompleted.

29

Huallaga Quechua

Niptin “Chaypa rucangacushicuchun Dios

willacachishanta wiyarrurajcuna” niran.

He replied, “Blessed ratherare those who hear the word

of God and obey it.”Luke 11:28

Luke, Genesis, and Acts

in progress

Trilingual dictionary 1999

Quechua-Spanish-English

HuallaQuech


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The language area beginsapproximately 90 kilometersnorthwest of the city of

Huánuco. Bordered on the west bythe state of Ancash, it drops downinto the Amazon jungle in the east.The upper Marañón River is a natu-ral geographic boundary to theregion.

Huamalíes is rich with pre-Incaruins, including the interesting cliff dwellings at Inca Nani as well as themulti-leveled structures or “skyscrap-ers” of Tantamayo.

Most Huamalíes Quech-uas are subsistence

farmers living in small vil-lages scattered along the slopesat altitudes of 10,000 to 12,000feet. The hills surrounding the

villages are a patchwork of fieldscultivated mostly by the use of a

hand-held foot plow called achaquitaclla. A wide variety of potatoes and tuber crops aregrown, including corn, wheat,barley, and quinua, ahigh-protein Andean grain.

The number of fields and animals afamily owns generally measures afamily’s wealth. The women or chil-dren usually take the animals tograze on nearby slopes while themen do the farming. Herbs andgrasses are also collected each day tofatten up the guinea pigs whichthrive in the warmth and security of dark corners in the kitchens. The

guinea pigs are butchered only onfestive occa-sions or whenguests arrive,as a specialmeal for thefamily and their guests.

Huamalíes Quechuawomen are experts inpreparing hot, tasty soups

to warm and nourish their families.Cooking is done in large pots overan open fire of eucalyptus wood. A

typical daily menu may include suchinteresting dishes as toqosh, shinti,and machca. Toqosh, a pudding-likedish made of potatoes that havebeen buried in a well for several

weeks, is a local favorite. Outsidersare told that if they can get past thestrong smell and the slightly slimytexture, the taste is delicious. Shinti ismade much like hominy, but fromtoasted habas. Machca is a breakfastfood made from toasted whole-grainbarley. It is served with a spoon anda large cup of coffee. Most mix

spoonfuls of the powdered substance with their coffee and eat it as a paste.Others take it dry and follow it with abig gulp of coffee. A word of cautionfor the novice: inhaling while eatingmachca can be hazardous to yourhealth.

30

Huamalíes Quechua (Group I)Population: 72,500. Location: The eastern slopes of

the central Peruvian Andes in theprovinces of Huamalíes and Dos de

Mayo in the state of Huánuco.


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Homes have very thickwalls made from packedearth, usually with only one

opening for a doorway. Though theyare dark and cave-like with theirearthen walls and floors, the housesare constructed without windows tokeep the frigid Andean air from fur-ther invading the living area. Peoplesleep with heavy, hand-woven blan-kets on mattresses of piled sheep-skins. Clothing is mostly woolen for

warmth. Men wear large ponchos,and women wear a colorful blan-ket-like shawl called a jacu. They es-pecially like bright colors, which area cheerful contrast to the earthen

tones of their environment.

Because the Huamalíes Quechua liveand work perched on steep moun-tain slopes, they have a natural fearof falling. This is reflected in theirlanguage, which includes many dif-ferent words to express falling. Theyare also intimately familiar with theconcept of heavy burdens since themain way of getting things fromplace to place is by tying incrediblyheavy bundles on their backs. Per-haps that’s why Bible verses such as

Matthew 11:28, 30 hold vivid en-couragement for them:

“Ima ruraytapis mana camäpacur laquish cawagcunaga lapayqui

nogata chasquicayämay.Chasquicayämaptiquega ali

cawaytami goyäshayquipä....Nogamunashgäno cawayänayquipäga

manami ajasu caycan.”

“Come to me, all ye that labor andare heavy laden, and I will give yourest…for my yoke is easy, and my

burden is light.”

SIL began working amongthe Huamalíes Quechuapeople in 1980. The New

Testament is in final revision.The Life of Christ video is beingshown in the language. Literacy ac-tivities are encouraging the people tolearn to read.

31

Huamalíes Quechua

Sayno niptin Jes'usnergan: —Mäma

cushicushgannölamitayta Diosninsi nishganta

chasquicur wiyacogcunapis cushish

caycäyan.

He replied, “Blessedrather are those who

hear the word of Godand obey it.” Luke 11:28


2003

HuamaQuech


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Most speakers of HuaylasQuechua live in small com-munities along 125-mile

Callejón de Huaylas. The fertile val-ley between the Cordillera Negraand Cordillera Blanca Mountains isdominated by 30 major peaks more

than 20,000 feet above sea level.Mount Huascarán, the highest gla-cier located in the tropics, standsabove Yungay (8,500 feet) at 22,205feet above sea level. Nowhere else inthe world, even in the Himalayas, dotowns with substantial populationslike those in the Callejón exist soclose to glaciers like those in the An-dean Cordillera Blanca range.

The Callejón de Huaylas is made upof numerous mini-regions, each withits own distinct customs, foods,

dress, and in some cases, language variations. When someone in thecommunity of Recuayhuanca has ahouse-roofing party, the cooks al-

ways prepare an extra pot of hot chi-cha morada (purple corn punch) tothrow at the bricklayers. The brick-layers have their own preparation of lime water. The exchange adds to

the festive atmosphere. However,once when cooks from Recuay-huanca tried their prank on the brick-layers at a house-roofing party inanother town, the unsuspectingbricklayers were offended, andquickly left the party.

Names of places often commemoratesignificant events. It is said that as farback as Inca times the community of Qollawasi (woman house) producedsome of the most beautiful women of the area. Laguna Rocotuyoq (lake

where hot peppers grow) near thecommunity of Vicos supposedly gotits name when two shepherdessesdiscovered it to be dry one day.Where once there had been a lake,they found hot peppers growing. Intheir greed to pick all the peppers

they could carry, they didn’t noticethat the lake had begun to refill. Tothis day, two large boulders in theshape of women are visible just be-low the surface of the lake.

The Callejón de Huaylashas a moderate climate

where farmers cultivate po-tatoes, corn, grains, and a few vege-tables for their family’s consumption.Chicken soup made with whole

wheat and spicy roast guinea pig isthe meal of choice for special occa-

sions. At wakes in the lower end of the valley, cabbage soup and squashpudding is usually served. At wakesin the upper end of the valley boiledhominy and meat stew are generallyserved.

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Huaylas Quechua (Group I)Population: 336,000. Location: Callejón de Huaylas in

the state of Ancash. The valley in-cludes the provinces of Huáraz,

Carhuaz, Yungay, Caraz, andRecuay. Other speakers of the lan-guage live in the adjoining provincesof Aija and Huaylas.


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Legend says that peopleinhabited the area long be-fore the Inca Empire. A

story is told about how Huascar andWandï, children of the powerful op-posing kings fell in love, much totheir parents’ displeasure. The cou-ple would meet secretly, but wordgot back to one of the kings when aguard spotted them. Soldiers weresent out, and as punishment, the pair

was tied to seats facing each other.God mercifully responded to theirtears and sorrow by turning theminto mountains of ice that are with ustoday. Huascar is Mount Huascarán

whose tears continue to fill Orqon

Qocha. Wandï is Mount Huándoy.Her tears continue to fill ChïnanQocha in the mountain pass betweenthe two peaks.

Another legend tells how Inca mes-sengers passed through the Callejónde Huaylas carrying gold to ransom

Atahualpa, who was being held cap-tive by Pizarro in Cajamarca at thetime. After spending the night in thetown of Mancos, the messengers for-got one of their sacks of gold. A fewdays later when they realized it was

missing, they retraced their steps,and there it was, right where theyhad left it.

In 1970 the Callejón de Huaylas washard hit by an earthquake mea-suring 7.7 on the Richter scale. It isestimated that a fourth of the popu-lation lost their lives. The town of

Yungay was buried under twenty

feet of mud when the shaking jarredloose a huge chunk of ice fromMount Huascarán. In the three min-

utes it took for the alluvión to reachthem, the only people to survive were those attending a circus locatedon a hillside and those fortunateenough to reach the top of the ceme-tery hill.

SIL began work in theCallejón de Huaylas in1965. Scripture transla-

tion is in progress. Print andnon-print literature production anddistribution, bilingual teacher trainingcourses, Scripture promotion

courses, the Life of Christ video, andradio programs are other activitiessuccessfully producing an enthusias-tic audience for the New Testament.

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Huaylas Quechua

Tseynam Jesus yaskirqankeynow: —Antis Dyospapalabranta wiyar kasukur

alli ruraqkunam, maskushishqaqa kayan.




2006

HuayQuech


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AN OFFERING MULTIPLIED BY GOD

Christian Radio Programs in Huaylas Quechua

In 1997 two Quechua men, co-translators of theHuaylas Quechua translation program, received amoney gift from a US visitor to use however they

saw fit. Pushpi and Yepo knew of a promising new ra-dio station in Yungay, the town, now rebuilt, that wasburied under mud and rocks in the 1970 earthquake.They decided to air a weekly Scripture-based programin Quechua called Alli Willaquï (Good News).

Each Saturday afternoonthe two men made thehour-and-a-half bus trip

from Huáraz to Yungay tobroadcast their programlive. After two months the of-fering had nearly run out, andthe men began sayinggood-byes to their audience.

When a young girl about eight years old heard thatthe radio program she enjoyed so much could soongo off the air, she approached her father with an idea.Would it be possible to take one of the sheepshe cared for to market, sell it, and give theearnings to help the radio program continue?Her father agreed. The money from the sale of thesheep was given as an offering to the radio program.Over the air Pushpi and Yepo thanked the girl for heroffering that would help keep the program on the air abit longer.

Hearing about the little girl’s offering, another listenerdecided, “If a small girl can help keep this good pro-gram on the air, I can give something too!” Hesent in a generous offering.

In the remote village of Aruhuay, a mother whosesons had moved to the coast, was regularly taping AlliWillaquï and sending the cassettes to them. They thor-

oughly enjoyed receiving the tapes. They too sent inan offering.

Offerings continued to arrive at the radio station withmany letters of appreciation for the program. Someletters were even written in Quechua! In nearly twoyears hundreds of letters have been received. Theprogram is now FULLY supported by the offeringsfrom Quechua listeners. The owner of the radio sta-tion says the tremendous response from listeners tellshim this is the most popular program on his station.

Here is a letter from one Quechua man:

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Focus on Christian Radio

Dear Brothers,

We greet you from the hamlet of Chancarumi. We are listening tothe program Alli Willaquï (Good News). How wonderful it is in our Quechua language. Each Satur-day we wait with anticipation for the program to air.

We don’t want this program toend. We appreciate very much

the things that you say and your counsel by radio. They are for all, both old and young alike.

With this letter I send a small offering. May God cover you with His Holy Spirit.

(Signed), J.L.C.


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The Quechua people of the Cotahuasi area livenear one of the world’s

deepest canyons, parts of whichfall two miles below the rim. Morethan 600 years ago the people con-structed thousands of terraces toconvert parts of the canyon wall intostrips of land that could be culti-

vated. They chose to make these

fields along the hillsides where the valley walls were not too steep!

The Inca “foot-plow” isstill used widely in the areabecause a team of oxen

pulling a plow is too wide and can-not turn on the narrow terraces. To-day blades for the foot-plow aremade from discarded truck springs!

It is hard work to till the soil by handso the men like to work together inrhythm to the sound of music. Thearea is semi-arid, and all crops are

grown by a combination of irrigationand rain. Most villages don’thave enough water and the peoplesay, “If only we had more water, we

wouldn’t fight so much!” Work par-ties often turn into drinking parties.

Alcoholism is a major socialproblem.

There is no extra available land for

agriculture to support an increase inpopulation, so many of the Cotahuasiyoung people are migrating to largercities or the coast in search of work.Many who have left their communi-ties make a visit home during one of the annual fiestas. Each town and

village has two or three fiestas everyyear. It is a time when they performtraditional dances, share news andgossip, eat good food and drink alot. Some communities may also en-

joy a bullfight, a custom that was in-troduced by the Spaniards. The

matadores (bullfighters) and the bullsare from the local community. Thebulls are of great value to their own-ers and generally are not hurt. Thebullfighters are the ones who maysuffer injuries.

Outside the valley on a vast highplateau, where no crops can grow,hundreds of llama and alpaca herd-ers live as nomads. They comedown to the valley periodically totrade dried meat for corn and pota-toes, and during harvest time totrade work for produce. Using theirllamas they transport produce downto road stands where the owners sellit. The alpacas are not pack animals,but are valued for their fine wool.

Every February the peopleperform a ceremony to blesstheir cows. Days before the

ceremony they prepare a lot of

La Unión-Cotahuasi Quechua (group II c)Population: 19,000. Location: State of Arequipa,

province of La Unión.


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fermented corn drink, buy fruit, and wrap small amounts of grain with abit of fat in corn husks. The owner of

the cows invites family and friends tothe corral, where the ceremony takesplace. He gives each guest one of theprepared cornhusks and asks him tobless the cows.

The owner then prays to the earthsaying, “Mother Earth, look after myanimals.” Or he may pray to the lo-cal mountain peak saying, “Grandfa-ther Mountain, look after myanimals. Make my animals repro-duce! May they have lots of grass toeat!” Then he blows three times onto

the little bundle of grain and throwsit into a fire to burn. Each familymember and guest does the same.Next they string the fruit onto ropesand decorate the cows. They alsoput ribbons in the cows’ ears andthrow other fruit at the cows. Thenthe owner and his guests drink fer-mented corn drink.

Whenever the people drink theypour a few drops onto the ground asa small offering to Mother Earth.There are certain old corrals that

have a “living rock”. These rockscause people to get boils or skin dis-eases. By making a small drink offer-ing in these corrals, and praying, “Ioffer this to you. Please do not riseup against us!” they hope to appeasethe spirits of these living rocks.

There are many mountain peaks oneither side of the Cotahuasi valley.Everybody has a certain peakthat protects him. But some peo-ple don’t know which peak is theirs,so they pray to various peaks that

are nearby. The mountain peak is arevered figure to the Quechuas, likea grandfather. In the past they per-formed a yearly ceremony to ask thepeak to watch over their animals.Now they perform a simple cere-mony of reverence to the mountains

whenever they drink “firewater” ortheir home-brewed corn drink. Theydip a thumb and forefinger into the

drink, then snap that finger towardthe mountain, saying, “I honoryou, grandfather mountain” (givingthe name of the mountain). At

times they burn incense andoffer a short prayer to themountain itself (not to a spiritbeing), asking it to take careof their animals.

SIL began workingamong the Quechuapeople of La Unión

in 1985. Bible translationis in progress and teachersare being trained to prepareand use school materials inQuechua so that the school

children and their parentslearn to read and write intheir mother tongue.

La Unión-Cotahuasi Quechua

Jesustaq nisqa: —Aswanmikusisqa Diospa rimasqanta

uyarispa kasukuqkunaqa,nispa.




in progress

La Unión-CotQuechu


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The Lambayeque Quech-ua people are hard work-ing peasant farmers. They

plant corn, wheat, peas, habas (largeflat beans), potatoes, and other An-dean tubers like ollucos and oqas.

Their main protein sources arecheese and legumes. They raisesheep for wool and meat. Most fami-lies have a number of cattle as their“savings account.”

In February Quechua farm-ers are in their fields shoul-dering heavy pouches of

wheat and spraying out a shower of seed with each flick of the wrist.

In August these farmers cut the stalksof grain with sickles and pile the bun-

dles on a threshing floor. There, as ingenerations past, horses are drivenaround a circle over heaps of har-

vest. Once it is threshed and win-nowed, the golden grain is stored in

hand-woven sacks for the year tocome. At night children may sitaround the kitchen fire in their adobehome while their mother fries deli-cious tortillas made from the wheatharvested that day.

The Quechuas of Lambayequehave maintained their languageand distinct culture in the midstof the “Spanish cultural sea” sur-rounding them. They have kept theirtraditional dress, community workpractices, religious customs such asnaming and baptizing a child, achild’s first hair cut, and marriageand burial rites.

The people are very reli-gious within their tradi-

tional framework, whichcombines Roman Catholic andanimistic beliefs and rituals.

The mountains figure prominently inLambayeque Quechua thought.They are considered to be living be-ings, each with their own name andpersonality. Inside the mountains aresocieties that resemble human soci-ety. The sirkakuna ‘mountain spirits’inhabit the towns. It is believed thatthey can grab a person’s sumra‘soul’, when the person is frightened,dislodging the sumra from the

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Lambayeque Quechua (Group II a)Population: 20,000. Location: State of Lambayeque

in northern Peru. 2,000 to 3,000speakers have migrated to the

coastal cities. The people living inthe mountain area are spread acrossfour political districts in approxi-mately 130 towns accessible mostlyby foot or on horseback.


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person’s body. If the sumra is notcalled back to its body, the person

will die and his spirit will join the

mountain spirits in their communityinside the mountains. To be curedthe person must be cleansed at mid-night with a black, grayish, or blackand white guinea pig. The guinea pigis moved over the person’s body and

then thrown outside asan offering to the

mountain so it will let the sumra go.

Historically the peopleof this area have resistedanything which chal-

lenged their traditions. But withthe new road from the coast and

with improvement in education, thearea is experiencing numerouschanges. Now there is a greateropenness to non-traditional ideas, in-cluding more interest in a marketeconomy and new spiritual values.

SIL began working in

Lambayeque Quechua in1991 and Bible transla-

tion is in progress. Both print andnon-print media are used to encour-age reading in the mother tongue.Literacy classes are being conducted,and the Life of Christ video is beingshown in Quechua. TheLambayeque people are alsoproducing their own radioprograms using Scripturereading in Quechua and Quechuamusic.

The Word of God—the “GoodSeed”—says: “The blood of Jesus …purifies us from all sin” (1 John 1:7).Slowly this truth in their language isfreeing the people of Lambayequefrom their fear of the spirits and isgiving them true cleansing from thepower of evil.

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Lambayeque Quechua

Chaynu nitinmi Jisusqaniran: —Ashwan kusashumaqqa kanqallapa,

chay Dyus nishankunatauyar, chaymanta chay

nishannullata ruraqkuna!

He replied, “Blessed ratherare those who hear the

word of God and obey it.”Luke 11:28

2004

Luke and Genesis videos

LambayQuech


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The Quechua speakers inthe Yarowilca-Lauricocha-Margos area share many

cultural similarities with speakers of other Quechua dialects. Potatoesare one of the main staples of thispeasant agricultural society. Sheepprovide the wool they use to makeblankets, ponchos, and skirts.

Women often work inthe fields alongsidethe men, joining them

in the mid-morning when theybring lunch out to the field. Thegrandmother or other childrentake care of the baby while themother goes about her daily

work. Besides tending his ownfields, a man also takes time tohelp in the fields of his in-laws.The people say their grandfathersand great-grandfathers were rich

with lots of land and animals. To-

day, family plots have become sosmall that most siblings now mi-grate to the cities because there isnot enough land to support all of them.

Entering into a traditional Quechuamarriage is no easy matter. First, acouple must find someone to be their“guarantee.” This person commitshimself to be a life-long marital coun-selor for the couple. If they aren’tgetting along or are having prob-lems, a good counselor is expectedto step in and literally “whip them”into shape! Before marriage a pro-

spective couple must endure an allnight counseling session during

which family members from bothsides give advice, chastise them, and

warn them about the difficulties of marriage. Traditionally, a new cou-ple goes to live with the groom’s par-ents until they eventually are able toestablish their own home. Themother-in-law teaches the new bride.

Customs and traditions aredisappearing in the largertowns. In the smaller

Quechua hamlets, however, they stillcontinue. For example, there is atime of year when “inspectors”may come into a home at anytime, day or night, without warning.They check to see how clean and or-derly the pots, blankets, clothes, andthe rest of the household is. Theyeven inspect the children and adultsto be sure they are clean and neatlygroomed!

The people believe that themountains are home to thespirit of the mountain. One

day, for example, in an effort to stopthe rain that had continued formonths, some men removed two an-cient mummies from a cave. Theycarried the mummies to the moun-tain peak so the mountain mightblow away the rain through themummies. The rain stopped not justfor a few minutes or a few hours. It

Margos-Yarowilca-Lauricocha Quechua (Group I)Population: 114,000. Location: State of Huánuco, in

the provinces of Yarowilca,Lauricocha, and Margos, as well as

parts of Dos de Mayo in the jungle.


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stopped raining for days. TheQuechua people are very aware of

spiritual powers around them.

Beliefs about powers affect theunderstanding of Scripture. It isimportant that the translator under-stand what the people believe and

why they believe it. Only then can hebe sure that the translated Scripture

will communicate the correct mean-ing. In I Peter, Chapter 2, Jesus iscalled a “living stone.” This refers toHim as providing a solid foundationfor the Christian faith, and to His res-urrection from the dead. The Quech-uas have their own idea about whata living stone is. For them a livingstone refers to certain rocks in old ru-ins. Touching one will cause a per-son’s flesh to rot away! People claimthese rocks have other mysteriouspowers as well.

The Quechua church in theMargos-Yarowilca-Lauricochaarea is growing, but it is still

difficult for many leaders to useQuechua Scripture because they donot know how to read Quechua well.Music has encouraged Quechua be-lievers greatly. They love to singpraise songs in their own language,set to their own melodies. In fact,some people simply take theirQuechua hymnbooks and sing totheir friends and neighbors as a wayto share their faith.

SIL has been working in theMargos-Yarowilca-Lauricocha

area since 1984. Scripturetranslation is in progress. Liter-acy materials are being developed toaid adults to become fluent readersin their mother tongue. School-teachers receive training to teachreading and writing in Quechua.

Margos-Yarowilca-Lauricocha Quechua

Tsaynog niptin Jesúsnergan: —Mamä

cushicushgannoglamiDiosnintsi nishganta

chasquicurcäsucogcunapis cushishga

carcayan.




2003

MargQuech


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Saint Toribio deMogrovejo first evangelizedthe Conchucos area at the

end of the 16th century. Not long af-terwards, Franciscan monks estab-lished the first church inPomabamba. During the 1940s,Walter and Leif Erickson made anevangelistic trip on donkey back

through Conchucos. A number of Pentecostal churches remain todayas a result of their campaign.

The Quechuas of NorthConchucos are primarilypeasant subsistence

farmers. They grow tubers, grains,and corn along with a variety of herbs and vegetables. Family groupslive in hamlets in the midst of theirfields, at altitudes from 6,000 to13,000 feet above sea level. Theirhomes are made of adobe brickplastered with mud, with eucalyptusbeams and roofs of clay tile orthatch. They herd sheep and goats,plow with oxen or horses, and usedonkeys and horses as beasts of

burden. Women are often responsi-ble for herding sheep at higherelevations.

The majority of marriages are com-mon law. Normally, a couple will livetogether and have children beforethey solidify their marital commit-ment. Prospective mates may comefrom the same town but cannot becousins either on the father’s or

mother’s side. Often, when a youngman marries, he builds his newhome next to the home of his par-ents and continues to cultivate thesame land as his father. He and hisbrothers will eventually inherit the fa-ther’s land.

Children are highly valued. If a cou-ple has no children or only girls, it isconsidered a minor disgrace, as boysare needed to help with farming. TheRoman Catholic rite of infant bap-tism is very important for an infant to

become a full human being. Withoutthis rite his soul would go to hell.For the sake of solidarity within theculture, godparents are sought whohave higher social or economic pres-tige than the parents do. The role of the godparents is to give moral andspiritual guidance to theirgodchildren.

North Conchucos Quechua (Group I)Population: 250,000. Location: In the eastern part of

the state of Ancash, fromPomabamba to San Luís, and in the

northwestern part of the state of Huánuco in Huacrachuco.


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Quechuas highly value harmony andsolidarity in their relationships. Their

ideal is for people to help, love, re-spect, and trust one another. Theirsocial structure is based on recipro-cating responsibilities and obligationsbet

People of Peru

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Transcript of People of Peru