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coca’s physlologlcaleffects
The scientific evidence against coca chewing (as opposed to cocaine use) is weak at best; the evi-
dence in favor of the positive functions of coca chewing is mounting. Past campaigns to abolish
coca have always failed in Peru and Bolivia, to be sure, but if current or future projects prove suc-
cessful, the cultural and biological consequences could be devastating.
This paper intends to support Bolton’s statement by demonstrating the crucial cultural role
of coca chewing.
Throughout the Andes, virtually all aspects of coca use are highly ceremonialized. There
is, however, a certain amount of regional variation in the customs involved. The particular
etiquette I learned is typical of the sierra of Paucartambo and much of the rest of the
Department of Cuzco.
Runa place great emphasis on ceremony. Virtually all personal interactions are governed
by highly stylized forms of etiquette; conversations are “framed” by elaborate greetings,
thank-yous, farewells, and expressions of mutual esteem. In coca chewing, interpersonal
ceremony blends into religious ritual. Hallpay, the act of chewing coca, i s on the one hand
a relaxing break in the routine; on the other hand, it is a ritual act. Most Quechua rituals
can be understood as extensions of coca-chewing etiquette, a simple bit of good manners
which every Runa observes many times each day.
This paper is not concerned with the more elaborate rituals and ceremonies, but focuses
specifically on routine hallpay etiquette, forms of behavior that express essential principles
of Andean culture yet are, for the anthropologist’s purposes, “as public as marriage and as
observable as agriculture” (Ceertz 1966:3).
To describe the etiquette I give an account of a coca-chewing session that took place in
the house compound where I lived in mid-May of 1975.Dona Juana stopped by t o visit her
sister Dona Maria, as she had agreed to pasture Maria’s cow. The two sat down t o visit for a
while and, because Juana was doing her a service, Maria offered her a small handful of
coca saying, Hallpakuy Mamay, “Please chew, Mama.” Juana accepted with both hands;
accepting with one hand would have been rude. Yusulpayki Urpillay, “Thank you, dear,”
she answered. The two settled down to chew together, spreading their coca cloths on the
ground in front of them and settling down for a good visit.
Hallpay i s no hurried affair. It i s a meditative interlude, a time for quiet conversation, an
opportunity t o settle one’s thoughts and feelings and prepare for the task ahead. The two
women talked quietly as they searched the contents of their bundles or gazed out over the
hills that surrounded them. People never continue working during hallpay, nor do they in-
terrupt their hallpay until ready to return t o their mundane activities.
Reciprocity is the essence of the ceremony that surrounds coca chewing. Although Juana
and Maria shared with each other, first each of them shared with the Earth and Mountains,
spiritual beings who surround them and are continually felt. They searched for their best
leaves -dark, shiny green, sweet-tasting, unblemished by ragged edges, unspoiled by mold.
Taking three or more leaves, Juana placed one on top of the other, holding them between
the thumb and the forefinger of her right hand. This small bundle i s the k’intu. She waved
the k’intu in front of her mouth, blowing on it and invoking the “powers that be,” adding a
the Quechua organlzatlon of space Runa consider themselves descendents of the In-
cas, who, they say, were driven by the Spanish out of Cuzco and into the tropical forest.
These Incas. it is said, had a close personal relationship with their physical environment.
They could talk directly to the Earth and Mountains, and could literally herd gigantic
boulders into fortresses. People now must move the rocks and can communicate with the
Earth and Mountains only indirectly through the medium of coca.
The Incas commanded an extremely complex social, political, and religious organiza-
tion which was grounded in a sophisticated organization of space, both in the vertical
and horizontal dimensions (Zuidema 1964,1977,1978; Murra 1975; Duviols 1971; Wachtel
1973; Urbano 1974; Earls 1969, 1972). In the vertical dimension, the ecological zones at
various altitudes were integrated as interdependent parts of a system, each producing
products necessary for the existence of the whole (Murra 1975:59-116). In the horizontal
dimension, low valleys and high tundra alike were integrated into a complex system of
ceques, which are straight lines radiating like spokes of a wheel from the city of Cuzco.
Each ceque was associated with sacred places through which it passed, as well as with
specific social groups (Zuiderna 1964).
Presumably, Sonquenos and other Runa are descendents of the rural class of lncaic
society who participated in the empire but were never at the centers of power and intellec-
tual life. Nevertheless, these rural Incas, as participants in a more general lncaic thought
structure, would have shared the basic conceptualization of space and time. These con-
cepts have, in large part, survived the centuries of conquest. Contemporary Quechua s t i l l
integrate space, time, kinship, and social organization into a cosmological framework built
essentially along lncaic lines.
Quechua spatial organization is partially a product of the mountainous Andean environ-
ment, where the space around one is punctuated on all sides by landmarks. In such an en-
vironment, “nearer and farther,” ”up and down,” tend to be expressed through reference to
specific places -usually mountain peaks-rather than in kilometers or degrees of space.
Moreover, these reference points shift when one moves even a short distance. As one’s
location changes, new mountains and valleys come into view while others recede behind
nearer hills and ridges, now interposed at a new angle. Each locality thus has a specific and
unique spatial orientation.
These two points are essential to Quechua conceptions of space: every place has (1) a
unique spatial orientation, as well as (2) an ever-expanding regional orientation, defined by
ever-higher mountain peaks. This organization of space originates in the physical nature of
the Andean environment but has far-reaching effects in Quechua religion.
Tlrakunr: the prronr of placer The closest, omnipresent deity in Quechua religion is
Pacharnama (Mother Earth). She is “undifferentiated ground,” not localized in any one
ruler for the lnvocatlon Here are a few examples of pukuys I heard in Sonqo.
A. “Santa lira, Tirakuna, Sonqo.”
B. “Santa lira, Kinsa Qocha, Antaqaqa chiripata, Machukuna.”
C. “Pachatira Mama, Machula Aulanchis, Aukikuna. Manan para paranmanchu tarpunay-
paq. “
Example A illustrates a minimal discharging of good hallpay manners. The actor simply calls
on (1) the Mother Earth (who may be called Santa lira, Pachamama, or Pachatira Mama); (2)
the sacred places (Tirakuna, Urqokuna, Apukuna, Aukikuna); and (3) his ayllu (community;
see below). These basic rules for doing pukuy were articulated by Don Cipriano. Within the
rules the individual has quite a bit of leeway, however, as examples 6 and C illustrate.
Example 6 shows a different way of expressing rules 2 and 3 (above). Instead of using
a generic name for the sacred places (rule 21, the speaker calls on specific places-
Kinsa Qocha and Antaqaqa chiripata (Antaqaqa the cold place). In rule 2, sacred places
may be called upon either as a group of individually. Kinsa Qocha refers to three lakes in
another community. Antaqaqa is the most prominent and sacred mountain within the con-
fines of Sonqo. Thus, calling on Antaqaqa discharges both rules 2 and 3. Antaqaqa is a
sacred place which can stand for Sonqo itself. When invoking Sonqo in pukuy, Runa usual-
ly turn their eyes toward Antaqaqa. However, it is not satisfactory to call on Antaqaqa
alone; thus the speaker has called on another sacred place outside Sonqo.
Example 6 also invokes the Machus, quasi-demonic ancestral beings who live on Antaqa-
qa. This is an expression of rule 3, since the Machus are closely identified with their locali-
ty. Example C calls on the Machula Aulanchis, the benevolent aspect of the Machus.
orlontatlon In rpaco Pukuy involves calling upon the Earth in general and calling upon
places on the Earth, both the more distant, regional ones and the local ones. Thus, the rules
for pukuy express the nested concept of space described earlier, beginning on the most im-
mediate level with an orientation toward local places. The localities are integrated within
progressively larger regional units, which are oriented to the highest hills overlooking that
region. Both local and regional places must be involved in pukuy. One’s own sacred place,
or ayllu, must be invoked, along with more distant places.
When Runa travel, they look with interest and apprehension to the local Tirakuna they
are passing. They know that Tirakuna are likely to look upon them, as outsiders to the
locality, at worst with hostility or at best with indifference. They assiduously blow their
k’intus t o introduce themselves to the Tirakuna. When I first entered Sonqo I was warned to
blow my k’intus to Antaqaqa. In Cuzco, however, Don Cipriano instructed me to blow my
k’intus to Calle Sapphi, the street where my lodging was located. He said it was all right to
continue blowing to Sonqo, but Calle Sapphi was of more immediate importance. During a
trip over the high puna (tundra), my companions spent an especially long time doing pukuy
in preparation for crossing the pass over a range of “nasty mountains.” They became ex-
tremely disturbed when I wandered off before they had finished chewing. I was disregard-
ing the placation of important and hostile deities.
The grammar of pukuy provides a paradigm for both religious and spatial organization.
When Runa orient themselves in space, they enter into a personal relationship with places.
orlentatlon In tlme As with space, we can distinguish two aspects of temporal organiza-
tion that are analogous to the local and regional aspects of spatial organization and that I
call “local (or immediate) time” and “distant time.” Coca chewing is a time to prepare
one’s thoughts for the work ahead; Runa seldom begin a major task without sitting down to
chew, even if alone or briefly. Runa, then, orient themselves to their activities through the
hallpay ceremony. As there are prescribed times during the day for hallpay, coca chewing
marks off the passing of time. Intervals of time can be expressed by the amount of time it
takes to exhaust a coca quid; Mortimer (1974 [1901]:204) reported that a chew of coca
equaled about 40 minutes, which he said was equivalent to threequarters of a league in
space. Hallpay marks the day into intervals and, on an even more immediate scale, articu-
lates one‘s current preoccupations to one’s activities.
Much has been written about the Andean ayllu, a subtle and difficult concept (e.g.,
Zuidema 1977; lsbelll977,1978; Mayer 1977). Here 1 discuss the ayllu in Sonqo as it relates
to the ceremony of coca chewing. Ultimately, the manifestation of ayllu which I found in
Sonqo should be understood within the general theoretical framework of Andean social
organization, but such an undertaking is beyond the scope of this paper (see Wagner 1978).
Sonqo is a dispersed puna ayllu (high tundra community). There is no subdivision into
moieties. The term ayllu refers to the community as a whole and i s not used in reference to
a kin group (the term for close kin, up to or including second cousins is p’amilia).
Sonquenos explain the concept of ayllu in terms of locality. For them, any place in the
community is a potential ayllu. To be an ayllu a place must have houses on it, with people
living in them. Any place where Runa live is an ayllu. Wasi (house) and tiyana (seat, living
place) are synonyms for this neighborhood-level ayllu. Fellow members of an ayllu need
not be related through blood or marriage (though they usually are); they are ayllu masis
(ayllu mates) by virtue of common residence.
Logically, then, the concept of ayllu begins with the home, its “boundaries t o the out-
side” (Zuidema 1977:257) defined by the natural physiognomy of the locality. Within Son-
qo‘s territory there are many local ayllus and countless potential ones.
The next logical extension is to the community as a whole. Climbing above the communi-
ty into the puna no-man’s-land, one.views Sonqo as a many-armed ridge, extending from
the high pass of Pana Punku down to the Qolqepata Mayu (river). The adjoining com-
munities, each also an ayllu, are geographically defined by the valleys to either side of this
ridge. The community ayllus together form a basically endogamous unit. Sonquenos go on
to explain that Qolqepata Ayllu is part of Paucartambo Ayllu (the province), which i s part
of Cuzco Ayllu (the The logic of ayllu follows the logic of spatial and
religious hierarchy described previously, giving each individual a very specific local orien-
-
tation by higher and higher landmarks to a large-scale regional orientation.
According to Sonqo‘s origin myth, the ayllu came into being in the distant past when
three ancestors emerged from three places in Sonqo‘s territory. The myth thus emphasizes
the identification of the people of Sonqo with the places of Sonqo, as the origin of the ayllu
lies in a bond of kinship between people and territory. All living members of Sonqo Ayllu
are therefore considered at least distant relatives.
In the minds of Sonqo Runa, however, ayllu membership consists not so much in com-
mon descent as in common allegiance t o sacred places. This sense of intrinsic group
In Quechua thought the manipulation of coca has far-reaching practical effects; it is im-
perative to one’s well-being (allinkawsay) to maintain a good relationship with the Tirakuna,
from whom spring one’s social and spiritual identity. A Runa monitors his relationship with
the Tirakuna through the vicissitudes of his fortune; stumbling, losing a sheep, and getting
caught in the rain are signs of something amiss. To avoid such an imbalance, a Runa blows
his k’intus and, if need be, makes other offerings. For example, one morning I was caught in
a dense fog that caused me to lose my way. When I asked Don Cipriano why this had hap-
pened, he replied that the Tirakuna were angry with me; obviously, he said, I hadn’t been
blowing my k’intus properly. He proceeded to give me my most careful lesson in pukuy.
“To me you will blow your k’intus” i s one of the Pachamama’s primary injunctions to
mankind (Cow and Condori 1976:9). This is the most basic of religious duties. In elaborate
religious rituals of the home or of the Community, the ideas expressed are the same as in
routine hallpay: that the deities who control human, plant, and animal welfare must be
drawn into the ongoing reciprocal interaction which is the basis for Quechua community.”
Coca leaves also are used in divination, the Tirakuna speaking through configurations of
leaves (e.g., Bastien 1978).
In structural terms, coca mediates between the human and the supernatural. Since well-
being depends on close communication between human beings and sacred places, the use
of coca maintains an orienting sense of cognitive and emotional stability in a spatial, tem-
poral, and moral universe. Coca, in i t s mediating position, facilitates a relationship of de-
layed, asymmetrical reciprocity between Runa and Tirakuna. While the deities provide
well-being, humans, in pukuy or in libations of alcohol (ch’allay), provide the samincha
which denotes spiritual essence of the substance. “Of all the nourishment that you eat or
drink, before consuming it you have t o blow its scent to the earth and to the machu aukis,
since they nourish themselves by savoring the fragrant samincha” (Valderrama and
Escalante 1977:55).
the k’lntu exchange The reciprocal exchange in pukuy between humans and super-
naturals is one of two types of exchange that occur in coca chewing. The other relationship
of reciprocity is between the human actors in the ceremony and is expressed through the
exchange of k’intus. I turn now to a closer analysis of this aspect of hallpay etiquette.
Reciprocity has been described as the ”ethos” of Andean culture (D. Nunez del Prado
Bejar 1972). During the last two decades a great deal of attention has been turned to the
modes of reciprocity that govern Andean economic and social life, to demonstrate that
traditional economic forms are inextricably involved with kinship and the ritual life of the
community (Alberti and Mayer 1974a, 1974b; Isbell 1977; Fonseca 1974; Mayer 1974,1977).
In southern Peru the dominant mode of reciprocity i s ayni, a symmetrical exchange of d e
layed reciprocity between equals, usually manifest in labor exchanges. Another important
mode of reciprocity is mink’a, an asymmetrical hierarchical relationship in which ser-
note8
Acknowledgments. I wish to thank the institutions that supported my research: the Henry and Grace
Doherty Charitable Foundation (in 1975) and the National Science Foundation (June-August 1978;
WBNS 77-11319). I also owe a great debt of gratitude to many individuals who helped me, both in Peru
and in the United States. I wish particularly to thank the people of Sonqo and Qolqepata for accepting
me and teaching me; Dr. R. T. Zuidema of the University of Illinois for guidance and moral support;
and Richard M. Wagner, who was my husband and fellow traveler. Portions of this paper have been
published in Spanish, contained within “Coca y estructura cultural en 10s Andes peruanos”(Allpanchis
9:193-223, 1976 America lndlgena 38(4):877-902, 1978).
’Personal names have been changed to protect individual privacy.
I am using the word “ceremony” in Coffman’s (1967:476-477) sense:
A ceremonial rule is one which guides conduct for matters felt to have secondary or no significance
in their own right, having their primary importance-officially anyway-as a conventionalized
means of communication by which the individual expresses his character or conveys his apprecia-
tion of the other participants in the situation. . , , The code which governs ceremonial rules and
ceremonial expressions is incorporated in what we call etiquette.
As examples of regional variation in coca etiquette we find that in Cuzco the lime that is chewed
with coca takes the form of hard lumps of compressed ash called llipta. In Ayacucho it is called toqra
( J . Earls 1975: personal communication). In Huanuco (Burchard 1975465). powdered lime called ishku
is carried in a small gourd (ishkupuru) fitted with a spatula (chupadero) and cap. In many parts of Cuz-
co divination with coca i s a serious act, performed by qualified people in private; in Ayacucho and
Huanuco (Burchard 1975:465) divining is part of routine coca-chewing etiquette. In Cuzco coca is
shared through exchanges of k’intus, a custom not found in Ayacucho (I. Earls 1975: personal commu-
nication) or Huancavalica (R. Camarra 1978: personal communication), though k’intus have other
ritual uses in those areas. While in Cuzco the word k’intu refers to an offering of three or more coca
refenncer clted