Peru: The Wealth of the
People
Peru is a multicultural and multiethnic country, in turn, it is one of the most culturally diverse countries in America and the world. This variety comes from pre-Hispanic times, it has to do with the extension and geographical variety, with the baggage of those who have come at different times to share this soil with the original populations: Spaniards and Africans in the 16th century, Chinese and Japanese in the 19th century.
Cultural diversity is a fundamental component of human development, it promotes identity, innovation, and creativity.
Cultural diversity is recognized in our internal order for which it enjoys constitutional recognition. In recent years there are specific developments on very important issues such as native languages, collective rights, prior consultation, peoples in voluntary isolation and the mainstreaming of the intercultural approach in the management of the State.
Political Constitution of Peru 1993
Article 2:
Everyone has the right:
19. To his ethnic and cultural identity. The State recognizes and protects the ethnic and cultural plurality of the Nation. All Peruvians have the right to use their own language before any authority through an interpreter. Foreigners have this same right when they are cited by any authority.
Article 17:
The State guarantees the eradication of illiteracy. It also promotes bilingual and intercultural education, according to the characteristics of each area. Preserves the various cultural and linguistic manifestations of the country. It promotes national integration.
Article 89:
The Peasant and Native Communities have legal existence and are legal entities. They are autonomous in their organization, in communal work and in the use and free disposition of their lands, as well as in economic and administrative matters,within the framework established by law. The ownership of their lands is imprescriptible, except in the case of planned abandonment in the previous article. The State respects the cultural identity of the Peasant and Native Communities.
Undoubtedly, today there is a greater awareness of rights and the positive value of cultural diversity. However, this assessment still coexists with the persistence of discriminatory practices that prevent the full development of our daily life and citizen coexistence.
But we want to highlight something valuable and evident: The difference, the plurality of experiences, memories, ways of life, are valued more and more. Cities have grown to form new cultures where traditions are creatively combined of indigenous peoples, localities, towns, peasant communities, and urban and peri-urban neighborhoods. They are cultures that share with each other and remain open and in constant change, but that retain sources of pride and identity.
Peru is one of the most multicultural countries in the world due to the diversity of people here, among them are women who are great representatives of their own cultures, for example, in general terms, in culture. In the Andes, more than 30 million women are in charge of fundamental functions for the country's development, such as the fight against poverty, the promotion of family agriculture, the defense of the environment, and actions to mitigate and adapt to change. climate.
On the other hand, we also have representatives from the Amazon part of the country in which women are in charge of textile work where after ingesting ayahuasca they capture their art in the garments they wear, they are also the creators of ceramic-based works of art. where their connection with nature is represented, with these paragraphs I want to show how women are part of the multiculturalism of the country and are fundamental for it.
Women of the Andes
Far away from the capital of Peru, on the highlands, traditions and culture are being kept up daily as part of their activities such as farming, agriculture, fishing, offerings, shamanism, and so on.
Women have played a huge role in making progress within these communities. They use cooperative learning from the Quechua Indians, they follow their ancestor's traditions. For example, women consider weaving very important to their tradition. They can weave in groups while sitting, talking, or laughing. Weaving has been part of the Incas' history, they used it to communicate through the textiles in order to tell stories. These activities are part of their daily lives which have been learned through generations. That is when culture is brought up, following the tradition from many years of learning to their present days.
Peru is one of the most multicultural countries in the world due to the diversity of people here, among them are women who are great representatives of their own cultures, for example, in general terms, in culture. In the Andes, more than 30 million women are in charge of fundamental functions for the country's development, such as the fight against poverty, the promotion of family agriculture, the defense of the environment, and actions to mitigate and adapt to change. climate.
On the other hand, we also have representatives from the Amazon part of the country in which women are in charge of textile work where after ingesting ayahuasca they capture their art in the garments they wear, they are also the creators of ceramic-based works of art. where their connection with nature is represented, with these paragraphs I want to show how women are part of the multiculturalism of the country and are fundamental for it.
Andes Values
Within our country some words can be offensive such as "serrano", "cholo" or "mestizo", Peruvians seem to have reached an agreement that being Andean or adapting these customs is a bad thing since supposedly if we are more similar to foreigners we will be better. It seems that we have forgotten the cultural richness that our country possesses and the values established by our ancestors “the Incas”.
In the peruvian andean culture, women have an impressive value, they have all kinds of knowledge in addition to having promoted equity in the pre-Hispanic and colonial times. Bearing this in mind, we should be proud that after a macho Spanish attack, plagued with rapes, robberies, looting, and deceptions, our values have remained. This data is curious since a macho society like the Spanish one proposed us to worship a female divinity (Catholic virgins) despite committing acts of vandalism that go against many rules proposed by Catholicism, as shown in the video "Peru: People of the Andes, 1958” the Peruvian natives maintained their tradition through dances and other activities. From the Spanish perspective the use of religion was given to control the native colonies; However, the natives adapt this culture without losing their values and respect for women. In the article "Testimonies of an Andean woman for the reconstruction of history" we can know that, in Ayacucho, the area where the terrorist violence originated, for example, a large part of the media "reacted against the Commission of the Truth, qualifying the bulk of its members as 'Lima', linked to NGOs 'that profit from the pain of the people' or 'pseudo-intellectuals' "(Zapata 2010: 19).
As a conclusion to this topic, we ask ourselves if ... it is really necessary classify ethnic groups in our country? Since we are an indigenous and Andean country. The coast is close to the Andes mountain range through Nazca, so demographically the coast has Andean characteristics, even the jungle that is geographically far from the mountains has a mixture of ethnic groups due to the border countries where the jungle is more urbanized and foreign migrations from Europe who decide to apply their religion or lifestyle within the Peruvian jungle.
Sources:
Empresa Peruana de Servicios Editoriales S. A. EDITORA PERÚ. (2019, 5 septiembre). Día de la Mujer Indígena: más de 3 millones de peruanas pertenecen a pueblos originarios. Noticias | Agencia Peruana de Noticias Andina. https://andina.pe/agencia/noticia-dia-de-mujer-indigena-mas-3-millones-peruanas-pertenecen-a-pueblos-originarios-765754.aspx
La
diversidad cultural en el Perú. (2014). https://repositorio.cultura.gob.pe/bitstream/handle/CULTURA/82/La%20diversidad%20cultural%20en%20el%20Per%FA.pdf?sequence=1.
Fidel, Tubino. (2016, March 3). La interculturalidad en el Perú (Fidel Tubino) – PUCP [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/cDshNEtrypk
Inkaini Peru Tours. (2020, March 9) Peru a multicultural country! [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/nuzDe4KG3OY
Ventunotravel. (2015, November 25) Discover Peru: Culture of the Andes [Video]. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xCoUkpZUnc4
Hugox Chugox. (2021, October 31) Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W6XZPrUyjt8&t=208s
Gloria, L. (January 04, 2021).
García, M. Making Indigenous Citizens: Identity, development, and multicultural activism in Peru. (2005)