THE MORAL AND SOCIAL ASPECTS OF EQUALITY AMONGST THE AMUESHA OF CENTRAL

PERU
Author(s): Fernando SANTOS GRANERO
Source: Journal de la Société des américanistes, Vol. 72 (1986), pp. 107-131
Published by: Société des Américanistes
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 THE MORAL AND SOCIAL ASPECTS

OF EQUALITY AMONGST THE AMUESHA

OF CENTRAL PERU

Fernando SANTOS GRANERO1

" Joy, bright spark of divinity

Daughter of Elysium,
Fire-inspired we tread
Thy sanctuary.
Thy magie power re-unites
Ail that custom has divided,
Ali men become brothers
Under the sway of thy gentle wings
" Ode to Joy "
Friedrich von Schiller.

Using Dumont's concepts of " encompassing " and " encompassed " ideology and
analysing Amuesha (Peruvian Amazon région) cosmology, mythology, kinship and mora
lity, the author demonstrates that the moral implications of (" symmetrical " and " asym
metrical ") love, compassion and generosity, which is expressed in both the relations
between people and between them and their divinities, keep political power in check and
ensures the social equality.

Los aspectos morales y sociales de la igualdad entre los Amuesha del Perú Central.

Usando los conceptos de ideología « incluida » e « incluyente » desarrollados por

Dumont, y en base a un análisis de la cosmología, la mitología, el sistema de parentesco
y de valores Amuesha (Amazonia peruana), el autor demuestra que las implicaciones
morales del amor (« simétrico » y « asimétrico »), la compasión y la generosidad, tanto
entre los individuos como entre los seres humanos y divinos, limitan el ejercicio del poder
político y garantizan la igualdad social.

Les aspects moraux et sociaux de l'égalité parmi les Amuesha du Pérou Central.

En utilisant des concepts développés par Dumont d'idéologie « englobante » et

« englobée », et à partir d'une analyse de la cosmologie, de la mythologie, des systèmes de

* London School of Economies.

J.S.A. 1986, LXXI1 : p. 107 à 131.

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108 SOCIÉTÉ DES AMÉRICANISTES

parenté et de valeurs propres aux Amuesha (Amazonie pér

que les implications morales de l'amour (« symétrique » et
passion et de la générosité, tant entre les individus comme
l'exercice du pouvoir politique et garantissent l'égalité soc

When, following Dürkheim, Dumont asserts that

us to be free" as opposed to "traditional societie
equality and liberty as values, which know nothing,
(1970a : 8), one cannot help but feel that there is so
ing about our Western understanding and use o
Though Dumont's re-examination of the Indian caste
new and rich insights on the subject of 'hierarch
his main thesis, which divides the universe of social
and hierarchical societies of the Indian type and ind
societies of the Western type, leaves aside a whole r
not fall into either pigeonhole. These are precise
quently constitute the subject matter of the Ameri
vours : a type of society which, as I shall argue on t
Amuesha, is manifestly egalitarian in its social in
importance on individual will and personal autono
quently, entertain at the same time hierarchical noti
Orders. Although Dumont is aware of the existence
hierarchy' which do not fit into his binary scheme h
light manner :

It is true for example that tribes, if they are not entirely

neither king nor, say, a secret society with successive gr
vely simple societies, with few people, and where the divis
(Dumont 1961 : 354).

For someone who has provided us with a detailed

study of the reification of the 'economic' in Wester
the dismissal of these societies on account of their
labour'is rather puzzling. In a similar vein, thoug
language, Dumont also dismisses the existence of th
in these societies.

Here some will object that ail societies recognize the individual in some fashion ; it is
more probable that relatively simple societies show a lack of differentiation in this res
pect, which should be described and estimated with care (Dumont 1970a : 9).

I would argue against this ; for if 'relatively simple' societies, such as the
Amuesha, know nothing of 'equality' as a value nor of the 'individual' as an
independent category, it is because they have had no need to develop such
notions : the egalitarian nature of their social interaction and moral values pre
cludes the existence of such concepts which could have only sprang from socie
ties ridden with social inequalities and hierarchical distinctions. One has only
to think of the Athens of Plato and Aristotle which was divided into free Citi
zens, slaves and foreigners, or of the estâtes of Rousseau's xvmth Century

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 THE AMUESHA OF CENTRAL PERU 109

France, to realize that the Western concept of equality

tion of actual inequality. I would argue that this situ
large extent, unchanged : equality in Western societies
ideal or a political ideology that does not reflect our soc
it is by class distinctions and hierarchical patterns of
and the Church, but also the School, the Industry,
Dumont is not unaware of this :

The 'problem' of social classes, or of 'social stratification' as it appears to our sociolo

gists Springs from the contradiction between the equalitarian ideal, accepted by ail these
scholars as by the society to which they belong, and an array of facts showing that the
différence, the differentiation, tends even among us to assume a hierarchical aspect, and
to become permanent or hereditary inequality, or discrimination (Dumont 1961 : 351-2).

But it is precisely the fact that he is aware of this contradiction between what
Béteille has called the 'spirit of equality' and the 'practice of equality' (1984 :
1) which still leavës open the question of what exactly is meant by an 'egalita
rian' society.
Dumont's appropriation of the term 'egalitarian' to describe the individualisa
tic societies of the Western type in opposition to the holistic and 'hierarchical'
societies of the Indian type not only muddles rather than clarifies the matter,
but also deprives us of an adéquate terminology to characterize structures of
equality such as can be found amongst the Amerindian societies of lowland
South America. This is especially alarming in the face of such general State
ments as the following :

among the great civilizations the world has known, the holistic type of society has been
overwhelmingly prédominant ; indeed, it looks as if it had been the rule, the only excep
tion being our modem civilization and its individualistic type of society (Dumont 1977 :
4).

Though Dumont attempts to tone down this remark by establishing that not
" all holistic societies stress hierarchy to the same degree, nor do ail individualis
tic societies stress equality to the same degree" (1970a : 4), it becomes apparent
that in his theoretical scheme there is no place for egalitarianism but in our own
Western societies1. Such a stance leads Dumont to claim, after assessing the
profound changes that take place in the process of transition from the 'natural'
to the 'rational' societies, that : "In a sense, the 'leap from history into free
dom' has already been made, and we live in a realized Utopia" (1961 : 355).
Such an assertion, isolated from its context, could lead us to interpret
Dumont's stance as one of political naïveté, if it were not for the fact that even
in his earliest articles on the subject he has been extremely clear in establishing
that he is dealing with the sphere of 'values' (ideology) rather than with that of
'behaviour' (social Organization). In this sense one cannot but agree with
Dumont in that the appearance (a term I prefer to the more evolutionist 'transi
tion') of the individualistic-oriented Western societies brought forth a 'révolu
tion in values' (Dumont 1961 : 356) which has had far reaching historical consé
quences. However, given that Dumont himself is aware of the contradiction
between our egalitarian ideology — manifested in conceptions such as 'equality

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110 SOCIÉTÉ DES AMÉRICANISTES

of considération', 'equality of opportunity' or 'equal

our hierarchical patterns of social Organization,. we
must exist an alternative set of values that gives m
rarchical aspect of our societies.
To use Dumont's own concepts of the encompas
(1970b : 154 ; also 1970a : XII), I would suggest that
the 'encompassing' ideology in Western societies, th
logy. However, this discourse of equality, prédom
counterbalanced by other 'encompassed' discourse
hierarchy as natural givens. One has only to ref
influence of the theological disquisitions of St. Thom
hierarchy to be natural to both the social and unive
the popularization of the Darwinian notions of 'natu
vival of the fittest ' in order to realize the pervadin
this encompassed ideology of inequality, rather tha
of equality, which gives expression and sustenance to
Organization of Western societies.
When Dumont claims that equality as a value is
societies it should, therefore, be understood that he i
ideas that revolve around the concept of equality, r
ment of such ideas. We are, however, left once m
what is then an egalitarian society? Is it the one wh
is one of equality, but whose social system is firmly
rarchical notions and patterns of Organization? O
which the abstract concept of equality is absent and
ideology of hierarchy, but whose social system is fi
sed moral imperatives which ensure equality? Dumo
first possibility. On the basis of the Amuesha exam
the second alternative. What is at stake here is whe
lity as a political ideology, a moral value or a social
is to be defined as a political ideology or doctrin
chance of finding egalitarian societies amongst the
ties. In contrast, if we regard egalitarianism as the
enacted in social interaction on a daily basis the cha
large proportion of traditional societies which are be
to deserve the label of 'egalitarian'.
The Amuesha constitute one such society. In spite
the abstract concept of equality2 and that, in fact,
is one based on hierarchical paradigms, the social an
slash-and-burn agriculturalists are grounded in a valu
emphasis on the notion of equality, individual w
This may seem contradictory, but in fact is no mor
societies in which the exaltation of equality goes han
exploitation and political inequalities. The Amuesha traditional political
system, based on priestly leaders and ceremonial centres which were simulta
neously centres of authority, is not alien to hierarchical principies. In the
domain of ideology these latter principies are manifested in the paradigm of

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 THE AMUESHA OF CENTRAL PERU 111

fatherhood through which power relations of ail kinds

the encompassed discourse of love, compassion and
power legitimate only insofar as its holders are perceiv
ders and the ultimate life-givers, deprives the encom
rarchy of its potentiality for inequality and oppressio
constitutes, I shall argue, an example of equality withi

The hierarchical nature of kinship terminology and

Amuesha panthéon.

The Amuesha, as many other Amazonian societies, ha

tive terminology of the Dravidian type as described by
Ego's relatives : 1) are classified according to a five gén
are distinguished according to sex ; and 3) they are sep
catégories (kin and potential affines) in Ego's génératio
ing and descending générations (see Figure 1). The A
logy contains within itself the seeds of hierarchical no
form and content to différent types of hierarchical r
text of the relation with the realm of the sacred, th
categorize their divinities as they organize and categoriz
is, by reference to their classificatory terminology
within certain limitations. Firstly, they only apply
affinai ones) to their divinities. Such a distinction, wh
verse into 'we' and 'they' or, as Smith suggests, into
(1983), frequently appears as a division between those w
and those who are not (Crocker 1969 ; Overing Kapla
only apply those kin terms corresponding to Ego's own
générations. The divinities are, thus, organized hierarc

G+2

G+l

G 0

G-l

G-2

Fio. 1. — The Amuesha Dravidian-type system of kinship and marriage.

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112 SOCIÉTÉ DES AMÉRICANISTES

ries which in Order of increasing power are : sibling

These catégories are internally divided according
grandparental category where only maie divinities ar
In categorizing their divinities as kin rather than aff
responding to the two ascending rather than the tw
Amuesha are stressing two fundamental elements :
nection that establish the Amuesha as descendants or 'créatures' of their divini
ties ; and, secondly, the aspect of equality within hierarchy : the divinities are
kin and, therefore, of the same kind, but simultaneously it is ascertained that
they are superior to humankind.
At the top of this hierarchy of divinities is Y ato' Yos, the suprême divinity
and ultímate creator who, as the overlord of heaven, dwells in a celestial man

Female Ego
Eqo

Fig. 2. — Kinship categorization of the Amuesha panthéon.

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 THE AMUESHA OF CENTRAL PERU 113

sion known by the name of Yomporesho. It was he w

the Amuesha at the beginning of time by blowing hi
ful of dirt (Smith 1977 : 84-5). Furthermore, his uni
is conceived of as the ultímate source of life. Accord
self is composed by a material dimension, the bod
dimensions, the 'shadow' (yechoyeshem) and the 's
'soûls' of Amuesha men and women are conceived of as the individual manifes
tations of the universal soul of the creator.
The suprême divinity, as the other divinities of the grandparental category, is
a deus otiosus. Like Amuesha grandfathers, the divinities of the Y ato' category
are old, benevolent but tired divinities who wish well for their grandchildren,
but can do (or will do) little for them. The divinities in the sibling category
are, on the other hand, minor divinities who were left behind after the ascension
of the présent solar divinity and who share this earth with the Amuesha. These
minor divinities lack the power to affect humankind as a whole. Their extreme
proximity constitutes a counter image of the remoteness of the grandparental
divinities. Both extreme distance and extreme proximity constitute, I shall
argue, a sign of the limited power of these two types of divinity with respect to
current human affairs.
The divinities of the parental or Yompor category, on the contrary, have
considerable influence on the lives of the Amuesha and on the perpétuation of
the cosmos as a whole. Yompor Ror, the présent sun, and his sister/wife
Yachor Arrorr, the moon, are the principal divinities of this category. Their
birth, at the end of the second of three eras into which the Amuesha divide
their history, marked the origin of procréation, fertility and normal childbirths.
Yompor Ror, Our Father the Sun, is the paradigmatic father of humanity. In
sharing his 'vital breath' (pa'toreñ) and 'vital strength' (po'huamenc) with the
Amuesha and ail the living créatures on this earth, Yompor Ror continues to
infuse life in the création of the suprême divinity. Without his light and
warmth, and without his divine breath the Amuesha would have nothing to hunt
or to fish, nothing to sow or to harvest, and they would have to live in a cold
and dark world. If the suprême divinity is the ultimate source of life, the solar
divinity is the day-to-day life-giver par excellence. Thus, in the recent past
most of the domestic and public rituals and prayers were addressed to him.
The paradigm of parenthood (with a strong bias in favour of fatherhood)
projected upon the sacred panthéon results in a category of active and powerful
divinities with respect to which the Amuesha as a whole stand as classificatory
children, as subjects, or as followers. This is not gratuitous. Of the five kin
catégories considered by the Amuesha, the parental category appears as the
active one. It is the category of those who have power and capacity, as well as
knowledge and strength. Grandparents are too old, grandchildren too young ;
children are more vulnerable than oneself, while siblings are as vulnerable as
oneself. So it is those in the category of parents who have to bear the respon
sibility to dispense life and to provide for both their eiders and their offspring.
The divinities of the parental category are the active ones, and the Amuesha
reserve the term partsonesha', or 'powerful ones', to describe them. The root
parets refers to their divine or cosmic power (whose maximum expression is the

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 114 SOCIÉTÉ DES AMÉRICANISTES

giving of light and the sharing of vital breath an

sable for the maintenance of the natural and cosmic Orders. In brief, the
Amuesha relation to the sacred is conceived of as a hierarchical relation phrased
in terms of the father/child relation in which the two parties involved are seen
as equal, in that they are of the same kind (i.e. kin), but différent, in that the
one has more power than the other.
The hierarchy of divinities is paralleled by a hierarchy of demoniacal beings
whose ancestry goes straight back in time as far as the genesis of the world.
According to myth, when the suprême divinity, Y ato' Y os, created a flat earth
below the earth where the divinities lived, his jealous classificatory brother,
Yosoper, made himself lord of this new earth. Yato' Y os asked Yosoper for a
handful of dirt and created a third earth. Blowing his divine breath into some
mud he also made a human being. His envious brother created then ten more
human beings in the same image. Yato' Yos cursed them and transformed
them into demoniacal beings. For each animal or plant that Yato' Yos created,
Yosoper would create a host of similar animais and plants which, in turn, Yato'
Yos cursed and transformed into démons or poisonous and/or malevolent plant
and animal species. The demoniacal hierarchy mirrors the godly one. At the
top is Yosoper, who nowadays reigns in a chthonic sphere called Concheñtso.
He is the overlord of ail demoniacal beings : the oneñet fiends who are said to
be his classificatory children, and the jo' démons, who are invisible to every
body but the most powerful shamans, and are regarded as followers of the
oneñet fiends. The kinship structure of the metaphysical world is thus con
ceived of as consisting of a pair of brothers who through their extraordinary
powers gave birth, out of their own volition, to both the life-giving divinities
and the life-taking démons (see Figure 3)4.
It should be noticed that while the Amuesha refer to their divinities by kin
ship terms and regard themselves as the latter's créatures and followers, they
abstain from applying any kinship terms to the hierarchy of démons, thus, disa
vowing any link of descent with them. While gods stand in the category of

YATO'
YATO* YOS,
YOS, YOSOPER,
the supreme
suprême the chthonic
divinity ruler

YOMPOR ONENET
divinities fiends

NEMO'NASHEN JO'
divinities démons
demons

Fig. 3. — The Amuesha divine and demoniacal hiérarchies.

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 THE AMUESHA OF CENTRAL PERU 115

'we', démons are incorporated into the category of 't

may acquire sociological relevance as when, for. instanc
that the white peoples are descendants of Yosoper.

The paradigm of fatherhood as an idiom for hierarchical

The father/child relation in the domestic sphere and the

Amuesha and their deities in the sacred one constitute th
continuum of hierarchical relationships which are modell
of fatherhood. In the intralocal sphere the outstanding p
between a shaman (pa'llerr) and the members of the local
he performs his ritual activities, as well as that between h
In the interlocal sphere, on the other hand, the outstand
that between the Amuesha traditional priests (cornesha")
both cases the superordinate party of the relationship is ad
'my father', while the subordinate party is addressed
('my distant classificatory son') or posñenesha' ('my d
daughter'). In the context of hierarchical social relation
terms are used to indícate the maie or female 'followe
powerful individual (a shaman, a priest, or a man with
context of the hierarchical relations between this and the
the term has both the connotations of 'créatures' (chi
Thus, it is said that the Amuesha people are the classifica
lowers of Yato' Yos, the suprême divinity, and Yompor R
while the white people are the children or followers of Y
ruler of Amuesha tradition.
The cornesha' — the Amuesha politico-religious leaders of the past — were
referred to by his maie followers as nompor, and by his female followers as
nepapar, both terms meaning 'my actual or classificatory father'. Accordingly,
the wife of and acting cornesha' was referred to by both female and maie fol
lowers as nachor, 'my actual or classificatory mother'. Such correspondence in
the language of power allows us to establish that kinship amongst the Amuesha
constitutes an idiom for political authority and, in particular, that the relation
ship between a leader and his followers is phrased and understood as if it were
a relationship between a father and his actual or classificatory children. This
still holds true in the field of contemporary political relations. Thus, the
Amuesha refer to their political Organization, the Congress of Amuesha Native
Communities, as 'our father'. As a man told me in 1977 : "After several épi
démies Struck our land, and our last priests died, we were left behind like poor
little orphans, without a father to guide us and protect us. But nowadays we
have our Congress". This conception has also been extrapolated to the wider
context of national politics, and not infrequently the Amuesha will refer to the
Peruvian government in terms of 'our father'.
Although the mother/child bond is one of the most enduring in Amuesha
society, the Amuesha seem to have chosen the paradigm of fatherhood to
express the capacity for création and life-giving. Like the Barasana, the

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116 SOCIÉTÉ DES AMÉRICANISTES

Amuesha seem to claim that while women ensure th

is men who ensure the reproduction of society a
1979 : 10). Thus, although the Amuesha constantly s
of the sexes in production (economic activities) and r
they have privileged the paradigm of fatherhood ove
model for the ideological représentation of power a
chal bias is reflected in their panthéon. While in th
nities most of its members appear in pairs of marrie
ties are not endowed with as much power as their m
instance, Yachor Arrorr, Our Mother the Moon, is g
mythology as a life-giver. This is ail the more r
sister/wife of Yompor Ror, the life-giver par ex
may be considered the paradigmatic 'father' of the
female deity that could be seen as a paradigmatic
between the sexes, indorsed by the encompassing id
ever, disavowed by the values of the encompassed id
social practice) as we shall see later on when dealing
The Amuesha have endowed their major maie divi
which they attribute to human fathers (only that in
potentiated to the highest level) : that of being life
comitantly, the holders of power — whether traditi
with local political influence — are always expected
tics which are demanded from fathers. Henee, they
life-givers, but also generous providers with respect

The Amuesha priest/temple complex.

Of ail the above hierarchical relations the most re

that between the Amuesha priests and their foll
politico-religious leaders whose moral and political in
ceremonial centres over a variable number of Amuesha local Settlements and
even beyond the boundaries of Amuesha society. Through a personal quest for
a divine révélation in the form of a cosharññats sacred song or a speech the
prospective cornesha' gradually established a réputation for religiosity and con
sécration to the divinities. When a consensus was reached as to his piety and
the veracity of his révélations, and he had managed to generate a political and
religious following, the prospective priest invited his followers to build a temple
where they could praise the divinities. The building of the temple (puerahua
by his followers was both a public statement of their political allegiance and a
public récognition of his status as a priest. These temples with a circular plan,
conical roof and two or three stories were almost invariably built in the inter
stices of the Amuesha social space. Some were established at sites with mythico
religious significance, while others were built at sites where the prospective pries
had had a divine révélation : either through a dream, through the hearing of a
song or speech, or through the sight of a divine portent.
The Amuesha ceremonial centres were not residential sites. Only the offi

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 THE AMUESHA OF CENTRAL PERU 117

ciating priest and his closest relatives and disciples

Whenever the local priest would organize a ceremonial
would summon his followers from neighbouring and
Some would corne some days in advance to help in ai
Organization of such large festivities : clearing, cultiv
dens, hunting and fishing expéditions, préparation
and repairing of the centre's buildings. The local prie
and led the work teams of men and women respectiv
Amongst the Amuesha the language of authority is
they have a term for 'orders' in the Western sense (y
not these orders were phrased as 'invitations' (men
permission' (Uesens). This modération of the langu
summons appear as invitations, orders as the gran
something, and one and the other are expressed in a
not lead us to believe, as Clastres suggests, that the A
leaders lacked power and authority. What is at stak
to redefine those Western concepts which we use as
analyzing non-Western societies. Thus, for instanc
power of the Amuesha priests was economic in nature
mystical powers and ritual techniques were essential c
productive and reproductive processes of Amuesha so
their mystical knowledge and ceremonial practices th
the continuing dispensation of vital breath (pa'toreft)
on the part of the divinities and, henee, the fertility
animais, plants and human beings. Their economic
nal ownership of what I have called the 'mystical me
tos 1986b) was qualitatively différent from econom
based on the private ownership of the material m
however, does not make their power less 'economic
ties.
As to the political authority of the cornesha', this was expressed more in
terms of moral authority than through actual political commands. The
Amuesha priests were peace-makers and, as models of exemplary moral beha
viour, they acted as arbiters in any conflict that might arise amongst their fol
lowers. Political allegiance was expressed through the regular attendance to the
ceremonial gatherings they organized. For this reason, any given individual was
expected to attend the célébrations of only one ceremonial centre over a period
of time, unless they visited other centres led by their own priestly leader in a
formal visiting expédition. Political allegiance was also expressed through the
gifts cum tribute owed to the Amuesha priests by their followers. These gifts,
which were voluntary and were not stipulated in any formal way, consisted of
textiles, dried game meat or fish, Ornaments, and coca leaves. Gifts were
immediately redistributed by the local priest during the large célébrations held at
the ceremonial centre.
The maximum expression of a priest's political authority was the appoint -
ment of temporary war leaders (acllarañá) in cases of war against neighbouring
ethnie groups. According to oral tradition, the Amuesha priests never partici

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118 SOCIÉTÉ DES AMÉRICANISTES

pated themselves in war expéditions, their role b

success of the expédition. This is in consonance
rities whose influence was frequently extended o
ethnie groups such as the Campa and the Conibo
'social functions' we would have to conclude that the social function of the
Amuesha priests was that of generating a moral space of a higher order w
transcended the conflicting interests of both local Settlements and ethnie
Through the ceremonial gatherings held at the Amuesha temples people
différent local Settlements as well as from différent ethnie groups which
otherwise been isolated from each other came into contact, thus, creatin

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/ \ o.

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y > /

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Map 1 : The Amerindian societies of the Central Montaña, xvmth Century.

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 THE AMUESHA OF CENTRAL PERU 119

networks that extended far beyond the boundaries of Amu

include most of the ethnie groups of the Central Montaña (

Love and hierarchy.

This issue of love and compassion is central to Amuesha mor

phical concerns. It is the discourse of love that constitutes the l
encompassing ideology of hierarchy and the encompassed ideol
The Amuesha conceive of two types of love. Muereñets is a pri
love, a principie of life and a moving cause. It was this ki
moved the suprême divinity to create this earth and its living
as the giving of life, is thought of by the Amuesha as a primo
Similarly, it is thought that the Amuesha shall achieve salvatio
eternal life through a final act of love (muereñets) on the part
Genesis and the achievement of immortality resuit from the s
Morrenteñets, on the other hand, is a historical type of love
claim that this feeling appeared with the acquisition of the kn
cosharññats sacred music which, as we shall see, marked the en
era characterized by feuding and murder. With the acquisiti
music the Amuesha entered into friendly social relations and b
family' {yamo'tsesha*). Thus, if muereñets is a love ingrain
which is seen as the ultímate source of biological life, morrent
ingrained in human affairs which is regarded as the ultímate s
life.
There is, however, a further différence between these two kinds of love.
While muereñets is an asymmetrical, unilateral love which only the superordi
nate party of any given relationship may feel for the subordínate party, mor
renteñets is a symmetrical, bilateral love eminently entertained in egalitarian
relations, though it may also apply to hierarchical ones. The feeling of morren
teñets is ideologically tied up with the mythical origin of the cosharññats célé
bration, which entails an alternating display of generosity involving ail the hou
seholds of any given settlement. For this reason, morrenteñets can be regarded
as the feeling of mutual love that characterizes relations of ongoing reciprocal
generosity. Morrenteñets applies to the mutual feeling of love and esteem
between husband and wife, between actual or classificatory siblings, between a
series of institutionalized 'friends' or 'ritual partners' and, to a lesser extent,
between actual siblings-in-law.
In contrast, the term muereñets only applies in the context of hierarchical
relations. If the term morrenteñets entails a relation between two individuáis or
parties in which both appear as loving/loved ones, the term muereñets entails an
asymmetrical relation in which the superordinate party appears as the 'loving
one' while the subordínate party appears as the 'loved one'. Muereñets is the
love/compassion that the divinities feel for their créatures, or that the master of
an animal species feels for the Amuesha hunter who wants to- hunt one of his
animais. It is also the love that the divinities or lesser spirits feel for the indivi
dual Amuesha who embarks on a song quest — whether a shaman or a priest.

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120 SOCIÉTÉ DES AMÉRICANISTES

Furthermore, muereñets is the feeling entertained b

lowers as a whole, or by a shaman towards his discip
the love that parents feel for their actual or classific
the hierarchical relations that are phrased in the idio
have described above are characterized by the love/c
the superordinate partner of the relation (the loving
nate one (the loved one).
Associated with this feeling of asymmetrical lov
This latter term contains the same dimensions of 'lo
term muereñets, but in addition it incorporâtes the
and 'solicitude'. Henee, the term amueraña refer
generosity'. As the term muereñets, the adjectiv
applied to the superordinate party of a hierarchical
ties and lesser spirits, the traditional priests, the
I have already said that the father/child relationship
the ideological représentation of hierarchical relation
cussion of the terms with which the Amuesha qualify
I shall now add the essence of fatherhood and, there
tude of loving generosity which is ultimately manifes
and the continuous providing for those who stand w
as their créatures or their classificatory children.
The divinities brought the Amuesha into existence
life to them. Traditional priests ensure the condi
Amuesha through their mystical knowledge and their
techniques of life-giving. Shamans mystically protect
the members of their local Settlements from the m
nuously threaten their lives. Furthermore, they use
heal (a'crrateñets), an act which is phrased by the
life to the afflicted'. Finally, actual and classificator
of sheltering, protecting and providing for their actu
and their relationship is one characterized by inst
which parents (actual or classificatory) are constantl
This discourse of love, though firmly rooted in hie
simultaneously the moral imperatives that hinder the
By establishing that the holders of power should be
ders, who should give more, and more essential thin
their followers, the Amuesha set limits to their pow
framework to ensure equality within hierarchy. Thi
by representing the powerful ones as the 'loving
serve', while the less powerful are seen as the 'lov
are served'. This process could be defined as one of in
which the powerful appear as (and are expected to
powerful. The Amuesha social hierarchy resulting fr
of mystical powers and capacities is counteracted by
establishes that the less powerful should be served b
tuation of these two ideological représentations of p
tarian reality of Amuesha society. The powerful and

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 THE AMUESHA OF CENTRAL PERU 121

exist without each other ; their symbiotic relationship pl

footing vis-à-vis each other without denying the hierarchi
tionship.
This symbiotic relationship between the powerful and the less powerful finds
its maximum (and most beautiful) expression in the act of offering manioc beer
to the divinities. This act, which assumes the form of what Mauss defined as a
'communion sacrifice' (1964 : 12), can be broken down in three stages. In the
first stage the acting priest blows his breath upon the consecrated beer which is
left to rest for one whole night in the upper floor of the temple (reserved only
for the priest and for sexually uninitiated boys), or outdoors in an altar-like
structure. The act of blowing one's breath over manioc beer, food or coca
leaves known by the term a'mteñets is a ritual act meant to share with the divi
nities that which they shared with the Amuesha in illo tempore (the divinities
being the ultímate Creators of everything the Amuesha consume). In the second
stage the divinities deprive the consecrated manioc beer of its vital strength and
breath and incorpórate it unto themselves : an act known by the term a'mche
cheñets. The consecrated manioc beer is referred to at this stage as Yompor
Po'rrartsor, Our Father's Food, both because it was Yompor Ror, Our Father
the Sun, who created and gave manioc to the Amuesha, and because he feeds
on the consecrated beer. In the last stage, the divinities (and particularly Yom
por Ror) infuse their divine vital breath and strength into the consecrated
manioc beer — an act known by the term a'toreñets — which in turn is con
sumed by the acting priest and his followers. At this stage the consecrated beer
is referred to as Yompor Pa'moñes, Our Father's Tears, in an oblique reference
to the attitude of the présent solar divinity who 'suffers out of love' (a'mue
rochterra) for his human mortal créatures and their afflictions. The act of
offering manioc beer to the divinities is one of the manifestations of the symbio
tic relationship between the powerful (in this case the divinities) and the less
powerful (in this case the worshippers). Through this act humanity feeds the
divinities and is, in turn, fed by the latter. This conception of the mutual
dependence between the powerful and the less powerful is still very much a cen
tral feature of contemporary Amuesha politics. As one man put it to me when
outlining the political strategy of the discontented followers of a renowned poli
tical leader : " If we do not attend the meeting he has summoned : what can he
do to us?, what is he going to do without us?"

The social aspects of equality.

Up until now I have presented the features of the Amuesha encompassing

ideology of hierarchy and those encompassed egalitarian values that undermine
and keep in check the former's potentiality for inequality. I would now like to
dwell on the egalitarian practice in Amuesha society. To start with it should be
pointed out that until very recently there was no scarcity of land or forest
resources, and that the notion of property over natural resources was unknown
to the Amuesha ; this latter feature has, to a large extent, been maintained even
under the présent conditions of accelerated social change. Property was only

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 122 SOCIÉTÉ DES AMÉRICANISTES

recognized or claimed over the fruits of one's own

gardening, hunting or fishing activities, and the ob
ses, weapons, Ornaments, textiles, baskets, etc.) or
purchase. Given that every Amuesha woman and
lesser extent the knowledge of ail the activities cor
there is in Amuesha society an 'equality of opportu
very recently challenged by the appearance of such
bilingual teachers who receive a fixed salary from th
have, therefore, a larger purchasing power and the
their material wealth.
The inequalities that may spring from differential degrees of expertise in the
carrying out of productive activities are neutralized by the existence of a kinship
system through which everybody is related to everybody eise, and a kinship
morality based on the principies of unrestricted generosity and generalized reci
procity. Thus, if for some reason a man and his wife have not cleared a new
garden and in the following year they do not have enough staples to satisfy their
family's needs, they may resort to their respective parents or siblings (actual or
classificatory) to supply them with what they need. Similarly, there is a cons
tant redistribution of game, fish and manioc beer between the households of
closely related men and women which prevenís the accumulation of surplus
resources, and ensures that everybody will have access to essential resources in
spite of the hazards of productive activities (i.e. bad luck in hunting or fishing
expéditions, floods that may wipe out whole gardens, etc.).
The generosity imposed by kinship morality is not only exercised within the
boundaries of the extended kindreds of which most Amuesha Settlements are
comprised, but is extended to any Amuesha visitor on account of the ideological
conception that deems ail the Amuesha as a 'big family'. As I shall deal in
more detail with this conception further on, I shall now refer only to its practi
cal implications. The Amuesha are very fond of travelling. The ongoing inter
marriages between différent local Settlements create large networks of people
related to each other through affinai or kin ties. A travelling Amuesha is
always certain to find someone to whom she or he is related in one such way.
Their hosts have the moral obligation to provide shelter and nourishment to
them for whatever length of time they stay in their house. Normally, however,
if visitors expect to stay for a long period amongst their hosts they will rapidly
incorpórate themselves (though in an informai manner) into the productive acti
vities of the household.
Visiting is also an important feature of everyday life within any given local
settlement. Women and men, by themselves or in family groups, constantly
visit their relatives and friends. Their hosts have to provide the visitors with
whatever is handy : manioc beer, meat or fish, or just plain boiled manioc.
Whatever is offered is for them to consume on the spot, or to take with them
once the visit is finished. This constant visiting, which reaches its height at
times of football tournaments, school festivities or church gatherings at the vil
lage centre, ensures a permanent redistribution of resources which allows no
possibility of accumulation. This is so much so that most of the attempts at
establishing shops which I have witnessed have failed because of the demands

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 THE AMUESHA OF CENTRAL PERU 123

made from the shop owners by their close relatives

sity, deeply ingrained in Amuesha ideology, combined
reciprocity act as social levellers that hinder the de
based on economic différences.
The economic egalitarianism guaranteed by constant redistribution and the
impossibility of accumulation is reinforced by the conviction that nobody is
entitled to control the economic activities of anybody eise. Thus, in the pro
ductive domain the nuclear family stands as the main décision and work
unit. Though close relatives may help each other in the clearing or cultivation
of gardens or may jointly organize a hunting or fishing trip, each nuclear family
is supposed to be an autonomous and almost self-sufficient unit. This is true
even in the case of recently married men who, due to the demands of bride ser
vice, live with their in-laws. The nuclear family is the locus of ail productive
décisions : whether to clear or not a new garden, where to clear it, what to
grow and in which proportions, when to go for a hunting or fishing expédition,
or how much manioc beer should be prepared. Nobody outside this unit has
any power over its productive décisions : not even a father-in-law over a son-in
law while the latter is fulfiling his bride service period. Even when several
nuclear families related to each other by kin or affinai ties reside together in the
same house each of them will have its own garden and, frequently, its own
hearth.
The only instance in which the Organization of productive activities would be
in the hands of someone outside the boundaries of the nuclear family unit was
that corresponding to the préparation of large ceremonial festivities. In these
occasions the followers of a priest, led by the latter, would work in co-ordina
tion to fulfil the large-scale tasks demanded by the Organization of a cosharññats
célébration. This collective work under the guidance of an acting priest and his
wife resulted in larger gardens and the production of larger garden surpluses.
Control over these surpluses might have been transformed into economic power
of the Western type if it were not for two important elements. Firstly, work in
the gardens of a ceremonial centre was a voluntary act. Acting priests invited
their followers to work in the centre's gardens and worked with them elbow to
elbow. Secondly, the act of working in the centre's gardens endowed those
who had worked on them with the right to a share of their produce. This is in
line with the conception that one is only owner of the produce of one's own
labour. It is for this reason that I have made a point of talking about the
'centre's gardens' rather than the 'priest's gardens'. And it is also for this rea
son that any member of a priest's following visiting the ceremonial centre had
the right to harvest from the centre's gardens throughout their stay. If the
Amuesha priests controlled larger gardens this did not mean that they had a
larger surplus to accumulate, but that, in fact, they had more to give away.
Undoubtedly the possibility of making larger displays of generosity enhanced
the prestige of the Amuesha priests and, eventually, their authority. However,
the prestige derived from these surpluses could have not been transformed into
coercive authority, for, in contrast with our own societies, the Amuesha were
not dépendent on the powerful for their subsistence. The self-sufficiency of the
Amuesha domestic units together with the abundant availability of natural

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 124 SOCIÉTÉ DES AMÉRICANISTES

resources combined to hinder the development of

cesses on the part of the Amuesha politico-religio
interfère with the productive décisions of their f
mand the latters' labour for their own profit.
This latter feature which has been stressed amo
(1975) for the Piaroa is a widespread feature of lo
ties. Amongst the Amuesha the impossibility of Co
labour of others is associated with a strong em
Not only do the Amuesha not give orders to anybo
should or should not do, but they even avoid im
autonomy through giving unasked for advice. Thu
she or he is able to do something, no matter h
impracticable it may sound, nobody will attempt
their aim6. Even the socialization of children is ca
cipie of respect for personal autonomy and is
curiosity and initiative as the first step of the le
leaving the initiative (and authority) in the teache

Equality, hierarchy and the issue of gender.

As the superior status of the Amuesha traditiona

control over economic processes or the labour of t
chal bias of Amuesha society does not entail the c
In both cases the encompassing ideology of hierar
encompassed egalitarian values, but is disavowed by egalitarian social
practices. Women in Amuesha society make their own décisions about whom
to have an affair with, whom to marry, or when to divorce. Domestic déci
sions in the domain of the nuclear family are made jointly by husband and
wife. Because of the sharp division of labour along gender lines, men and
women are completely dépendent on each other. This does not mean that they
are incapable (physically or otherwise) to perform the tasks characteristic of the
opposite sex : I know of women who know how to hunt, and of men who know
how to spin cotton. What is relevant here is the ideological conception that
establishes that the female and maie productive activities are equally necessary
and interdependent for the survival and reproduction of the family unit.
For this reason, marriage amongst the Amuesha is considered as the ideal
status, and the married couple is regarded as the ideal unit and source of ail
wealth. Adult men or women who insist on remaining unmarried are, there
fore, regarded if not with contempt, at least with mockery. In fact, real adul
thood can only be achieved through marriage, the building of a house, the
clearing of a garden and the rearing of children. Bachelors, spinsters and ste
rile couples are somehow regarded as less than adults, and they are frequently
the object of ridicule (even if in other respects they have achieved a prestigious
status through the possession of special knowledge). Divorced women and men
seldom live by themselves and seek to join the households of their close relatives
in order to make up for the loss of a partner to whom they were not only

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 THE AMUESHA OF CENTRAL PERU 125

linked by ties of affection, but by the sharing of an economic enterprise.

Neither can a man run a household without the aid of a woman (preferably a
wife), ñor can a woman run a household without the collaboration of a man
(preferably a husband). This conception is backed by both mythical and daily
life discourse.
The emphasis on the married couple as the main productive unit is such that
divorced individuáis incorporated into the households of their relatives are cons
tantly pressurized to remarry, for they are seen as an extra bürden to the mem
bers of the household of the opposite sex. In effect, although an extra man in
a household represents one more hunter and thus more game meat, it also repre
sents more work for the adult female members of the household who have to
harvest and carry heavier loads of garden produce, cook more food and make
more manioc beer. Conversely the addition of a woman in a household repre
sents one more hand for agricultural tasks, but also a bürden for the adult maie
members of the household who have to dedícate more time to hunting or fishing
activities and, eventually, to the clearing of new gardens. By contrast, the
incorporation of a new couple into a household, say, a wife's married younger
brother, is welcomed, for this means the possibility of a balanced pooling of
resources.

Finally, although a woman may nag her husband to go out h

man may complain to his wife about not having prepared manioc
can order the other to go hunting or prepare beer. Furthermore,
Piro of the Urubamba river (see Pete Gow on Occasional Semin
South America ; London School of Economies, 27-28 June 1986
hip between wife and husband can be seen as an exchange of serv
wives control the produce of their husband's productive activit
bands have control over the produce of their wives' productive ac
the game or fish brought in by an Amuesha man is redistributed
amongst their relatives, while the manioc beer prepared by an Am
is disposed of by her husband, who invites whomever he want
members of the local settlement to celebrate with him. The equal
upon the produce of female and maie productive activities, as wel
plementarity, has its concrete manifestation in what the Amuesha
perfect meal : boiled manioc (the female contribution) accompanie
fish (the maie contribution). The Amuesha say : "When there
fish, boiled manioc does not go through" (Cuando no hay mitayo o
yuca no pasa). But when men are alone far deep into the forest during a
hunting expédition with nothing to eat but meat, they say : " Meat alone,
without manioc to go with it, is worth nothing" (Mitayo nomás sin su yuquita
no vale nada). As meat is worth nothing without manioc, and manioc is worth
nothing without meat, so is a man worthless without a wife and a woman
worthless without a husband : such is the egalitarian nature of the economy of
the sexes in Amuesha society.

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126 SOCIÉTÉ DES AMÉRICANISTES

The coshamñats célébration.

The Amuesha practice of equality finds its maximum expression in the

coshamñats célébration. According to myth, a woman whose husband had
been murdered traveled to sanerr, the land of the 'murdered ones', in order to
see her dead husband. From the 'murdered ones' she and her children acquir
ed the knowledge of the coshamñats célébration. They learnt the lyrics of seve
ral coshamñats sacred songs, and how to make the reed panpipes which are the
coshamñats musical instruments par excellence. They also learnt from them
how to prepare manioc beer which, together with coca leaves, is in Amuesha
society indispensable for the carrying out of any ritual activity. Once back on
this earth the woman prepared manioc beer and invited her neighbours to celé
brate with her. The woman and her children played, sang and danced to the
four styles of coshamñats music. Even the murderers of her husband were
invited to join in.
According to the Amuesha, the acquisition of the knowledge of the cosham
ñats célébration marked the end of a pre-social era characterized by the exi
stence of endogamous, territorially bound descent groups (acheñemrey) in con
stant war to each other. This era, characterized by incestuous marriages, feud
ing and murder (i.e. an era of non-exchange or negative exchange), was fol
lowed by an era of generalized exchange and harmonious social relations in
which the Amuesha became as a 'big family' (yamo'tsesha*). The Amuesha
term amo'tsteñets describes the action by which an individual establishes harmo
nious or friendly relations with a previously unrelated party, or with someone
with whom he had quarrelled and with whom he was not in speaking terms.
The verbal root amo'ts indicates a social relation between any two parties, and
has the connotation of harmony. Thus, the term yamo'tsesha' may be ren
dered as 'the group of people with whom we have harmonious social relations'.
Yamo'tsesha' is an Ego-centred term with varying degrees of inclusiveness
according to the context in which is used. Its range of meaning goes from
namo'ts, which can be loosely translated as 'my close relatives', to y amo'ts,
which might be rendered as 'ail those who are Amuesha'. In this latter sense
the term superimposes a kinship dimension to an ethnie one and, thus, by using
it ail the Amuesha are conceived of as constituting a 'big family'.
Through the constant exchange of invitations and counter-invitations entailed
by the coshamñats célébration the Amuesha enact the ideal of yamo'tsesha', i.e.
the Amuesha as a 'big family'. The introduction of the coshamñats célébration
marked the advent of an era of social order characterized by constant displays
of generosity and ruled by the obligation of generalized reciprocity. The dif
férent households within a local settlement take turns in inviting close and
distant relatives from within or without the settlement to share with them their
manioc beer and their food, and to rejoice in the performance of cosharhñats
music. These gatherings generally (but not necessarily) take place on nights of
a füll moon. Guests arrive in the afternoon, and at dusk start playing their
instruments, singing and dancing to coshamñats music. The célébration may
last one or more nights and days according to the amount of manioc beer avail

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 THE AMUESHA OF CENTRAL PERU 127

able. Guests have the moral obligation of staying until t

spite of the mass conversion into Adventism and Evange
célébration has not disappeared.
According to the Amuesha, cosharhñats songs always h
After the original stealing of the cosharhñats music fro
dered ones', the divinities have revealed to the Amuesha
priests) many more cosharhñats songs. In fact it is only
'acoustical' quest that an apprentice might acquire th
Through these acoustical quests and through the actual c
the Amuesha attempt to re-establish the communication
communication which was lost at the beginning of th
ascension of Yompor Ror, the solar divinity, and the Am
low him and achieve immortality. Through the quest for
cosharhñats song the Amuesha seek a re-union with their
son, the cosharhñats célébration is eminently a religi
brating with cosharhñats music is known by the term co
Amuesha render as 'to praise Our Father and rejoice th
dancing of cosharhñats sacred songs'. It is said that w
brate with cosharhñats music the divinities rejoice and w
pants. Through the joy generated by the cosharhñats cél
become one with each other, and one with the divinit
the opening verses of Schillers 'Ode of Joy' under the
began this paper. The Amuesha ideology and practice
ther in the cosharhñats célébration. Through the cosharh
Amuesha not only enact the principies of generosity and
their social life, but establish their brotherhood through
of cosharhñats music and their common quest for salvat

Illegitimate power.

The preceding discussion on the Amuesha spirit and pr

appear to some as an 'idealized' view of a bygone era on t
or as 'romanticized' account of the latters' social syst
anthropologist. This may well be true7. However,
demónstrate, the Amuesha are not only conscious of the
lity and oppression contained within their hierarchical c
tions, but frequently comment upon présent and past ins
and coerción. The Amuesha know that their social order based on the ideal of
yamo'isesha' cannot be taken for granted, and that it can be undermined by
excessive greediness or an uncontrolled will to power.
Greediness expressed as an unchecked desire for the accumulation of mate
rial resources is regarded by the Amuesha as an irrational and foolish act that
renders power illegitimate. This contempt for accumulation is manifested both
in their myths as in their social actions. The myth of Opanesha' narrâtes how
this powerful mellañoteñ spirit attempted to take with him ail the game animais
from the valley of Oxapampa downriver to the Palcazu valley. Yompor Ror,

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 128 SOCIÉTÉ DES AMÉRICANISTES

the solar divinity, found Opanesha' while on his way to Cheporo fro
planned to ascend to heaven. When he found out what Opanesha'
to do he lectured him on the importance of not being greedy, and fin
him. Simply through the power of his words he transformed Opane
half-wit condemned to remain forever in this mortal earth. Greedin
earth is also condemned by the Amuesha. Thus, when Jeñari, a reno
powerful shaman, began to demand excessive gifts for his healing sé
réputation floundered and in a matter of a few years his clientèl
Greedy leaders are firstly criticized and finally abandoned. Greedine
as an anti-social attitude which frequently results in mutual witchcr
tions, and which in mythical discourse is regarded as bringing ruin
upon the greedy one and, eventually, the loss of the possibility of im
Power is also rendered illegitimate when it is seen as curtailin
autonomy whether in the domains of authority, labour or sex. In
central narratives of Amuesha mythology, Enc, a semi-divine fig
endowed with ail the prérogatives of the Amuesha traditional priests
trayed as a kind of ' super-priest ', is condemned for his political abso
arbitrary élimination or désignation of leaders), for his economic exp
(undue command upon the labour of his followers without reciprocat
continuous displays of generosity), and for his policing of sexuality
tion of a supernatural test of faithfulness upon Amuesha wives) (San
323-8). Power abuse is possible, and the Amuesha are not only aw
but also conscious of the forms it may assume.
Henee, for instance, in connection with the above myth the m
referred to the abuses of Senyacshopañ, James 'the bearded' (Sant
budo0, a well-known Amuesha priest who ran a ceremonial centre in
of Metraro — the Amuesha's centre of the world. I have met one
shopañ's sons : an elderly man in his seventies. This suggests that
pañ's temple was fully functioning sometime at the beginnin
Century. According to my informant, Senyacshopañ had been a
priest. He had had many divine révélations in the form of sacre
— some of which have been incorporated into the permanent rep
Coshaiññats songs. Senyacshopañ presided over a large temple an
numerous following. According tb my informant, Senyacshopañ was
by Yompor Santo, a mythical messianic divinity8, as the custodian of
tradition. Senyacshopañ claimed that the divinity had ordered hi
watch over the Amuesha, and make sure that they would continue to
divinities through the performance of coshamñats music.
When the Peruvian Corporation Company, owned by the British ho
bonds issued by the Peruvian government, established a coffee planta
to Metraro, one of its managers appointed Senyacshopañ as capitán (ca
his people. This move was aimed at utilizing Senyacshopañ's tradit
tige and authority to persuade his followers to work for the Compan
the informants' remarks it becomes apparent that once backed by the
the newly arrived white people, Senyacshopañ became authoritarian an
to exceed his traditional powers. When he summoned his follo
ordered them to sit, if someone remained on his feet he would pound

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 THE AMUESHA OF CENTRAL PERU 129

one of his arms ('as thick as logs'), and forced him to

(mis)used his authority to acquire up to six wives —
venes the priestly tradition of having only one wife.
held at the temple he ordered one of his wives to sing
immediately he sent her back to her parents, and look
authoritarian and violent behaviour undermined his leg
started to desert him. At this point the facts beco
abandoned his temple to become a full-time employée
tion. Others say that he continued running his ceremo
died, still young, with only a few followers to look aft

Conclusions.

The Amuesha discourse of love, compassion and generosity which articulâtes

the encompassing ideology of hierarchy with the encompassed ideology of equa
lity is meant to keep power in check. The Amuesha are not against power, as
Clastres seems to suggest for the Amerindian chieftains (1977 : 34), nor do they
equate power with coerción. Power is necessary for the maintenance of the
social and cosmic orders. Without the life-giving powers of the divinities, the
shamans or the priests, Amuesha society would not be viable. Nor are the
Amuesha against the division between rulers and ruled ; such a differential dis
tribution of political power, which Clastres following Rousseau sees as an
expression of political inequality (1977 : 171-3), is not seen by the Amuesha as a
threat to their egalitarian values or the maintenance of their personal autonomy.
What the Amuesha are against of, as we have seen, is abusive power, coerción
and institutionalized violence.
In the Amuesha case it is the encompassed egalitarian values, rather than the
encompassing hierarchical ones, which are socially enacted. And as Clastres
suggests, it may be said that the Amuesha — together with other Amazonian
societies — make a permanent effort to maintain and preserve their social equa
lity and their personal autonomy. This, however, should not be so surprising :
it is consistent with the moral System that sustains their egalitarian values. In
our societies, on the other hand, it is the encompassed hierarchical values,
rather than the encompassing egalitarian ones, that find expression in social
interaction and, not surprisingly, the efforts of these societies are precisely
oriented towards the perpétuation of inequality. Perhaps, as Dumont suggests,
the Amuesha know nothing about equality as a value, but they certainly have
developed a philosophical and moral system which ensures social equality even
within a hierarchical framework.

NOTES

1. In an interesting article on the Indian caste System J. Parry also argued that Dumont's model
" relies on an over-simplification which obscures some persistently egalitarian features of the Indian
scheme of values, and which produces too stark a contrast between Indian and western society "
(1974 : 95).

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 130 SOCIÉTÉ DES AMÉRICANISTES

2. This should not be an obstacle to the isolation and description of egalitar

and patterns of Organization, since as Dumont has admitted : " when a w
emboldened me to propose hierarchy as the fundamental principie of caste so
lating an Indian word, although the notion is in some manner and in one or a
tous in Indian ideology " (1977 : 19).
3. In a recent, though yet unpublished, article Richard Smith — who has ca
fieldwork amongst the Amuesha — also points out this combination between
tarian " ideology of domestic Organization and material life " and a fundam
ideology for the " Organization of social, political and religious life "
Smith's article is to attack Steward's cultural evolutionism and, more specific
montaña and western lowland societies are représentative of simple egalita
notions of hierarchy, ranking and other manifestations of cultural complexity
issue of egalitarian and hierarchical principies amongst the Amuesha leads him
(though, I hope, complementary) analytical paths than those pursued in the p
4. The Amuesha myth of création betrays a Christian influence which has b
both Smith (1977 : 85) and myself (1986a : 135). This is manifested in, for i
the primordial powerful beings : Yos may very well derive from the Span
Yosoper probably derives from the Spanish (and also English) Lucifer. Such
probably has its origins in the close contacts with Franciscan missionar
xvmth centuries (Santos 1980), should not lead us to regard the Amuesha conc
of the world and humanity as an adulterated cosmogony. There is nothing
System, and Amuesha cosmogony should be regarded as the resuit of a co
diverse origin that, having been re-elaborated according to their idiosyncratic
cannot be regarded but as a distinctly Amuesha product.
5. The following is an account of the Amuesha traditional political Syste
appeared around 1900-40 when the priest/temple complex was still fully func
the last fully established priest in 1956 marked the beginning of an era of poli
ended up with the foundation of the Congress of Amuesha Native Commun
6. When I first arrived to the field in 1977 with my colleague Frederica Bar
have our own garden. We asked our hosts for a small patch within their rec
In order not to betray our extreme ignorance of gardening knowledge and
vague notions of Western agricultural practices we started working very hard
Amuesha never interfered. When after six months our garden proved to be a
we admitted our 'defeat' only then our hosts and neighbours had a good lau
how and when did we go wrong. It was a good lesson, and one that is typi
7. In a recent article Leach has argued that : " every anthropological obser
well he/she has been trained, will see something that no other such observer
a kind of harmonie projection of the observer's own personality " (1984 :
large extent, to Leach's argument.
8. The mythical figure known as Yompor Santo corresponds to the histor
Santos Atahuallpa, a messianic rebel who led the différent Amerindian societie
taña in a war against the Spanish settlers. He succeeded and from 1742 up
Montaña was rid of the presence of white people (Santos 1980 : 126-145).

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