Commodity Production and Ethnic Culture: Otavalo, Northern Ecuador

Abstract

To be an Indian in Otavalo back in the 1940s was most likely to be a peasant. 1 To be an Indian in the 1990s was to be almost anything but a peasant: a migratory laborer, a household textile worker, a teacher, an entrepreneur, a freelance musician, or a long-distance trader, roaming countries and continents in search of profit. Over the past 40 or 50 years the relatively homogeneous Quichua-speaking peasantry-an ethnoclass, to use P. Van den Berghe's and G. Primove's term 2-gave rise to a bewildering variety of socioeconomic categories. Some of their members had shed their ethnic identities along with their peasant pasts. Others, however, refused to abandon their ethnic banners, even though these have admittedly changed-in shades, if not colors. These changes were caused, to a large extent, by the national market expansion, encouraged in the Ecuadorian Andes by the developmentalist state. One product of this expansion was the capitalist modernization of large landed estates (haciendas). 3 Another was the growth of rural and urban small commodity production. 4 Both processes, associated in the eyes of ruling elites with ''progress'' and ''civilization,'' implied the adoption of urban mestizo culture by some segments of the indigenous population. Indeed, some authors argued that the Indian culture is incompatible with the market expansion sponsored by the state. Thus, R. Stutzman suggested that ethnic identity in Ecuador is rooted in ''a concept of the nature, meaning, and purpose of human existence at odds with state-sponsored perceptions of those realities.'' 5 Similarly, to S. Varese, Indian culture is essentially a peasant culture, with its production of use rather than exchange values, the institutions of reciprocity, and the principles of authority rooted in ceremonial spending. 6 So what is the fate of ethnic culture in an increasingly commodified rural Andean society? Below, I will analyze economic and cultural changes in the textile artisan communities of Otavalo, a Quichua-speak

«El indígena tiene que estar siempre innovando»: transformaciones de la etnicidad de la diáspora comercial de Otavalo

“…El aumento de la movilidad internacional fue acompañado por la retención del control sobre la producción artesanal, así como su exportación y venta en el extranjero (Kyle 1999;2000). Entre los indígenas involucrados en la economía étnica surgieron élites intelectuales, que desempeñaron un papel clave en el desarrollo del movimiento indígena en Ecuador (Korovkin 1998).…”

Investigating the benefits and impacts of tourism development for the Tl'azt'en First Nation in northern British Columbia.

“…Although the positives of tourism are readily apparent (Morris, 1997;Tooman, 1997) the negative impacts of tourism may not be as easily seen (Korovkin, 1998;Kreag, 1997;Tovar & Lockwood, 2008). There are numerous types o f benefits and impacts (see Table 1) that could affect communities engaged in tourism (Altman & Finlayson;Faulkner & Tideswell, 1997;Grunewald, 2002;Johnston, 2006;Kreag, 2001;Mbaiwa, 2003;Smith, 2005).…”

“…The increased interest in the wares produced for tourists led the community into action to improve their infrastructure. The overall condition of the roads in the community were the most significant change, but a new running water system and schools were also built (Korovkin, 1998). Goodwin & Santilli (2009) looked at 15 various community based tourism ventures and found that 14 of the 15 "resulted in an improvement in community assets, ranging from road improvements to classical music lessons" (Goodwin & Santilli, 2009, p. 28).…”

“…In the case of the Otavalo peoples of Ecuador, the indigenous people transitioned from producing traditional goods for their own use to manufacturing items for tourist consumption. The traditional ways of the Otavalo slowly developed into new ways that were developed to suit the needs of the tourists (Korovkin, 1998). Due to this, the Otavalo are now struggling to reconnect with their culture.…”

“…The Otavalo Indians o f Northern Ecuador were forced by the growing numbers of tourists to adapt to the growing commodization and mechanization of their indigenous weaving industry. The Otavalo community did not have a choice in controlling their tourism role, but they have worked to mitigate the effects and take back some control with community groups and co-ops (Korovkin, 1998).…”