By Christina White

In Cuenca, Ecuador a portion of the ruins of the great civilization of the Incas stands tall almost directly in the center of the city. Surrounded by tall, official-looking buildings, fast food restaurants, and a shopping mall complete with movie theater and insufficient parking, this massive structure of crumbling stones appears to anchor the city to a time, a people, and a culture, that in the past many have been desperate to forget.

In our history classes we are told the victory of the Spanish Conquistadores over the ill-equipped native populations of South America was swift and complete. In their ruthless religious fervor and greed the Spanish, aided by a handful of highly contagious diseases, obliterated the indigenous culture and people, in a flash, destroying centuries of tradition. What our history books fail to mention is that these native populations were not just unorganized bands of people awaiting the arrival of their brothers from the west, they were great empires, and great empires die hard.

Cuenca, a city of a little more than five hundred thousand in the Andean mountain region of Ecuador, was once one of the major strongholds of the Incas before the arrival of the Spanish. As a result it, like many other cities in South America, is a world of sharp contrasts. Despite the eff orts of the Conquistadores to assimilate the native population, ancient Indigenous culture has enjoyed a measure of continuity among native peoples and everyday life in this city is marked by the meeting of the two.

A walk through the center of town reveals the visual markers of this reality. Men and women in suits speed through cobblestone streets in expensive cars on their way to those tall, official-looking buildings while old women arrive on buses from the surrounding indigenous communities with baskets full of food, clothes, and other goods to sell at the indigenous market in the city. Surrounding this market Catholic churches rest on the foundations said to be made of the remnants of Inca buildings. The people also provide evidence of this phenomenon

The city and the country at-large are also marked by the racial classifications that have arisen. White descendents of the Spanish have been placed at the peak of the social stratum. To be able to say one’s lineage is filled only with Spanish blood is a claim which engenders great respect in Ecuador. Next in line are the mestizos (those of mixed blood) and indigenous Ecuadorians reside at the bottom of the social barrel. These classifications make for a tense and at times tumultuous relationship between the Ecuadorian government, primarily run by whites and mestizos, and indigenous people. Several times a week in Cuenca, indigenous Ecuadorian citizens can be seen holding demonstrations in opposition to unfair treatment from the government and the inattention of government officials to indigenous issues such as inadequate healthcare and primary schooling.

Further aggravating the daily culture clash is the recent movement by many whites and mestizos in the area to “reclaim” certain aspects of ancient Incan culture. Excavation of the archaeological site, Pumapunga, which rests in the middle of the city, began only two years ago as part of this movement. On one side of the ruins exists a large museum, Le Museo del Banco Central. It is home to many art exhibits including those of pre- and post-colonial times and serves as a base for the intellectuals who are heading the restoration of the site as well as other initiatives in the rediscovery of Incan traditions and
culture. The problem for many who are skeptical of this sudden interest is that none of these intellectuals are indigenous. As a private organization, Le Museo del Banco Central has significant funds available to its anthropologists and researchers for the development of this project. Millions of dollars have already been spent and the ruins have been opened to tourists. As Cuenca becomes more popular as a tourist attraction some question whether the Le Museo del Banco Central possesses true desire to understand the culture of the Incas or is motivated by an opportunity to capitalize financially.

Another form this movement takes is an interest in indigenous medical practices and spirituality. Long before the Europeans arrived, the Incas like other indigenous peoples all over the world had been practicing medicine since the beginning of their people and had developed a system of selecting and training medicine men to serve them. As the practice of medicine in the Incan tradition, like many others, was closely related to the spirituality of the people it served, the efforts of the Conquistadores to convert the Incan population and their descendents to Catholicism combined with other factors led to the near complete destruction of this order of healers. Western medicine took hold in their absence and remains the primary method of medicine for most Ecuadorians.

Traditional medicinal practice is still very much alive, however. UNISAY is a small indigenous health organization with minimal government funding based in Cuenca. Headed by a local Yachak-a title indicating one of the levels of training as a traditional healer-the organization raises money for the continuation of these practices and holds small conferences on aspects of indigenous healing techniques for local healers. In addition, Yachak Manuel Montero offers his services as a healer to the community.

Some indigenous traditional healers are offended by mestizo attempts to become involved in this aspect of their history. Many become protective, seeing the interest as an extension of colonialism, an attempt to steal a part of their history. When confronted with this view, tour guide and manager of a local hostel, Eduardo Astradillo who classifies himself as a mestizo, replies, “The Spanish have been here for over 400 years at this point, it’s our history too.” Who will solve this issue of entitlement is perhaps a moot point. The reality begs the question of how the friction that results from the contact of these two cultures, one fabled to be dead in the history books of our childhood, will play out in the end. Only time will tell.

In the meantime, the city of Cuenca remains a town marked by a conflict between the old and the new. The last ruler of the Incan Empire, Atahualpa, fought valiantly to preserve his civilization and ultimately he was defeated by the Spanish Conquistador, Fancisco Pizarro. But the Spanish victory was not as complete as it is historically rendered to have been. Today a sculpture honoring Atahualpa’s father Huayna Capac, one of the great Incan rulers, stands about one hundred yards from Pumapunga pointing proudly at its apex as if ordering his people forward to reclaim their place. Strangely from afar his stance resembles that of a Spanish Conquistador pointing inland upon arrival on the shores of South America. Perhaps this metaphoric blending of the two is the real answer. Each culture needs to be able to stake claim to a part of Cuenca, be it past or present.

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 24th, 2007 at 1:41 am and is filed under Lifestyle. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.