Ambiguous Visions: Nature, Law, and Culture in Indigenous-Spanish Land Relations in Colonial Peru

Abstract

The defense of community lands against European encroachment was one of the hallmarks of indigenous resistance to colonial domination. Communal lands were vital to indigenous peoples’ social and biological reproduction, and little, if anything, was more important to them. In fact, land was an important part of the equation that defined them as distinct peoples; it was a source of their ethnic identity. They knew their lands and the signs of changing weather and seasons just as well as they knew the backs of their hands. Their very lives depended upon this knowledge. Where possible, they even remade the natural world to fit their needs by altering the landscape with terraces that transformed steep hillsides into more gently sloped, productive agricultural fields equipped with irrigation canals and aqueducts that Europeans observers like Pedro de Cieza de Leon greatly admired.1Access to land also provided indigenous peoples with the most important means to meet economic demands of the state such as tribute, while family access to land, usually through the rights of the adult male tributary, was the right that most clearly defined membership in the community. Since mountains, rocks, bodies of water, and other natural objects were often sacred, even one’s relationship to the spiritual world often had geographic specificity. A natural (a term commonly used for an indigenous person in the colonial period) who moved to a distant location often encountered sacred places with attributes similar to those he or she had known before, but the new places or objects of veneration did not necessarily have the same depth of meaning incumbent in a knowledge and faith developed in familiar surroundings and nourished from childhood through adulthood.2 Thus, threats to Andean peoples’ control of the land was a threat to their culture and their lives, their very existence.This article explores the relationship that developed between indigenous peoples and Spanish colonial administrators and individuals during the struggles for village lands in the region of rural Cuzco along the upper Vilcanota (Urubamba) river, especially in the provinces of Tinta (also know as Canas y Canchis because of the two predominant ethnic groups, the Canas and the Canchis, who lived there) and Quispicanchis. These provinces or partidos lie between the former Inca capital and Lake Titicaca. In the late eighteenth century they were at the heart of the Túpac Amaru rebellion, the rebel leader being a curaca from Tinta. In examining the interactions between villagers and Spaniards, I draw special attention to the importance of power, face-to-face relationships, and cross-racial cooperation and interdependence. My research that this was a world in were more by and by and indigenous were often in with one just as were at with their European Europeans and to villagers from their they often to or other or to indigenous peoples in rural Cuzco to European encroachment with an for an they used a of of the to their They very of the colonial to their lands while to the of they to the social at the they the of colonial In this article explores in the of and land by examining land and in the of colonial land during the late and eighteenth in part to the between and Canas y Canchis and the of land not a of the but it The of to Cuzco with the even the in the of and for the region of the of but land into European hands. The in Tinta was more similar to in Europeans were to and was indigenous land the were not the the of colonial Andean I to two or that to and the land in Tinta and with other of In two partidos was very of the of land and that in while the of at in the a similar to the upper of the region of and indigenous land in Canas y Inca from Cuzco the of from Andean the region of Canas y Canchis was a of ethnic land and their the The Vilcanota the region especially The lands were not a for and in the between the Lake and but were more and to most of the lands in the mountains, and These with their and were for and the of a of such as the used in they were also land of being the to the of a productive relationship in the between and land y and as was a in the and agricultural in the were often and to lie for and and other lands and them. was also to the at the of The steep hillsides to as well as and the not the the same as a the of and but the y also that land was more in other the of and their and to the of Andean such as those in like Canas y Canchis, them to with European those such a and European into their of a of The needs of the and with and were just one but an important in the of land the of The and land was was a in with a such as in and especially in had not the region with and had this was important in the colonial to the in of a of by for had to the In peoples to in but other as were not to by most this to the in the Andean even in the late eighteenth century indigenous a of the in the region and the of Europeans were as as in that the the of the was with the In other the of an community was most the of had the of lands the community was by the land because of and a source of and in Canas y Canchis, it a between the and with a ethnic the of did not from to by in the just to Inca the Canas the Canchis to have had a the of the Inca of the in region Canas y Canchis in to Lake the of the of was to in Canas or have in to the of the the the and the not to but to the of peoples from and The of the Canas lived the of the while the Canchis were the to this and in of in a to more was by the of Canas y Canchis, if not a of a distinct was but and Inca with them the The of was not an even to the colonial Canas to the The that were of by but they were distinct for to to them and and the of the and the Canchis and Canas the colonial in their Spanish the of ethnic and new especially the of most had lived in The to peoples for of economic them to and them more control to from their and into known as by de in the of and ethnic In most the also into as of and the colonial and even as in one of the Canas y Canchis community of lands were at from the and and were and The of this for as an to by other in the the and often and more of to meet the needs of was by the that had lands that had the and the colonial at in Tinta and was a or of indigenous and Thus, in this region the the or land of to have for it was most often also by indigenous lands that the state to in of needs were or the the of in to Tinta and were also to their while from other lands to as the were into but they had The in the of in the late century the of this as they from and and were to the eighteenth century colonial and in the indigenous world had to in and Canas y Canchis that were at as as they had to the European this a this was most clearly not at a or ethnic but at the of the and in the of peoples of rural Cuzco were not in this was in the in of the in that one Spanish through the was that of and like into the of through and as an important part of this for of ethnic was the were a more of by the of the eighteenth century the of had just part of the along the upper for while the Spanish have to peoples by more and of the was often the and their in and Canas y Canchis and to as a but with a of Thus, the Spanish part of their in that or were not as as and ethnic but the also provided a for indigenous peoples to or to a most to the the very of indigenous land, in that to of between was just one of European land that lands to the Inca state and the to by with the of the and to lands through the of also transformed one of the most of the two in Canas y Canchis in the century not to a but to Inca Inca with the while the resistance against the cooperation Inca was an the former Canas of de was as this in the to from and of Canas y Canchis was not as to Europeans as of the Cuzco had lands and The late colonial and rural Cuzco with for the economic of of Canas y the to their the to a for the the colonial by the peoples of the Vilcanota region were in the defense of their they did not of in their more often that they as the to their community and the Spanish as one of the of the Spanish this by a that a for the the de a special for a special that and a of that indigenous in the was The of a of important to the of the rights and to the colonial a of to the state and the that villagers of rural Cuzco to the that also for colonial also the of indigenous lands through means by the the had but to the were not the of resistance or but also for more the of land and the of most often or against the of the Spanish who developed that with colonial this were the to meet the of the indigenous who and the of de lands to in the as who the land, and the they the land, to their They also that of their community to with Spaniards, who The that against their to have to their had a very the They that did not attention to their that they not or community but those of because of they and their not their or tribute, they to the and the of not means that more those in the were to to and but not land in the or those with to have used their to from or to those also the of the for while were or and had a of or the to a with knowledge of colonial more to and from their and just In a curaca in de that the same was to community that often in lands with Spaniards, the their just because they not have the to the of and Thus, while encountered in the most often the indigenous it that other were to or were from the as did not lands with the same The lands between and the were the most They were to the of with for the and Canas y Canchis and most of this region was for the irrigation productive was that of Cuzco had their with and de or were that the but were by other The of were of a for the if often for the indigenous and while and were to or and Andean such as and or were usually for and the of and Canas y Canchis the but had for in this region of with such as or the the or These for agricultural in Thus, in European and indigenous and had in as as natural and to the eighteenth century Europeans lived in the of the two and such as being late as in Tinta that lived in the of an indigenous The of and that were in the with in Pedro or de lived in Pedro and two Spanish in in and were Spanish and just a as The community of one to and as lived in the Since Europeans in the lands to this that land between and Europeans was in the Vilcanota of and along the that from Cuzco through and into the In this the Europeans to of who the or were the Their and their as well as their Spanish and were important in the of for the of the and the of the Spanish to lands and to or individuals with land and to defined as the of European such as and the the of from the of the that often the to more and into lands not and colonial fields and were to being and lands also or other to lands were to Europeans during the and In the region of was a of of land at as as the and into the The for the of indigenous lands have the The of their and lands to or peoples of rural Canas y Canchis, but and the but of lands that had not and more late as the the community of had of one as as from the a the one in were to if this had this or if it had into it during the colonial the or of the or of more distant had part of an of to in at of their had in in Cuzco and in an of an in The into the of of land in in the and in the community of the century the Spanish that community that lands just and for a of known as were a source for the a and for a by the in with land de were of and of in to to and to not have by of were by at and were a especially at the of who to de of who had as well as also used to their the and de a of village have in Canas y Canchis, with indigenous peoples control of their lands did those in other In this developed of the of and vital to indigenous peoples’ of their lands and culture in the colonial indigenous lands to Europeans were through the of the colonial and land and lands from them into the of demands also to and to lands to meet state In this even an if means of lands to the of to the the their was and was or of meet their the of land for of their but one an community the such the and the de that it to the lands the who had them was to a was to of a to the to the to with the of to part with lands in for the de land to in those in they to the land, in to with their The the of the of was In the the that this was In the was in the (a known to to indigenous from the Andean or and it was to the was more to a in the and the threat of by their of lands was into in most by the of rural Cuzco had to meet to the and this to the of their with the demands of their the curaca of in the state for the right to lands as and The also that in the had the and to of the to them to the of and were to part with lands for they In the late eighteenth century one was to in the lands the had by an the was not to the was by the A indigenous had a and fields in as well as other in and to in the it was that he the de and the were to the of a family for to a in their two also to lands to a for they They one land, for water, the being to an irrigation in for the the of the that the a of were to colonial in with the and to to to have the of lands in rural Cuzco from indigenous to the European but had and in the the land needs to two or like by the that the colonial state the Spanish at the of the in with indigenous had to needs into but it had not the that the to between and In like the of from a in the and to a by the the of such as the a of and as to their as land by an not to the community but to the The for usually such if the community did not and even it it the a from as he to the being by the colonial to the the did not had between them and the or the lands were a lands as Spaniards, but community that the land had not for with and a of being during that fields were for to during were the lands were not by indigenous did the of not or the Spanish of the not if the the of from the if an had or if the villagers did not have lands to for or to meet other other they new they were not with the In the of being with the and of the The of a who was to one of the other an indigenous of de to the of a with The of to for a of at the was to to the community. In the had of and the land that were also part of the had with the the of community as and the of it very that for the or other of the in other de the was to that she to the and had not into it by to the such had the the of the and the and being were in a similar to and the they and their and family lands to a for a land were not in of European land the was by the of colonial who In and Canas y Canchis this of not to have and colonial to European those of the relationships, or to the indigenous The of that had to through their the of their to in in their the to that not have to the this the threat of a the of did not or did not in the the curaca of that de de and them and had them of two of as well as that the were and the the and of in to the who to their and other the that who had in the had and from their that the community and the as if they were their while them from that greatly the from one of lands to The that in of their and this the was the of a Spanish community the and other of the of Spaniards, and the of the had to of lands and from in lands in were by a de the did not to the natural also the to that lands and that for their because he them the of he to natural that the did not to to the he with de the of in the of the of that the who de with by and lands to a European that the community had and at the of the de and the of the land, was not for A from the that the had the land from and that they had that the of the community and the who had the land for the this like for were the source of the and their in with the their while their and in of the the Europeans control of indigenous in or the was and the of indigenous peoples to their their of was and had and the land they from the colonial to fields and but had to The indigenous world of rural Cuzco was not and it was colonial and other to the of indigenous the was not or for and a of were to indigenous and other were used to and in to lands or were and were Europeans even used indigenous and and and threats were to from their that to their lands of was to and or lands and to or resistance resistance was not the lands the de control of the with of control through or that the lands were not or used by a lands to other were to in this the the other to the of the who to the lands to the of the of in had not an a the even that the of he more and and that the had to the state for had to an to a means to land from villagers in the colonial and one of the most was along the Vilcanota the community of In and Pedro of in the of the of the to them that have had and the of the of land and and other A and de and had their lands by and against the fields to the from that had the land for at and that it had them by Spanish of that he and knew that the and of had and two of and the that the Spanish had a to the land, that the of their a Pedro and by the and them in with and they of and that were land, and they from one to of the of their it two their for land had more this have had and were the by a Spanish at the very of the century to other from their land, he had The that he the for a and as a source of for and The that he had and that he the through of the he was the of against the that he had a and of their in of the he to and it for and he and and of and These the and other the the community had and the and the had and them. In the of had or of the of the and had to The de the of the lands to the and the for that the the land to the and the lands to the because it against the of the also colonial that the have was to and in this in of being it very that their defense was from The also attention to the that while the a he also an in the of he to to the and the was to The was a from and the as to he did not the were and as well as for the In the also that the from was more the the and that if the was not they their and the their was in the by and lands with this had the from the de he de of and at the same the of by the a very the of and that were often with the importance of land, for and were not agricultural and for most were used for In along with other that and of or did them with a had moved and their The that that in with their community and he was and other in had that the of and from Spaniards, and in Pedro de and de who have the community of the and of their The Pedro de the and the were in of their and Pedro was the of the was to had to in and were were often at the of In and in the of of that one of the who that of knew had their These were lands to the by the and had to them The of was in Canas y Canchis, and the in were A that the in the fields of to the of and he had known this he was to know such de a also for the had lived in for and the were knew that while the fields in were to those of they to a the and the the was in of the land as important as the land were of water, or in and and while and to or a and villagers were and usually to indigenous peoples were especially to A not to meet needs and the colonial the of and with upon to or economic for a a natural such was not by their to with economic of their or the of or from natural in and resistance and the of a greatly a curaca in to of in that of and the to meet their in The of the against such to that it had such a that the not even their the that agricultural this to in or other other Spaniards, the of that the was that of The also the and that the to their in and not in or the of the the in and and not to the that the to the by indigenous and Spanish the and a that community the of and at the same to the those places the and from such as the Vilcanota or and the that used to the lands were by and and a into and same to their irrigation to their fields or to the of the indigenous In the village but the of this was mor

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