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The Shipibos
Part of the world's richest rain forest is in Peru. This region, whose difficult access made it Peru's natural border, is known by Peruvians as the Forest. The Forest's meandering rivers are also its main communication means. The Peruvian forest is 747.288 sq. km., 5 times bigger than the Coast and almost twice as big as the Highlands (the other 2 geographical regions of Peru).
The Peruvian Forest has two main ecological levels: the Omagua or Low Jungle at an altitude of 83 to 400 meters above sea level. Crops there include: cassava, sweet potato, beans, aji (or chili).
The second one is called Rupa Rupa, at an altitude of 400-1000 m.a.s.l. In it, grow mainly fruits and trees. It rains heavily throughout the year (1,000-5,000 mm of rain). The temperature varies widely between 18oC and 41oC, noon being the warmest time of the day.
Human occupation of the Forest probably started thousands of years ago, in several waves. Home for Caribbean and Central American fugitives several centuries BC the Forest became the refuge of rebels under Incas, Spaniards and Hacendados or Estate-owners.
There are presently some 30 ethnic groups living in the Forest. They have different origins and can be grouped according to their language. However, only 30 years ago, 150 ethno-linguistic groups could be identified. The greatest populated groups are Ashaninkas, Shipibo and Aguaruna.
The luxuriant Forest vegetation has given rise to the myth of great agriculture productivity, and of the Forest as the great food deposit for the year 3,000, etc. In truth, mother Nature mocks at man's naiveté.
Forest contours are constantly altered when heavy rains deviate rivers' courses causing tremendous floods. During the floods tons of valuable soil nutrients are dumped into the river bottoms. For this reason, land in the forest can only have agricultural use during 4 to 5 years.
The ethnic groups in the Peruvian forest have devised the wisest way to make use of this soil:
Gathered in small family groups, they travel along large territories, in a 25-30 year long tour before they come back to their point of departure. When they reach a suitable site, they slash and burn the plot of land and start growing beans and other crops.
Their diet is supplemented with hunting, fishing and fruit gathering while crops vary according to the amount of nutrients left in the soil, year after year. After approximately 4 years, the family group or community leaves these plots and starts once again its search for suitable areas. The used plot is left to recover itself during the next 20 or 25 years.
In this way, in harmony with nature, the Peruvian Forest Ethno-linguistic groups have been the respectful guards of the Forest wealth, and thanks to them we still have one the few rain forests left in the world.
The isolation of native communities came to an end with the arrival of missionaries, Catholic first and later on Protestants. The new religions influenced traditions and customs and gradually changed some of the native ancestral life patterns.
Economic booms in the Forest never favoured the natives, rather, they were always their abused, deprived, tortured and slaughtered victims. Rubber, oil, fine woods and more recently gold booms sparked the arrival of merciless adventurers with dramatic sequels among the natives.
The ShipibosThe Shipibo belong to the great Pano linguistic family. Panos were widely scattered in Brazil, Peru and Bolivia and included 30 different dialects. The following Pano groups live in Peru: Amaguaca, Capanahua, Cashibo, Cashinahua, Isconahua, Mayoruna, Pisabo, Sharanahua, Shipibo-Conibo, and Yaminahua.
For the first time in Peruvian history, Forest communities will be included in the national Census and although official figures are not yet available it is estimated that there are approximately 25,000 people, grouped in 110 native communities.
The word Shipibo reflects their myth of origin, meaning Ape-men (Shipi=ape, bo=particle to denote plural). Shipibos have recently associated themselves with the Conibo (whose name means Fish-men Coni = fish, bo = plural), their closest relatives in the Forest and are now known as Shipibo-Conibo.
The earliest Pano ceramic was known as Tutishcainyo and can be traced to the period between 2,000 - 500 BC They influenced the Kotosh culture that developed in Huanuco, one of the most ancient cultural complexes in Peru. Most of Shipibo phonemes are Quechua, therefore most of their development in the Forest can be associated with the Inca expansion when many rebels preferred to seek refuge in the Forest rather than live under Inca domination. However, they keep few remnants of another language, long lost to our knowledge.
By mid 1600 the first Catholic Franciscan missions arrived in the Forest, followed later on by Jesuits. The rebellion of Juan Santos Atahualpa in 1742 pushed the missionaries out of the forest for some time, but once peace was re-established the Franciscans returned.
Catholic missions caused four main changes in Shipibo traditional life patterns: 1st. Shipibos were evangelised, 2nd. they were forced to "cover their nakedness" 3rd. they were forced to learn Spanish and 4th. they were encouraged to abandon their typical celebrations.
The Industrial Revolution forced the opening of new markets and the supply of raw matters: fine woods, resins, timber and rubber were grabbed from the Forest since 1918. In the 1940's a road built between Lima and river Ucayali, and going across the impressive Boqueron del Padre Abad milestone, put the Shipibo in touch with the rest of the country.
However, Shipibos still cling to their traditional values. This is something western people cannot really cope with. For instance, a motor boat, specifically bought to collect the goods produced by handicrafters along the Contamana river, in trips that would take up to 3 weeks on canoes, are freely used by natives when there is a health or social need. Their categorisation of priorities is very different from ours. To them family and people come first, objects and products come next. Smiling in their huts, surrounded by their families, Shipibo women work very hard in the manufacturing of pottery and textiles, but they always find time to caress their children, to look after them, to gossip with other women and to laugh.
Most of the Shipibo-Conibos live South of Loreto and North of Madre de Dios, in the Ucayali region. They occupy 40% of the Lower Forest. In order to make rational use of the scarce arable lands, Shipibos do not dwell in huge settlements, but rather scatter themselves along river banks in groups of no more than 40 families. These groups keep in touch among themselves by travelling along the rivers and very few of them have access to the road.
Each family group forms a native community, an organisation created under the Military Government which follows a co-operative trend. It is directed by Administration and Surveillance Boards. Interestingly, Shipibos democratically elect their traditional group heads as formal leaders.
Despite the fact that they have the same origin, language and idiosyncrasy, Shipibos do not constitute a nation, and have no centralised leadership nor do they follow a single code of law. The various Shipibo communities relate among themselves on a horizontal basis and are extremely proud of their identity, showing always their support and solidarity to other Shipibos.
Women are the main breadwinners in Shipibo communities, whose leaders are men. New members join the community by marriage to Shipibo women while men seek wives in other Shipibo communities. It is rare to see households formed by Shipibo women and men from other ethnic groups.
In view of the high child morbi-mortality rates, Shipibo families include many children, frequently 7 or 8 in each household.
Shipibos stand out as excellent crafts-women with nearly 80% of the women producing ceramics and textiles. Fishing, hunting and fruit gathering is usually done by men while women look after the children, perform house chores and produce handicrafts. Agriculture --under the slash and burn pattern-- is a man's task, their usual crops being rice, beans (especially the Chiclayo bean),cassava and cotton.
Zebu cattle was introduced by missionaries some decades ago and Shipibo rear and sell the cows in the marketplace without making use of their milk or meat. Zebu are both a symbol of status and a means to obtain money to buy industrial goods.
For centuries Shipibos followed their religion, born from their close contact with Nature but the Catholic and other Christian missions in the Forest formally disrupted their beliefs. The Summer Language Institute played a significant role in this respect since it is located in the Shipibo area of influence.
School has been another important foreign factor affecting the Shipibo culture; it imposed Spanish as official language among school children until bilingual education started in the 70's.
Sawmills have also forced their way into Shipibo lands and pushed the true owners away. Gradually, new industries are exploiting the forest resources; for instance, great volumes of bananas and other fruits are being industrially processed thereby depriving Shipibos of one of their main food sources. What Shipibos used to collect from nature they must now pay for at the marketplace.
Fishing, hunting and agriculture barely feed the Shipibo, therefore handicrafts are their main means to have the money they need; there are no other money-producing alternatives in their region. Money is mainly invested in education and in buying clothes, other industrial items and lately, local food products.
Skill in handicrafts is developed at a very early stage in life. Girls start painting material at the age of 4 and even earlier. Boys are taught how to make wood toys (little animals, dolls and tops). Hunting with guns has replaced traditional bows and arrows manufacturing and that technique is being lost.
Shipibo designs show their vision of the Universe. Their refined geometrical designs are sophisticated interpretations of cosmic beliefs, they believe that jungle rivers follow the same course as stars and constellations.
Shipibos are now organised to commercialise their handicrafts as a means to obtain money and better working alternatives in an industrialised society that corners them every day.
Maroti ShoboIn order to streamline support to the Shipibo-Conibo population in the Peruvian Forest, a self-managed organisation was created in 1970 with HIVOS support. The Confederation of Craftsmen and Agriculture Workers, Maroti Shobo includes 33 native communities, represented collectively through their respective Producers Associations. Besides trading handicrafts, Maroti Shobo developed a series of projects on communications, agriculture, sanitation, etc. with foreign support. The execution and co-ordination of Maroti Shobo projects was monitored by foreign consultants, Peruvian professionals and Shipibo workers.
Maroti Shobo has an important impact on the Shipibo-Conibos. It has gathered communities whose contact is hindered by long distances. To take their goods to Maroti Shobo's headquarters in Pucallpa some community members must travel for 2 days by boat while others require 8 and even 15 day-journeys by boat.
Politically and social-wise, Maroti Shobo has provided a valuable space for discussion of key-issues among various family groups going beyond their own communities. They have exercised their democratic rights by directly voting at the General Assemblies and actively participating in drafting their rules and regulations. More recently, they have implemented secret votes in their elections. Maroti Shobo is a legally and formally constituted organisation, and thanks to it Shipibos are now dealt with and considered as valid counterparts in economic and administrative transactions.
In the economic sphere, Maroti Shobo has provided the Shipibos with a wider vision and understanding of what selling their products is about. They have understood market rules and learnt how to handle them. Under this new approach, natives are no longer exploited by middlemen and any buyer must better Maroti Shobo's prices if he wants to purchase Shipibo handicrafts. Shipibo handicrafts are high-quality products and are very well accepted in the Peruvian marketplace and in solidary markets abroad.
The sole existence of this organisation has driven Shipibos towards higher education and aim at technical and managerial positions in Maroti Shobo.
In some communities, handicraft producers have organised workshops and vegetable orchards to feed the community as a whole. They have also participated in the building of latrines and several handicraft producing centres have become schools.
Maroti Shobo's relationship with Minka started with Minka only being in charge of exporting Maroti Shobo's products. However, in 1990, Minka included Maroti Shobo among the handicraft producer organisations working with it and is now the only buyer of Maroti Shobo's products.
Under its policy of promoting self-funding among its beneficiary groups, HIVOS withdrew financial support from Maroti Shobo 18 months ago. Unfortunately this took place at a moment of severe contraction in the domestic market and complete absence of international and domestic tourism in Pucallpa, buyers of Shipibo goods.
In this new stage, Maroti Shobo has modified its work strategy. Before, Maroti Shobo workers visited its 30 communities - even the farthest ones - by boat and collected goods to stock them in Pucallpa and fill with them all purchase orders. At present, they only work with the 10 communities closer to Pucallpa; they give them purchase orders to fill and producers must take the products to Maroti Shobo headquarters. In this way the organisation needs less money and avoids space and storage expenses.
Some natives think that throughout its 13 years of existence, Maroti Shobo has provided the necessary training for its associates to ensure their autonomy and survival.
Maroti Shobo's experience has indeed prepared the communities in improving their handicrafts' production, they now have a greater work dynamics and are able to organise their work so as to comply on time with customers' orders.
Well aware of the fact that their organisation needs funds to efficiently centralise handicraft trading, Maroti Shobo members have agreed to support their organisation. In its last general assembly, Maroti Shobo agreed to cutback overhead expenses, that are high because the organisation is legally and formally constituted. Seven of the 12 staff members voluntarily resigned and at present only 5 people work at Maroti Shobo: 2 of them are on the payroll with reduced wages and 3 leaders co-operate for a very small remuneration.
Maroti Shobo now depends on Minka purchase orders but this is not enough. In the next 2 or 3 years, Maroti Shobo must have the especial support from the solidary market, through purchases or donations if its existence is to be continued. Otherwise, this wonderful experience of organisation will come to an end.
Shipibos also face acute health problems, mother and child mortality rates are higher than among other ethnic groups and the State does not even provide Primary Health Care. The campaign against cholera was the first campaign ever in the area and had full support from the population.
To ensure the survival of Maroti Shobo's and - above all - of the Shipibo handicraft producers, their products must be placed in the solidary market, especially until the domestic market recovers itself. Maroti Shobo is perfectly capable of catering on time all the purchase orders it receives.
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