LATIN AMERICAN INDIAN

LITERATURES JOURNAL

LATIN AMERICAN INDIAN

LITERATURES JOURNAL

A Review of Amcncan Indian Texts and Studies

A Review of Amerirnn Indian Texts and Studies

EDITORIAL BOARD
Editor: Mary H. Preuss
Book Review Editor: Monica Barnes
!i.fesoamcrican l\famiscripts Editor: Il1cridc.th Paxton

Editorial Assistants: Juliana Murin, Marcie Stahl-Rosiek

BOARD OF ADVISORS
Ram6n Arz?.p;ci\o Marln,[Tnircrsidad Narimw! A11t6nm11a de Mi!xiro
Georges Baudot, UnfrersitA de To11!011se-Le Mirail
Elizabeth Benson, !11.~1ir111e of Andean Srudies (Berkeley)
\Villiam Brito Sansores, Unil'C!rsrdad de Yucn/611
Gordon Brnthcrston, University of Essex, University of Indiana
Domingo Dzul Poot, lnstituto ,\Tadmrn! de .1ntrap()!ogia e Historia
Jill Furst, Moore College
Frances Karttunen, ['niversity of.Texas, Austin
Ana tilde Idoyaga Molina, Centro Argentina de Etnologia Americana
\foarten Jansen, Rijks1111ivcrsitcit te Leiden
Jorge Klor de Alva, Um\crsity of Phoenix
Miguel Le6n-Portilla, Uniiersidad .Vacimw! A11t611ama de Mh;i('O
Luis Mil!oncs, Unii'crsidad ,Vacimw! Jfayor de San ,,farcos
Joel Sherzer, U11f1crsity ofTe~Y:aS, Auslin
Nancy Troike, Fnhersity of Texas, Austin
Juan Adolfo V<lzquez, Unfrer;~ily of Pittsh11rgh
Jolrnnncs Wilbert, Uni1crsity of California, Los Angeles

Vol. 25, No. 2, Fall 2009

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page

Articles
Ho1J1St. Bartholo1new Becante a Nak'aq: Representations
o/Nak'aq-Slaughterers and the Church in Quechua Oral
Narratives by Alison Krogel

103

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Who Does a "Literate Native" Represent? The Case o.f

Gua111an Panza de Ayala by Adriana Iris Churarnpi flan1irez

134

McKeesport, PA 15132-7698. Phone: ( 412) 675-9466; fax: (412) 366-0942; E-mail:

nilipl@psu.edu

Voices of the IndigC.nous World

ISSN: 0888-5613
Copyright LAIL 2010 Journal. All Rights Reserved

The Brave Young Man and the Elderly Mayor translated by

Janet Zayas

152

Who Does a "Literate Native"

Represent? The Case of
Guaman Poma de Ayala
Adriana Iris Churampi Ramirez
Leiden University
Y aci ... pas6 n1uchos dias y aiios yndetenT1inando hasta
que uencido de 1ni y tantos aftos, .. . acabo de tan antigo
deseo, que fue cienpre buscar en la 1udeza de mi engenio y
ciegos ojos y poco uer y poco sauer, y no ser letrado ni
dotor ni lesenciado
. (Guanian Po1na de Ayala

2001:8)1

The first colonial characterizations of indigenous matter are

generally found in documents written by travelers, conquerors, mis-

sionaries, and administrators during the centuries that innnediately followed the sixteenth- and seventeenth-century arrival of the Western
culture in the American continent. Many authors of such cr6nicas de
Indias beca1ne widely .la1own as the voices2 that discovered and narrated the existence of America to the World: Christopher Colmnbus,
Pedro Cieza de Le6n, Fernando Gonzalez de Oviedo, Inca Garcilaso de
la Vega, Friar Roman Pane, and Bartolon16 de las Casas.
The works of more than 200 chroniclers have survived the passage of time for study by current scholars. However, we are much less
fanllliar with the nan1es of Juan de Santa Cruz Pachacuti Yamque Sal Ca
Maihua (Relaciones de antigi'iedades de las incas), Tito Cusi Yupanqui
(Relacibn de la conquista y hechos de! Inca) and Felipe Guaman Poma
de Ayala (Nueva corbnica y buen gobierno) in the Andean region, or
the Mesoamerican historians Domingo Chin1nl pahin from An1ecameca,
Hen1ando de Alva lxtlilxochitl, and Fernando Alvarado Tezozomoc

from the College of Santa Cruz de Tlatelolco. Hardly any of these authors are known to the general public despite the fact that their works

contributed equally to the historical account by providing the native

peoples' viewpoints.3
This article focuses on one of the indigenous chroniclers, the
Andean Guan1an Poma de Ayala. His Nueva Coronica i buen gobierno
(1615) is both a textual and a visual work, as it contains tnany original
drawings. The author has been called a "literate native," a tenn used in
the colonial era for those who assi111ilated and applied the characteristics of the prevailing colonial nanative i.n their texts. This study provides new insights by exanlining how the cause of the colonized can
truiy be represented through the features (writing, language, and cultural norms) that characterize the nlental struct11re of the colonizer.

Who Was Guaman Poma de Ayala?

Felipe Guaman Po111a was born in Ayacucho or in Huftnuco,
Peru, sometime between 1535 y 1550-the details are not known
precisely~i.e., some years after the a1Tival of the Spanish conquerors.
His father belonged to an in1portant reahn, Yarovilca, that had been
subdued by the Incas shortly before. Although it is not certain, it seems
likelythat his frunily inembers owned lands and were distinguished pe~
ple.4 This is suggested by the 1neaning of his fan1ily nmne: gua1na11 is
hawk, king of the birds, and pon1a is the pun1a, king of the ani111als, the
111ost feared. Guaman Po1na considered hilnselfto be an heir to two i111portant cuitural influences: the Inca, through his n1ate1ual lineage in
which his inother was the younger child of the eleventh Inca Tupac
Yupanqui and the Yarovilca, through his paternal lineage. Guaman
Po111a de Ayala adopted his second fatnily naine fiom a n1ate111al
half-brother, Ayala, a clergyn1an who taught his whole fa1nily to read
and write. This half-brother was significant in Felipe Gumnan Po111a de
Ayala's education because he facilitated access to religious and historical readings and fan1iliarized hiin with the chroniclers of the ti1ne.
Later, Gurunan Pon1a de Ayala's 111aste1y of indigenous languages enabled him to beco1ne the interpreter for the visitador ~rist6~al
de Albon1oz, among others. Accotnpanying this extirpator of1clolatr1es
during his inspection tours, Felipe Gua1nan Po1na traveled tl1roughout
the country, taking the oppo1tunity to read every docu111ent he could

find in convent archives and libraries. He also learned to draw and

served in other positions, such as secretary and notary, that helped him
master the colonial legislation. In his n1anuscript Guaman Poma de
Ayala describes the trips he realized in order to gather testimonies that
suppo1ted the composition of his great work.
Guaman Poma de Ayala was an educated person, well aware of
his capacities and how they could serve his people; and one of the missions he undertook was the organization of a school for the natives. This
was innnediately regarded as a center for rebels5 because he taught
reading and writing and trained the students to write documents to assert their rights. TI1ese activities, in the long run, discredited him in the
eyes of the autholities.
Numerous legal actions were filed against him because he dared
to claim his tights, express criticism, and fervently defend the cause of
his people; and he was deported many times. The official record of this
is found in a document dated 18 December 1600 and signed by Gaspar
Alonso Rivero, lieutenant of the Corregidor of Huamanga. In 1615,
Guaman Pon1a de Ayala concluded his nlanusclipt and sent it to the
Spanish King, which is the last known event of his life. 6

The Primer nueva coronica y buen gobierno

The manuscript titled "El primer nueva cor6nica y buen
gobien10 co111puesto }X)r don Felipe Gurunan Po1na de Ayala, sellor y
principe"7 (First New Chronicle and Good Government by Don Felipe
Guaman Po1na de Ayala, Lord and .Prince) contains 1189 pages, These
include the chronicle w1itten in seventeenth-century Spanish, with excerpts in Quechua and Aymara, and 398 pages of illustrations, which
have helped make the work famous. It can be divided into two parts
(L6pez-Baralt 1988:75), the first of which consists of fourteen chapters
concerning the pre-Inca, Inca and conquest periods of Peruvian history.
The second section (thirty-t,vo chapters) narrates abuses perpetrated by
the colonial regime and concludes with the author's proposals for political reforms to establish a fairer goven11nental syste1n in an autonomous
Andean state, independent from Spain:

y las yndias son prapietarias natural es deste rreyna, y las

espaiioles, naturales de Espafia. Ac<i en este tTeyno son

estrangeras, 1nitilnays. Cada una en su rrey~a son
propietarios lexiti111as, poseedo~es, no par el rrey c1:1a par
Dias y par justicia de Dias: H1zo el 1nunda y la t~erra y
plant6 en ellas cada cin1iente, el espafiol en Castilla, el
yndio en las Yndias el negro en Guynea. (Gua111i:in Po1na
8
de Ayala 2001 :929l

The Narrative Dilemma

An aspect of El prirner nueva cor611ica y buen gobierno, that ~s

of crucial interest to this investigation is Guan1an Po111a de Ayala s as.~1ration to publish his docun1ent. Even in the foreword he tells the Chnstian reader:
Y Ia dicha 1nerced pide y suplica para cienpre de la dicha
ynpreri6n a su M[agestad], del dicho libro co111puesto
par el dicho autor, don Felipe Gua1nan Po1na de Ayala,
sefior y capac apa, ques prencipes, pues que la.1nerese d~
la di cha auilidad y trauajo (ibid., p. 11, e111phas1s added).
He wants to be listened to, he wants to transcend. Thus he undertakes this vigorous task using ele1nents and techniques fron1 a co111inunication form typical of the colonizer: writing. Even ~ore rerna1:kable is Guaman Pon1a de Ayala's desire to transforn1 his 111anuscn~t
into a book to be read by a greater nu1nber of people beyond the 111a1n
addressee, the King.
y aci esta Cor6nica es para todo cl inundo y crist~an~a~l;

hasta Ios ynfieles sc deue uello para la dicha buenaJUSt1c1a

10
y pulicia y Iey del 111undo. (ibid., p. 1178)
COMIENZA DEL CAPl[TV]LO DE LA PRE[GVN]TA:
Pregunta S[acra] C[at6lica] R[eal] M[agestad] al au~or
Ayala para sauer todo lo que ay ~n e~ i:reyno de las Ynd1as
del PirU para el buen gobie1no y JUsttcrn .... A la pregunta
de su Magestad rresponde el autor y habla con su
l\1~gr:sti:id y dize: S[acra]C[at6lica]R[eai]M[agestad], ."
1ne a de uyr inuy atenta1nente. Acauado, pr.egunte vuestia
Magestad. Yo 1ne huelgo de dalle el au1so de todo cl

rreyno par~ i.nemoria del mundo y grandesa de vuestra

Magestad (1b1d., p. 974, einphasis added). 11
He was so convinced of the itnportance of wtitingthathe tmdertook the. challenge of narrating the history of a people without alphab~tic wntrng. Hrs Jobs 1n the official bureaucracy n1ay have convinced
hin1 even more o~ the force ?f writing as a decisive instnunent ofpower.
Hence he .established a hteracy ~~paign for his fellow-men and
strongly cntic1~ed the correg1dores - who refused to create schools for
the nati.ves. Hts project on good govennnent suggested, too, that the
person 1n .charge of the inventory and administration (in a same 1nanner
as the qrnpus) should be the notary, a recollection of the function he
himself once perfo1n1ed. 13 Guaman Poma de Ayala thoroughly understood the absolute authority exercised by \vriting, prevalent in the sixteent? and seventeenth centuries in Europe, as a consequence of the
mysti,;al character that the Middle Age Christians had bestowed on it
(1.e., And the Word .became flesh and made his dwelling among us,"
John 1.1.14). To c011sider wntmg as a symbol of civilization was one of
the colonizer's convi~tions; th~nce, Blthough a large number of people
we.re not able to r~a~ in A1nerica, writing w1'ls used as a means ofproselyt1s1n and ~atech121ng by transfonning it into iconic codes (images with
~etters). This. way, the process of catechizing taught the respect for the
image to which the letter was linked, even ifthe faithful people had no
1d~a what all that meant. Guaman Poma de Ayala not only understood
this process, but also used it against the oppressor.
Th~

chroni?ler ~a.stered the technique of the images and put it

to the service .of his political proposal. He aimed at entering into the
western consc10usness through a visual approach, following the tradition ofrehg1ot~s_ 1?1ages but conferring upon them an overtly subversive
c~nten~. He ~nt1c1~e~ the conquest and the colonial enterprise. His confiontal!On with wntmg became more difficult, which is why he linked
the letter to the unage in an attempt to transmit a meaning for which he
could not find a linguistic equivalent. Writing, on the otl1er hand was
1nore. closely intertwin_ed with the legal colonial systen1 (with
repressive laws) and therefore it was directly experienced as an extension
of op~ression. How could he create a protest discourse that used the
san1e instrurncnts as the system he wanted to unden11ine?

the

I
\.

Even though the chosen text constitutes a ren1<lrkable con1bination of lists of petitions, political analysis, graphic catechisn1, se1mons,
etc., it is nevertheless a chronicle. It was created, as explained by the author hi1nself, to fill the gap left by other chroniclers who "did not speak
about the origin of the native people" (Guaman Patna de Ayala
2001:1088-1091). This chronicle relies on objectivity as a basis to
support its veracity. Although tnany of the writers were religious, not
scientific people, when they wrote about their experiences and inventories, they later beca1ne the voices of the "History of the Discovery," the
narrators of the first i1npression of this continent, as if it had just been
born when they uttered its natne. The official ch(lracter of these texts
was not exaggerated; the Indian Chronicler was an official function that
was created in 1532 for the purpose of n1aintaining the nletnory of "the
things of the native Indian society." (P01i11ondo 2009: 120, Ordenanzas
2, articulo 3) 14
In composing his chronicle, Gua1nan Pon1a de Ayala pdded
himself on having direct native infonners at his disposal and on using
first-hand knowledge through the nanation of his personal experience
as he described his journeys. These well-founded argun1ents were basic
elements that linked the chronicle to tl1e concept ofhist01y. History told
by witnesses, or by those using trustvvorthy witnesses, was. considered
to be the truth; hence it was acceptable as an official version and survived the passage of time; it transcended.
Guaman not only used the testin1onies of wise, indigenous elders and Andean subjects, he also discussed the con1petence of inforinants regarding the facts they related. 1~he strength of his 1nanuscript is
that it offers a revised version of European \VOrks of his tin1e, incll1ding
info1mation that was unavailable to their authors. He consulted quipus
and the authotized versions of Andean sources of traditional lndian
knowledge (quipucan1ayoc), \Vhich reinforces the value of his document (Quispe Agnoli 2007:425-426). Guaman Poma de Ayala was
aware that he was only a pupil of the great rhetoric; thus he 1nade sure
that his work inaintained a close relation to history, according to a
strong sense ofauth01ial integrity, so that if any style faults were found

in his docu1nent, the presence of the truth would save his text. He valued ethics above aesthetics.

out losing his Andean perspective; his universe re1nains an Andean one.
Let us analyze this technique.

Who Does a "Literate Native" Represent?

How is this 1nastery of western rhetoric expressed? First,

Guaman Poma de Ayala uses the fo1111al conventions of the writing of
his tin1e: the initial preface, the dedication to an huportant person, the
presence of epilogues 1 calligraphic design, and other skill~ acquired
through his familiarity with Spanish docu111ents. We also chscover an
unclerstonding and reliance on abstract elen1ents, such as the tenor of the
document.

The tenn accurate account must be understood in the context

of a complex process of the construction of his identity as an author.
Rocio Quispe-Agnoli's work analyzes the way Guan1an Poma de Ayala
developed an autho1ial persona throughout his Nueva Cor6nica, with
the purpose of attracting the attention of an extensive public.
Quispe-Agnoli explains the way power and knowledge are combined to
give authority to the writer: to transfonn him into an author, thus improving the efficacy ofhis message (Quispe-Agnoli 2007:417). The desctiption of his position as info1n1ant, translator, sctibe, and notary
reinforced his abilities as organizer. His con1rnentnries on European
writers' works and his use of biblical knowledge and juridical material
revealed his European orientation. The inco1poration of oral Andean
traditions required translation into writing, so he also assumed the role
of rescuer of this tradition. "The subject has to be multiple subjects in
order to co1n1nunicate with a collective and diverse receptor" (ibid., p.
425). In synthesis, the author of the Coronica used his fatnily tractiti,on
for four textual purposes: "to reinforce his position of power in the Andean world, to 111ake clear his role as carrier of a la1owledge that had
traveled fron1 generation to generation until it reached him, to highlight
his Christian character, and to prove his loyalty to the Spanish king"
(ibid., p. 434).
Guaman Po1na de Ayala's dilemn1(). lay frotn the start in his
me1nbership of a conquered ethnicity; the only way he folmd to overco1ne this reality was through constn1ction of his status as an author.
This authoritative position allowed hitn to express his ideas in a more
effective way, which is \vhy he built and carefully maintained this
standing throughout the manuscript. Researchers Quispe-Agnoli (ibid.,
p. 418) and L6pez-Baralt (1988:409) have called Guaman Poma de
Ayala a "literate native," referring to his ability to create a n1anusc1ipt
that presents the raw reality of the conquest of Peru through a great 1nastcry of the \Vestern rhetorical conventions of his tin1e. He did this with-

without losing its argu111entative and son1etin1es sati.ricnl character the Coronica always innintains a clear n1oralistic intention, apeculiarity of the chronicles. Equally strategic is his.choic~ of a gc1:rc with
a historical character. Therefore, as a valid candidate for entry tnto the
hegemonic discourse, the \Vork was likely to endt:re. Guan~an Po1na de
Ayala con1plied with the requiren1ents of a Spmush chrontcler: heapproached a clearly A111erican 1natter, follo\\1ed a western-style chrono~
ogy1 and used various languages. I--le even n1;1n~1ged to go beyond 1:1s
conte111poraries, beca11se it was unusual at the_ tt111e for the author ot a
1
document to illustrate it as well (ibid., p. 77). '
At that very n1on1ent the voice of Gua1nan Pon1a de Ayala \\1as
that of a chronicler v.rho fulfilled the requircn1ents of a tr'1ditional, literate person. It \Vas ahned at engendering power, ~eing listen_ed to, and
placing itself within a literary canon. His 1nnnnscnpt bas received atte1:tion ~specially during the last decades, and there have be:n so1ne ~en
ous atte1npts to undennine the value of the docu111ent. 1 he dra\v1ngs
have been charactetized as very expressive, but "artisi-ieRlly avvful," and
the language has been retered to as "a gibberish nnknovvn any\v.here"
(Ludefia de la Vega 1975:122). Guan1an Pon1a de Ayal~1's nar~atlon o.~
pre-Inca history has been challenged as "~ gre.at d.tsappo;ntinent
(ibid.). The criticisn1s of the renowned Peruvian h1s~onan Raul Porras
BanT.riechea are the 111ost eloquent. He described "disorder and. roughness in the Spanish style, syntax, and prosody" (Porras Barrcncchca
1948:6), "a version of the Conquest full of nonsense" (ibid., p. 78), ~nd
he further chscJ.ved that ''the Peruvian history bccan1e an apologct1cal
story of the Gt!:-_r~-ian Pon1~ de Ayala Jl1niily" (ibid., p. 80} In his vic\v

I "f I

the book reflects "trivialities of life in the province in which the thetl of
a n1ltle or the debt of a hen are raised to the category of a historical issue" and "the major shortconling of Gua111an Po1na de Ayala is his ignorance or what is even worst his semi-culture" (ibid., pp. 81, 84). The
great achievements of the book, such as the anti-Inca perspective that
provides a very rich infonnative source on the pre-Inca period and the
presence of ele1nents belonging to the categories of the Andean thought,
will be fully recognized when the respect and vnlidity of cultural diversity are widely accepted. 16
To define the Indian chronicler as a literate person would seem
to confer authority upon him; thereby Guaman Patna de Ayala acquires
a voice. At this stage let us re111e1nber Gayatri Spivak's (1995:24) question, "Can the subaltern speak?" This question alludes to the fact that
the voice of the downtrodden will only obtain sense and authority when
it transfom1s the power relations within knowledge, relations that precisely define his position. It is also necessary to remember that a great
deal of the discourse that creates this disadvantageous status is produced by institutions such as universities and the official discipline of
history. To talk about studying the subalte1n is then a contradictory idea.
It would be n1ore interesting to integrate resistance to the knowledge-created by the Academy-represented in and analyzed in text.
One of the tasks of subaltern studies would then lie not so much in representing the concrete social subject but in the difficulty that disciplinary discourses and acade1nic practices have in representing him
(Beverley 2004:23). Guaman Poma de Ayala defines hirnselfas a representative and voice of those whose version of history was so uni111portant that it v.,1as not reflected in the official texts about the conquest,
vvhich were n1onopolized by the victors.
The documentation built by Gtrnn1nn Po1na de Ayala aimed at
filling the voids left by the traditional chroniclers. It had to be transmit-

ted through language and place itself.within the cultural norms of the
system, which \Vas precisely its objective. The literate systern was one
of the instruments that built the colonial system. Therefore, when
Guan1an Poma de Ayala is recognized as a part ofit1 is he then cnp:ible
of altering the kno\vlcdge? In accessing the cst1l~lishn1cnt, Guan1(ln
Po1na de Ayala n1oves away fron1 the oppressed. His tcstin1ony ac-

quires the validity of a text blended into the heart of the colonizer's syste1n, but at the same thne it pretends to becon1e: the voice of those who
were downtrodden by the colonial regin1e.
Gumnan Poma de Ayala represents the voice of the oppressed,
but he appears not to be an oppressed person anyn1ore: here is the dilenuna contained in the expression "literate native." The oppressed,
outcast subject, cannot define himself within the practices of the co.lonial intelligentsia. It is inherent to the outcast's condition to ac: outs~de
the hcge1nonic universe; accordingly, fron1 the very n10111ent 111 which
he intervenes and raises his voice he stops being an 011tcast: he has created a counterproposal.
The traditional practice of studying the "other" ain1s at transfonning the relation between that object of study and he \Vho studies
through an approach that is characterized by hu1nanity, solidarity, and
dialogue. But, how far is it possible to establish dialogue on an equal
footing, sun11ounting the differences, obstacles, and \Vounds ~ause~ by
a situation of violent colonization? lfthe ideal were the 1ncrg1ng ot the
entity ass1nning the representation of the outcast and the out~ast hin1self, the experience of Guan1an Po1na de Ayala could. b~ con~Id~red. as
being closer to this 1nodel. However, \;ve find contTad1ct1ons, 1nd1catlng
that this is no solution either.
Wl1Bt h2,ppcns when we pay attention to the deficient or defective patts in the inanuscript? It is precisely here that vvc can better hear
the outcast's voice in GtH1111an Po1na's text. He int1titively knows these
difficulties and ad1nits the111:
PROLOGO AL LBTOR cristiano que leyere dcste dicho
libro, biendo la ocaciOn en las n1anos cl escrito, pni:a
sncnr en !inpio e<;tas rlichfls !tistorl.iH; ubc ta.ntc tn1 ~ilJO

per ser cin escrito ni letra alguna, cino no 1nas de qu1pos

[cordeles con nudos] y tTelaciones de 1nucha~ lcnguaxes
ajnntanclo con Ia lengua de la castellana y qu1chu~1 ynga,
aymara, poquina col\a, canche, cana, charc<'I, ch111chaysuyo, andesuyo, collasuyo, conriem1yo, tndos lo~ bocablos de yndios, quc pasC tnnfo .tranajo 'ri-. (G;unl<l;\
Pcn".8_ de Ayala 2001 :11, en1phm,1s added).
1~3

Where and when are these so-called voids to be found? They

are reflected in silence and in sudden appearances of the unpredictable,
as well as when writing recognizes its in1potence, when it tries to translate what the author feels as fundamentally oral, From time to time, even
the assistance of the graphics does not manage to synthesize the intended thoughts.
We see Guaman Poma de Ayala linking the written text to the
graphics and adding notes in other languages. His communication
through visual means can be seen in the illustration of six ungodly animals feared by the poor Indians of the kingdom (Guaman Poma de
Ayala 2001:708, ). In the center of the image an Indian is forcefully
shown as the victim of harassment from the beasts at the sides. This
presents a visual summary of what the manuscript describes concerning
the imp~ct of colonization on the Indian population. The animals are
identified in Spanish as the institutions they represent. Only the Indian
plea appears in Quechua, changing into Spanish when the victim cries
out for the help of the Spanish God, "Arna llapallayque llatanauaycho"
["Don't take eve1ything away. I will give you more."] Por arnor de
Diopsrayco" ["In the name of God"].

This image, which resembles medieval bestiaries (books of

beasts), shows Guaman Porna's ability to apply his knowledge ofWestem iconography. It is combined with the political purpose of presenting
in a convincing way the savage attack of the colonial institutions on the
Indian population. Just as the Catholic Church used iconography to
teach abstract concepts of the catechism, Guaman Poma incorporated
similar illustrations. However, he changed the message to reinforce his
proposal for the good government of Peru.
The voids in which the accuracy and fidelity of an official historian fail are the threshold from which emerges the memory of a people
that does not manage to transmit its dances, rural and religious rituals,
and customs. We find the llllsolved problem of correlating the western
cln'Onology with the native temporal dimension where inconsistencies
concerning the biblical western world appear in a'native version. Where
his vague knowledge of world geography appears, we discover a Welt-

anschauung adamantly conceived from the high-low (urin-hanan in

Quechua) categories that follow the cos1nic order of four parts around a
center, as is generally characteristic of indigenous thought. We also find
Andean linguistic variations in which the Spanish language stu1nbles
when applied to the Quechua peculiarities and phonetics in toponyms,
mythical invocations, and custo1nary te1ms. These strive unsuccessfully
to be inscribed within the boundaries of the Spanish language, which
poses the risk of altered meaning.
These concepts can be maintained only through the original native words. For exan1ple, the tem1 sapsi is used frequently by Guaman
Poma de Ayala (ibid., pp. 6, 251, 449) in his Cor6nica, apparently because he could not find a suitable translation. It was initially understood
as something shared with everyone and was considered to be a reference to agriculture. The famous anthropologist and expert on the econon1y of the Incas, John Muna, called attention to this rather odd
concept, applied by Guaman Poma not only to agdculture but also to
camelids and textiles. Murra indicated that a new unkno\vn ditnension
of agriculture and property might be presented here. It could mean the
distribution of land runong hn1nan beings in general, n1en or won1en,
new born or adult, healthy or ill (Murra 1987:52-54). Such a concept reveals the complexity of Andean society prior to the arrival of the Spanish and the existence of an Andean principle for ecological management
of the land.
Guaman Poma de Ayala aims at grasping objectivity when he
aspires to reach the truth; he practically falls into the field of the juridical
and notarial tem1inology in his search for certainty. For Gua1nan Poma,
to tell the truth is not so much related to divinity but to power. Nevertheless, his aim to reach objectivity has its price: the banishment of the oral,
a fact that overcomes the literate Gua1nan Po1na de Ayala. I-Iow could
he maintain his inental universe--which is essentially oral-and sin1ultaneously aim at an objectivity that excludes what is oral?
The essential order received by the conquerors as they departed
for America was "to uncover the secret of the land to be explored"
(Glantz 2005:21 ). That is to say, they were to deeply imbibe the soil, the
world they had just discovered. They were to collect its secrets; only in

this way could they create a valid account of their journeys. The successful account could be used as a basis for building a new order for the
resettlement, the conquest, and the planning of a new society. To the
conqueror, obtaining the secrets of this exotic world, meant to understand it. The mon1ent in which the defeated society delivered this
knowledge signaled the beginning of its ine1nediable destruction. The
palpable proofren1ains in written dociunents.
Guaman Poma de Ayala kept these secrets. He wrote his truth
by making use of every resource at his disposal, but at the end he always
collided with a boundary that produced an affmnation: "lo qual si lo
escriuiera lo que ine a pasado en los pueblos tanto trauajo ... , a ueses es
de llorar, a ueses es de rre)rr y tener 18.stiina." (Guaman Poma de Ayala
2001 :715). 18 That "if! should write" epitomizes not his lack of effort in
narrating his entire version, but'the in1possibility of revealing the totality of his world.
The literate Gurunan Pon1a de Ayala was a sagacious \Vriter
\Vho documented, with a strategic political sense, the painful breach in
the Andean society. The chaotic and disappointing Gumnan Poma de
Ayala reflects the native who experienced the Pachak:uti (an Andean
concept ineru1ing the end and, sirnt1ltaneously, the beginning of the
\.Vorld). t9 He reclaimed, frotn the patterns and notions peculiar to his
culture, what he considered to be the simple restoration of the fair order
of things.

Notes
1. ''I spent days and years trying to n1ake a decision until I felt
defeated, succun1bing to an olct'desire, \Vhich has always been to rely on
my unpolished ingenuity and blindness, my poor vision and poorer
knowledge. I \Vas not lcan1cd nor a doctor, nor a lawyer." (Ibid., p. 8;
translation by the author)

2. The publication of the first Indian chronicles fOllowed official and definitely subjective criteria: the n1oment in which these are
written, the topic with which tl1ey rle<1l, the innovative subjects they

tackle. Their subsequent classification followed the sa111e tradition. The

first chroniclers were continually regarded as General Historians of the
Indies, thus creating a constellation of classic authors. An1ong others,
these included Pedro Ma1tir de Angleria, Gonzalo Fernandez de
Oviedo, 'Bartolo1ne de las Casas, Francisco L6pez de G6111ara, l-lern<:ln
Cortes, Alvar Nufiez Cabeza de Vaca, Be1nal Diaz de! Castillo, and
Pedro Cieza de Le6n. The controversies on historical or ideological
subjects in the native historiography can1c afterwards.
3. In her first investigati6n ofGuarnan Pon1a de Ayala, Rolena
Adon10 proposed a widening of the traditional notion of studying colonial chronicles. She co1111nented that they shotikl also be considered artistic texts (Adon10 1974). Neve1theless, a quick review of the rnandatory acadentic literature for colonial Hispanic-A1ncrican literature
studies still shows a preference for the study of texts written fron1 an i1nperial, European, and Eurocentric perspective (Quispe-A.t,rnoli 2006:
96-97).
4. Porras BmTenechea (1948:10) indicates that the main autobiographical data had been recorded by CJuan1an Po1na de Ayala hin1self and although they are disconcerting, we have to believe hhn. L6pez
Baralt (1988:67), in turn, n1entions new docun1ents: three bureaucratic
manuscripts and a letter by Gua1nan to the f(ing that confin11 and develop futther n1any of the clallns that Po1TaS regarded as dubious.
5. His devotion to writing petitions in defense of the natives
couscd numerous young people to approach hhn as a source of inspiration. Gua1nan hin1self st<lte-:d that "he \Vas teaching rebelliousness and
had 1nany disciples \.Vho1n he taught to read; he also taught the Christian
doctrine and how to defend the poor" (Po1Tas 1948:38).

6. The last news was the letter sent the san1c year (February
1615) to Philip III, in which the author n1entioncd his Chronicle
(L6pez-Baralt 1988:73).
7. The way that the n1anusc1ipt reached the Copenhagen Royal
Libra1y, where it is presently preserved, is an1azing. When it \Vas sent
by G1:::n10n to Spnin, in 16 l5, the docun11;nt \Vent astray and ri.:tlPk)Curcd
in Copcnl:~~gen in 1908. It had, along \Vith ulhcr papers, nlli:gi.::,Jly bci.:n

purchased by the Danish ambassador in Madrid between 1650 and

1653. In 1908 the German scholar Richard Pietschmann found the

tnanuscript in the Royal Danish Library, and the first facsimile edition
was finally published in 1936. When a facsimile edition was posted on
the internet in 2001, a digitized version of the 1987 transcription and a
word search tool had been added. The web page also contains a bibliog-

raphy, documents, and studies on the life and work of Guaman Poma de
Ayala. The academic publisher is Rolena Adorno: http://www.kb.dk/

elib/mss/poma/index-en.htn1.
8. "The Indians are natural proprietors of this kingdom and the
Spanish, natural proprietors of Spain, foreigners in this kingdom,
n!itimays [quechua for "e1nigrants". During Incan times, they were natives transported frorn one village to another.]. Everyone in their kingdom is the rightful proprietor, the owner, not because of the King's
orders but because of God's and God's justice: He created the world
and earth and there he planted each seed, Spanish in Spain, Indian in the
Indies and the black in Guinea" (Guaman Poma de Ayala 2001:929;
nanslation by the author).
9. "And I humbly ask and pray forever to your Majesty to publish the book composed by this writer, don Felipe Guaman Poma de
Ayala, 1naster and lord of princes because that's what his ability and
hard work deserve" (ibid., p.11; translation by the author).
l 0. "This Chronicle is for the entire world and Christianity;
even the pagans should take a look for the sake of good justice, order
and universal law" (ibid., p. 1178. Emphasis added; translation by the
author.).
11. "So begins the Question Chapter: Sacred Catholic Royal
Majesty asks w1iter Ayala all about the Kingdom oflndies of Piru for
the sake of good government and justice .... To her Majesty's question
the writer answers saying, 'Sacred Catholic Royal Majesty listen to me
carefully and when I'1n ready you can ask me. I have the honor to inform you all about the kingdon1 for posterity and your Majesty's greatness"' (ibid., p. 974. Emphasis added; translation by the author.).

12. Adn1inistrators of cities and distTicts with both adn1inistrative and judicial powers (translator's note).
13. In the utopian organization of Guan1an Pon1a de Ayala, as
Porras Barrenechea calls it, the regulations reign: "In this zealously registered world, the 1nain character is the public notary of the municipal
council (cabi!do), who writes down everything in books, fro1n the native paying tributes, the species given as a tribute, the food, the abuses,
the alms, the Masses, the virgins, the ranches, the pasturages, the livestock, the trees, the ponds, the wells, the irrigation ditches, up to the incense and the soap"(Porras 1948:70-71).

14. Initially, the news about the A1nerican Continent was n1ade
known to Europeans by means of the letters sent by the conquerors
themselves, or by other 1nen1bers of the expeditions. The first official
chronicler was Pedro Martir de Angleria. When he died, tl1e official
post of Indian Chronicler. was created (1532) for Friar Antonio de

Guevara. However, the influence of the 111ighty city council of La

Espafiola, an essential enclave of the colony, induced Charles V to appoint silnultaneously Gonzalo Fernandez de Oviedo as Official Jndian
Chronicler.
15. Lopez Baral! (1995:69-93) has studied Guaman Poma de

Ayala's construction of his persona as an author. This process involved

the presentation of a sequence of textual n1asks that the writer assu1ned
to achieve the same level as his readers. The graphic self-portraits recorded by Lopez Baral! include tl1e following masks: lord and prince,

child educated in the Christian tradition, author surrounded by informants in the same way the Inca was surrounded by his council, and finally that of a pilgri1n in the itnage "Cai11ina el autor." In the latter the
writer associated hin1selfwith in1ages of Andean gods (Quispe Ag11oli
2006:102).

16. In her presentation of Quispe-Agnoli's book La Fe .lndina

en la Escritura (Quispe-Agnoli 2006: 11-14), Carmen Arellano

Hoffmann describes that current interest in Guan1an 's 1nanuscript is the
product Of a conte111porury reflection about possibk: identities and
othe1nesses in and fron1 Latin America. Another clerncnt lhai contrib-

utes to the creation of a singular context is the postcolonial reflection

about the colonial heritage, still active in Pen1, a reflection that can be
linked with the globalization 1novement. The interest in Guaman also
reveals the recognition of subjects, historical and ideological subalterns,
that talked and managed to be heard (ibid., pp. 12-13).

Beverley, John. Suha!ternidad y Rcprcse11ttrci611. Madrid: fbcroan1ericana, 2004.

Flores Galindo, Alberto. Busrnndo w1 Inca. Lilna: Editorial Horizonte,
Institute de Apoyo Agrario, 1988.
Glantz, Margo. La dr~1111dcz coma nm(/iagio. Madrid: lberoaincrieana,
2005.

17. "Foreword to the Christian reader that shall read this book
after having the opportunity to have it in their hands. To put all these
stories together I \vent through hard \York because there were no
written sources, not a single letter, only quip us [knotted cords] and accounts in different languages, which in addition to Spanish and quichua
were also in ynga, aymara, poquina, colla, canche, cana, charca,
chinchaysuyo, andesuyo, collasuyo, condesuyo, all Indian variants,
which was ve1y hard work" (Guaman Poma de Ayala 2001: 11. Emphasis added; translation by the author.).

Gtrnm11n Poma de Ayala, Felipe. El primer 1111ev(I con'mica y b11e11

gobirrno (1615/1616). Gumnm1 Pon1a \\lcbsite. Cnpcnhngen: Centro Digital ?c
Investigaci6n de la Biblioteca Real de Dinan1arca, 2001. http://www.kb.dk/chb/
mf'f'/poma/index-cn.htm (Access: .June 2005).

18. "lfl should write vvhat happened to me in the villages, so

Murra, John V. "Una visi6n indigena dcl n11mdo andino." En G11(1m,111

Poma, Felipe. Nueva Cronica y Buen Gobien!o, vol. l, edited by ~ohn ~urra and
Rolena Adon10, translated by Jorge L. Unostc, 49-63. Madnd: ff1stona 16
(Cr6nicas de A1nerica), 1987.

much work ... , sometimes it's to cry for and other times to laugh and
have pity" (Guaman Poma de Ayala 2001 :715, translation by the author).

19. The Pachakuti notion existed in the pre-Inca Andean mentality. Some traditional chroniclers and historians believed it was the
na1ne of a 111ler ''whose name was equivalent to reformer or transfonner
of the world. But for others closer to the indigenous world ... , it is a telluric force, a sort of cataclys1n, a new era 'and punishment at the san1e
time." Etymologically, it means "the transfonnation of the earth."
(Flores 1988:40)

References

Lopez Baralt, Tviercedes. lcono y Ca11q11isto: G11tnn:!11 Poma de Ayala.

Madrid: Ediciones Hiperi6n S.L., 1988.
-."Un ballo in nlaschera: hacia un Guam<'in Ponia mUltiple." Revista de Critica
Literaria Latinonmcricana 21, no. 41 (1995):69-93. Linrn - Berkeley.

Ludciia de la Vega, Guillenno. La obra def crnnisla indio Felipe

Guaman Poma de Ayala. Lima: Editorial Nucva Educaci6n, 1975.

Porras Barrcncchca, Raltl. El Cronisr11 Indio Felipe H11(rn1<!11 Poma de

Ayala. Lima: Editorial Lu1nen S.A., 1948.
Po1tuondo, Maria M. Secret Science: Spanish Cri1111ngraphy and the

New f.Vorld. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2009.

Quispc-Agnoli, Rocio. Lafe rmdina en la escritura: Rr>sis1e11cia e
idcntfdad en la obra de G11m11(111 Poma de Avala. Li1na: Fonda Editorial de la
Universiclad NRcionnl f\1ayor de San Marcos, .2006.
-. "Practic::is indfgcnas de la rcsiskncia: Sujctos de la cscritura y cl saber cn los
Andes coloniflles." Revista lberoamcricana LXXIII, no. 220 (July-Scptcrnbcr,
2007):415-436.
Spivak, Gayatri. "Cfln the Sllb"ill1ern Speal<." In The Posrcnfoninf St11dir.:s
Reader, edited by Bill Ashcroft, Gareth Griffiths, and Helen Tiffin, 24-28. New
York: Routledge, 1995.

Adorno, Rolena. "La Nueva CorOnica y Buen Gobierno of Don Felipe

Gunm:-m P01na de Ayala: A Lost Chapter in the History of Latin American Letters." Ph.D. dissertation, Ithaca, NY: Co111ell University, 1974.
--. "Guanrnn Poma and His Illustrated Chronicle fro1n Colonicil Peru: Fro1n a
Century ofScholnrship to a New Era of Reading." A new introduction to the web
publication of La Nueva Cor6nica y buen gobiemo. In Digital Resources, on the
Gunnrnn Po1na Website, 200 l. http://www.kh.dk/permalink12006/pmna/info/
es/docs/indi.!xJ1t1n (Acc~ss: February 2010).

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