EHESS

Facing the State, Facing the World: Amazonia's Native Leaders and the New Politics of
Identity
Author(s): Michael F. Brown
Source: L'Homme, 33e Anne, No. 126/128, La remonte de l'Amazone (AVRIL-DCEMBRE
1993), pp. 307-326
Published by: EHESS
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 Michael F. Brown

Facingthe State,Facingthe World:

Amazonia'sNativeLeaders
and the New Politicsof Identity

MichaelF. Brown,Facing theState,Facing the World:Amazonia's NativeLeaders

and theNew Politicsof Identity.- Contactswiththecolonialand postcolonialworld
haveprofoundly affected
patternsof leadershipin Amazoniansocieties. Afterbriefly
reviewingthesocialbasesand keyidiomsof leadership in Amazonia,thisessayconsiders
therole of colonialismin severinglinksbetweenreligiousand politicalauthority and
analyzes the increasinglydisembeddedleadership roles emergingin Amazonia
today. Parallelto thesedevelopments is the proliferationof nativefederations and
thegrowthof Indianism,a pan-Indianideologythatrepresents itselfas a philosophical
to Westerncivilization. In Indianism,as in federation
alternative politics,Amazonia's
nativepeoplesappropriate and modifyWesternrepresentations of "tribal"lifefortheir
ownstrategicpurposes,thusparticipating in a dialectical
processthatpresents formidable
forthe preservation
risks,as well as opportunities, of a meaningful Indian identity.

by the liberal standardsof New York City, Davi Kopenawa

Yanomamiwas an unusualvisitor. An envoyof Brazil's Yanomami
Indians,he cameto New Yorkin 1991to telltheUnitedNationsabout
the conditionsunderwhichhis people wereliving,and dying,as thousands
of gold minerspouredintothe Brazilianjungle.1 News accountsof his visit
juxtaposedhis image as a representative of "the last primitivetribeof the
Amazon" withthesubways,concrete towers, and homeless people themetro-
of
polis. Davi Kopenawa Yanomami carried himselfwith the thatAma-
dignity
zonian peoples summonin challengingcircumstances, his remarkablepoise
betrayedonlyby an occasional uneasymovementof the eyes.
More recently, Pangra Kaiapo and Tu'ire Kaiapo, two representatives of
the Kayap of Brazil, held an audience in as
Philadelphiaspellbound they
describedtheirstruggleto block a major dam projectthatwould have sub-
mergedtheirvillageon theXinguRiverunderan artificial lake. A front-page

L'Homme126-128,avr.-dc.1993,XXXIII (2-4),pp. 307-326.

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308 MICHAEL F. BROWN

articleinthePhiladelphia Inquirerof7 March1992notedthatone ofthemotives

of theirvisitwas to inspecta museumexhibitof SouthAmericanfeatherwork
displayedon "life-sizefiguresof humanswithpaintedbodies and beautiful
headdresses".
It is tempting to see theseencounters as thecompletionof a cycleof inter-
culturalexplorationchronicledby Claude Lvi-Straussin TristesTropiques.
Lvi-Straussembarkedupon a journeyto findthe savage and ultimately dis-
coveredhis own society. Now savagesmakesimilarjourneysin searchof us,
hopingto reimagine a place forthemselvesin a forestworldengulfed bynation-
statesthathave long claimedAmazonia but neverfullypossessedit.
ConversationbetweenSouthAmerica'snativepeoplesand the restof the
worldis not,however,an invention of thetwentieth century. As earlyas the
1500s,Frenchand PortuguesetradersbroughtBrazilianIndians to Europe,
wheretheybrokebreadwitharistocrats. In theseventeenth century theDutch
promotedan extremeversionof whatwouldnow be called studentexchange:
theysenttwenty-five IndiansfromPernambucoto theNetherlands and shipped
a similarnumberof Dutchboysto Brazil,withthehopethateach groupwould
becomefluentin theother'slanguage(Hemming1978:288). Fromelsewhere
in thecontinent, Indianviewsof theConquestand itsaftermath wereconveyed
to Europeanaudiencesbytheworksof El Inca Garcilasode la Vegaand Huaman
Poma.
In thisessayI willconsidersomeof theeffectsthattheconversation, now
nearly 500 yearsold, between Amazonian Indians and the West has had on
thedynamicsof leadershipin Amazonianpolities. Anthropological viewsof
Amazonianleadershiphaveshiftedsubstantially in theyearssinceLvi-Strauss
traveledto theNambiquaraseekingtheoriginsof chiefly authority.Although
one can stilladmireLvi-Strauss'sbemusedremarkthatchiefsexist"because
thereare [. . .] menwho,unliketheircompanions,loveimportance foritsown
sake" (1961: 310), it is by now clearthatthe formsof triballeadership,and
the verynatureof "tribe" itself,have been shaped by the circumstances of
contactwiththeWest. The dialoguebetweennativepopulationsand outsiders
has creatednovelsourcesof powerand authority, fomented newcontradictions
and struggles withinindigenoussociety. And theimpacthas notbeenentirely
in one direction,for (especiallyin the twentieth century)the appearanceof
articulateindigenousspokespersons has transformed politicaldiscoursein the
Amazoniannationsand,beyondthem,in thedevelopedcountries of theNorth,
someof whosecitizenssee Amazonianpeoplesas providing a compelling altern-
ativeto spiritualand ecologicalmalaise at home.

II

One day in 1977,Eladio Jiukm,theheadmanof theAguarunavillagein

whichI thenresided,calledforthemenofthevillageto join himin constructing

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The New Politicsof Identity 309

a newschoolhouse. As themorningmistliftedfromthesoccerfieldin front

of theold school,we metin Eladio's houseto drinkmaniocbeer. The turn-
out forsucheventswas unpredictable, but Eladio usuallycountedon thehelp
of his sons and sons-in-law, whose familieswerethe core householdsof the
community. On this day, however, all the ablebodied presented
themselves. Aftera pleasanthalf-hourof drinking and theinevitableround
of jokes and teasing,Eladio took up his macheteand strodeto thedoor. "I
go to work",he said to themen,addingsociably,"Continuedrinking." Out-
side the door he called, "Fm going." His departureproducedno prompt
response. The drinking and jokingcontinuedapace. Minuteslater,Eladio's
brotherstood and casually took his leave: "I go to work. Continue
drinking." Each mansavoreda lastbowlof beerservedbyEladio's wifeand,
pickingup hismachete,ambledoutto theconstruction sitefortheday'slabors.
Eladio's obliquestyleof commandtypifies whathas longbeencharacterized
as "traditional"leadershipin Amazonia. Many Amazonianpeoples are so
reluctantto surrender politicalpower,so protective of individualautonomy,
thatPierreClastreshas been movedto declarethatamongthem"the holders
of whatelsewhere wouldbe calledpowerare actuallywithoutpower[. . .] [in]
a domainbeyondcoercionand violence,beyondhierarchical subordination"
(Clastres 1987: 11-12). On the basis of more systematic surveysof Amazon-
ian ethnography and archaeology,scholarshave thoroughly discreditedthe
romanticclarity of thisformulation.2 Yet like the author of manyan inspired
oversimplification, Clastreshas fixedon an important fact, evenin Ama-
for
zonian societieswithrecognizablechiefsthereis remarkablylittlephysical
coercionbroughtto bear in the practiceof leadership.3 If force is not
commonlyan elementof leadershipin Amazonia, on what does it rest?
Attempts by anthropologists to answerthisquestion,at once so simpleand
so complex,frequently runafoul of circularreasoning. Analystswho draw
on Weberholdthatpowermustbe understood intermsof authority and legitim-
acy. Other argue that authoritycomes from, or is a reflectionof, theability
to persuadeothers,oftenthroughthe strategicuse of formalrhetoric. It is
but a small step fromthisobservationto the assertion,pace Foucault,that
therootof poweris knowledge;knowingbegetspersuasion. Because know-
ledgeis itselfsociallyconstituted,one completesthecircleto confront yetagain
theoriginalquestion:whyarepeoplewillingto partwithsomeoftheirautonomy
by entrusting otherswiththe authority to lead?4
Perhapswe can escape thiscircularity by returning to theobvious. Peter
J. Wilson(1988)notesthatat itsrootleadership consistsoftheabilityto inspire
cooperation. Cooperativelabor is thestarting pointin a cycleof powerthat
bothdefinesa leaderand, paradoxically, empowershisfollowers bymobilizing
themto pool theirforcesin new ways(Wilson 1988: 121-122). This has, in
specificplacesand times,ledto a formalization oftherelationship so thatleaders
achievesubstantial coercivepowerovertheirfollowers. But in Amazoniathe
situationis typicallysubjectto frequentrenegotiation.Ratherthan leading

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310 MICHAEL F. BROWN

throughimpliedor real coercion,Amazonianheadmenguidetheirsupporters

towardcollectiveactionthroughpersuasivelanguageand example,bothbased
on recognized authority.Thisauthority is bothascribedand achieved - ascribed
because leadersmusthave a stronggroupof kin who can formthe core of
theirfollowing,achievedbecause leaders must be models of competence,
generosity, and tact. The Nambiquarachiefexemplifies thismodelof leader-
*
ship,forhe 'worksharderthananyoneelse and thengetsblamedwhenthings
go wrong" (Price 1981: 697).
The symbolic templateof Nambiquaraauthority is theoldersibling/younger
siblingrelationship (ibid.: 703). For the Tupian Kagwahiv,in contrast,the
template is the relationship between father-in-law and son-in-law (Kracke1978:
72). Authority based on kinship and marriage alliance lays the foundation
forinfluence thatexpandsoutwardto includeotherdomesticunits;in Wilson's
terminology, domesticauthority becomespublicauthority, whichexplainswhy
polygyny is at once the principalperquisiteof leadershipand, accordingto
some analysts,the primarymeans by which leaders intensifyhousehold
production to thehighlevelneededto sustaintheconspicuous hospitalityexpected
of them. The essentiallyautarkicqualityof domesticproductionin post-
ConquestAmazonia,however,guaranteesthatpoliticalpoweris fragileand
circumscribed in scope. In the heat of millenarianenthusiasm, Amazonian
peoples have sometimes experimented with the institutionalization of political
hierarchy(Brown 1991: 402-403). But under ordinarycircumstances, an
excessivetaste forpowerin an Amazonianleaderis likelyto elicitridicule,
indifference, or evasivenon-compliance fromfellowtribesmen.
This benignand admittedly normativepictureof Amazonianleadershipis
contradicted by anotherkindof headmanwho appearsin Amazonianethno-
graphies,pairedwiththejudiciousNambiquaraheadmanlikea darktwin. He
is the chiefof war, the imperiouscommanderwho arises duringtimesof
conflict. AmongtheMachiguengaof Peru,forinstance,thecategory of head-
mancalleditmkamiy whois notedfortactand a judicioustemperament, contrasts
withthe despoticgantatsirira, who priorto the impositionof Peruviancivil
controlexpandedhisfollowing through threatsof violencedirected towardany-
one who challengedhis wishes(Rosengren1987). In 1900, Colonel Pedro
Portillovisitedthe encampment of a nativeautocratnamed Venancio,who
ruledoverthe Ashninkaof the Ro Tambo froma villagecalled Washing-
ton. "Washingtonis likea military plaza [. . .] of fivehundredinhabitants,
all subjectto Venancio", he reported(Portillo1901: 40).
Here theproblemof historyintrudes,formanyof theAmazonianleaders
of thissortabout whomwe have anyknowledgeare creaturesof thefrontier,
theturbulent domainon themargins of stateexpansion. The cruelMachiguenga
gantatsirira-who had hiscounterpart amongtheneighboring Ashninka, among
the nativegroupsof the Putumayo(Taussig 1987), and elsewherein western
Amazonia- was, to a considerableextent,producedby the RubberBoom's
insatiabledemandfor nativelabor. He builthis poweron the supportof

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The New Politicsof Identity 311

plantationownersand missionaries, whiletakingadvantageof local instabilities

caused by theintroduction of newinstruments of war (notablyfirearms) and
bythedisruption of longstanding tradenetworks bywhitesettlement.Frontier
conflictmightexpressitselfas intertribal
raiding,as it did amongtheCocamilla
of the Rio Huallaga. Althoughdescribedby Spanishobserversof the early
contactperiodas a peacefulpeople,by theseventeenth century theCocamilla
werecarrying out large-scalewarexpeditions to theRio Pastaza, takingheads
and capturingsteeltoolsfromnativegroupsthere(Stocks1981:46). Organized
violencemightalso be directedat thecolonizer. Two eighteenth-century chief-
tains,the Carib cacique Taricura and the Manau chief Ajuricaba,exemplify
thepowerfulnativeleaderswho emergedto directvigorousIndian resistance
to Europeans.5 Less famous,perhaps,butmoreimportant in thebroadcanvas
ofAmazonianhistory arethecountlessnativemiddlemen spawnedbythecolonial
encounter. It is now a commonplaceto observethatEuropeansexpectedto
findchiefswherever theywentand that,as oftenas not,thisexpectationhad
a self-fulfilling
quality.

Ill

An analyticalproblemin anyassessment of theimpactof thestateon native

politiesis the questionof how the state itselfis conceptualized(Brown &
Fernandez1992: 176-177). Whenwe use suchtermsas "culturalhegemony"
"the dominantnationalculture",etc.,we embracethestate'sreifying rhetoric,
in effectaccepting theexistenceof a Peruvianor Bolivianor Venezuelannation-
stateas an ontologicalreality. The strikingthingabouttheexperience of many
Amazonianpeoples,however,is the fragmentary natureof the stateas they
haveactuallyexperienced itovertime. Asidefromtherelatively rareinstances
whena singlegovernment entitymediates nativecontacts with outsiders (e.g.,
BrazilianIndiancommunities nearfunai posts),AmazonianIndianshave,until
recentlyat least,encounteredthestateas individualpeople(government officials,
soldiers,missionaries, traders,anthropologists, miners,settlers)in pursuitof
diverseand evenmutuallycontradictory agendas. In thecase of missionsrun
by NorthAmericanand Europeanreligiousdenominations, these"agentsof
stateexpansion"maynotevenbe citizensof the statein question. The Ama-
zoniannationsare characterized by a highdegreeof centralization and a low
level of local control,especiallyin remotehinterlands.What government
officialsprescribein distantcapitalsoftenbears littleresemblanceto reality
inthebush,especially inareascontrolledbypowerful ranchers,insurgent groups,
or producersof cocaine.
This complexpoliticaltopographyhas alteredthe conditionsunderwhich
nativeleadership takesformand givenitmorevariedcontoursthanitpossessed
inthecolonialperiod. As Indianscomeintotheorbitof alieninstitutions, their
leadersarecalleduponto mastertheskillsof intercultural relations:bilingualism,

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312 MICHAEL F. BROWN

behavioralflexibility, and literacy. The headmanwho possessesundisputed

knowledgeof hisowncultureis pushedasidebythechameleon-like leaderwho
can successfully walkin twoworlds.6 An ethnographic exampleof thisprocess
is providedbyWilliamVickers(1989),whodescribes theriseand fallofa bilingual
SecoyateachernamedCelestino. Trainedbymissionary-linguists oftheSummer
Instituteof Linguistics,Celestino'sinfluence amongtheSecoyacame fromhis
salariedemployment and his abilityto defendIndianrightsin confrontations
withcolonistsand representatives of theEcuadoriangovernment.Eventually
thepressure ofthisroleand a waningconsensusabouthislegitimacy as a spokes-
manled Celestinoto fleetheregion. Leaderssuchas Celestino,Vickers(1989:
59) pointsout, "are oftenyoungermenor marginaladultswhose 'authority'
derivesfroma distantand poorlyunderstoodstateapparatusratherthanthe
traditionaland acceptedsourcesof wisdomand influence".
Emergentformsof nativeleadershipillustrate a keyfeatureof modernity:
thedisembedding of socialsystems.7The headmanwhoseauthority is founded
on a multi-faceted networkof kinrelations,oftenbuttressed by ritualknow-
ledge,is eclipsedbyleadersdrawinguponmorefocussedexpertise: thebilingual
schoolteacher, the electedpresidentewho brokersrelationswithcivilauthor-
ities,theChristianpastor,thehealthworker,or themanagerof a community
cooperative. As theyare exposedto thenationalsociety,Indiansexperiment
withthethoroughly disembeddedbureaucratic structuresthatrepresent thene
plus ultraof LatinAmerican civiclife. In 1988I visitedsmall
Guaymi commun-
itiesin Panama in whichit seemedthateveryadulthad a formalbureaucratic
title, ranging from treasurerand secretaryto presidentof the health
committee.J.-P.Chaumeil(1990: 103)notesa similarprocessin one of Peru's
largeIndianfederations, wheretherehas been an extravagant proliferationof
"ministerial"positions. The appearanceof writtencodes of law in native
communities- a developmentthat has receivedinadequate attentionfrom
anthropologists - expressesthe extentto whichAmazonianpeoplesare strug-
glingwiththeirown ideas of how to modernizetheirsocieties.8
Yet evenas theyundertaketheseexperiments, leadersreturnto theidioms
of traditionalauthority. Schoolteachers formpolygynous marriagesand use
theirmodestsalariesto winsupporters throughconspicuousgenerosity.The
verypeople who rejectthe allegedly old-fashioned leadershipstyleof senior
menare drawninexorably back to itspatterns;themostsuccessfulnewleaders
masterartsof persuasionappropriatebothto nativesocietyand to thenation-
statesin whichtheyreside,takingup one and droppingtheotherlikea change
of clothing.9

IV

No discussionof leadershipin a tribalsettingwould be completewithout

reflection
on thelinksbetweenspiritualand politicalauthority. To framethe

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The New Politicsof Identity 313

questionmorespecifically fortheAmazoniancontext,whatis theintersection

of therolesof headmanand shaman? The picturein Amazoniansocietiesis
decidedly mixed,ranging fromcasesinwhichshamansarenearlyalwayspolitical
leaders(and viceversa)to settings in whichshamansworkat theouterbound-
ariesofdailypolitics,thoughtheirpronouncements mayfromtimeto timemove
to thecenterstageof publiclife. Somewherein betweenis an arrangement by
whichheadmanand shamanworkin whatJ.-P. Chaumeil(1987: 52) refersto
as a "complicity"of roles.10
FernandoSantos Granerohas triedto impose orderon thisbewildering
variationbyarguing thatAmazonianleadership is inevitably
linkedto the"mysti-
of
cal means production" - thatis, control of "life-givingknowledge, ceremonial
techniquesand ritualparaphernalia"(Santos Granero1986: 658). In some
societiessuchpoweris monopolizedbyshamans,in othersbyleadersof a more
conventionally politicalsort. Although insightful,hisargument begsthequestion
of whythisvariationexistsin the firstplace, nor does it explainwhywomen
oftenpossesssignificant life-giving ritualknowledge yetareconsistently excluded
fromformalleadership intheAmazoniansocietiesknownto ethnographers.
Whateverthepoliticalinterconnections of shamanismand leadershipprior
to Europeancontact,theencounterwiththeWesthas precipitated significant
changes. Wheremissionaries and civilauthorities influencenativelife,they
arereluctant to accepttheauthority of shamans,eventhosecollectively recognized
as politicalleaders. In hermemoirof lifeamongtheAshninkaof Peru, a
NorthAmericanevangelical missionary recallsthatsheaskedGod "notto permit
thecruelman who was theself-appointed witchdoctor[. . .] everto come to
the [mission]station,forI feltthenthatI wantedneitherto help nor teach
him" (Stull 1951: 98), sentiments shared by many othersin her position.
(Exceptionsare made, of course,for the shamanwho shows an inclination
to convert,inwhichcasehe becomesa shining exampleoftheIndians'inexorable
marchto redemption.) Shamanssurelyplay a sub rosa part in the formu-
lationof indigenous responses to challenge fromoutsidethecommunity.Never-
cases
theless, in which shamans take a prominent, publicrolein shapingcommun-
to
ityresponses politicalcrisis, such as Whitten (1985: 117-118)reportsforthe
Canelos Quichua,seemto be theexceptionratherthantherulein Amazonian
ethnography, mostlyowingto pressuresfromoutsidethe indigenousworld.
Whetherbluntor oblique,thecolonizer'sassaulton traditionalspirituality
has reawakenedunderlying millenarianand nativisttraditionsin manyparts
of lowlandSouthAmerica. Millenarian movements tendto producecharismatic
leaderswhosepowersfartranscend themorecircumscribed influenceof head-
men. An illuminating instanceis providedby the Ramkokamekra(Canela)
messianicmovement of 1963,duringwhicha prophetess usurpedtheinfluence
of community leadersand was carriedabouton a litter byherfollowers (Crocker
1967). Withfewexceptions,however,thesemovements have been violently
suppressed bycolonialauthorities who,rightly or wrongly, seethemas promoting
resistanceto civil control.11

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314 MICHAEL F. BROWN

Elsewherein theThirdWorld,millenarianism has sometimes fostered broad

regionalor nationalalliancesof nativepeoplesbybreakingdownethnicbound-
ariesand local religious in favorof interethnic
traditions commonalities.12 The
post-Conquestrecordin Amazonia,however,offersfewexamplesof durable
intertribal alliancescreatedbyepisodesof millenarian enthusiasm. A notable
exceptionis a groupof interrelated religiousmovementsknownvariouslyas
Hallelujah,Areruya,Chochimu,and San Miguel,whichhave gained many
adherentsamongthe Carib-speaking Indianssettlednear the sharedborders
of Guyana,Venezuela,and Brazil.13 The Hallelujahmovement, now a stable
part of Carib was
religiousexpression, inspired in themid- 19th century bythe
teachings of a Makusi prophet who had come under thesway of Britishmission-
aries. Althoughthe movementis stronglyChristianin character,it is also
markedby nativistreaffirmation of manyCarib values. The followersof
Hallelujah and its offshootsare luckierthantheircounterparts elsewherein
lowlandSouthAmerica:theywereable to incubatethereligionformorethan
a century without substantialinterference fromoutsiders, producing whatAudrey
ButtColson calls an "indigenouschurch". At thesametime,Hallelujahhas
becomethecatalystforthecreationof regionalnetworks thatencourageinter-
tribalcohesiveness and whichhave,in Colson's words,"cushionedtheimpact
of an increasingclash of different structures"(Butt Colson 1985: 142).
The Brotherhood of theCross {Hermandadde la Cruz or OrdenCruzada
in Spanish,Irmandadeda Santa Cruzin Portuguese), an asceticand millenarian
formof Catholicism thathas attracted thousandsof Indianfollowers in eastern
Peru and westernBrazil,represents a moreambiguouscase, witha trajectory
that is stilluncertain.14DemoralizedIndians, especiallythe Tikuna, have
ralliedto theBrotherhood oftheCrossand thusmanagedto improvethequality
of theirlivesand theirprospectsforsurvivalas a people. Yet despitetheclear
continuity of certainaspectsof the movementwiththe millenarian traditions
of its Indianfollowers,thereligion'sthrustis so Biblicalin itsreorganization
of daily lifethatit is difficult to findin it a significant nativistcore.
These two movements - one withProtestantroots,the othermoreclosely
identified withCatholicism-illustrate thecapacityof Christianity to produce
churches thatareto somedegreeindigenized.If thepathof evangelical churches
in otherpartsof the world(Africain particular)is any indication,withina
decade or two anthropologists will be puzzlingover an explosiveappearance
of Christiansectscontrolledby Indians,withpotentially far-reaching effects
on thewaysAmazonianpeoplesdeal witheach otherand withthesurrounding
nationalsociety.15
Muchhas beenmade of thedivisiveeffectthatChristianmissionaries have
had on nativecommunities by fomenting factionalstruggles
betweenChristians
and pagans,or betweenCatholicand Protestantconverts. Withoutdenying
themanytroubling issuesconnectedwithmissionary work,I wouldliketo call
attention to some of its important, and arguablybeneficial,effectson Indian
politicalperspectives and strategies. Missionshave encouragedbilingualism

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The New Politicsof Identity 315

and literacyamongpeopleswhomightotherwise havebeenleftto resistmutely

thepillagingoftheirlands. Involvement withforeign missionaries has fostered
in Indiansa cosmopolitanism thatoftenexceedsthatof the ostensiblymore
worldlymembersof the nationalsociety. It has exposedIndiansto altern-
ativeagendasthatmay differstrikingly fromthoseof theirnationalgovern-
ments,whichareproneto advancingmonolithic ideasoftheIndians'ownfuture
as citizens. To an extentnotyetadequatelyappreciated, Protestant conversion
may have led Indiansto mark themselves as different and
from, morallysuperior
to, thelargelyRoman Catholicmajoritypopulation. In a recentanalysisof
the connectionsbetweentribalismand missionaryworkin SouthernAfrica,
LeroyVaii makes some observationsthatapply as well to the unfoldingof
Amazonian ethnicity:"Missionariesthemselveswere ofteninstrumental in
providing theculturalsymbolsthatcould be organizedintoa culturalidentity,
especiallya writtenlanguageand a researchedwrittenhistory[. . .] Thus,
missioneducationsocializedtheyoungintoacceptingtribalmembership [. . .]
whichtheysaw as givingan automatic,ascriptive culturalunityto 'their'people
as they confrontedthe challenge of colonialism and the impact of
industrialization"(Vail 1989: 11-12). Of course,the"tribalism"thatemerges
fromthe missionexperiencemaybe an emptyshell:a strongsenseof ethnic
identityunaccompaniedby a corresponding masteryof thelinguistic and sub-
sistence skills formerlyassociated with adult life as a Piaroa, a
Shuar,etc. Experience in otherpartsof theworld- and hereI thinkespecially
of NorthAmerica'snativepopulation - showsthatethnicidentity can survive
changesof language,dress,and religion,but thismay be small consolation
forthoseof us who lamentthe loss of the uniqueunderstandings and modes
of action,developedin situ forcenturies, thatforthe ethnographer definea
specificculture.
DespitetheambivalentfeelingsthatmanyAmazonianpeopleshave about
missionaries, Catholicand Protestantdenominations represent transnational
organizations withwhich Indianshave formed and
alliances developedstrategies
to thwartthesecularagendasof states. In thetwentieth century, theSalesian
orderhelpedto establishthe Shuar Federation,whichhas effectively slowed
colonizationof Shuarlands by non-Indians(Salazar 1981: 593-594). Again,
thisis not to denythatmissionarieshave oftenworkedin tandemwithhost
governments or thattheyrepresent,inthewordsofAnneChristine Taylor(1981:
mechanisms"betweenIndiansand "the dominantmode
647), "the articulating
of productionof the nationalsociety".16 I wish onlyto pointout that an
analysislimitedexclusively to the destructive effectof missionization misses
someimportant resourcesthatmissionsand theirinternational networkshave
offeredto nativeleadership. Today we see Indiansleadersappropriating the
missionary's ambition,as wellas hisrhetoric,
civilizing as theymarshalsupport
for land rights,bilingualeducation,and politicalself-determination.

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316 MICHAEL F. BROWN

The flowering of Indianfederations sincethelate 1960sis themoststriking

changein the circumstances of Amazonianleadershipsincefirstcontact. A
recentstudyreportedthirtysuch federationsin Peru alone, and similar
organizations are proliferating elsewherein theregion.17 Local and regional
federations have, withvaryingdegreesof success,forgedlinksto umbrella
organizationsof international scope, the ultimategoal beingthe creationof
an allianceof all theNew World'snativepeoplesor evenof "tribalpeoples"
worldwide.
The strategyof undertaking politicalorganizationon thebasis of ethnicity
is, as Richard Chase Smith (1985: 17) notes,unusualin Latin Americaand
reflectsthespecificcircumstances of intercultural contactin Amazonia,an area
thathas been "peripheralto or outsideof theintegrative horizonswhichhave
sweptthe Andeanregionoverthe past severalmillennia". AlthoughSmith
is surelycorrectin his assessment of therolethatintactlanguagesand cultural
patternsplayin providinga framework forself-definition,I wouldarguethat
the emergenceof tribalethnicity is the resultof factorsmore complexthan
marginalization fromhistoricaldevelopments in the Andes. It is now clear
that"tribes"- boundedsocialunitswitha supposedly primordial identitybased
on language,custom,and genealogy - are to a considerableextentcreations
of the statesthatsurroundthemratherthan social categoriesmeaningful to
Indiansthemselves.18Whenthe main concernof the dominantsocietywas
controlof Indianlabor,thenatives'tribalaffiliation was of onlyslightinterest;
it was enoughto knowthatnativesweregenericchunchosor indios. With
theadvanceof missionary work,bilingualeducation,and land-tenure struggles,
however,tribalboundariesand affiliations emergedas powerfulpoliticalcate-
gories. "Tribe" becamea waythatnativepeoplescouldframetheiridentities
and demandswithoutbeing assimilatedinto existingadvocacy institutions
(national political parties, labor unions, peasant organizations, etc.) that
havetreatedIndiansin a paternalistic
historically manner,iftheynoticedthem
at all.1*
These developments have been paralleledby the growth,especiallyin the
developedcountriesof the North,of intensepublicinterest in the welfareof
indigenouspeoples - or at least in those who meet certaincriteria of authentic-
ity. Among the things that make tribalpeople appealing are their supposed
marginalization fromhistory, theintegration of thespiritualand thepractical
in theirdailyexperience, theirrespectfortheland, and theelegantsimplicity
of theirtechnology. The rhetoric of ethnicassertionis now a well-established
of
part political life in the North, and foradvocacygroupsin Canada, France,
Denmark, or theUnited States it seems a "natural"wayforminority populations
to enterthearenaof politicalcontention whileundertaking theirowneconomic
development.This interest,and the economicassistanceassociatedwithit,
has encouragedIndiansto positionthemselves in thepoliticalarenaas Indians

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The New Politicsof Identity 317

ratherthan,say, as peasantsor plantationworkers,thoughtheymay from

timeto timefindit expedientto allythemselves withnon-Indiangroupswhen
facingcommonchallenges.
The emergence of Amazonianethnicpoliticstook theleadersof Amazon-
ian statesby surprise,accustomedas theywereto politicaldiscourseframed
byissuesof class and partyratherthanin termsof ethnicidentity perse. The
LatinAmericanleft,despiteitspopulistorientation, has beenparticularly slow
to cometo termswithethnicconcerns,whichin orthodoxMarxistthoughtare
dismissed as one ofthemorepernicious formsof falseconsciousness. Conserv-
ativesare willingto acceptIndian identityas such (indeed,indio has been a
recognizedracial categoryforcenturies),but theymay dismissclaimsbased
on Indiannessas trivialin the contextof the politicaldemandsof the non-
Indianmajority. Otherproblemsarisein countriessuchas Bolivia,whichby
virtueof its self-proclaimed Indianidentity findsitselflegallyprevented from
recognizing one groupof Indiansas havingrightsdifferent fromanother.
AlthoughIndianshave presented themselves as candidatesforlocal office,
sometimessuccessfully winningseatsin nationallegislatures, thesecampaigns
have been intendedmoreto focusnationalattentionon nativeconcernsthan
to enterthegive-and-take of parliamentary politics;indeed,theskillexhibited
by native in
spokesmen bypassing conventional channelsof patronagehas
produced a form of politicsentirelynew to the region. Some Indianorganiz-
ations have been spectacularly successfulin bringingtheirdemandsto the
attentionof nationaland international audiencesthroughthe strategicuse of
mass media. The BrazilianKayap, for instance,stageda publicmeetingin
Altamirain 1989thatwas, accordingto TerenceTurner,"plannedwitha view
to itsappearanceon filmand videomedia". The Kayap "shrewdlyrealized
thatthe productionof a huge and gaudyconfrontational eventwould draw
largenumbersofjournalistsand documentary-makers", thepresenceof which
"would be theirbest guaranteethat the Braziliangovernment would feel
compelled to send its representativesto the meeting" (Turner 1991: 36). The
Kayap now manage theirown video production facilities.
The new identitypoliticsof Amazonia has producedhigh-profile Indian
mediafigures whosepresenceis as soughtafterin Paris,Stockholm, and Wash-
ingtonas it is in thecapitalcitiesof thecountriesof whichtheyare citizens -
perhaps more so. They bring the situation of Amazonian peoples to the
attentionof a worldaudienceand,through thisaudience,to foreign aid agencies
and multilateral lendingorganizations that wield power over indebted Ama-
zonian nations.
Prominentnativespokesmenface sharpcontradictions in theirleadership
roles,however. As representatives of a way of lifethat has becomeone of
theromantic iconsof ourtime,theycapturetheattention of Western audiences
drawnto theleaders'"authenticity". Yet theirlongabsencesfromcommun-
itylifeand theintercultural skillsacquiredon theirtravelssoon raisequestions
about theirinfluenceat home. A foreignvisitorto Indiancommunities may

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318 MICHAEL F. BROWN

findhimselfimportuned by residentsquestioningthe legitimacy of theirown

leaders,whoarerumoredto spendall theirtimein thecapitalor to be amassing
large fortunesdivertedfrominternational aid intendedfor local develop-
ment. (The tradition of criticizingtendenciestowardself-aggrandizement dies
hard in egalitarianAmazonia.)
Althoughinstances of improper use of fundsarenotunknown, theeconomic
situationof federation leadersis in factmorelikelyto be precarious,sincethe
communities thatmakeup Indianfederations rarelyhavesurpluscashto support
the traveland lodgingneeds of theirleaders. Federationsoftendependon
foreign to carryon theiractivities. If an international
assistance fundingagency
shoulddeema nativeleadercorrupted or inauthentic, hisor herfallfromgrace
is swift. Resourcesare redirected to newand more"representative" organiz-
ations,leadingto schismsand secessions, claimsand counterclaims.Thisdiverts
energies fromthepressing issuesofinstitution-buildingandgratifies
theprejudices
of those who hold that Indians are "politicallyimmature". Despite their
tumultuoushistory,however,Indian federations have establishedthemselves
as an enduringfeatureof the Amazon's politicallandscape.

VI

Parallelto the proliferationof Indian federations has been the growthof

an ideologicalprogramof nativeself-vindication called "Indianism" {indian-
ismoor indianidad).20In contrastto indigenism (indigenismo), now dismissed
byIndiansas an assimilationist programinvented bywhiteintellectuals, Indian-
ism presentsitselfas an indigenoussocial alternative thatis "collectiveand
communal[. . .] [and] thatdevelopsits scienceand technology followingthe
lawsof nature"(PalominoFlores1986a:53). Thisvisionof a nativist ecotopia
includesa reinterpretation of Indian historycertainto make anthropologists
queasy. For instance,some Indianistsrejectconventionalscholarlywisdom
about thestratified natureof the Inca empire. TheyassertinsteadthatInca
was markedbypluralism
civilization and egalitarianism.Imperialism and colon-
ialism,theyargue, are inventionsof the West that have never had a place in
Indian history.21The most startlingfacet of Indianismi project is the
proposedrepatriation ofthemestizopeopleof theAmericasbackintotheIndian
world. This is partof the broad goal of Indianization,intendedto counter
the deindianizationpromotedby Westerncontact (Bonfil Batalla 1979:
47). Someadvocatesof Indianismenvisionthecreation - or,properly speaking,
-
therestorationof a hemispheric Indianreligion thatwouldallowNativeAmer-
icans to reestablishintertribalspiritualties shatteredby conquest(Palomino
Flores 1986b).
Indianism,onlythebarestoutlinesof whichI havebeenable to sketchhere,
callsto mindthenegritude movement of the1930sand -40s,whichwas a critical
momentin the creationof a distinctively black artisticand politicalvoice.

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The New Politicsof Identity 319

Like negritude, Indianismis at bottomessentialist: it positsan "Indian way

of being"thattranscends theculturalparticularitieswhichethnographers hold
so dear. It claimsa new view of history,even a redefinition of historyit-
self. And in commonwithnegritude, it drawsheavilyon Westerncategories
(notably,theterm"Indian" itself)to frameitscritiqueof theWest. A striking
featureof Indianismis itsimplicituse of functionalist anthropology to fashion
a vision of Indian civilizationas an ordered,harmoniouswhole in which
economics,social organization,and religionfittogetherseamlessly.22The
reflexivityby whichthemovement allowsitsadherents to makeself-conscious
statements about "what it means to be an Indian" is a productof the West-
erncategoriesof modernity theyexplicitly reject. And likenegritude, Indian-
ismis a movement of displacednativeintellectuals, conductedin thelanguage
of thedominantsocietyand farremovedfromthe specificculturalmeanings
of functioning nativecommunities.
The analogyto negritude is notperfect. Negritude, morethanIndianism,
was concernedwiththe racial markersof blackness,whereasIndianismis
less concernedwithrace than withethnicity.Indianismhas yetto produce
a distinctiveliterarygenre;it lacksitsSenghor,itsCsaire. Althoughexplicit-
ly communitarian, it rejects socialism as another importedideology of
domination. Withinthe Indianistmovement,Marxismhas been superseded
by the discourseof environmentalism - an anticapitalist rhetoric,to be sure,
but one withdifferent valencesthan the socialismit repudiates.
Indianismhas its strongest followingamongAndean and CentralAmer-
ican Indians who have sufferedthe disorienting impactof European settle-
mentfor half a millennium;it is also congenialto those NorthAmerican
Indiansnow caughtup in an acceleratingprocessof ethnichomogenization
fosteredby intertribal boardingschools and marriages,as well as by the
exigencies politicalorganizationat the nationallevel. If Indianismseems
of
unlikelyto gain a strongfootholdamongAmazonianpeopleswhosespecific
culturesare stillmore or less intact,we should not underestimate the hold
thatit has on theimagination of whitesin theNorthern who
countries, project
upon Indians theirdream of a societythat is spirituallyand ecologically
balanced. Inevitably, somenativeleadersrespondto theopportunities afforded
bythisdream. JeanJacksonalreadyseessignificant ideologicalchangestaking
place amongthe TukanoanIndiansof Colombia, who are "learninghow to
be properIndiansfromnon-TukanoanIndian imagesand values" (Jackson
1991: 147).23 Jackson'sobservation raisesthebleakpossibility thatoutsiders'
infatuation withIndiansmightdo more harmthan centuriesof hostilityby
replacingthedistinctive timbreof each Amazoniansocietywitha pan-Indian
monotone. The aid thatoutsidersprovideto Indians struggling againstthe
state will thus come at a high price.

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320 MICHAEL F. BROWN

VII

Not long ago it was possibleto studyAmazoniancommunities as reason-

ablydiscrete units,as socialworldsnumbering lessthanfive-or six-score people
whoenactedsociallife- withall itstensionsbetweenprivateand public,freedom
and coercion-on a scale thatrevealedmuchthatis hiddenin morepopulous
societies. The searchwas forwhatThomasGregor(1977:361)callsthe"setting,
staging,and scriptforthedramaof ordinary community life". We recognized,
of course,thattheoutsideworldintrudeduponthisdramaturgical microcosm,
or perhapsevencreatedit through,say, a demographic crisisprecipitated by
thearrivalof a Westernepidemicdisease;butforthepurposesof understanding
theminutedetailsof social experience we deemedit permissible to bracketthe
questionof externalinfluences. Hence the fundamental questionsposed by
Lvi-Straussas he contemplatedthe meaning of leadershipamong the
Nambiquara,a groupwho livedin a statethatforhim resembledthe dawn
of humanexperience.
Once the social realityof small-scalecommunities in Amazonia came to
be seen as a responseto global processes,the microsociological approachto
nativesocietybeganto look, at best,like a formof navet;at worst,it was
a sinisterdenialof Westernpower. Amazonia is partof a worldsystemof
resourceextraction thatpenetrates to thesmallestvillage,to themostbedraggled
group of huntersin theserto. Consequently, leadershiphad to be reconceived
as a responseto the regionaland global forcesbearingdown on Amazonian
peoples.
AlthoughI haveadoptedthisglobalperspective in theprecedingdiscussion
of thechangingfaceof Amazonianleadership,let me close by proposingthat
it may be timeto go local again, to returnto the fine-grained ethnography
thatusedto be anthropology's stock-in-trade.The institutional analysesnow
prominent in anthropology, withtheirrelianceon conceptssuchas hegemony,
marginalization,and resistance,admittedly havetheiruses. Butintheirtendency
to stiflethe raw feelof social experience,theseabstractionsfail to "present
thesociologicalmindwithbodiedstuffon whichto feed", to borrowa phrase
fromCliffordGeertz(1973: 23). The effectis to distanceus and therebyto
limitourabilityto probemoredeeplyintothemeaningsof power. The politics
of villageand nativefederation muststillanswerto thequestionsLvi-Strauss
posed as he reflectedon hisobservations amongtheNambiquara:howdo Ama-
zonianpeoplesthinkabout,experience, and achieveauthority? In whatways
is powercreated,used, negotiated,and thwartedby individualsin theirdaily
lives? How willincreasingly self-conscious "tribes"sustaina distinctive sense
ofmoralcommunity?Whatpersonaland collective strategieswillIndiansdevise
to reconcilea traditionof personalautonomywiththepressuresleadingthem
towardregionaland international alliances? Peopleswho havelongbeenun-
responsive to theblandishments of theirleadersmustdecidewhether to become
partof a collectiveprocessand, if so, underwhatterms. As Amazonia'snew

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The New Politicsof Identity 321

leadersmaneuverin thehall of mirrorscreatedby Westernimagesand native

counterimages, theywillbringtheirpersuasivepowersbackto villages,to house-
holds,to individuals,
wherenewcriteria willbe hammered
forpoliticallegitimacy
out throughtrial and, no doubt, througherror. It is throughscrupulous
attention to thesmalland fleetingskirmishesof everyday politicsthatanthro-
pologistswill find raw materialfor a deeper understanding of indigenous
for
strategies facing the world beyond the Amazon rainforest.

WilliamsCollege, Williamstown,Mass., USA

Acknowledgements

I wishto thankthecolleagues,unfortunately too numerousto namehere,

whoresponded to myrequestforinformation invarious
on politicaldevelopments
partsof contemporary Amazonia. Portionsof thisanalysisweredeveloped
whileI was a residentscholarat the School of AmericanResearchin Santa
Fe, New Mexico, and myworkbenefitted fromthe financialsupportof the
Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation in 1990. David B. Edwards, Jean
E. Jackson,KennethM. Kensinger, Molly Mullin,StevenRubenstein,
H. and
David Stoll werekindenoughto commenton an earlierdraftof thisessay;
theircritical doesnotnecessarily
contribution implyagreement withmyassertions,
however.

NOTES

1. A brief assessmentof the Yanomami situation as of mid-1990 can be found in Ao Pela

Cidadania 1990. See also Yanomami 1991.
2. Here I leaveasidethemarkedly politicalrealitiesof thegreatriverine
different societiesthatdisappeared
soon after European contact- societies characterizedby pronounced social ranking and the
concentration of politicalpowerin thehandsof a small,possiblytheocratic, elite. See, forexample,
Roosevelt 1987 and Whitehead 1989. For a persuasivecritiqueof the image of Amazonian
"leaders withoutpower", see Descola 1988.
3. In all the romanticdiscussionof the absence of physicalcoercion in Amazonia, it is surprising
that so littleattentionhas been broughtto relationsbetweenmen and women, wherethe use of
physicalforceis common.
4. This is not theplace to listall the manyfineethnographiesand analyticalworksthataddressissues
of leadershipin Amazonia. An admirablysuccinctsummaryof theliterature on Amazonianleader-
shipcan, however,be foundin Rosengren 1987: 6-19. Otherworksthathave shapedmythinking
on this subject are Kracke 1978 and Price 1981. For a comparativediscussionof the role of
ceremonialdialogues in movingpeople to action, see Urban 1991.
5. Details of thelifeof Taricuraare foundin Whitehead 1988: 111-119. Informationon theManau
chiefAjuncaba is providedby Hemming1978: 441-443.
6. Andrew Gray (1986: 108) makes a distinctionbetween "communityleaders" and "boundary
leaders", thelatterbeingpersonswho because of marginalizationfromtraditionalvillagelife "can
negotiatewith non-indigenousgroups and act as a sort of go-between".
7. I borrowthistermfromGiddens (1990: 21), who uses it in the broadestpossible sense to denote
"the 'liftingout*of social relationsfromlocal contextsof interactionand theirrestructuring across
indefinitespans of time-space".

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322 MICHAEL F. BROWN

8. See, for example, Brown 1984: 119-120for discussionof experimentswithwrittenlaws among

the Aeuaruna of easternPeru.
9. The ethnographiesof Norman E. Whitten, Jr.,especiallySicuanga Runa (1985), are notable for
theirsensitivity
to theproteanflexibilityof Quichua Indianleadersvis-a-visnew culturaland political
demands. See also Hendricks 1988.
10. See Descola 1988 for an analysis of the political power of shamans and its relevanceto an
assessmentof P. Clastres's assertionsabout the powerlessnessof Amazonian chiefs.
11. More detailed comparativediscussionof episodes of millenarianismin Amazonia will be found
in Brown 1991 and Pereira de Queiroz 1969.
12. See, for example, Worsley 1968: 230 and Pereira de Queiroz 1969: 242-243.
13. Importantsourceson the Hallelujah religionincludeButt 1960, Colson 1985, and Thomas 1976.
14. The principalsourcesI have drawnupon forthisbriefdiscussionof the Brotherhoodof the Cross
are Agero 1985, Oro 1989, and Regan 1988.
15. A comprehensiveanalysisof the implicationsof Protestantconversionand the indigenizationof
evangelicalsects in Latin America is found in Stoll 1990.
16. Whiletakinga fundamentally criticalperspective
on missionaryworkamongtheEcuadorianAchuar,
Taylor (1981: 650-651) calls attentionto the ways that Achuar leaders exploit the missionary
presence for theirown political purposes and manipulatethe competitionbetween missionary
organizationsto extractas much financialsupportas possible. She also observesthatevangelical
Christianitycan be a "countermodelto, or an instrument of protestagainst, dominantnational
and nationaliststructures"(ibid.: 669) even while,on anotherlevel,it advances a profoundlyalien
mode of production. See also Urban 1985 for a briefdescriptionof the supportprovidedby
missionariesfor pro-Indianorganizationsin Brazil.
17. Chaumeil 1990: 98-99. Othersourcesconsultedforthisdiscussionof Indian federationsinclude
Gray 1986, Jackson 1989, Reed 1987, Salazar 1981, and Smith 1985.
18. For a lenethvconsiderationof this issue, see Ffroiison &. Whttfhfad 1QQ2.
19. Mistrustof the politicalagendas of non-Indiansseemsto be the principalreason for scant Indian
involvementin leftistmovementof national liberationin the Amazonian countries,thoughthe
reluctanceof Marxist thoughtto find a proper place for Indians is anotherimportantfactor.
Brown & Fernandez 1991 presentan extendedanalysis of an exceptionalcase in which the
Ashninkaand Nomatsiguenga of Peru alliedthemselves
witha Marxistguerrillaorganization,
though
for reasons that had littleto do with Marx.
20. The principalsourceson Indianismconsultedfor this summaryare Berdichewsky 1985, Bonfil
Batalla 1979, Chaumeil 1990, Palomino Flores 1986a, Smith 1985, and Vrese 1982.
21. Palomino Flores 1986a: 55; Bonfil Batalla 1979: 38.
22. For a discussionof the links betweenanthropologyand negritude,see Mudimbe 1988.
23. Berkhofer 1978 tracesthe impactof the shiftingrepresentations of Indians in the United States,
focussingparticularattentionon how the economicand politicalpowerof whitesocietymay subtly
lead Indians to reshape theirself-identity to conformto whites' romanticimages of them.

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RSUM

Michael F. Brown, Face l'tat, face au monde : les dirigeantsindignesamazonienset

les nouvellespolitiques de l'identit.- Le contactdes socitseuropennesa modifiles
contoursdu pouvoirpolitiquedans les socitsamazoniennes.Aprsun brefrappeldes bases
sociologiqueset des traitsdominantsdu pouvoiren Amazonie, l'auteurexaminela fonction
du colonialismedans la rupturedes liens entrepouvoir religieuxet politique, et souligne
les aspectsalinantsdes nouveauxrles politiquesqui se dessinenten Amazonie. Parallle-
ment,il tudiela prolifration indigneset Pessorde 1' indianit, une ido-
de fdrations
logie pan-indiennequi s'offrecomme une nouvellealternative la civilisationoccidentale.
Dans Pindianit,comme dans le jeu politique des fdrations,les Indiens de l'Amazonie
s'approprientet modifient leurs finsles images occidentalesdu tribalisme selon un
processusdialectiquequi n'estpas sans dangerpourl'intgrit des socitsindiennes.
culturelle

RESUMEN
Michael F. Brown, Cara al Estado, frenteal mundo: los dirigentesindgenasamaznicos
y las nuevaspolticasde identidad.- El contactode las sociedadeseuropeas ha modificado
las formasdel poder poltico en las sociedades amaznicas. Tras un breve repaso de las
bases sociolgicasy los rasgosdominantesdel poderen Amazonia,el autorexaminala funcin
del colonialismoen la rupturade los lazos entreel poder religiosoy poltico,y seala los
aspectosalineantesde los nuevospapelespolticosque en Amazonia se perfilan.Paralelamente
estudia la proliferacinde federacionesindgenasy el resurgimiento de la indianidad,
una ideologapan-indiaque se ofrececomo una nueva alternativaa la civilizacinoccidental.
En la indianidad como en el juego poltico de las federaciones,los Indios de Amazonia
se apropriany modificana su favorlas imgenesoccidentalesdel tribalismo segnun
procesodialcticolleno de riesgospara la integridadculturalde las sociedadesindgenas.

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