ModernityandOtavaloDressinEcuadorandAbroad DaisyV.

Domnguez Advisor:ProfessorSusanBesse August9,2010 Submittedinpartialfulfillmentoftherequirementsforthedegreeof MasterofArtsoftheCityCollegeoftheCityUniversityofNewYork

ACKNOWLEDMENTS

Iwould liketoexpress mythankstomy advisor,ProfessorSusanBesse, forher comments, suggestions, guidance, and encouragement during the writing of this thesis.Iwouldalsoliketoexpressmygratitudetoherforbeingsogenerouswith hertimeasIpursuedthisdegree.Ialwayshadmanyquestionsafterclass,during myindependentstudies,andduringthewritingofthisthesisandProfessorBesse wasalwaystherewith athoughtful responseandakindword. IwouldalsoliketothankProfessorGerardoReniqueforbeingmysecondreader andforhishelpfulcommentsandsuggestions. Finally,IwouldliketothankToaMaldonadoRuzwhosokindlyallowedmeto interviewherandincludeherexperiencesinthiswork.

TableofContents

WeAdapttotheTimeswithoutCeasingtoBe.. 1 Sources.10 DecolonizingOurLens:HybridasNative,ContestationasSelfDetermination..11 WhyIsDressImportant? .15 Part1 Introduction:FromPreColumbiantoPostColonial: DressinHistoricalContext.. 19 TheRegulationofDressDuringtheIncaandSpanishColonialPeriods20

th The19 Century:SocialCohesionandIntegrationinSpiteofExploitation . 25 th The20 Century:StruggleandEthnicPride.. 27

Part2 MaleDressasAlternativeModernity:ReframingtheDebateonAuthenticityfrom theInside.. 40 AudienceAppropriateAttire... 48 Mujercitas:WomenasCustodiansofCulture? .... 52 DressandSocioeconomicStatus.....73 Conclusion:Reflectingon Cultural Authenticity 76 Bibliography....79

WeAdapttotheTimeswithoutCeasingtoBe While leafing

through the fledgling

1 Otavalo general interest

magazine

2 Runakuna,

one is struck by the multiple discursive

layers embedded in a clothing advertisement

that reads, Welcome to Downtown Otavalo we adapt to the times without ceasing to be (see Image 1). This subtle reference to Image1.Runakunamagazineadvertisementfor storesindowntownOtavalo.Thesloganreads Welcome[in Kichwa]toDowntown[inEnglish] Otavaloweadapttothetimeswithoutceasing tobe[inSpanish].Source: RunakunaFebruary March2007issue

Otavalos

millenarian

I use the term Otavalo rather than Otavalea/o in order to distinguish natives from mestizos who dwell in the Otavalo area although other sources use the terms interchangeably. I also use modern Kichwa spellings. Although other authors referenced throughout may use the older spellings (Quichua for Kichwa or anaco or anacu for anaku), the words mean the same thing. Runakuna is the Kichwa term for mankind or people but may also be interpreted as indigenouspeople.
2

culture and its continuity in modern times signals one of the pillars of cultural modernityasdescribedbyArturoEscobar:ithighlightsadialecticofchange
3 and presence. Modernization and globalization have been framed as forces

whichtendtohomogenizecultures,processesbywhichdominantsocietieseither commodify the cultures of less powerful ethnic groups or subsume them altogether.Asaresult,scholars have sometimes labeled ethnicgroupswhohave ostensibly succumbedtodominantoutside forcesas inauthentic.This isduetoa faultyperceptionthattobetruetoonesethnicityrequiresholdingontothepast without embracing modern ways. For Otavalos, however, modernity is not the antithesisofauthenticity.Theyhaveremainedrootedintheircultureevenasthey have commodified and industrialized their textile, handicraft and music productionandachievedgreatersocioeconomicmobility.Thetrilingual(Kichwa, Spanish, and English) ad references some of the multiple languages and geographic locations in which Otavalos comfortably dwell and navigate. As David Kyle notes, though Otavalans economic production has reached a postmodern zenith in its satisfaction of souvenir shoppers across the developed world, their identity as a sociocultural group could not be stronger, precisely
4 becauseitistied,inlargepart,totheirbusinessreputation.

ArturoEscobar, TerritoriesofDifference:Place,Movements,Life,Redes (Durham:Duke UniversityPress,2008),166. David Kyle, Transnational Peasants: Migrations, Networks, and Ethnicity in Andean Ecuador(Baltimore:JohnsHopkinsUniversityPress,2000),145.
4

Perhapsbecauseof thestrengthoftheirethnic social cohesion, this self consciously clothing Otavalo advertisement

does not need to contain

5 anyethnic clothing,often

strong

marker identity

of in

indigenous

Latin American countries. Otavalo clothing has been a hybrid of native and Spanish colonial elements since the period of Image 2. 1900 Carte de visite of a young Otavalo man wearing ethnic dress: white alpargatas, midcalf white pants and shirt, poncho and felt hat. Today, male ethnic dress is very similar. Older men continue to wear alpargatas, midcalf white pants, and a fedora on a daily basis, usually reserving ponchos for special occasions. Young men, who only wear ethnic dress on special occasions, use ankle length white pants. Source: Photographer: Jose Domingo Laso. M. Daz Cueva Collection. Chiriboga, Luca and Silvana Caparrini. Identidades desnudas Ecuador18601920: La temprara fotografa del indio de los Andes.Quito, Ecuador: ILDIS, 1994.

contact, but in the last twentytothirtyyears,men have transitioned to

BecauseOtavalodresshasnotremainedstaticovertime,followingMaynard,Idescribe itasOtavaloorethnicratherthantraditionalbecausethelatterimpliesaformofunchanging attire.MargaretMaynard, DressandGlobalisation (Manchester:ManhcesterUniversityPress, 2004),12.

contemporary western clothes. In the ad, silhouettes of young indigenous males sport baseball caps, baggy jeans and sneakers rather than Otavalo male dress: whitealpargatas(sandals),whitepants,ponchos,and fedoras.Theonlywaythe young men may be readily identified as Indian is thatthey wear braids or pony tails, the latter becoming fashionable among young Otavalo males in the 1990s. During the early partof this latesttransition to western clothes, Otavalo women and elders criticized Otavalo males for wanting to assimilate. Today, however, young men who adopt contemporary western dress continue to connect to and revitalize their culture.This exposes the fallacy in the notion that authenticity can only be achieved by preserving traditional ways to the exclusion of outside influences. Far from abandoning their culture, Otavalo male merchants disseminate their cultural productions all over the world, organize cultural celebrations both in Ecuador and abroad, and foment Otavalo culture by sponsoring, creating and participating in magazines, websites and social media networks thatemphasizetheirculture.Theiruseof contemporarywesternclothing withasimultaneousrespect formaintainingOtavalocultureembodies a formof alternative modernity that calls into question the importance of the constitutive roleofethnicclothingforOtavaloidentity. Iarguethatinhindsight,Otavalomalesformedavanguardwhichhasused western dress to infiltrate into a society that has had trouble seeing past their clothing. Because nonIndians are usually not exposed to Otavalos on a daily

basis, many have preconceived notions about what Otavalos should be. By taking on contemporary western dress, Otavalo males have challenged non Indians to set aside the historical weightof prejudice and encounter Otavalos as individuals first. By erasing most markers of otherness, Otavalo males have forcednonIndianstoengagethemmoreasequals. Whileclothingoftensuggeststhewearersaffinitiesandevenallegiances, imbuing it with certain qualities whether undesirable or idealized can easily leadtostereotypingandaperceptionaboutthelimitationofanotherspotential.In NorthAmerica,forexample,whereEurocentricattitudesequatednativeclothing with a lack of civilization, Native Americans were forced to adopt western clothing as part of a civilizing process. Ideas about Indians being noble or somehow innately untarnished are equally oppressive because they superficially exalt native cultures while limiting native peoples breadthof human experience andexpression.Thispreconceptionmanifestsitselfintheextenttowhichwearing
6 ethnic dress is imbued with social commitment, whether intended or not. It

makessensetosomedegreethatOtavalos,whoseethnicclothingidentifiedthem as targets of discrimination, would use ethnic dress as a selfconscious

Interestingly,outsidersarenottheonlyonesthatexpectsocialcommitmentfrom Indians.MarkRogerscontraststhequestionsposedtocontestantsinmestizo pageants which highlightromanceandmotherhoodwiththose posedbyOtavalosintheirownpageants which tendto inquireaboutwomensviewsonnativepolitics.MarkRogers,SpectacularBodies: FolklorizationandthePoliticsofIdentityinEcuadorianBeautyPageants, JournalofLatin AmericanAnthropology 3,no.2(1999):65.

contestationofmainstreamsocietyandculture.Atthesametime,thisassociation between ethnic dress and social conscience is problematic in light of unsustainable claims that Otavalos who adopt contemporary western dress are inauthentic or that Indians who wear ethnic dress are necessarily socially committed. I do not argue that Otavalos should or should not abandon ethnic dress.IamsuggestingthattherearemanyreasonswhyOtavaloschoosetoretain or abandon it and facile interpretations of these decisions are often inaccurate. AlthoughethnicdresshashistoricallybeenaconstitutivepartofbeingIndian,we are in the midst of a transition period where shedding Otavalo dress does not signalalossofIndianidentity. Andyet,Otavalodressisnotjustasuperficialaestheticaccoutrement.The acceptance of males transition to contemporary western clothing belies the communitys ambivalence regarding the degree to which ethnic dress is constitutive of Otavalo identity. These contradictory feelings are evident in Otavalocomments,writings,andevenculturalevents.Recuperatingethnicdress hasbecomeahighlightofanewlyinstitutedculturalfestivalknownasRunakay, which roughly translates as to be Indian. This event was initiated by Otavalo youth in order to bring together different generations and to strengthen cultural identity, especially in lightof the effects that globalization is having on Otavalo culture.Asexpressedbyitsfounders,the

[Runakay] Movement is aware that acculturation is a big problem precipitated by globalization and the emigration of men and women. As a result of living among other cultures, we have adopted positive and/or negative elements from them. In this process of constructing interculturality, we are becoming confused and losingsomeelementsofouridentity.Weareconstantlyatrisk offuturegenerationsforgettingwhowewereandare.7

Image3.ThecaptionreadsOtavaloTraditionalDress.Thesecond RunakayregulationreadsAllethnicitiesandnationalitiesarewelcome andshouldweartheirformaldress.Source:OtavalosOnline

FundacinRunakay,AntecedentesdelRunakay,Runakay, http://runakay.ec/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1&Itemid=2. Mytranslation.

Runakayincludesritualceremony,atalentcontest,theatre,dance,music,andan eveninggalaeventwhichmakesethnicdressmandatoryforadmittance(see
st Image3).Runakay hasseenpreviousmanifestationspriortothe21 century,

indicatingthatethnicdresscontinuestobeanimportanttopicfordebateandthat aconsensushasnotbeenreached,particularlywithregardtogender. Indeed,therehasbeenacleargenderdynamicinOtavaloethnicdressthat is potentially empowering but also restrictive. Until recently, the adoption of western dress has largely been a male prerogative. Although women have experimented with alterations to ethnic dress and are not criticized when they adopt western dress while abroad, they tend to take up Otavalo dress once they returntoEcuador.Womensretentionofethnicdresshasnothinderedtheirstudy andworkopportunities.In fieldswheretheirexpertiserelatestonativeculture suchasingovernmentalpositions,academia,oratculturalevents(includingpow wows here in the United States) wearing ethnic dress addstotheir legitimacy. Although men who are involved in cultural activities may be criticized for
8 abandoning ethnic dress, women are seen as leading by example. However,

women have been subtly pressured to maintain ethnic dress and serve as custodians of culture. While men have been able to abandon ethnic dress and
AtaconferenceIattendedinQuitothelate1990s,anindigenousmanwhodidnotwear ethnicdressgaveatalkwhereethnicdressfiguredprominently.Duringthequestionandanswer period,hewasquestionedforextollingbutnotwearingaponcho.Hisresponsewasthatthe ponchowascumbersomeinthecourseofdailyactivitiesandthatone didnothavetowearethnic dressinordertoappreciateit asaculturalexpression.
8

retain their indigenous identity, women have been seen as the last hope of retaining that identity throughthe continued use of Otavalo dress, even as some OtavalosagreethatdressisnotwhatmakesoneIndian.Womenhaveexperienced Otavaloidentitydifferentlyfrommenduetothecircumscriptionoftheirfreedom ofexpressionandtheexpectationthatthecontinuityofOtavaloculturelieswith them.This has only begun to change inthe lastdecade as young urban Otavalo
9 womenhavebeguntoalternatebetweenethnicandwesterndressinpublic.

Beyondquestionsofgender,Iwillalsobegintoexplorethewaysthatthe sartorial decisions of an increasingly heterogeneous Otavalo community are fostering multiple expressions of Otavalo identity. These are manifested across traditional age, class and gender categories as well as among local and transnational Otavalocommunities.Mostnotablearethedivergentsartorialtrends betweenrural and urbanOtavalo women in Ecuador andthose who emigrate to other countries. Scholars have predicted that the cost of ethnic dress would be prohibitive for poor Otavalos regardless of gender. However, rural Otavalo women continue to wear ethnic dress on an exclusive basis while their urban counterparts have begun to alternate ethnic and western dress. Otavalo women who are born abroad may replicate males earlier pattern of transition toward wearing exclusively contemporary western dress, thereby creating new

ToaMaldonadoRuz,emailtoauthor,June28,2010.

expressionsofOtavaloidentity. *** Part 1 of this thesis documents historical changes in Otavalo dress. It explores connections between economic and sociopolitical realities, sartorial changes, and shifting understandings of Otavalo identity. In contrast to earlier times of greater stratification between Indians and nonIndians, 21st century adherence to ethnic dress and allegiance to ethnic identity are not one and the same. Rather than interpreting the adoption of western clothing as part of an insidiousprocessofrecolonizationbywesternculture,Part2examineswaysthat changes in dress reflect Otavalos efforts to reinvesttheir cultural practices with meaninginapostcolonialcontext.Increasingheterogeneity reflectednotonlyin genderandeconomicdistinctionsbutalsointheOtavalodiasporaareproducing more varied and complex but no less authentic expressions of Otavalo ethnic identity. Sources For Part 1,I have drawn from colonial paintings and drawings and from
th st 19 through21 centuryphotographs.Whileseveralimagesarenotidentifiedby

ethnic group, I have used them because the clothing practices of other Indian groupsindicatepossibletrendsamongtheOtavaloorbecausethestylesofdress approximatethatofthecontemporaryOtavalo,suggestingcontinuities.Historical accountsandatraveldiarycomplimentvisualsourcesbyprovidingdescriptions

10

th ofOtavalodressfromthecolonialperiodthroughthe mid20 century.Drawing

on secondary literature related to trade and Indian social movements, I make connections between sartorial changes and the economic, social and political contextinwhichtheyoccurred. ForPart2,whichanalyzesthemorerecentpast,Iuseimagesinsecondary academic sources as well as from various Otavalocreated sources, including websites,socialnetworkingsites,andthemagazineRunakuna.IncontrasttoPart 1, which must rely on external accounts and descriptions, Part 2 focuses on Otavalosownunderstandingsofandreactionstosartorialchanges.Mypersonal accountsarebasedonexperienceswithOtavalofriendsinboththeUnitedStates and Ecuador, where I studied and worked in 1996, 1998 and 1999 and where I havetraveledintermittentlybeforeandsincethen. Decolonizing Our Lens: Hybrid as Native, Contestation as Self Determination Otavalo dress has not been native in a pure sense since the Spanish colonial period when Otavalos adopted many of the accouterments of their clothingfromtheSpanish.AsRebeccaEarleargues,thehybridnatureofwhathas cometobeknownasnativeclothingdoesnotdiminishtheirforceasmarkersof
10 indigenousness. Rather, hybridity highlights clothing as a manifestation of

RebeccaEarle,"NationalismandNationalDressinSpanishAmerica,"in ThePolitics ofDressinAsiaandtheAmericas,ed.MinaRocesandLouiseEdwards(Portland,Oregon:Sussex AcademicPress,2007),170.

10

11

Hobsbawmsinventedtraditionsthese perform essential adaptive strategies for societies undergoing rapid change by building palpable bridges to a suitable past and creating the illusion of solidity within transitional chaos theyhavealsoprovidedasenseofidentityforcommunitiesthat have been pulled into the political or cultural orbit of a more 11 powerfulsociety. ConceptualizingOtavalodressasinventedtraditionelucidatesitsimportance.It
12 symbolizes the survival of the Otavalos as a distinct and recognizable group

despite hundreds of years of oppressive colonial rule. Seen in this way, total assimilation of western dress threatens to undermine Otavalo culture. Otavalo efforts to maintain or recapture ethnic clothing underscore their desire to retain their distinct identity visvis the dominant Ecuadorian mestizo and Anglo Europeancultures. Atthesametime,interpretingdecisionsaboutclothing(orotheraspectsof culture) as mostly a response to a more powerful culture may be a Eurocentric overstatement. In other words, although it would be ahistorical to ignore the economic,politicalandsocialelementsthatareatplay indecisionsabout dress,

RobertA.Nye,reviewof TheInventionofTradition,by EricHobsbawm,TheJournal ofModernHistory 57,no.4(1985):720722. AnnashaySutherlandhasarguedthatOtavaloidentity,likeclothing,cannotbesaidto be primordial since it has been in constant flux since the Spanish colonial period. This was the result of various factors, including the policy of relocating Indians into reducciones without reference to their PreIncan kinship groups as well as the weekly Otavalo market which encouraged integration among different communities. Annashay Sutherland, Navigating Indigenousness in Otavalo Transnational Communities (Undergraduate thesis, Reed College, 2004),16.
12

11

12

not all decisions are made as contestations of the perceived superiority of dominantcultures.Itwouldbedifficulttoreadcertainhistoricalcircumstances
13 the Conquest, anomie felt by contemporary Otavalo migrants, the economic

circumstances of poor Otavalos who may not have much choice in terms of clothing decisions, or perhaps even the case of very wealthy Otavalos who may have too many choices without any reference to adaptive strategies. However, some Otavalos decide to wear Otavalo clothing not as a contestation but rather because they do not perceive the West as compelling in the ways that count to them whetherthismeansWesternindividualismormainstreamhealthtreatment. One of the legacies of colonialism and its attendant notions regarding progress andmodernityisthatwehavetendedtoframetheworldasadichotomybetween NorthandSouth,betweendevelopedandunderdeveloped.Itisthereforedifficult to consider that anyone familiar with these narratives would chooseto maintain nativedressnotasapoliticalactofrebellionagainstwesternmodernity butasa result of their sincere appreciation that western modernity is lacking. Various scholarssuchasMaynard,Appadurai,Howes,Matthews,andSchossquestion,for
14 example,theextentoftheUnitedStatesinfluenceonlocalcultures.

Indians'immersioninwesternmodernitydoesnotautomaticallyequateto a loss of their own cultural values or preclude them from creating alternative
13

Kyle,TransnationalPeasants,183. Maynard,DressandGlobalisation,6.

14

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modernities. In the 1980s documentary film Zulay Facing the Twenty First Century, anthropologist Mabel Preloran asks an Otavalo woman named Zulay Saravinoifshefearslosingherrootsbyattendingschool.Zulaysfatherisoneof themoreprogressivefathersinQuinchuqu,sendingallhisdaughterstoschoolat atimewhenthisraisedeyebrowsamongcommunitymembers.Zulayrepliesthat she is not afraid because she has not lost her own culture but gained another. Rather than perceiving a struggle, Zulay felt that her ostensibly less powerful cultureandthedominantonecouldcoexistandthatherownwouldactuallytake precedence. Thecontemporarytransnational natureof manyanOtavalos liferequires cultural dexterity but this is not solely a modern phenomenon. During the pre Columbian period, the Caranqui, from whom the Otavalo descended, had to navigatebetweentheircultureandthatoftheIncacolonizers.Seen inthis light,
15 thereishistoricalprecedentforOtavalostoembracecoexistingcultures. Today,

theonslaughtofvisualsandmessagesfrommainstreammedianodoubtrequires Otavalostomakeconsciousdecisionsaboutcontinuityandchangewithregardto their identity. However, a nonEurocentric way of understanding this process rejects the notion that a choice must be made between a superior, more

TheIncasalsoplantedmitmaqcommunitiesinfarflungpartsoftheirempireinorder toteachthesenewgroupstoassimilateIncavalues.Mitmaqsretainedtheirownidentityvisvis the communities where they settled and, in times of political crisis, returned to their original communities.So,Andeanpeoplesarenostrangerstoadaptingtocoexistingcultures.

15

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developed culture and an underdeveloped one and challenges thoseof us who live in the mainstream to view the world from a southatthetop map. The choice to maintain native lifeways, including dress, often signals alternative culturalvalues.Otavalostendtoseekwaystopreservetheircultureevenasthey adopt modern ways the Runakay Foundations background webpage reads in part, Everyday, Andean people are finding ways to revitalize, strengthen and reinvest our culture with value and to construct a path to development that is imbuedwithouridentity.16 WhyisDressImportant? DecisionsrelatedtodressarechargedbecauseOtavaloshaveconstructed larger frameworksof meaningaroundclothing.Itwould be impossibleto ignore the historical significance of cloth and dress to Andean people. In the pre Columbian period, native people used weavings as offerings during rituals and
17 dresswasamarkerofsocialstatusandidentity. Somescholarshavepositedthat

the designs on the tokapu,or mantle, worn by the Inca represented a system of communication. Lynn Meisch notes that into the colonial period, the colors and width of the embroidery on womens blouses, the type of hat worn, the sash

FundacinRunakayAntecedentesdelRunakay,Runakay, http://runakay.ec/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1&Itemid=2. Mytranslation andemphasis. LynnA.Meisch, AndeanEntrepreneurs: OtavaloMerchantsandMusiciansinthe GlobalArena (Austin:UniversityofTexasPress,2002),34.

17

16

15

design, the anaku (wrapped skirt) embroidery design and the way a fachalina
18 (shoulder wrap) was worn communicated ones community of residence.

Clothing has had ritual symbolism and is associated with different rites of passage. Inthe late 1980s, a man who wore his hat backwards signaled that he
19 20 was wambriandu, or looking for a female companion. In previous

generations, Otavalo men expressed their desire to be engaged to a woman by takingherfachalina orrebozo(shawl)andeventuallyreturningitwhenhisfamily
21 asked hers for her hand in marriage. Otavalos (and other native groups) have

also typically exchanged clothing at wedding ceremonies. Today, at baptism,

22 godparentstraditionallygivetheirgodchildrenfullsetsofOtavaloclothes. Boys 23 oftengettheirfirstponchofortheircommunion. Sartorialchanges,then,donot

onlyaffectmaterialculturebutdivestclothingofitsexpressivefunctionandalter
18

LynnA.Meisch,Otavalo:Weaving,CostumeandtheMarket(Quito:EdicionesLibri Mundi,1987),121. WambraistheKichwatermforyouth. Wambriandu isaHispanicizedverbresulting fromthecombinationoftheKichwatermandthe Spanishgerund.

20 19

Meisch,Otavalo:Weaving,CostumeandtheMarket, 111,140.

Lynn A. Meisch, "He Gave Her Sandals and She Gave Him a Tunic: Cloth and WeddingsintheAndes,"inWeddingDressAcrossCultures,eds.HelenBradleyFosterandDonald ClayJohnson(Oxford:Berg, 2003),164. LynnA.Meisch,Otavalo,ImbaburaProvince,inCostumeandIdentityinHighland Ecuador,ed.AnnPollardRowe(Seattle:UniversityofWashingtonPress,1998),74. Rudolf Josef ColloredoMansfeld, The Native Leisure Class: Consumption and Cultural Creativity in the Andes (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1999), 204. While Otavalogirlsmayalsobegivenanewblouseandanaku,itissignificantthatColloredoMansfeld highlightsmaleclothingsinceboysnolongerwearethnicclothingonadailybasis.
23 22

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rituals. In this regard, the decision to adopt contemporary western clothes or changeethnicdresshasbeenscrutinizedinternallybyOtavalosthemselves. The legacyofOtavalorenown inweavingandentrepreneurship hasalso beenfundamentaltotheformationofthecommunitysidentityandcontributedto their continued use of ethnic dress. During the colonial period, Otavalos distinguished themselves through their skill in weaving and their obrajes were
24 singled out as direct tributaries to the Spanish crown. Although the Otavalo

suffered harsh forced labor throughout the colonial period, Vieira Powers notes that authorities treated Otavalo Indians relatively mildly in comparison to other groups because they were part of a Crown obraje.25 Because the obraje was nearby,Otavalosdidnotsufferseparationfromtheirfamiliesandcommunityfor
th months at a time like other Indian groups endured.As early as the 16 century, 26 Otavalos had the freedom to weave for profit in their spare time. All these 27 circumstances fostered kinbased migration and played a role in the social

Although it does not diminish the acclaim of Otavalo textiles, I should note that AndriensimplystatesthattheOtavaloobrajeswitchedovertotheCrown'sdomainuponthedeath of the wealthy encomendero Rodrigo de Salazar. Kenneth J. Andrien, The Kingdom of Quito, 16901830: The State and Regional Development (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002),21.Meischalsonotes,By1623,theOtavaloobrajehadbecomethemostvaluableobraje inEcuador.Otavalo:Weaving,CostumeandtheMarket,34. Karen Vieira Powers, Andean Journeys: Migration, Ethnogenesis, and the State in ColonialQuito (Albuquerque:UniversityofNewMexicoPress,1995),56. LeoRalphChavez,CommercialWeavingandtheEntrepreneurialEthic:Otavalo IndianViewofSelfandtheWorld(PhDdiss.,StanfordUniversity,1982),92Sutherland, NavigatingIndigenousness,15.
27 26 25

24

Powers, AndeanJourneys,79.

17

cohesiveness of the Otavalo community, which included retention of a uniform

th ethnic dress. In the 20 century, Otavalo fame in weaving and marketing

reinforcedtheuseofethnicdressasalegitimizingtool.Scholarsnotehowtourists in Ecuador (or nationals when Otavalos travel abroad) specifically want to purchasefromnatives,whoareofteneasytoidentifybyethnicdress.Colloredo Mansfeldremembersseeingmaleindigenousmusicgroupssweatingundertheir
28 woolponchosastheyplay[ed] inVeniceBeachCalifornia. Notjustforshow,

theiroutofplaceclotheslegitimizetheirnoveltyamongtheattractionsofthe
29 boardwalk.

ChangesindresspatternsamongIndiansareimportantbecausetheysignal thetensionbetweenthehistoricalsignificanceofdresstoOtavaloidentityandthe rupturethatthisassociationhasundergoneinthepostcolonialperiod.Ethnicdress hasbeenan integralpartofOtavalo identity forpolitical,cultural,andeconomic reasons. Some Otavalos, particularly women, continue to use it to indicate their commitment to their understanding of cultural survival. Other Otavalos, particularlyfromtheoldergenerationwhodidnotexperiencetheextentofIndian liberationthattheyoungergenerationhasenjoyed,maintainethnicdresslessself consciously, because it is closely tied totheir cultural values. Women also wear

28

ColloredoMansfeld,TheNativeLeisureClass, 197. Ibid.

29

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their dress proudly, especially during dance presentations and beauty pageants, showingthatthispractice isnotnecessarilyacontestationofwesternculturebut rather,anaturalresultoftheiresteemfortheirown culture.Againstthisbackdrop, adoptionofwesternclothingmayseemlikeabetrayaloftheirethnicity.However, this trend, when understood in historical context, challenges us to avoid facile associations between Otavalo dress and a monolithic indigenous identity. Part 1 willhelpustounderstandhowwegottothispointandwhythesetensionsareso meaningful. Part1 Introduction: From PreColumbian to PostColonial: Dress in Historical Context

Since the preColumbian period, sumptuary laws and changing political contexts have influenced Otavalo clothing practices. During periods of colonization, the colonial regime whether Inca or Spanish dictated dress practices. Adherence to these regulations indicated adherence to the colonial orderrefusaltoadheretotherulesdemonstratedsubversionofthatorder.Ifound noevidencethatauthoritiesdictatedshiftsinclothingstylesduringtherepublican period and as Otavalo culture consolidated within the Ecuadorian nation. Since the 1960s, Otavalos have repoliticized clothing, this time from the bottom up. Whereas the colonial and republican periods were marked by the political disenfranchisement of Indians, the 1960s were a time of resurgence of native

19

cultural and political power and, particularly in the decades since, an increased pride in Indian heritage. Despite generational and gendered differences of opinion,mostOtavaloshavethusfarseen retentionofethnicdress,particularlyby womenorbybothsexesinspecificculturalvenues,asimportanttothecontinued survivalofOtavaloculture. TheRegulationofDressDuringtheIncaandSpanishColonialPeriods
th During the late 15 century, when the Inca occupied the Otavalo region,

thestateregulateddecisionsregardingethnicdressforpoliticalreasons.TheIncas
30 requiredconqueredgroupstoretaintheirethnicgroupshairstyleandheaddress.

While this may have been an inclusive gesture, as when the Inca let local populations continue to worship local deities, this measure also sought to distinguish between nationalities in order to keep track of mita (the obligatory tributary labor system) service. The Inca even regulated authorities curacas were entitled to wear cumbi,or very fine cloth, garments only if they had been
31 awardedthemby theInca.

During the early Spanish colonial period, authorities visually reinforced Spanishpowerbypermittingonlynobleand,later,otherIndiansholdingpositions

30

Meisch,AndeanEntrepreneurs,20.Icouldnotfindinformationaboutotheraspectsof

dress. Nathan Wachtel, The Vision of the Vanquished: The Spanish Conquest of Peru Seen throughIndianEyes,15301570 (NewYork:BarnesandNoble,1977),238.
31

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32 of power to wear Spanish clothing. During this time, Spanish women were

scarceandSpanishmenmarriedintotheIncanobilitytoforgepoliticalalliances andgainnativecollaboratorsandculturalmediators.Indianprincesseswhowere Hispanicized through the acquisition of Spanish language and conversion to Christianity wore skirts in the Spanish style. Elite Indian womens clothing was
33 made of silk from China and wool from Spain. Likewise, powerful curacas

wore hat, padded breeches, shoes, sometimes even boots and doublet like
34 Spaniards. Sumptuary laws reinforced the delineation between the Indian 35 nobility and commoners and served to curtail native social mobility. Casta, or 36 mixed race, women were not permitted to wearprecious jewels and silk. Like

their Inca predecessors, Spanish colonial authorities and hacienda owners used
CarolLentz,"EthnicConflictandChangingDressCodes:ACaseStudyofanIndian MigrantVillageinHighlandEcuador,"inDressandEthnicity:ChangeAcrossSpaceandTime,ed. JoanneBubolzEicher(Oxford: Berg,1995),280. Wachtel, Vision of the Vanquished, 148 Kimberly Gauderman, Women's Lives in Colonial Quito: Gender, Law, and Economy in Spanish America (Austin: University of Texas Press, 2003), 4. In an interestinghybridization process unto itself,Wachtelnotes that prostitutes wore Spanish dresses and llicllas [native shoulder wraps] made of 'Castilian cloth'. Wachtel, VisionoftheVanquished,148.
34 33 32

Wachtel, VisionoftheVanquished,148.

Earle, Nationalism and National Dress in Spanish America, 167 Lentz, Ethnic ConflictandChangingDress, 180,14. KarenVieiraPowers,WomenintheCrucibleofConquest:theGenderedGenesisof SpanishAmericanSociety,15001600(Albuquerque:UniversityofNewMexicoPress,2005),89. RebeccaEarlehasarguedthatrequiringIndianstowearSpanishclothingwasalsoatacticusedby colonialauthoritiestochipawayatIndiansprotectedcorporatestatuswithintheRepublicof Indians.OneofthebenefitsofthisstatusforIndianswasthattheywereexemptedfrompayingthe alcabala,orsalestax.Concernedindividuals,Earlenotes,occasionallyrecommendedthat nativepeoplesberequiredtoadoptEuropeandress,soastorenderthemlessindigenous. Earle,NationalismandNationalDressinSpanishAmerica,166.
36

35

21

dress to distinguish Indian groups geographically and to limit their physical mobility, a key factor for efficient mobilization of Indian laborers subjecttothe mita.37 Natives, however, eluded

regulations in both surreptitious overtly ways. Andrien instances and

political Kenneth notes of Image4.LowerclassIndianmaleswearinghats.Source: Quitosegunlosextranjeros:laciudad,supaisajes, gentesycostumbresobservadosporlosvisitantes extranjeros.SiglosXVIXX.Quito:CentrodeEstudios GuamanPomadeAyala,1996.

Indians passing by donning

38 Spanish dress to evade tribute or mita service. Wachtel also notes that many

Indians, especially in northern Peru, adopted the sombrero, which permitted a freedom of migration impossible for those who were ethnically marked by

SarahA. Radcliffe, "The Geographies of Indigenous SelfRepresentation in Ecuador: Hybridity, Gender,and Resistance,"EuropeanReview of LatinAmerican and Caribbean Studies 63(1997):14.
38

37

Andrien, TheKingdomofQuito, 43.

22

39 wearingthellautu(headdress).

Paradoxically,whiletheSpanishusedethnicdresstolimitIndianssocial mobility and make them easy targets for oppressive labor service and other abuses, Indians used preColumbian dress to assert autonomy and power. As
th illegal and abusive conditions within the obraje system intensified in late 17 40 centuryOtavalo,aresurgenceofIncanationalism gaveethnicdresssubversive

meaning. Meisch recounts the fascinating story of Don Alonso Inca, whose inauguration as corregidor of Ibarra (atown north of Otavalo) in 1666 involved hisdonningofaversionofthemascaypacha,orroyalIncaheaddress,inimitation
41 of Inca possession ceremonies. DonAlonso Inca, who was accused of idolatry

for participating in ancient rites and ceremonies, emphasiz[ed] his Inca rather thanSpanishancestry,wearinganIncashoulderwrap(Q.yacolla)andtunic(Sp.
42 camiseta) made of fine vicua cloth. Later, partly in reaction to the violent

Indian uprisings of 178082 that protested Bourbon tax reforms, the Spanish apparentlyinfearofthesymbolicpowerofpreColumbianclothingtorebellious nativesbanned males fromusingInca mantels,tunics,and headbandsandalso

39

Wachtel, VisonoftheVanquished, 148. Meisch, AndeanEntrepreneurs,2223. Ibid.,23. Ibid.,24.

40

41

42

23

43 punishedIndians by cuttingtheir hair. Maintainingnativedress,then,could be

morethanapassivecultural survivaloradherencetothelawitcouldalsoprovea potentelementofactivepoliticalresistance. As the institutionalization of colonialism eroded the economic and political power of the Indian nobility, Spanish clothing that had once stood for statusbecameamarkerofethnicidentity. Ananonymous1573accountassociates wearing hats with privileged status: The caciques and principales [authority figures]andyanaconas[whowerenotrequiredtopaytributeandtendedtowork onspecialprojects]wearhatsandtherestwearpilloswhichareabitwiderthan
44 th an index finger, round and which fit snugly about the head. In a late 18

centuryimage,threelowerclassIndianmales(judgingfromtheirworkload)wear either no head gear or they wear hats, suggesting that Indian men of all ranks transitionedtowearinghatsinthemidtolatecolonialperiod(seeImage4).This transition coincided with the flattening of socioeconomic distinctions among Indians.Instead,hatstylesbecameawaytoidentifythemselvesbyspecificethnic group. (Today, Ecuadorian highland Indians can generally be distinguished by

Ibid.,25,243. Theseuprisingswerepartofabroaderanticolonialphenomenonknown th astheAndeanAgeofInsurrection,the18 centuryperiodtypifiedbymessianicrebellionsled bysuchprominentleadersasJuanSantosAtahualpaandTupacAmaruIIinwhatismodernday PeruandBolivia.SeeSteveJ.Stern,ed.,Resistance,Rebellion,andConsciousnessintheAndean PeasantWorld,18thto20thCenturies (Madison:UniversityofWisconsonPress,1987). Thetextreads,Loscaciquesyprincipalesyyanaconasusansombreros,yotros,pillos son poco mas gordos que el dedo pulgar, redondos, que abrazan la cabeza. Quito segun los extranjeros,101,104.Mytranslation.
44

43

24

theirhatstylesinsomegroups,womenstillalsowearhats.)
th The19 Century:SocialCohesionandIntegrationinSpiteofExploitation

Following independence from Spain in 1822 and their break from Gran Colombia(composedofmoderndayVenezuela,ColombiaandEcuador)in1830, thenewCreoledominatedgovernmentviewedIndiansasaproblempopulationin needofcivilizationand integration intothenationbutsimultaneouslyeffected policies that ensured their continued exploitation. While suffering from these contradictorypolicies,theOtavalowereuniquely positionedtoemergefromthis periodwithastronganddistinctidentity. First, Otavalo weaving skills and entrepreneurialism helped them to
45 survive the early republican reinstatement of the tribute system. In contrast to

the colonial period, Otavalos were no longer underthe relative protection ofthe Republic of Indians, which had allowed corporate landownership and hereditary
46 chiefdoms. InsteadofansweringtocaciqueswhounderstoodAndeanreciprocal

relationships and served as mediators, Indians had to deal with government appointedofficialsandtherebycameundercloserscrutinybythestate.Whenthe government abolished tribute in 1857, ostensibly providing Indians with greater
45

Tributewasaheadtaxthatthecolonial(andlater,thenational)governmentimposed onIndiansinexchangefortheuseofcommunallands,royalprotection,andexemptionfromsome othertaxes. BrookeLarson, TrialsofNationMaking:Liberalism,Race,andEthnicityinthe Andes,18101910 (Cambridge:CambridgeUniversityPress,2004), 4042. Indianspaidthetax withmoneyaswellasintheformofagriculturalproductsandtextiles.
46

Ibid.,106.

25

freedomto choose labor opportunities, it simultaneously reinstituteda four day

47 forcedlaborpolicyforallcitizenswhichbythe1860shadfallentoIndiansonly.

During this period, Otavalos migrated for long periods of time as conscript
48 laborers to build roadways to the coast. However, Larson notes that they

managed to forego social disintegration by marketing their weaving, by using defensivepracticessuchasendogamyandreciprocalrelations,andbyfostering their culture through festivals like Inti Raymi.49 Although the end of colonial protectionist policies had a crippling effect on obrajes,50 Larson notes that Otavalos outlasted foreign competition, switching from agricultureto innovative
51 craft production. Derek Williams gives another clue to their strength: while

other Indians provided forced labor on haciendas and came under increasing pressure from the Church and other landowners,the Otavalo concertaje,or debt peonage system, was relatively weak, allowing communities greater autonomy
52 andsocialcohesion.

47

Ibid.,117. Ibid.,132.

48

TheseareLarsonsconclusionsbut shenotesthatmoreresearchneedstobedoneon thisperiodinordertounderstandhowtheOtavalowereabletoemergeasastrongethnic groupinthefaceofsuchpolicies.Larson, TrialsofNationMaking, 133138.

50

49

Sutherland,NavigatingIndigenousness,17. Larson, TrialsofNationMaking, 137.

51

Derek Williams,AdministeringtheOtavalanIndianandCentralizingGovernancein Ecuador,18511875,inHighlandIndiansand theStateinModernEcuador, ed. A.Kim Clark andMarcBecker(Pittsburgh:UniversityofPittsburgh, 2007),4142.

52

26

th Second,bythelate19 century,EcuadoriannationbuildersheldOtavalos

up as model Indians even while continuing to discriminate against them.At the turnofthecentury,thestateshowcasedOtavalosatworldsfairsinChicago,Paris andMadrid.JuxtaposedwithAmazonianIndians,whowereconsideredbackward and savage, Otavalos were regarded as handsome, clean and good workers. In caseswhereOtavaloshadtheopportunitytotakeonwesterndress,theirabilityto maintain strongcommunaltiesalongwiththisexternalperception facilitatedthe retentionofethnicdress.Nevertheless,althoughtheywereheldupasbeingcloser to civilization than their Amazon counterparts, an 1892 KichwaSpanish dictionary evinces how they continued to be seen and treated domestically. Mensbraids,orhuangus,aredefinedasthesinglecoarsebraidinwhichIndians
53 weartheirhair andtheverbhuangunaastocombandwearhairinonebadly 54 donebraid. Theuseofsuchwordsascourseandbadlydoneatteststothe

generaldisparagingwayinwhichIndianswereseen andtreated.
th The20 Century:StruggleandEthnicPride th In the early 20 century, the weaving industry saw a rebirth which

fostered Otavalo prosperity and further solidified their culture, including dress.
53

trenza toscay nica enquerecogenelpelolasindias.LuisCordero,Quichua shimiyucpanca: quichuacastilla, castillaquichua diccionarioquichua:quichuacastellano, castellanoquichua(Quito:ProyectodeEducacinBilingeIntercultural:CorporacinEditora Nacional,1989),40. peinarseyrecogerelpeloenunasolamalarregladatrenza.Cordero, Quichua shimiyucpanca,40.
54

27

Thisrenewedrenownisoftentracedto1917,whentheownerofhaciendaCusn nearOtavaloboughthersoninlaw,F.A.Uribe,averyfinequalityponchomade byanOtavalonamedJosCajas.Mr.Uribewassoimpressedwiththeworkthat heprovidedCajaswiththefasterEuropeanfloorloomonwhichtocopytweed. Cajasgrandsonlearnedthistechniqueanddisseminatedittopeopleinhiswifes

55 community, Peguche, which together with Agato and Quinchuqu became

known as skilled weaving communities. The timing could not have been more ideal. Since World War I made wool from Europe scarce, Otavalos filled this void byproducing imitationScottishtweedorcashmere(casimir)tosupplythe local market demand. Visitors continued to remark on the quality of Otavalo casimir in 1934, naturalist Von Hagens Ecuadorian guide told him, These Otavalo Indians can weave cloth of any style. Bring them a piece of English
56 tweed and they will duplicate it. A very dexterous people, but sullen.

FollowingWorld WarII,Otavalotextiles facedstiffcompetition fromthe flood of imported European cashmere. However, the effect of the reopened international market was diminished by the fact that Otavalos were already traveling to Colombia by the 1940s and to other parts of LatinAmerica and to

Chavez,CommercialWeavingandtheEntrepreneurialEthic,35.Manyscholars relatethisstory. VictorWolfgangVonHagen,EcuadortheUnknown:Two andaHalfYears'Travelin theRepublicofEcuadorandGalapagosIslands (NewYork:OxfordUniversityPress,1940),242.

56

55

28

57 New York City by the 1950s. Travel helped Otavalos learn about foreign 58 customers' preferences. In addition, development projects broadened their

skills.A1954UnitedNationsprojecttaughtOtavalostapestryweaving59 anda mid1960s Peace Corps project gave Otavalo weavers insight intothe aesthetic preferences of tourists while encouraging experimentation in nontraditional
60 design. Otavalo entrepreneurs also drew inspiration from Guatemalan and

Peruviantextiles. Although Otavalos experienced socioeconomic mobility during the early

th 20 century,theycontinuedtobevictimsofblatantracism.Aslateasthe1950s, 61 buses were segregated. One Otavalo man remembered having to get off the 62 sidewalk for people in neckties. Another remembered mestizos knocking

mensfedorasandwomensheadclothesoffandkeepingthemuntiltheOtavalos
63 agreedtochopwoodorsweepastreet.

57

Sutherland,NavigatingIndigenousness,22. Chavez,CommercialWeavingandtheEntrepreneurialEthic,174. Kyle,TransnationalPeasants,134.

58

59

Meischsaysthatitwasthe Salasacas(anindigenousgroupfromcentralEcuador)who weretaughttapestryweavingbythePeaceCorpsandtheAndeanMissionandthattheOtavalo latercopiedthem. Otavalo:Weaving,CostumeandtheMarket,157. Ihavenodocumentationtoprovethatthiswasanofficialpractice.Itwasmorelikelya manifestationofthegeneralizeddiscriminationtowardtheIndianpopulation.

62 61

60

Meisch, AndeanEntrepreneurs,37.

LindaDAmico.Expressivity,EthnicityandRenaissanceinOtavalo(PhDdiss. IndianaUniversityNovember,1993),412.

63

29

Despite Otavalos' newfound economic mobility, the pronounced racial stratification of this period discouraged experimentation with contemporary western dress in Otavalo. In contrast to the colonial era when Indians adopted western dress to evade tribute service and imperceptibly left their communities,
th mid20 centuryOtavaloshadtoostrongaconnectiontotheirlandtoabandonit

forthetemporary reliefthatadoptingwestern dressandemigratingmightachieve. AdoptingwesterndressandremaininginOtavaloseemedanunlikelyoptionsince mestizos in small communities would continue to recognize them as Indian and tauntthem,possiblyforattemptingtomovebeyondtheirperceivedstationinlife bytakingonwesterndress. Notuntilthemid1960sdidOtavalosbegintoexperienceaswellaseffect dramaticchangesintheirsocioculturalworld.Followingruralprotests,the1964
64 Ecuadorian Land Reform Act which abolished the huasipungo system and 65 mandatedthe redistribution of land marked a political and cultural threshold.

Although most Otavalos did notobtain land, reform wasof deep significance to

Inexchangefortheirlaboronanhacienda,anIndianfamilyreceivedahuasipungo,or smallplotoflandforsubsistencefarming, aswellastheuseof water,firewoodandpasture for theiranimals. ThemajorityofOtavalosoptedforamoreautonomousformof hacienda labor knownas yanapa,orhelp.Laborerswouldworktwodaysinexchangeforpastureaccessbutlived intheirowncommunities.TanyaKorovkin,WeakWeapons,StrongWeapons?HiddenResistance andPoliticalPortestinRuralEcuador,inDemocracyinLatinAmericainthe1990s,ed.JorgeI. Domnguez(NewYork:Routledge,2001),208. Larson, TrialsofNationMaking, 112 Kyle,TransnationalPeasants,133Meisch AndeanEntrepreneurs,36.
65

64

30

Otavalos in a region where land had been historically scarce and where most people were still subsistence farmers.The community's strong connection tothe land is evident in the common practice of investing income from cultural
66 production to buy land. Land reform (and the 1970s oil boom) also changed 67 traditionallaborrelationshipsandcontributedtoOtavalopoliticization. 68 Inthe1960s,Otavalosexperiencedaculturalrenaissance markedbythe

creationofmusicanddancegroupsandtheimbuingofOtavaloclothingwithrich
69 symbolismasatoolofculturalresistanceandpride. Althoughthisrevitalization

processhadinternalroots,itwasreinforcedbytheadmirationofOtavaloculture
70 byEcuadorianandforeignintellectuals. Upuntilthispoint,Otavalodressvaried

amongcommunities,butthe1960sbroughtmassproducedethnicclothinganda
71 more unified Otavalo dress. Perhaps this was also ideological as the growing

66

Sutherland,NavigatingIndigenousness, 23. Korovkin, WeakWeapons,StrongWeapons?,215

67

Theculturalrenaissanceshouldbeunderstoodwithinthecontextofindigenous strugglesforlandandotherrightsbothnationallyandinotherpartsoftheAndes.SeeJos AntonioLucero, StrugglesofVoice:thePoliticsofIndigenousRepresentationintheAndes (Pittsburgh:UniversityofPittsburgh,2008),77120.

69

68

Kyle,TransnationalPeasants,153Meisch, AndeanEntrepreneurs,133.

Kyle,TransnationalPeasants,141. DAmiconotesthatthiserawasalsomarkedby Europeaninvitationsforstudentexchanges.DAmico,Expressivity,EthnicityandRenaissancein Otavalo,43.Inasimilarway,SutherlanddiscusseshowcontemporarytransnationalOtavalos compareEcuadorianframeworksofindigenousnesswithinternationalperceptionsaboutNative Americanstoarriveattheirownconclusionsaboutthepossibilitiesandlimitationsofperceptions onindigenousness.Sutherland,NavigatingIndigenousness,4748.

71

70

Kyle,TransnationalPeasants,135.

31

nationaland internationalprominenceofvariousartisticgroupsstirredcollective prideandstrongeridentificationamongcommunities.Atthesametime,Otavalos whose economic mobility had been firmly rooted in their ethnic cultural productionfacedlesspressuretoassimilatetowesternclothingsincetouristswho purchased Otavalo crafts or music saw ethnic dress as an indication of native authenticity. InsistenceonretainingOtavalodressdemonstratedconsciousresistanceto boththeaestheticandculturalbiasesofmainstreamsocietyandtoblatantracism.
72 Duringthe1960swhenOtavalosstartedenteringuniversities, wearingOtavalo

clothingtoschoolbecameapoliticalacteven if itwasnotintendedasone.One Otavalo lawyer remembered having an altercation with his college professor in
73 the 1970s after the professor demanded that he remove his fedora, which he

refused to do on cultural grounds. Radcliffe cites another instance of cultural resistance: in the early 1980s, taunting from his Quito high school classmates motivatedanOtavaloyouthtoreturntoOtavaloandtotakeonethnicdressonce
74 again. Indeed,somesawwearingOtavalodressasaculturallineinthesand.In st the 1980s film Zulay Facing the 21 Century, Zulay Saravinos father supports

72

Ibid.,132Meisch,AndeanEntrepreneurs,73.

Intothelate1980s,mostmalesstillwore fedorasdaily.Meisch, Otavalo:Weaving, Costumeandthe Market, 109.

74

73

Radcliffe,TheGeographies,17.

32

her education and modernization in some regards, but he is adamant that she should not alter her appearance. Wherever she may be, let her not change our
75 native customs by either cutting her hair or changing the way she dresses.

These poignant examples of resistance to strong pressure to assimilate illustrate the importance of context when analyzing sartorial decisions. Maintaining Otavalodressintheirforaysintonewspheresandspaceswheretheyhadnotbeen welcomedpreviouslybecameanexplicitpoliticalact. Mirroring adaptive strategies from colonial times, continuing discriminationhasledotherOtavalostoadoptwesterndressforpracticalreasons specifically to fit or blend in with the dominant group. Meisch discusses an Otavalo couple in 1980s Bogot, Colombia who retained their ethnic dress but whose children did not.Although the daughters wore Otavalo dress in Ecuador, theypreferredtowearwesternclothesinBogotbecause"theydidntwanttobe
76 different from their classmates in Colombia. This is similar tothe case ofthe

Shimangeos from Chimborazo province who changed to mestizo clothing to

77 avoiddiscriminationandmockerywhen theymigratedtotheCoastinthe1980s.

Discomfort or fear of discrimination has motivated others to change dress or to

Ni cortar el pelo (sic), ni se cambiar de vestido. Lo que es nuestra costumbre indgena aunqueestenelexterior,aunqueestentodaspartes(sic).Mytranslation.
76

75

Meisch, AndeanEntrepreneurs, 75. Lentz,"EthnicConflictandChangingDressCodes,"281.

77

33

remove themselves from hostile situations. One Otavalo musician friend who triedworkinginafactoryinNewYorkCity in thelate1990swentbacktoplaying musicinsubwaysaftercoworkersrepeatedlymadefunofhisbraid.Incontrastto the 1950s when Otavalos were just beginning to travel broadly, temporary
th adoption of western dress in the late 20 century mostly occurred during stays

away from Otavalo and were therefore perceived as a practical response rather than a distancing from ethnic identity (except in the case of men). Passing is seldomenticingornecessaryexceptinafewcases,suchaswhen Otavalomenare sellingwares illegallyandwanttobeabletomakeaquickgetawayby blending
78 in.

As Indians became more politically active, Otavalo dress became a symbolofpoliticalconsciousness.Sutherlandnotesthattheindigenousmovement was instrumental inreframingethniccultural events fromanIndianperspective byemphasizingtheIncaoriginsofcertainfestivalsandinsuchactsasredirecting roosters (normally awarded to church authorities during fiestas) to native
79 communities. Oneof themostsignificantpoliticalprotestsinEcuadorianhistory

was the levantamiento, or uprising, of June 1990. Ecuadorian Indians paralyzed

Itwouldalsobe unwiseandimpracticalforOtavalomentowearalpargatas andmid calfwhitepantswhileplayingmusicorsellinghandicraftsonawinterstreetinEuropeorNorth Americaduetotheweather.Kyle,TransnationalPeasants ,181Meisch, AndeanEntrepreneurs, 170.

79

78

Sutherland,NavigatingIndigenousness,2829.

34

the country for several days, using roadblocks to impede transportation between
80 provinces and occupying the church of Santo Domingo in Quito. Protestors

demanded that the national constitution acknowledge Ecuador as not just a

81 multiculturalbutamultinationalandmultiethnicstate. Thewholecountrytook

notice. Media images of masses of once dispossessed Indians from all parts of Ecuador signaled the arrival of the native population as a force to be reckoned with. Ethnic clothing was newly reinvested with subversive power and tied to
82 concreteeconomicandpoliticalvictories.The1998electionofNinaPacari, an

Otavalo woman, to Congress and the 2000 election of an Otavalo sociologist, Mario Conejo, as mayor of Otavalo both reflected and advanced the cause of integrationandfullcitizenshipfornativeEcuadorians.Thesepoliticiansandother college educated Otavalos continue to wear ethnic dress. In a recent interview, Luz Mara de la TorreAmaguaa, an Otavalo professor who teaches at UCLA, discussed the significance of her use of ethnic dress. For her, ethnic dress is an importantsymbolofethnicidentityandIndianstruggle:
Aninterestingreminderofthefactthatnopeoplecanbeseenasamonolithisthefact that while this uprising has been seen as a symbol of indigenous solidarity, wealthy Otavalos, while not exactly opposing the uprising, were concerned that the road blocks would impede business.Kyle,TransnationalPeasants,141.DAmico,Expressivity,EthnicityandRenaissance inOtavalo,45.
81 80

The 2008 Ecuadorianconstitutionrecognized Ecuadorasamultinationalstate.

Incidentally, in terms of the cultural renaissance, Nina Pacaris given name is Mara EstelaVegaCornejo.AtleastoneotherOtavalointellectualhastakenanindigenousname:Jacinto ConejoisnowArirumaKowii.ItismorecommontoseeKichwagivennamesnowthatitisnot bannedbytheChurch.

82

35

Our clothing is very important it is more than a symbol of our spirit. It characterizes us and has permitted us to be recognized throughout the world. At first, many people felt great shame at wearingtheseclothes.Yettheyareintegraltothestruggle,afeature ofourpresence,a meanstoalways be flag bearersofthis identity. For the men, the ponchos and hats have signified something else, whichinthepast,wasthefocusofourdenigrationandhumiliation. The mestizos would throwour hats onthe ground,or snatch them away, dismissing the Indigenous men as inhuman. Now the hat is raisedasastandardtosay,Herewearethisishowweare.Weare different, and being different we wantto live together in this great 83 planetaryunity. Amaguaas understanding of dress is characteristic of the generation that cameofageinthelate1960sandtheearly1970sforthem,dressispartlya symbolofsuccessinovercomingblatantracism.Morethanthis,itisanact
84 of subjectformation that embodies the multinational state they have

fought to create. Use of ethnic dress, through its connection to a pre Columbian ancestry, epitomizes patriotism and expands notions of good citizenship by valorizing Indian traditional communal solidarities overthe mestizo/modernethicofrationalityandindividualism. The trajectory I have been describing has profoundly impacted Otavalo youth. Like younger generations of minorities in the U.S. who have reaped the

LuzMaradelaTorreAmaguaa,interviewedbyIsabelDulfano,CulturalSurvival. Winter2009.http://www.culturalsurvival.org/publications/culturalsurvival quarterly/ecuador/anotherwayenvisioningworld WendyParkins,"Introduction:(Ad)dressingCitizens," inFashioningtheBodyPolitic: Dress,Gender,Citizenship, ed. WendyParkins (Oxford:Berg,2002),11.

84

83

36

benefitsofthebattles foughtbytheirparentsandotherancestors,Otavalo youth enjoy more opportunities and more freedom to experience culture in a less politicizedway.Whilenotentirelysurprisedwhentheyencounterdiscrimination, theyarealsonotemotionallyscarredlikepreviousgenerationswho learnedtheir placeinthespacialorderthehardwaywhetheronthesidewalk,orinbuses, or in classrooms. In contrast to the musical groups of the 1970s that were necessarily more politically conscious about uplifting native culture, the inter generational musical groups of the 1990s, which Meisch credits with helping to
85 instillprideinurbanIndianstoresistacculturationofdressorhair, arerooted

in another social and political reality. While some of their music touches upon issuesofsocialjustice,itscontentandstylearenotbasedsolelyonasocialjustice imperative. The previous generations more overt cultural activism is now manifested in less political ways. Although perhaps their cultural commitment disappoints some, Sutherland notes that Otavalo music groups like the famous Charijayachave increasedteenage interestin learningtoplayAndean musicand
86 instruments. In so doing, they foster cultural pride along with economic

85

Meisch, AndeanEntrepreneurs,138.

Sutherland,NavigatingIndigenousness, 63.Interestingly,Charijayac, whoused ribbonstotietheirloosehairinthe1990salbumcalledCieloRosa,inspiredmanyyoungOtavalos tobeginwearingponytailsinsteadofbraidingtheirhair.Meisch, AndeanEntrepreneurs,142. Althoughtoawesterneye,wearingalongponytailorbraidisjustastylisticdecision,cutting oneshairshortiscurrentlyamuchgreatertransgressionthanadoptingwesternclothes,atleastfor Otavalomaleswhowereraisedtowearlonghair.Itsimportancemaybegaugedbythefactthat themilitaryservicedoesnotrequireIndianmentocuttheirhair.IshouldnotethatwhileIdonot personallyknowanyOtavalomenwhohavecuttheirhair,theydoexist.Thesemendonotdeny

86

37

prosperity. Personalexperiencesinthisnewandpresumablymorepluralperiodshow that perceptions take a long time to change. In 1996, while shopping at the supermarket, a female Otavalo professor at an upscale university in Quito who woreethnicdresswasapproachedbyamestizawomanwhoofferedherajobasa domesticworker.Notonetoturndowngoodwork,theprofessorletthewoman know that if prepared to pay the equivalent of the salary she was earning at the university,shemightconsiderheroffer!Oncampus,theprofessorsclothingonly further legitimated her as an authority on Andean culture. In the supermarket, however, the mestiza woman automatically associated the professor's Otavalo dressasamarkeroflowersocioeconomicclassandofferedherservility.Otavalos who are still seen as marginalized, as Other, undoubtedly experience a full spectrumofobjectifyingbehaviorsonadailybasis. *** Part 1 of this thesis has analyzed the hybrid and changing nature of Otavalodressasshaped bysociopoliticalcontext.RocesandEdwards'argument thatdresscanbeviewedasatext,tobeinterpretedindifferentwaysevenwithina
87 given historical period, is especially valid for the Otavalo. Because they have

theirOtavaloidentitybuttypically,theirhairwascutatayoungageinordertoavoid discriminationinvenueswhereOtavaloswerenotwelcome. MinaRocesandLouiseEdwards,"TransNationalFlowsandthePoliticsofDressin AsiaandtheAmericas,"inThePoliticsofDressinAsiaandtheAmericas,ed.MinaRocesand

87

38

longstraddledandnavigateddifferentsocioeconomic,geographicandintellectual realms,Otavalos'decisionsaboutdresshave meant differentthingstothosewho came of age during the huasipungo era, during the 1970s when Otavalos were involvedinpanIndianstrugglestorevalorizetheirculture,orinthe1990swhen travelingabroadhadbecomecommonplace. Part 2 will explore how the increasingly heterogeneous Otavalo
th st communityofthe20 and21 centurieshasreinterpretedtheconstitutiveroleof

dressvisvisOtavaloidentity.Otavalomales'adoptionofcontemporarywestern dress, which is widely accepted, permits them to integrate into other cultures. Paradoxically, itsignals notalossoftheirIndianidentitybutgreaterfreedomto express that identity. Until recently, Otavalo women have not had the same freedom.Althoughtheyfrequentlyadoptwesterndresswhileabroad,theytendto takeupethnicdresswhentheyreturntoEcuador.WhileOtavalowomenchoose tomaintainethnicdressasaconstitutivepartoftheiridentity,itisnotadecision made in a vacuum. Unlike men, women have been expectedto serve as cultural custodiansandconsequently have facedcommunitydisapprovalwhenthey have altered their dress. According to some Otavalo women, gendered standards of dressareindicativeofthegreaterleewaythatmenenjoyintermsofparticipating in intercultural romantic relationships. However, in the past decade, urban Otavalo women have begun to alternate between ethnic and western dress in
LouiseEdwards(Portland,Oregon:SussexAcademicPress,2007),15.

39

public. Part 2 will discuss womens ethnic dress as a form of alternative modernity andsocialcontrol. Part 2 will also discuss the dress practices of an increasingly heterogeneous Otavalo population. In the last decade, young urban Otavalo womens sartorial practices have begun to challenge the malefemale sartorial divide.TheiradoptionofwesterndressonthestreetsofOtavaloaswellasabroad indicatesthatthetraditionaldichotomybetweenmenandwomenisnotsufficient as an analytical tool since womanhood is experienced differently based on context, location and economics. In some cases, urban womens sartorial expressions may bear more of a resemblance to mens than to rural or older women.AlthoughanOtavalocommunitydoesexistingeneralterms,thereare actually several communities based on locality and affected, however subtly, by localtransnationalcommunitiesandbysocioeconomicdistinctions. Part2 MaleDressasAlternativeModernity:ReframingtheDebateonAuthenticity fromtheInside Ratherthandebatethefalsedichotomyofauthenticityversusmodernity, OtavalosareengagedinadiscussionabouthowtomaintainameaningfulOtavalo identity,orculturalauthenticity,withinmodernity.Therolethataspectsofculture, likedress,playinamodernOtavaloidentityiscomplex.Theadoptionofwestern clothing is not necessarily an insidious process of recolonization by western

40

culturenordoestheuseofethnicclothingnecessarilysignalauthenticrespectfor and commitment to indigenous identity. Years ago, I listened as a group of Otavalos censured an Otavalo woman who admitted to wearing ethnic clothing onlybecauseitgaveherlegitimacyandallowedhertostandoutinhermilieuof nonOtavalos.Hertrueintentionsexposedherasopportunisticandifnotignorant, then at least disrespectfulof her culture. In contrast, someone whooptsto wear contemporary western clothing may be steeped in indigenous culture in other ways. I know several young Otavalo males who wear contemporary western clothing,speakKichwa,havestudiedatorworkedwithanalternativeindigenous school in Quito, practice native spirituality and maintain close ties to kin in Otavaloorlivetherethemselves.OnecannotassumethatOtavaloswhovisually blend into mainstream culture by wearing contemporary western clothes have abandonedtheirindigenousidentity.Whileethnicdressconstitutespartofculture, wearing this dress does not invest one with cultural authenticity. This section examines how Otavalo men retained cultural authenticity even as they have stoppedwearingethnicdressonadailybasis. During the 1980s, Otavalo males who adopted western dress were criticizedforwantingtoassimilate.AlthoughKyleclaimedin2000thatthereis no great sanction against those who want to adopt nontraditional lifestyles as

41

88 long as they maintain respect for some of the core values and mores, other

indicators betray more complex feelings about change, particularly dress. ColloredoMansfeldremarksthatinthelate1990s,teenagegirlsclaimedthat
89 boyswanttodresslikewhitemestizos. Somemigrantsfromthecommunityof

Peguche who moved to Otavalo or Quito were seen as preoccup[ied] with new
90 clothesandconsumergoodsandcalledindiosplsticos,plasticIndians. This

kind of internal differentiation might have resulted in a fracturing of Otavalo identityalonglinesofregion,class,genderorurban/ruralresidence. Today, however, an Otavalo man wearing western dress is no longer
91 consideredan indiorevestido, aderogatoryterm forIndianswhotrytodeny

theirculturebydressingasmestizos.Wearingabraid(orattheveryleast,along ponytail)marksOtavalomenwhohavecrossedoversartoriallyashavingresisted fullassimilation.Whatevertheirinitialreasoningforabandoningethnicdressona daily basis, when pressed, men sometimes defendtheir cultural authenticity. For example, one Otavalo male who was accused of losing his culture when he

88

Kyle,TransnationalPeasants, 180. ColloredoMansfeld,TheNativeLeisureClass,203.

89

Ibid.,205Kyle,TransnationalPeasants,1801.Interestingly,thisantagonisticback andforthplaysitselfoutbetweendifferentIndiangroupsaswell. Cuttingonesbraidmarks deculturedindigenousmen.Theterms mocho and guangudoareinsultstradedamongIndian groups: mocho referringtoIndianswhohaveshortWesternstylehairand guangudo tothosewith longbraids.ColloredoMansfeld,TheNativeLeisureClass,86.
91

90

Lentz,"EthnicConflictandChangingDressCodes,"271.

42

abandoned ethnic dress protested that indigenous identity depends more on

92 shungo orheartthanwhitepantsandaponcho.

Otavalomaleshavebeenabletocrossoversartoriallybecauseoftheclose ties that Otavalo culture has to markers of modernity.As one would expect in a communitythathasembracedmodernityscalltoacceleratedeconomicgrowth,a walkthroughsomeOtavalovillagesisfilledwiththesoundsofheavymachinery inplaceoftraditionallooms.Otavaloculturalproductionsthataremadewiththis modern equipment, however, are inspired by preColumbian designs and local scenes as well as designs with more of a western aesthetic like the patterns of Escher. Newer technology has accustomed Otavalos to modernity's
93 disembedding of social life from local context, where absent relations are

sometimes more importantthan face to face ones.Theytravel and settle abroad regularly and they are a notable presence on the Internet and social networking siteslikeHi5,FacebookandOtavaloAmigos,theveryfirstsocialnetworkingsite for the Otavalo community, which debuted in 2009. Otavalos use such new technology to foment their own culture by posting news, pictures of cultural events, cultural information and Kichwa lessons accessible to all without boundaries of time or space. Their success as international entrepreneurs and migrants makes it seem more natural for them to adopt contemporary western
92

DAmico,Expressivity,EthnicityandRenaissanceinOtavalo,227. Escobar,TerritoriesofDifference, 165.

93

43

dress than it would be for Indian men who come from isolated agricultural communities.
th In hindsight, Otavalo males who adopted western dress in the late 20

centurywereatthevanguardofshapinganewvisionofOtavaloidentity.Rather than reading mens western dress as a denigration of ethnic dress, one might consider the ways in which it has allowed Otavalo men to integrate into mainstream society and challenge notions about indigenous people. If western societyhashabituallystereotypedIndiansduetotheirdress,theactofshattering those preconceptions by using western clothes is actually radical. Although I personallylikeOtavalodressanddonotthinkitshouldbenecessaryforOtavalos tochangetheirclothinginordertoeffectthischangeinperspective,theirwearing western clothes challenges westerners colonized gaze, making them more familiarandlessOther.Thiscanbeinterpretedasanactofdecolonization,notof themselves but of outsiders whose preconceived notions about Indianness have notletthemseepastdress. By visually blending into mainstream culture without the intention to assimilate,Otavalo menhavealsobeenperhapsunconsciously butnonetheless actively engaged in a process of normalizing diversity. Normalizing diversity requiresgoingbeyondmereincorporationofmarginalpopulationstochallenging stereotypes and valuing differences. Ethnic dress can present an obstacle to challengingstereotypesinaworldwheretheserunthegamutfromdenigrationof

44

Indiansasinferiortoexaltationofthemasnoblerthanothergroups.Itshouldnot benecessaryforanyethnicgrouptochangedressinordertonormalizediversity. However, I am suggesting that the act of blending obviates the othering tendencyandacceleratestheprocessofmutualunderstandingbetweencultures. Itis importantthatOtavalo menthemselves madethedecisiontochange dress(unlikeinIndianboardingschoolsintheUnitedStateswhichforcedwestern dressonIndians).Theirsteadfastassociationwiththe largerOtavalocommunity and their continuation of cultural practices show that adoption of western dress may actually be a positive form of alternative modernity which embraces modernity in select ways and to the extent that it fosters their communitys strengthandwellbeing. Paradoxically, the success of two generations of Otavalos in crossing geographic,economic,andculturalboundarieshasgivenrisetorenewedinterest amongtodaysteensinpreservingethnicdress.Inthe1990s,someyoungOtavalo
94 migrants blamed the older generation of males for abandoning ethnic dress.

Kyle wrotethat young people feellike something is being lost but atthe same time,noyoungmaniswillingtobetheonlyonewearingthefulltraditionalgarb,
95 what may be considered, in another cultural context, as being square. To

overcome this reticence among males to wear ethnic dress, in 2000, a group of
94

Kyle,TransnationalPeasants,180. Ibid.,181

95

45

youngpeopleorganizedagalaballbilledasacelebrationofOtavalocultureand they required Otavalo youth to wear ethnic clothing.The first year many young menwereataloss.Thosewhoweredeniedaccessbecausetheyhadnottakenthe requirement seriously scrambled off in search of ethnic clothing. The mad dash was prompted by the fact that today, many young Otavalo men do not own the white pants and poncho that constitutes male ethnic dress. As reported in
96 Runakuna, having toresortto borrowing these articles of clothing from elders

made these young men acutely aware that they had lost their connection to a hallmarkofOtavaloidentity:dress.Oneofthecoordinatorsoftheballnotedthat the loss of Otavalo dress and the concomitant need to borrowthese items made
97 the event seem like a costume party. The ball was a shrewd experiment in

culturalrevitalizationwhichhasnowbecomeanannualevent. In subsequent years, partygoers realized that they had to wear ethnic clothing and on the fourth year, Foundation Runakay youth baptized it with a Kichwa title Runakay. Organizers added artistic and cultural components, including a ritual ceremony, a talent contest, theatre, dance and music. The websiteOtavalosOnline.compostsphotographsand informationaboutthisevent to its website just as it would for festivals that are based on preColumbian
RunakunaistheKichwatermforpeopleormankindbutisalsousedtoidentifyIndian peoplesspecifically.
97 96

Redaccin Runakuna, Los wampras ponen su parte, Runakuna, February April

2008,35.

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equinoxandsolsticefestivals.Thisissignificantbecausethisblacktieeventis being treated in the same way as ageold events, which were reinvested with
98 meaninginthe1980s. Itisalsosignificantthat,throughdiscussionsaboutthese

formal events, the editors of Runakuna discovered that there was at least one similar event held 15 years ago in Ibarra. Loss of certain aspects of Otavalo culture has led Otavalos to compensate by revitalizing other aspects of their culture.Inthelate1980s,PrelornnoteshowalossofKichwalanguageskillson thepartofupperclassOtavalosresultedinanincreasedusageofethnicclothing: Students who are more proficient in Spanish than Quichua tend to emphasize their ethnic markers this tendency has an integrative function. For example, all eight of my informants wore the ponchoandthetraditionalOtavaleohat,twoethnicmarkersthat are less often used among rural teenagers who are fluent in 99 Quichua. Runakunaeditorsendbysaying what is important is thatthe young people continue to have this type of activity which demonstrates their concern for maintaining their culture as well as adding fresh new elements. These may include foreign elements that adapt themselves to new traditions without interfering with established practices that form part of our 100 proud runaculture.
WibbelsmannotesthatwhileOtavaloscelebrateequinoxesandsolstices,the designationofthesefestivalsasraymis isborrowedfromBolivianandPeruvianIncasources.For example, PawkarRaymi, whichcoincideswiththespringequinoxandwithcarnaval, whichis th celebratedthroughoutEcuador,was notknownassuchuntillateinthe20 century.Michelle Wibbelsman, RitualEncounters:OtavalanModernandMythicCommunity (Urbana:Universityof IllinoisPress,2009),5051. HaydeePrelorn,Otavalo:EconomicDevelopmentandPersistenceofIndigenous Ethnicity(Thesis,UniversityofCalifornia,LosAngeles,1987),25.
100 99 98

RedaccinRunakuna,Loswamprasponensuparte,35.

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These words echo Kyles statement about adaptations being allowed so long as they respect traditional Otavalo culture. While this sounds inclusive, there is obviously a limit to what would interfere with established practices, however elusiveitis. AudienceAppropriateAttire Negotiationofstandardsregardingethnicdressisespeciallycomplicated whenplayedoutinpublicrealmsforoutsideaudiences.Articlesofclothingthat signify one thing inside the Otavalo community sometimes symbolize very differentthingstoOtavalosthemselveswhentheyareworninfrontofanoutside audience. Blunders point to the lack of sartorial consensus in a heterogeneous populationthat,duetoitsmillenarianhistory,isfrequentlyhomogenized.

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Some Otavalos perceive the mixing of western and ethnic dress as distasteful in certain venues. In the late 1990s, an Otavalo commented that he thoughtthecongresswomanNinaPacari,whosometimeswearssweatersinstead oforunderneath herfachalina,did notlookelegantenough forherverypublic profile (see Image 5). While fleece sweaters or jean jackets have been in vogue among younger women since the 1990s, some

Otavalosmayfeelthat it is more appropriate for a publicly visible woman of her stature torepresenttheculture Image5.NinaPacariwearingasweaterunderneath herfachalina. Source: TheNarcoNewsBulletin more formally by

101 using a fachalina.

Otherethnicgroupsalsomakesartorialdecisionsbasedontheiraudience.(East) IndianwomeninAmerica,forexample,notethattheyusemoretraditionalclothing forIndian gettogethersandmoreWesternizedattirewhenmeetingAmericanfriends.MaryA.Littrelland JenniferPaffOgle,Women,Migration,andtheExperienceofDress,inDressSense: EmotionalandSensoryExperiencesoftheBodyandClothes,ed.ClayJohnsonandHelen BradleyFoster(Oxford:Berg,2007), 129.

101

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The same sentiment might be expressed about a man who wears fedora, white pantsandalpargatasbutfinishesoffhisensemblewithajeanorbusinessjacket. This would be the equivalent of a western woman wearing formal attire with sneakersinsteadofdressshoes. Sartorial decisions at mixed (mestizo and Indian) events that reinforce outsiders impressionthatnativeculturesarestaticalsocomeunderscrutiny.In the late 1990s, a middle aged man attended a cultural event where the Otavalo woman who served as MC wore a style of felt hat used in the early partof the
th 20 century(picturedinImage6).Whenpressed,theman,whohimselfretained

ethnic dress, remarked that he thought this touch smacked too much of folklorizingofOtavaloculture.Whatmay appearasauthentictoanoutside audiencethatconflatesauthenticitywithatraditionalorunchangingculture
102 was to him something of a masquerade or performance of identity. On the

other hand, he would presumably not object to the use oftraditional dress at Runakay since it is an event geared toward Otavalos who are celebrating a revitalized,notstatic,Otavaloculture(seeImage6).

Thisphrasewasusedtodescribe(East)Indianwomenwhotookupanidealized extravagantIndiandressinthe1980s. Maynard, DressandGlobalisation,80.

102

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Image6.Thewomanwearsafulllength anakuwithfelthat,longearrings, thickwallcas(goldcoloredmultistrandbeadednecklaceswhichare sometimesaccompaniedbysinglestrandsofcoralorcoralcoloredbeaded necklaces),andalengthy makiwatana(coral orcoralcoloredbeaded braceletsthatwerehistoricallywoundseveralinchesaroundthewrists). TheRunakayFoundationdescribesthisas1960sdresseventhoughMeisch notesthatwomenworefulllength anakusonly aslateas the1940s (Meisch,Otavalo:Weaving,CostumeandtheMarket,122)andthewomen inImage4werealreadywearingtheskirtlength anakubytheturnofthe th 20 century.Source: RunakayFoundation Contradicting interpretations expose the breadth of opinions about sartorial decisions and the complexity of interpreting use of ethnic dress. For example, some have seen men in Otavalo musical groups who normally wear

51

western dress but are featured in European newspapers with ethnic dress as folklorizing bytakingadvantageofanexoticizedelegantlookforwesterners. In contrast, Sutherland critiques the instrumentalist analyses of scholars who reduceOtavalouseofPanIndianorInca imagerytoeconomic selfinterest and argues that their transnational experiences allow them to negotiate aspects of
103 their culture. Moreover, rather than trying to meet Western expectations that

they dress traditionally, Otavalo music groups may simply consider it appropriatetoweartheirbestforperformances. Mujercitas:WomenasCustodiansofCulture?
104 Despite the elaborate nature of womens ethnic dress, the Runakuna

article about Runakay does not liken womens attire at the event to a costume party. This is because young orold, Otavalo women tend toretain ethnic dress
103

Sutherland,NavigatingIndigenousness,44.

Womens clothing is composed of theanaku(a set of wool wrapsoneinner white onecalledayurakanakuandoneouterdarkonecalledayanaanakuwhichfoldintoeachother on the sides) held together by a set of sashes called chumbikuna. The mama chumbi, which is usuallywide,sturdyandred,holdsthe anakusinplace.Itiscoveredbyanarrow,longerandmore flexible chumbi called a wawa chumbi. Incidentally, since the word wawa means baby, it is the samesizeasthe chumbiusedtoswaddleinfants.Althoughmaterialmaydiffer,blousesarealways white with singletoned, twotoned, or multicolored embroidery in a semicircle along the chest andbackaswellasaroundthecircumferenceofthesleeves.Thecollarandsleevesaremadeofa wide layer of lace or eyelet that, like the chumbi and embroidery, allow for variation. Women usually wear cream or dark colored fachalinas. Women wear dark synthetic (or, more rarely, cabuyasoled)blueorblackalpargatas.Theywraptheirhairinacintawhichlookslikeanarrow wawa chumbi, although some women opt to braid their hair or simply wear a ponytail. Jewelry varies butitisrare to see an Otavalo woman without wallcasandmaki watana, although young womentend to wear fewer strands of wallcasand shortermaki watanathan older women.Baby girlswearthesameoutfitastheirmothersexceptforthemamachumbiwhichtheybeginwearing aroundageseven(Meisch,Otavalo:Weaving,CostumeandtheMarket,143)andthe cinta(which they cannot often wear because their hair is still growing out) instead, colored yarn is used to braidtheirhairuntilitgrowslongenoughtodona cinta.

104

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even when they add western twists and even if they wear western dress while abroad.Neitherthisnorwomen'snotableabsencefromtheclothingadvertisement discussed above means that women are marginalized from modernity.Although
105 womenhavelessopportunity totravelthanmen, MeischnotesthatOtavaleas 106 are not shrinking violets They hold positions of power in academia and

politicstheyactivelyparticipateinsocialmedianetworksandindigenousmedia and they study, work and live abroad. Despite some instances of sartorial transgression,theexpectationthatwomenretain ethnicdresshasbeenindicative ofadoublestandardformenandwomenintermsofthefreedomtoexpresstheir
107 Otavalo identity. In the past decade, however, most young urban Otavalo

Sutherland,NavigatingIndigenousness,79.Sutherlandattributesthistowomens genderrolesandthedifficultyofobtainingvisaswhileMeischnotesthatwomenareoften chaperonedduringtheirstaysabroad.Meisch, AndeanEntrepreneurs, 215216.Thishasnotbeen myexperience.WhilethreeofmyOtavalofemalefriendshaveafamilynetworkintheUnited States,they all liveontheirown.

106

105

Meisch, AndeanEntrepreneurs, 217.

ThegenderissuesIwilldiscussdonotnegatethefactthatretentionofwomensdress is also facilitated because it is widely admired on an aesthetic level. As has been discussed, Otavaloshavehistoricallybeenheldupasthemodelnativegroupduetowhatisperceivedtobe their clean and elegant appearance and entrepreneurial work ethic. Both contemporary scholars andtouristsalikeremarkontheeleganceandquietdignityofOtavaloclothing.Inthefilm Zulay FacingtheTwentyFirstCentury,anthropologistMabelPreloranremarks,Ithinkthoseskirtsof yoursaresobeautifultheyaresoelegant.ZulayFacingtheTwentyFirstCentury,producedby Jorge Prelorn, Mabel Prelorn and Zulay Saravino, Hollywood:Sunset Digital Video,2000, videocassette. Unlike the ethnic dress of other indigenous groups, such as the pollera worn in southern Ecuador and other parts of theAndes (which in terms of shape resembles the western poodleskirtthatwaspopularinthe1950s),theOtavaloanakuisclosertothewesternaesthetic where long gowns, generally used for more formal occasions, are considered elegant. Otavalo womensclothingalsohashistoricalcachetbecauseitissaidto closelyresemblethatofnobleInca women. Another western influence on Otavalo womens clothing relates to the aesthetic of the hour glass shape. Older women wrapped their chumbis over their hips while younger teenage womenbegantowraptheirchumbisaroundtheirwaistinordertoshowoffawhiterfeminine

107

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women have begun to alternate between ethnic and western dress in public,
108 although it is still rare forthem to completely abandon ethnic dress. The fact

that rural women still adhere to ethnic dress and that some emigrant Otavalo womentendtowearethnicdressonlyduringspecialoccasionsproblematizesthe analytical category women when dealing with a heterogeneous Otavalo population.

figureaccentuatinghipandbust.ColloredoMansfeld,TheNativeLeisureClass,45.Othersierra ethnicgroupshavealsotakenaspectsofOtavalodresswomenhaveadoptedthe anakuwhile men havegrowntheirhairlongandbraideditlikeOtavalomaleswhenthathasnotbeenthecustomof theirethnicgroup.ToaMaldonadoRuz,emailtoauthor,June21,2010.

108

ToaMaldonadoRuz,emailtoauthor,June21,2010.

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InEcuador,Otavalowomenhavelongwornalteredformsofethnicdress in circumscribed venues. During Inti Raymi, men wear a variety of costumes from the attire of Mariachi musicians to crossdressing as women. Otavalo

Image7.Otavalowomenbringinginthecastilloatthe2009IntiRaymiin Sabadell,Spain. Castilloprovisionsaregivenoutduringthefestivities.Althoughmenalsohelptomakecastillos andshareitsbounty,womentendtoguardthecommunalfoodspreadandmakechicha,orcorn beer,fortheoccasion.Source:OtavalosOnline womendonotstraytoofartheymaywearmasksandfedoraswithribbons(see Image 7) or use the ethnic dress of another indigenous group, the Cayambeas.

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109 Similarly,indancegroups,whichOtavalowomenusuallydominate, theywear

historicalOtavalo ethnic dress (as pictured in Image 6) and that ofother ethnic groups(mostly Cayambeas). Weddings have also

historicallyservedas spaceswherespecial or nontraditional

femaleclothingwere allowed, subverting the implicit rule that men are the only ones who can

radically alter their dress. In the 1940s, forexample,grooms wore ikat, or Image8.Bridewearingwhiteanakuandveiland groominethnicdress.Source:Rikurishun:LaGalera delosOtavalos

traditional tiedyed, ponchos while

Interestingly,theretendtobe more mestizo menindancegroupsthanIndianmen,who usuallyaccompanyasmusicians.

109

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110 brides took on the chola skirt and blouse. Up until the 1960s, brides wore

anakus but the 1980s saw a rise in rented white western wedding dresses. This trend was possibly used to demonstrate an increase in the communitys international travel and wealth. While some brides still wear plain ethnic dress with a white veil, since the 1990s, many brides wear a hybrid wedding dress:
111 whitenonwool anakus(seeImage8). Thehybridstyleisinterestingbecauseit

isanotherexampleofhowOtavaloshaveadaptedtocoexistingcultures.Theveil and the brides dress suggest that the Otavalo value the Christian association between the color white and virginity. Yet, their ethnic dress emphasizes their ethnicidentityandindicatesthattheirfaithismostlikelysyncretic.Forexample, oncethemarriagehasbeenconsummated,itislikelythatthecouplewillpartake of the awi mallai, a native cleansing ceremony in which the godmother will wash the brides face, hands, arms and legs with rose petals and stinging nettle andthegodfatherwilldothesameforthegroomwhilecounselingthemonhow
112 tobeagoodhusbandandwife.

110

Meisch,HeGaveHerSandals,164. Ibid.,166. Meisch, AndeanEntrepreneurs, 151.

111

112

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Image9.OtavalowomenwearwesternuniformstoplaybasketballataPawkar RaymieventinChicago.Theteamsyounggodmotherstandsinfrontofthe team,wearingfullethnicdresswithsashandcarriesflowers.Source:Otavalos Online Since at least the 1990s, the most dramatic use of western dress by OtavalowomeninEcuadorhasbeeninbasketball.Womenmaybeseenonpublic basketball courtswearingwesternjoggingsuits.Iftheydonotwear cintas towrap their hair, they have no visible identity markers. During Inti Raymi and Pawkar Raymi,womenwearwesternuniforms in basketballcompetitions(seeImage9). Visually, the female basketball players achieve equal footing with men due to their common dress styles.They also achieve some level of parallelism because theyarecompetingbasedonsportsskillswhiletheteamsgodmother,whowears

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Image10.Womenplayingbasketball atthe2005PawkarRaymifestivitiesin Otavalo.Source:ShyriCachiguango|OtavalosOnline formal ethnic dress, may take part in a competition against other godmothers
113 based on aesthetic and cultural criteria, the way they do in beauty pageants.

Image 10 reinforces this parallelism because women take center stage based on skill andmensrolesarereversedasthey becomepassiveonlookers. Other than these venues, public opinion has limited the extent to which
114 Otavalowomenareabletofeelcomfortablealteringethnicdress. Meischcites

113

Rogers,SpectacularBodies,63.

Gendered language also influences womens predisposition to wear ethnic clothes. Otavalo men sometimesrefer to young Otavalo women inethnic dress as mujercitas, a Spanish diminutive that translates as little women.The term evokes a prideandtenderness towardthe women.Atthesametime,thistermmayhighlighttheobversethatanOtavalowomanwhodoes

114

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theexampleofa youngwomanwho,in1989,woreagreenanakuinpublicand was met by stares and murmers of disapproval from other indigenas as she walked in Otavalo. The thought of what will people say? is a powerful
115 mechanism of social control. In the early 2000s, Sacha Rosero, a young

OtavalomalewhoresidesinBarcelonaandfoundedthewebsiteOtavalosOnline, said that women in the Diaspora who feel trapped by tradition are just experiencing personal complexes. Itll always be tougher for the women. But really,theyretheoneswhoreallyguardourculture.Theywearthe clothes,theyraiseourkids,theyspeakQuichua.Youknowifthey stopped wearing the vestimenta [ethnic dress] at our celebrations, wewouldntbeOtavalosanymore.[But]theyhavetodoitbecause they want to. It has to come from them, they have to want to 116 muchofourcultureisridingonthewomen.

Although Roseros comments seem conservative, the fact that he qualifies his remarks by saying at our celebrations, shows that he does not think Otavalo women must restrict themselves to ethnic dress all the time. However, his comments remain contradictory on two levels. First, womens decision to adopt
not wear ethnic dress may not be considered a mujercita. As such, she is distant from Otavalo cultural norms and may not be shown the same deferenceas a woman in ethnic dress. I do not meanthat OtavalomenmistreatOtavalowomen who wear western dress butthat the use of the termforanakucladwomenmayimplicitlymarginalizetheformer. LynnA.Meisch,WeareSonsofAtahualpaandWeWillWin:TraditionalDressin OtavaloandSaraguro,inTextileTraditionsofMesoamericaandtheAndes:AnAnthology,ed. MargotBlumSchevill,JanetCatherineBerloandEdwardB.Dwyer(Austin:UniversityofAustin Press,1991),151.
116 115

Sutherland,NavigatingIndigenousness,79.

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ethnicdress,ifonlyatcelebrations,willnotbetotallyvoluntaryiftheyfeelthatit signifies their commitment to preserving Otavalo culture. Although it is not unreasonableforwomentowearethnicdressduringcelebrations,thefactremains thatexceptforceremoniesoreventslikeRunakay,menarenotexpectedtodothe same.His matteroffactassertionthat[i]tllalwaysbetougherforthewomen supportsMarisoldelaCadenasclaimaboutthesubordinateroleofwomen.She writes,indigenouswomenarethelastlink inthechainofsocialsubordination: they are the least ethnically or socially mobile, and their Indian identity
117 approaches closure. Secondly, if mens abandonment of ethnic dress did not

resultintheannihilationofOtavaloculture,asimilartrendamongwomenwould presumably not have such dire results. Roseros comment suggests a facile underestimationofthebreadthofOtavaloculturalexpression,whichissurprising
118 giventhatIconsiderhimtobepartofthevanguardIdiscussedearlier. Amore

recentattempttoalterOtavalodressisframedasmodernizingbutillustratessome womenscontinued hesitationabouttakingupwesterndress.Noticingthatmore Otavalo are wearing western clothing as a resultof theirtransnational lifestyles,
MarisoldelaCadena,WomenareMoreIndian:EthnicityandGenderina CommunitynearCuzco,inEthnicity,Markets,andMigrationintheAndes:AttheCrossroadsof HistoryandAnthropology,ed.BrookeLarson,OliviaHarrisandEnriqueTandeter(Durham:Duke University Press,1995), 333. IcollaboratedwithSachaRosero ontheOtavalosOnlinewebsite inthepastandhe hasbeenveryhelpfultomewheneverIhaveneeded referencesformyresearch.Iwouldhave likedtoaskhimabouthiscomments andinterviewhimfurtheraboutthis topic butthiswould haverequiredInstitutionalReviewBoardapprovalandIdidnothaveenoughtimetocarrythisout intime tosubmitthisthesis.
118 117

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designer Rebeca Arellano recently started an ethnic clothing line that includes dramaticchangesincolorandtextiles(seeImage11).Althoughthecostofthese new designs are prohibitive (up to $800 while womens ethnic dress normally starts at $130), tradition also impedes their adoption. Thirty year old Rocio
119 Teanga says it is not "very normal" to wear these new styles. Runakays

emphasis on ethnic dress also demonstrates that retention and revitalization of cultureisatapeakandthattoomuchvariationorchangemaynotbewelcome.

Image11.WomenwearingRebecaArellanodesigns.Theweddingdress appearstobean anakumadeofsatinorsilk.Source:Runakay.net

LuisYamberla,"LavestimentatradicionaltomanuevaformaenOtavalo."Ali ShamushkaCapaichiucanchicausaiRUNAKAY, http://runakay.net/index.php/churajunavestimenta/34churajunavestimenta/62lavestimenta tradicionaltomanuevaformaenotavalo.

119

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Until very recently, Otavalo womens experiences with dress have supportedMarisoldelaCadenasargumentthatitismoredifficultforwomento acculturate because their

identity is more fixed. Otavalo However, women

areuniquebecause they feel pressure to retain ethnic dress even though they are socially mobile. Although this paradoxical, seems it Image 12. Tantanajuy usta at the 2003 Pawkar Raymi ceremony.Source:OtavalosOnline

relates to the fact that Otavalo social

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120 mobility has been linked to their cultural production, which is in turn

legitimatedbyethnicclothing.Otavalodresshasalsohadsemioticimportancefor womenwhohaveestablishedthemselvesas culturalauthorities inacademicand political realms and is reinforced by Otavalo beauty pageants and other celebrationswherewomeninethnicdressaregiventhetitleofusta,orprincess (see Image 12). Since young Otavalo men have abandoned ethnic dress except for special occasions, womens use of ethnic dress becomes an even stronger symbolofOtavaloidentity. Theexpectationthatwomen actasculturebearersreflectsotherlimitations on their freedom to experience the world. As Sutherland notes, the gendered division of culturebearing labor means that it is seen as positive for men to change,progress,andadapt,whilesomewomenareexplicitlyencouragednotto
121 doso. OneofSutherlandsinformantsnotedthatwomenaremoreshelteredin

terms of their romantic partners and are encouraged and expected to marry Otavaloswhilemenoftenhaveromanticencounterswithforeignwomenandare
122 notadmonishedtoremainendogamous. Meischnotesthatsince1985,whenthe

120

Kyle,TransnationalPeasants,177. Sutherland,NavigatingIndigenousness,80.

121

Notice that these intercultural unions are with foreigners, not mestizos, about which evenlessiswritten.ThewifeofthenativemayorofOtavaloismestizaandIknowofatleasttwo marriagesbetweenmestizomalesandOtavalowomen.Inoneremarkableincidentinthe1990s,I remember hearing that a young mestizo male had been assaulted by the family of his Otavalo girlfriendbecausethefamilydidnotapproveoftheirinterculturalunion.Thisincidentsurprised mebecause ofitsrarityandbecause itwasacaseofOtavaloonmestizo aggression.

122

64

postwasipungu generation came of age, therehave been a significant number ofromanticrelationshipsbetweenOtavalomenandtheforeignwomenwhocome toOtavalotohaveromanticorsexualencounterswith native men.Otavalo men whotravelabroadalsodateforeignwomenwhoaresometimesseenaseconomic
123 resourceswhentheypayforoutingsorprovidehousing. WhileMeischasserts

that fleeting relationships are prevalent, there are permanent unions, mostly between Otavalo men and foreign women. In Ecuador, it is not as common for foreign men to have romantic relationships with Otavalo women (the literature doesnotdiscusstheexperienceofOtavalowomenabroad).Despitehavingmore relative freedomthanmestizawomen,MeischnotesthattheOtavalo community hasprotectedwomenduetothefearthattheymaybetakenadvantageofsexually
124 orbecomepregnant. Whilesomewomenclearlyfeelinhibited,itisatestament

tothe heterogeneity of Otavalo culturethat some families are in favorof giving their daughters the same freedom of association as men. While Kyle notes that women are expected not only to be the Otavalo cultural anchor but also to accepttheirpartnersromanticrelationshipswithforeignwomen,hetempersthis by noting that most of his informants would not mind either their sons or their

123

Kyle,TransnationalPeasants,178Meisch, AndeanEntrepreneurs,170. Meisch, AndeanEntrepreneurs, 214216.

124

65

125 daughtersmarryingforeigners.

Inadditiontotheseissuesofgenderdisparity,womensmoreconservative sartorial practices indicate hesitancy about how to integrate tradition and modernity.AsOtavalosbecomeincreasinglytransnationalsucceedinginarenas unrelated to culture and making permanent homes in other parts of the world they struggle to decide what aspects of their culture they should maintain. The outdated language used in one Otavalo online article demonstratesthe difficulty of translating the symbolism of ethnic dress for a nonagrarian, postcolonial generationofOtavalos.Theauthornotesthatwomenweartheumawatana"ina pyramidalshapeinordertoprotectthemselvesfromthesunwhentheygotoreap aharvestorworktheland"andthatthemakiwatanagives"womenpowerintheir
126 handssothattheycanworktheland."

125

Kyle,TransnationalPeasants,177,179. Myemphasis.

Luis Yamberla,"VestimentadelpueblokichwaOtavalo," AliShamushkaCapaichi ucanchicausaiRUNAKAY, http://runakay.net/index.php/churajunavestimenta/34 churajunavestimenta/60vestimentadelpueblokichwaotaval.

126

66

Runakuna

article entitled Fashion Takes Hold of Kichwa

127 Women

illustrates

how womens limited sartorial range is

translated into a type of alternative modernity.

The first half of the article discusses how Otavalo travel abroad has allowed them to transform the landscape Image13.Stylizedphotoaccompanyingthefashion article.Source:Runakuna ofthecityofOtavaloby

buyinghomesorbuildingthemusingmodernarchitecturalstyles.Thearticlegoes on to note that Otavalo men have also transformed local dress by importing western styles. While women have not drastically altered their dress, foreign influences have helped them to improve and recreate female ethnic dress by

ToaMaldonadoRuz,Lamodaseapoderadelasmujereskichwas, Runakuna.Koya Raymi2007,27.Mytranslation.

127

67

128 using new fabrics, colors, and combinations of each.

These western

adaptations result in a variety of adaptations to ethnic dress: sports, casual,

129 traditional, urban, formal, festive, among others, although no examples of 130 thesestylesareshown. Thearticle,writtenbyawoman,concludesbyearnestly

emphasizing how womens changing fashion demonstrates their integration into modernity: one can see that fashion is not static that Otavalo womens clothes are not fossils they are in continuous change and transformation. Native womens clothing begins to reinvent itself and adapt to a global world. This is one form of cultural subsistence by which women continue to wear traditional dress 131 whileadoptingtheaesthetictendenciesofglobalfashion. By explaining their integration of global fashion onto traditional dress as a culturally sustainable practice, Maldonado Ruz frames ethnic dress as an alternative modernity and avoids discussing the societal pressure to serve as cultural custodians. To some extent, womens use of ethnic dress certainly qualifies as an alternative modernity. It expresses the primacy of their cultural valuesoverthoseofwesternculture.

128

Ibid.Mytranslation. Ibid. Mytranslation.

129

TheimagethataccompaniesthearticleisastylizedphotographofanOtavalowoman who, but for the sunglasses, purse and graphics, is wearing ethnic dress (see Image 13). Like Blackfoot women in the nineteenth century who used calico and trade cloth with traditional patterns and designs,until recently, Otavalo women have been more comfortable making subtle changesbutnotabandoningethnicdressaltogether(seeImage 14).
131

130

MaldonadoRuz,Lamodaseapoderadelasmujereskichwas,27.Mytranslation.

68

However, the use of such language hides the disparity between men and womensculturalexpression.Giventheearnestwayinwhichtheauthordiscusses womens fashion innovations, I believed her unaware thatthe title of her article suggeststhelackofcontrolwomenhaveoversartorialdecisions.Heruseofthe word takes hold (apodera) implies that women have been possessed by a

Image14.Theyoungwomanwearsabeigefachalinawithdashesonitand nocinta onherhairormakiwatanaonherwrists.Source:OtavalosOnline fashion craze rather than that they are consciously forming an alternative modernity. While men are described as importing foreign styles as part of their transformation of local culture, womens adaptations are conservative in comparison.Onceagain,itiswomenwhomustbemindfulofshepherdingethnic

69

dresssafelyintoaglobalizedworld. Maldonado Ruzs apparently uncritical take on women's ethnic dress became more complex after I found her Facebook profile where she is pictured wearingbothethnicandwesterndress.Notonlydoesshewearwesterndresson thestreetsof Otavalo,butshewearsethnicdressonasnowyeveninginaforeign
132 country.SheevenwearsShuar ethnicdressataShuarwedding,whichiseven

morestartlingbecauseitindicatessomethingmorethanthetypicalperformance related assimilation of another ethnicity (although I have never seen Otavalo womentakeonAmazonianethnicdressevenindanceperformances).Iemailed MaldonadoRuz,acollegestudentwhohasbeeninvolved in intercultural youth activities, about her varied dress styles and her decision not to include these alternativechoices in herarticle.Sheexplainedthatshehadwrittenthearticlea while ago and consciously wrote it to counter static anthropological
133 interpretations of Indian dress. She also noted that the editors chose the

accompanying photograph and title, which she originally remembers including thephrasewomensaesthetics.Sheexplainedthatshewasraisedwearingboth westernandethnicdressandhasexperiencedcriticismfromallsidesasaresult.
st At the turnof the 21 centurywhen she was in high school, Otavalo girls were

critical of her decision not to wear ethnic dress even though this had been her
132

TheShuarareanative ethnicgroupfromtheEcuadorianAmazon.

133

ToaMaldonadoRuz,emailtoauthor,June20,2010.

70

practicesinceshewasachildwhenrelativeswholivedabroadgaveherwestern
134 clothingasgifts. In2000,attheageof18,shemovedtoCanadaandcontinued

alternatingstyles,butEcuadorianmestizosoffendedherbyexoticizingheruseof ethnicdress,expectinghertoparticipateinaculturalpresentationwhenshewas
135 onlyexpressinganaspectofheridentity. AfterhertwoyearstayinCanada,she

decidedtostopwearingethnicdressanduseitonlyforspecialoccasions,which she continues to consider important for Otavalo cultural identity. Rather than a conscious obligation to serve as cultural custodian, Malonado Ruz interprets continueduseofethnicdressasasymbolofethnicpride,notingthatothernative groups have copied aspects of Otavalo dress or have grown their hair long like Otavalomen.Interestingly,herdecisiontoabandonethnicdressonadaily basis was related to her weight gain and pale complexionwhich led Otavalos to joke thatshenowseemedlikeacostumedgringainethnicdress.Shesaysthattoday, mosturbanOtavalowomenwearbothwesternandethnicdresstosuchanextent that the streets of Otavalo really are a fashion show of sorts, although it is still veryrareforwomentocompletelyabandonOtavalodress. AsforherShuardress, Maldonado Ruiz explained that she and her Shuar friend exchanged clothing during that wedding, assuring me that it was a very special moment that was possible only due to the very close relationship she has with members of the
134

ToaMaldonadoRuz,emailtoauthor,June28,2010. ToaMaldonadoRuz,emailtoauthor,June21,2010.

135

71

Shuar community. When I pressed her about feeling pressured to retain ethnic dress, Maldonado Ruz only noted that while she has heard that Otavalo men prefer women to wear anakus, women are not criticized for taking on western dresssincetheydosobyalternatingitwithethnicdress.MaldonadoRuzsstory isaremarkableexampleofwhyitisimpossibletospeakofwomensdressina generalwaygiventhevariedexperiencesofOtavalowomen.Althoughtheyshare a common gender with some concomitant expectations, women constitute a heterogeneous population that uses clothes differently depending on residence andsocioeconomicstatusaswellasotherhighlypersonalcircumstances. Transnational Otavalo womens experience with ethnic dress must be understoodin lightoftheirexperienceas migrantwomen,notjustaswomen.If they work fairs and pow wows regularly, it is likely that they continue to wear ethnicdresssincethesearespaceswhichwelcomeIndianethnicity.Ontheother hand, some women who work ninetofive jobs at retail stores or who enter colleges must make a decision about whether to maintain ethnic dress or adopt
136 westernattire.Whethertheyadoptwesterndressfor moreflexibilityandease

orinordertoblendinwiththeircounterparts,thisactobscurestheiridentity,even if they do not seek to deny their heritage. Photographs of Otavalo women in westerndressonsocialnetworkingsites,whichareeasilyviewedbymanyothers
Itmaybeawkward,forexample,forasaleswomantoreachforboxesinhighplaces onaconstantbasiswhiledressedinanaku.Also,woolanakuscanbeuncomfortabletowear duringthesummermonths,particularlyinhumidareas.
136

72

intheOtavalocommunity,demonstratethatthey arenotattemptingtoseverties totheirculture. However intimately connected dress may have been to notions of femininityandastransnationalandyoungurbanOtavalowomenareproving,itis not necessarily an inextricable part of future Otavalo identity. Speaking of the 1980s,MeischnotedthatdressinginfantsinOtavaloclotheswasawaynotonly ofreinforcingtheirOtavaloidentitybutalsotheirgenderroles.Shedescribeshow young boys and girls would mimic the work of their fathers and mothers, respectively. As Otavalo women move farther away from traditional tasks and duties like spinning cotton or washing clothes by hand and into nontraditional fields like education and law, the perception of women and their duties will change.As women take jobs and emigrate on a more permanent basis to other countries,theirperceptionofIndianidentitymayalsobemorestronglyinfluenced bylocalcultureorbyNativeAmericansintheUnitedStateswhobyandlargedo notwearethnicdressorregaliadailybutratherduringceremoniesorpowwows. They will probably trade the large white cloth they use to carry their babies on their backs for westernstyle baby carriers and not necessarily expect their own daughters to wear ethnic dress. Indeed, this is already happening among the OtavalodiasporaintheUnitedStates. DressandSocioeconomicStatus Although Otavalos encompass various socioeconomic groups (poor

73

farmers moderately well off weavers and textile producers wealthy

137 merchants), studies tend to focus on their unique standing as prosperous

Indians, making it difficult to ascertain the meaning of dress for lower class Otavalos. It is apparent that while wealthy Otavalos have the choice to change their dress, poor Otavalos are limited by economic and related lifestyle considerations,whetherbecausethey cultivatelandorarenotinsocialcirclesthat
138 debate the politics of dress. Although all identify as Otavalo, to some extent,

socioeconomicdifferentiationhasmanifesteditselfindresspractices. SomescholarspredictedthatthehighcostofOtavalodresswouldleadto abandonment of ethnic dress along class lines. They maintained that wealthy OtavaloswouldhavethemoneytobuyelaborateethnicdresswhilepoorOtavalos would have to adopt cheaper western dress. Sutherland notes that in the 1970s, entrepreneurswerepurposelyusingethnicdresstohighlighttheirethnicitywhile
139 poor Otavalos were starting to abandon dress due to its cost. Indeed, ethnic

dresscanbeprohibitive inthe1980s,ahandspunponchomadeonabackstrap loom sold for 3,500 sucres,or $134.61, something only welloff Otavalos could
140 afford. In the late 1980s, Prelorn observed thatnative dress was becoming a

137

Meisch, AndeanEntrepreneurs, 39,77. Maynard,DressandGlobalisation,81.

138

Sutherlanddoesnotqualifywhethertheindigenouspeasantsshereferstoare Otavalo.Sutherland,NavigatingIndigenousness,26.
140

139

Chavez,CommercialWeavingandtheEntrepreneurialEthic,107.

74

statussymbol: Upper class Otavaleos have begun to show interest in cultural preservation some Otavaleo intellectuals who had partially abandoned their traditional dress and the use of the Quichua languagenowshowsignsofreversingthattendency.Theyconsider wearing a traditional costume, which now costs between two and three hundred dollars, is a sign of economic improvement and 141 prestige.

A decade later, ColloredoMansfeld also predicted lower class abandonment of nativedress: In the urbanized/suburbanized future of Otavalo, a clearly marked indigenous identitycould becomethepropertyofthe middleclass. Only those with steady and higher than average incomes will consistently wear ponchos and anacus, celebrate baptisms and weddings with feasts of milledcorn soup, pork, and guinea pigs, insist on bilingualism in the schools, and invest in the other more costly trappings of indigenous life. Meanwhile, workingclass Otavaleoswillmakedowithmixturesofcheapermestizogarband indigenous clothing, attend abbreviated family fiestas, speak chawpi shimi (half Quichuahalf Spanish), and depend on 142 subsistenceplotsthathavebeenreducedtokitchengardens.

Byand large,however,the literaturedoesnotmentionthat lossofethnic dress among poor Otavalos has materialized. Since some scholars have noted in passing that poor Otavalos have recently started to abandon western dress, the void in the literature may indicate lack of interest in documenting this trend.

141

Prelorn, Otavalo:EconomicDevelopmentandPersistenceofIndigenousEthnicity,

28.
142

ColloredoMansfeld,TheNativeLeisureClass, 214.

75

However, the experience of Otavalo males and Maldonado Ruizs assertion that urbanOtavalowomen arenowbeginningtoaddwesternclothestotheirrepertoire countersscholarspredictions.Insteadofmaintainingethnicdressasasymbolof wealth, the trend has been for transnational and urban Otavalos who have the meanstomaintainethnicdresstoinsteadadoptorintegratewesterndressbecause itisindicativeof acosmopolitanlifestyle. Therearesubtle butreal sartorialdistinctions betweenpoorandwealthy Otavalos who wear ethnic dress. In the early 1980s, Chavez noted that while Otavalosmaintaintiesacrosseconomicclasses,theypaidattentiontodistinctions basedoneconomicattainment,withfarmworkersperceivedasunabletoadaptto new ways and commercial weavers associated with upward mobility and
143 versatility. Chavez noted that commercial weavers wore clean, very white

calflengthpantsandaniceponchowhiletheirwomenwore elaborately embroidered blouse with fancy lace on the sleeves and across the chest, [anakus] made of expensive wool cloth, sometimes imported from Spain, rather than coarse, locally made wool cloth, and shoulder wraps are often velvetine. Instead of plastic or glass beads to wrap around their wrists, many women wearstringsofantiquecoralbeadswhicharehighlyvalued.Village Indians, particularly the agriculturalists, wear basically the same lookingdress,butuselessexpensivematerials. 144 In the late 1980s, women from prosperous weaving communities wore items

143

Chavez,CommercialWeavingandtheEntrepreneurialEthic,88. Ibid.,6869.

144

76

made of velour, velvet or fake fur and sported watches in addition totheir maki watana all things which wealthy Otavalos used to communicate their
145 prosperity. Even wealthy children had more than the two outfits that poor 146 children owned. The differences may be somewhat less pronouncedtoday but

given Maldonado Ruzs distinction between the sartorial expression of young urbanandruralOtavalowomen,thedistinctionsstillseemtobepalpable.

Conclusion:ReflectingonCulturalAuthenticity On a recent visit to the Runakay website (http://www.runakay.ec/), I was intriguedtofindacommunicationwhichread,inpart:

OneofRunakayFoundationsobjectivesistocarryoutworkinthe spiritual/religiousrealm.Becausethishasnotbeenemphasized,this objectiveisinneedofstrengthening.Aftersixyearsofconsecutive Runakay events, which the Runakay Foundation has brought to fruition, the Foundation thinks it is necessary to enter into a reformulationstage.Wewould liketousethistimetoevaluateour cultural and philosophical aims and the impactthatthese have had sinceonlybyevaluatingcanweenterintoamoredynamicprocess 147 thatwillenableustoimproveandreturnevenstrongernextyear. Demonstratingtheirconcernforhowtheeventiscontributingtothesubstanceof Otavalo culture, organizers scheduled a morning event (for February 14, 2010), whichincludedaceremonyandpedagogicalsessionforchildren,butcanceledthe
145

Meisch,Otavalo:Weaving,CostumeandtheMarket, 124, 136, 140. Ibid.,144.

146

FundacinRunakay,Comunicado.Runakuna, http://www.runakay.ec/.My translation.

147

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night time event, which would normally emphasize ethnic dress and dancing. Throughemphasizingthespiritual/religiousrealm,thiscommunicationexpresses
148 theperceivedneedtovalorizenonmaterialaspectsofculture. Itispossiblethat

the sartorial practices of young urban and transnational women have caused the communitytoreflectonthe importanceofwearingethnicdressonadaily basis andthereforeitsimportanceattheevent.Iwillventuretoguessthatplannerswill requireethnicdressatnext yearsevent,especiallysincewomenstillconsider it important for special occasions. However, the communication signals that Otavalos are continually reflecting on true cultural authenticity and building an Otavaloidentitythatdoesnotbeginorendwithdress.

Thisemphasisonthespiritual may be understoodwithinthecontextofEcuadorsnew constitution(adoptedin2008),thefirstintheworldtoaccordlegalrightsto Pachamama, the KichwatermforMotherNature. This actisinturn relatedtothe Andeanprincipleof Sumak Kawsay(meaningtolivewellinKichwa),whichadvocatesforsocioeconomicdevelopmentthat prioritizesaharmoniousrelationshipbetweenmankindandnature,andthe broaderpostneoliberal movement thatsharesasimilarphilosophyandinwhichindigenouspeoplesareplayingacrucial role.Formoreinformationonthis,see:GerardoRnique,LatinAmerica:TheNew NeoliberalismandPopularMobilization, SocialismandDemocracy23,no.3(2009):2426.

148

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