Countries of the World/COUNTRYS.BIN/dp/0118/01183.txt

Text File | 1991-06-25 | 15KB | 263 lines

$Unique_ID{COW01183}
$Pretitle{252}
$Title{Ecuador
Chapter 4B.   Integration of the Indians into National Society}
$Subtitle{}
$Author{Thomas E. Weil}
$Affiliation{HQ, Department of the Army}
$Subject{social
indian
spanish
indians
ecuadorian
negroes
ethnic
important
indigenous
national}
$Date{1973}
$Log{}
Country:     Ecuador
Book:        Ecuador, A Country Study
Author:      Thomas E. Weil
Affiliation: HQ, Department of the Army
Date:        1973

Chapter 4B.   Integration of the Indians into National Society

     In 1937 the Law of Communities established the legal status of Indian
communities and provided for a new system of local government. However
well-intentioned, this law began with the assumption that communal lands were
more extensive than they actually were, and therefore the law had little
effect. The Constitution of 1945 calls for measures to promote the moral,
economic, and social improvement of the indigenous peoples and for their
incorporation into national life.

     In 1958 the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare, under whose authority
most Indian problems fell, created the Indian Affairs Board in Quito, whose
duties were to compile statistics concerning the indigenous groups, supervise
the enforcement of protective legislation, and suggest new measures of
protection. Shortly thereafter a similar body was established in Guayaquil.
Ecuador is also a charter member of the National Indigenous Institutes founded
at the Inter-American Convention in 1948. The Andean Mission, founded in 1954
under the auspices of the International Labor Organization and the United
Nations, but in 1972 under national control, is the principal organization
concerned with the Sierra Indians.

     In addition, a number of international agencies, including the United
Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), Cooperative for American Relief Everywhere
(CARE), Papal Volunteers for Latin America, Peace Corps, and Agency for
International Development (AID) have served to promote the integration of the
Indian into Ecuadorian society. Most of these groups, coordinated by the
Andean Mission, have been oriented toward the lower social strata in general
rather than specifically toward the Indian. Although the emphasis on the lower
class in the Sierra limits the projects largely to work among the Indians, the
nature of the programs makes them better understood in the context of social
class rather than ethnic group (see ch. 5).

     Many plans fostered by outside agencies suffer from the fact that they
are based on European rather than Indian values. The fact that they have
sometimes seemed successful stems from the Indians' superficial acquiescence
to the demands of their social superiors. Other difficulties stem from
the Indians' distrust of the outsider and their reluctance to depart from
traditional patterns. Census takers, foreign agricultural specialists, and
smallpox inoculation teams have been met not only with suspicion but also with
open hostility.

     The use of mass communication systems may have a far-reaching effect on
indigenous groups in all parts of the country but it has been particularly
effective in the highlands. In the early 1970s radio was used experimentally
in the Sierra to introduce a program of health and sanitation in selected
Indian communities and was apparently successful. More important are the radio
programs created by the bishop of Riobamba in 1962 for the purpose of reducing
rural illiteracy. This system of education by radio now extends throughout
much of the Sierra and in other regions as well (see ch. 8).

     Despite the success of certain development programs, the Indian is not
prepared to accept Hispanic values or the Hispanic social system as a whole.
Education and other modern elements are, rather, valued if they are seen to
enhance already existing values and to permit the realization of familiar
goals.

Negroes

     Throughout the country's history Negroes have remained concentrated on
the coast and in the Chota River valley of Esmeraldas Province. Negro slaves
were imported particularly to work on the coastal sugar plantations in the
latter part of the sixteenth century. They were never introduced in great
numbers, however, and totaled only 7,831 at the time slavery was abolished in
1852. Given their constant contact with Indians and whites, the percentage of
unmixed Negroes is small. Negroes and mulattoes together probably number no
more than 500,000.

     Most of the Negroes living in the coastal region are socio-economically
similar to the montuvios and make up most of the manual labor force. Unlike
the Indians, Negroes are frequently employed on fishing, shrimp, banana, and
cargo boats. The majority, however, live mainly by some form of agriculture.

     Negroes hold a slightly higher social position than that of the
indigenous population. They occupy one of the lower rungs on the social scale
but are characteristically less subservient than their Indian counterparts.
There are few readily identifiable vestiges of the African cultural heritage
remaining, except for some aspects of music and dance and perhaps some
elements of magical belief. Although there are some distinctions, for the most
part the Negro way of life is similar to that of other members of the lower
social strata.

     Negroes strongly prefer village life as opposed to the dispersed rural
settlement. Frequently, dwellings contain two rooms, one for sleeping and
another for various domestic activities. A few whitewashed homes indicate the
higher status of their occupants.

     Except for a few full-time fishermen, manual laborers, and shopkeepers,
agriculture is the basis of Negro economic life. The few who own their own
land have small parcels and have no economic advantage over those who work for
others on either a cash or share basis. Racial barriers do not prevent the
Negro from engaging in other than agricultural activities, but socioeconomic
circumstances do keep him from doing so. Vegetable products make up most of
his diet. Most families keep pigs; but goats, which provide both meat and
milk, are extremely common in the Chota region. Fish is a major staple along
the coast.

     The structure of local government in Negro communities is generally
informal, and leadership is based more upon individual prestige than elected
officials. The family is by far the most important social unit. The
cooperation of the extended family, particularly mutual aid between a father
and his grown sons, is central to social organization. Residence is nearly
always patrilocal. The tendency is to marry women from neighboring villages,
thereby forming loose social ties among several communities.

     Roman Catholicism is the professed religion. The church plays a
considerable role in the life of women but is much less important among men.
Most fiestas center upon religious holidays, and Christmas is the most
important festive occasion. Birth, marriage, and death rituals, like those of
other rural lower class Ecuadorians, mestizo and Indian, are rooted in
traditional Catholicism. Baptism is important to the establishment of
compadre relations; and, although church marriage is considered ideal, many
couples establish purely consensual unions. In the face of myriad
difficulties, the accomplishments of the various programs aimed at developing
a national consciousness and raising the social and economic level of the
Indians are noteworthy. Additional schools are built every year, and
illiteracy continues to decline. A new program using Quechua in the schools
where Spanish had previously been required is expected to benefit children of
Quechua-speaking parents (see ch. 6). Irrigation projects and the introduction
of new and more productive crops and domestic animals have increased the farm
yield. Agricultural cooperatives result in economic benefits; road
construction facilitates transportation, and medical programs are making
progress in improving health and sanitation facilities. Although most of these
innovation