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BOLIVIA
Pacha Mama, Pentimento and Paradox
By Jheri St. James
The Republic of Bolivia
is sometimes called “The Tibet of South
America” due to its high, isolated location, minus coastline.
Bordered by Brazil in the north and east, Paraguay in the southeast,
Argentina in the south, and Peru and Chile in the west, Bolivia was
once home to an advanced Ayamara civilization around Lake Titicaca
that was subjugated by the Incas. The city of Potosi became the richest
on the South American continent when the Spaniards found silver in
the mountain Cerro Rico. Paradoxically, the mining of silver was
of great importance for the development of Spain, but a big tragedy
for the Indians and the slaves who were brought here from Africa.
More than 7,000,000 of them died during a 200-year period. The country
won its independence in 1825 but lost much valuable territory in
wars with Brazil, Chile and Paraguay for the next 100 years. Another
paradox.
Even
the story of the naming of Bolivia carries a dichotomy. Simón
Bolivar (1783-1830) was the famous South American soldier and statesman
responsible for several liberation movements against Spanish authority.
After several abortive attempts during the 1810’s, he led
the battle for the liberation of Venezuela in 1821, and created
the federal
state of Greater Colombia, including what is now Venezuela, Colombia,
and Ecuador. He went on to free the people of Peru (1824) and to
form the republic of Bolivia (1825). Bolivar envisioned a united
South America, but secessionist movements arose, and Peru and Bolivia
turned against him in the 1820’s. Venezuela and Ecuador seceded
from Greater Colombia in 1829, and in the following year Bolivar
resigned as president. Today he is regarded as the liberator of
South America, one of the great heroes of its history. So, the
people of
Bolivia loved him enough to name their country after him, and subsequently
abandoned his dream by seceding.
La
Paz is the highest capital city in the world and it is said
to look like a moon crater. The city
is two miles above sea level,
situated
on a canyon floor,
which shows only a hint of greenery. Other outstanding features of Bolivia
include Lake Titicaca, which is traditionally regarded as the
highest navigable body
of water in the world at 145 miles from northwest to southeast and 60 miles
from northeast to southwest. The lake has an indented shoreline,
36 islands and exceptionally
clear sapphire-blue water. Titicaca is revered and loved by the Indians who
live on its shores, and the Islas del Sol and Islas de la Luna,
two islands in the
lake, are the legendary sites of the Inca’s creation myths. 
The Capital of Bolivia, La Paz
Bolivia
is a spectacular country with a strong identity and a profound
respect for Pacha Mama. In the Quechua language, Pacha
Mama means Mother Earth and she represents the polar opposites
of heaven and hell, God and Satan. Since Pizarro’s
time in the 1500’s, the Incans gradually adopted the
European catholic symbols, as a façade to their own
beliefs. While praying in church, the locals often visualize
Pacha Mama,
who is associated here with the Virgin Mary. Offerings to
Pacha Mama can be found all over Bolivia and include adult
and baby
llamas. Llamas are found at high elevations, in places like
the Andes Mountains that embrace La Paz.
Healing
herbs, traditional remedies, love potions and blessed objects
of worship can
be found in central La Paz at the “Mercado
de las Brujas,” the Witches’ Market. A remedy
for altitude sickness (soroche) is mate de coca made with
the ubiquitous
coca leaves that outsiders associate with the illegal white
powder. This plant presents the greatest paradox of all in
this high
country.
Bolivia
is the third largest producer of coca leaves, following Columbia
and Peru. The plant has been part of the
Bolivian
culture and the Andean Ridge
since approximately 3,000 B.C. During the Incan period, the plant was
considered sacred, and consumption of the coca leaf was reserved
for the upper classes.
The Incas also used the coca leaf in religious ceremonies and as traditional
medicine. One legend derived from the Aymara Indians is that Khun, god
of lightning, thunder and snow, angry at men for their
lack of respect for their mountain
home near Lake Titicaca separated them from their homes and banished
them to live a nomadic life, concealing their return route.
Deprived
of their ordinary
sustenance, the Aymara began to eat forest plants. It was then that they
discovered the coca bush. Chewing on the coca leaf, their
hunger and fatigue subsided,
the path became more accessible and they eventually found their way back
to Titicaca. 
Llamas on Pacha Mama
Spanish
domination served only to expand the traditional use of the coca
leaf,
although initially consumption was prohibited
by the conquerors. Because of its sacred role within the indigenous
belief structure, coca was considered an “instrument
of the devil” and an obstacle to the propagation of Catholicism.
However, the Spaniards quickly discovered the advantageous
side of coca. When the indigenous population was forced to
work in
the gold and silver mines, chewing coca alleviated hunger and
fatigue and miners could work longer. Coca thus was converted
into a form of compensation or was sold to workers at an inflated
price and the use of coca rapidly became more prevalent throughout
the indigenous communities.
Coca
is used as a physical and mental stimulant, to combat elements
such as altitude, hunger
and cold, and as a remedy for a wide
range of medical complaints. In addition, the offering of
coca in Andean indigenous society is a traditional social gesture.
Social relationships and celebrations of all kinds involve
the exchange of coca, which is believed to have unique value.
Coca
invites the soul to extend and strengthen the bonds of affinity
and reciprocity, retaining its spiritual significance.
Perhaps
the most famous use of the coca leaf was in the formula for
Coca-Cola, developed in the late 1800’s. The formula
included the coca leaf (with the cocaine alkaloid intact)
caramel syrup and kola nuts. In 1904, due to reports
of negative side effects, the company removed the cocaine alkaloid from
its product but continued to add flavor by using a coca leaf
that underwent a “decocainization” process--the
paradox of “Coca” Cola. Also in the late 1800’s, small
amounts of the cocaine base were added to many different tonics, elixirs
and over-the-counter
products, as well as a French wine. Famous consumers of Mariani Wine
included Thomas Edison, Jules Verne and Pope Leo XIII.
The
sacred leaf of the Incas is now the focus of a heated battle
between
the U.S. and Bolivian coca growers. Ironically, coca growers report
that the soldiers
who come in to remove their crops often work with a ball of coca leaves
in their mouths. It is this image that perhaps most succinctly captures
the contradiction
for Bolivian coca growers regarding the criminalization of a harvest
that is simultaneously an essential element of their society—pure
paradox.
*
* *
Vallegrande
in western Santa Cruz area belongs to the Andean highlands.
Numerous rock art sites have been registered with
a great variety of
paintings and engravings
that span at least several millennia. The oldest representations
are more than 20 negative hand stencils. In later times
a large stylized
human figure
was
painted in white holding a staff and another object. Some animals
were partly painted on top of this anthropomorph in red
and white. A few
abstract motifs
in yellow and red represent the next phase and finally there are
white paintings belonging to the Colonial period, including
a human figure
holding up a cross,
apparently scaring away another anthropomorph pictured in a frog-like
fashion. This is pictorial, pentimento history. 
Andean Cave Painting Pentimento
*
* *
We have
little narrative information regarding the collection of our
Bolivian soil. California Senator Marta
Escutia was kind enough to participate in our project and forward
Bolivian soil to us. We know that she attended a World Women’s
Rights conference in Bolivia in May of 2003, as a result of Gary
Simpson providing the Senator with a concrete countertop and
narrating the story of his project. It is believed her soil came
from Tiawanaku. Perhaps she will see this journal and read about
her country and contact us with more exact story details. In
any event, it is certainly a privilege to think about a Senator
taking the time to support our project
Bolivia
is a land of contrasts. Even its seasons are opposite those
of the northern half of the world. Summer
runs from November to April
and
winter from
May to October. The “Tibet of the Americas” sits high
above the world, pondering its many historical oppositions. Its reputation
of drug barons
and revolutionaries is greatly overstated, says Lonely Planet Guide. “It’s
one of South America’s most peaceful and welcoming destinations.” It
is the inarguable soil of that Bolivia that we welcome to Common
Ground 191’s
pentimento, layered and combined peace fresco.
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