The Indigenous Lifestyle
The Indigenous Lifestyle
Growing up Gregorio Condori Mamani, an Andean did not enjoy the luxuries of a typical childhood. Gregorio had no parents and was raised by many people as a child. From living with his Grandmother to working at tender young age and living with the many different masters he worked for, Mamani's life was demanding and difficult. After two wives and his deceased three year old son, he met his last wife Asunta Quispe Huaman. In Asunta's childhood her family caught a fever that killed her father, brother, sister and Grandmother. After her loss of much of her family, Asunta ran away from her abusive mother to another town finding various jobs. During Gregorio's and his wife Asunta lives, a journey through their Andean lives is traveled through their autobiographies. The Mestizos, during Gregorio and Asunta's time, were taking control and exploiting indigenous people like Gregorio and Asunta. Gregorio, as a teen, was forced to join the Peruvian infantry and was treated badly for being a "cholo" or Indian. After the army he went from shack to shack always struggling to afford rent, and never had a stable job. Through their distinctive culture, religion, and ethnic identity, Gregorio and Asunta have maintained themselves as indigenous people.
Gregorio and Asunta stay indigenous through their culture. Culturally Gregorio and Asunta stayed rooted as indigenous people. When an indigenous Andean is hurting often times, Andeans visit healers to stop the pain, "He took out a little flask of water and bathed him with it, and his sores began to dry up" (Gregorio 1996: 78). Culturally, indigenous Andeans believe healers can help with physical and mental pain. The healers can heal the indigenous people's problems back to health. Their unique belief of curing themselves through healers distinguishes their identities as indigenous or native people. Language plays a vital role in indigenous people's lives as their verbal way of expressing their...
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