IPA

Felix Cardenas, vice minister  of decolonization of Bolivia, exposed some historical  discrepancies ensuing from the Doctrine of Discovery with the ravaging  of  lands and peoples of the Americas by foreign powers. Whatever is not written is not considered history, he affirmed. Following are some examples of the traditional knowledge of the Andean people, so undervalued by the colonizers and their successors. 

For the Andean people the New Year begins on the 21 of June. On this date the sun,Tata Inti, is farthest from the earth. Tata Inti means to tie up the sun. Quito means straight. The sun is straight overhead in the Equatorial city of Quito.

 The  person who is born on 21 June can be a successor to the Inca. On this date ministers should be in place and should inaugurate a new work in benefit of the people. The colonizers came to modernize. The traditional knowledge was: ama suwa, ama khella, ama llulla  (Do not be a thief, do not be lazy, do not be a liar).  The invaders did not live this knowledge.

The Andean culture dates back 7000 years. With the colonization of the Andean region, the colonizers looked down upon the meat of the alpaca and llama as “Indian food.” The meat of the alpaca has no cholesterol. The colonizers also attributed very little importance to the Andean highland grain, quinoa.

The Andean peoples consider quinoa “el grano de oro”, the “golden grain”. There are some 250 species of quinoa with many distinct colors. It is a complete cereal, which can replace meat. The leaves contain a great deal of calcium. The stems are also very useful and were used by the ancients to heal fractures. The skins can be used to take out spots, an excellent detergent. The nutritional value of quinoa is incredibly  constructive. It is a complete protein and can replace meat. In addition it has more calcium than milk.

Maura McCarthy pbvm

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