Coca: An Andean Tradition II 0
ANDEAN TRADITIONS
Within the aboriginal peoples’ way of life, the coca leaf is not a commodity in the Andean world nor does it possess any commodity value in social relations. The fundamental role of the shrub, with its mythological connotations, is as a nexus integrating and assuring the social cohesion of indigenous families and communities (ayllus); throughout their lives it is present as a symbol of fraternity, solidarity, community spirit, mutual comprehension and reciprocal tolerance among the members of the vast empire of Tahuantinsuyo.
Coca has also played and continues to play a role in mediating conflicts, as a factor of reconciliation towards peace and peaceful communal work and finally as a medium for transactions and deferred payment.
In connection with its spiritual function, the sacred leaf of the Incas has been used for millennia by the Indians in ceremonial and ritual acts to express respect and gratitude to their gods and to Mother Earth for having provided them with the means of subsistence for life to continue.
In the Indian world view the coca leaf also acts as a natural nexus for the balance between nature and the people of the Andes; between labour – the barometer of their human dignity – and rational enjoyment of their natural resources. These peoples’ harmonious development of a society which was the most advanced and best organized of its time is a source of inspiration today for all those struggling for the survival of the Earth and of its vegetable and animal diversity.
Among the manifold social functions performed in traditional relations by coca, it inspires native hospitality and generosity. It is the Indian’s companion, whether he is a miner or a labourer, from the cradle to the grave. At times of physical and moral exhaustion, despair and suffering, the small green leaves not only quell the pangs of hunger, sadness and suffering, but like a pick-me- up and a tonic they revitalize the Indians’ resistance to the vicissitudes of time, to the hard labour on arid soils and the exploitation in mines, and provide them with comfort better to support their status as a vanquished people, discriminated against, exploited and affronted in their dignity.
Furthermore, within the Andean civilizations’ millennial tradition, the coca plant has served as a spiritual and material factor, as a source of knowledge and intuition for the indigenous populations, thanks to which they were able to diagnose and cure numerous illnesses, to foretell the fate and destiny of the ayllus in the noble coca leaves and predict natural occurrences (hail, frost, etc.) in order better to prepare and adapt themselves to the rigors of the weather.
Consequently, it is impossible to imagine the native Andean Indians without their plant, which enshrines so much respect and veneration. By virtue of its profound mystical and mythical significance in religion, culture, health and work, the coca leaf is a powerful symbol of Indian identity and thus irreplaceable by any alternative crop. Those who try to eradicate coca are guilty of undermining the very foundations of the Andean cultural heritage, of uprooting ancestral traditions and promoting the overbearing penetration of Western so-called “civilization”.
