Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Bartolomé Arzans de Orsua, Historia de la Villa Imperial de Potosí, 1703
Immediately south of Potosí the near-perfect cone of
Cerro Rico
(Sumaj Orko in Quechua)
rises above the city, its slopes stained startling hues of red and yellow by centuries of mining
waste, and pockmarked with the entrances to thousands of mines. For many travellers a visit
to one of the mines is a highlight of their trip to Potosí, an amazing and disturbing journey
into the bowels of the earth. No less fascinating are the customs, rituals and beliefs that sus-
tain the Quechua-speaking miners.
Most of the miners are reworking old silver mines for tin, lead and other less valuable
metals, so the entrances to the shafts tend to be lined with stone facing dating back to the
co-
lonial era
. As you descend deeper, though, the passageways become narrower and less well
made. The miners work in shift teams who divide the profits of what they extract on an equal
basis, though some of those working in the mines - particularly the children - are paid a
fixed daily wage as employees. The miners are generally proud of their work, and are usually
happy to talk about their lives with visitors. Many of the miners previously worked in large
state-run mines
; others are campesinos who come to work in the mines for short periods on
a seasonal basis. Few earn more than a marginal living, though the dream of striking lucky
sustains many in their labour.
Life expectancy
in the mines is about fifteen years, with most
miners falling victim to the deadly lung disease
silicosis
. Cave-ins and other accidents claim
the lives of many others.
Few miners eat when they are underground, relying for sustenance instead on coca leaves,
harsh black-tobacco cigarettes and the occasional swig of neat cane alcohol. Today, as in the
colonial era,
coca
is considered an essential requirement without which work in the mines
would be impossible. Miners spend a good hour chewing coca before entering the shaft to
begin work, and all agree that it helps them endure the heat, exhaustion and backbreaking
labour. Coca, tobacco and alcohol are also taken in as offerings to
El Tío
- the supernatural
being who is believed to own the mine's silver and other metals.
