Spirituality and the Pachamama in the Andean Aymara Worldview - Earth Stewardship: Linking Ecology and Ethics in Theory and Practice - page 73

women in their daily lives and the ideal of male-female equilibrium and many other
values of jaqi are being lost.

6.5 Collective Labor Practices

Collective complementarity also is the basis of labor relations and forms of collec-
tive labor continue to be an important dimension of community life. The ayni is an
ancient means of mutual assistance based on reciprocity: “today for you, tomorrow
for me.”
The mink'a is solicited labor and frequently is practiced during the preparation
of fi elds for planting, weeding, and harvesting. The mink'a is the person who helps
another through direct assistance or by substituting them for certain tasks. In return
the mink'a receives, as reciprocity, compensation in the form of products or money
(Intipampa 1991 , p. 195). When the mink'a is solicited for agricultural work, usu-
ally those who respond are women and relatives of the person in need.
The waki-chikata is associated labor. One family supplies the land for cultivation
and another family provides the seed. The family that provides the seed works the
fi eld and cultivates the crops. The two families then divide the harvest equally
between them. The satxa-chikiña consists in that a landowning family designates a
certain number of furrows for the use of those persons who helped sow the owner's
potatoes and oca . The helper sows her own seeds in the designated furrows. The
phawxa sets aside a plot of land specifi cally for planting grains to benefi t another,
usually a recently married couple.
Various cultural moral values reinforce the former collective labor practices.

• Hard work , especially manual labor, is prized highly and laziness is frowned

upon (Llanque-Chana 1990 , p. 48).

• Honesty and truthfulness are founding values. Stealing, cheating, and deceiv-

ing are counterproductive to community solidarity required for survival, while
being a “person faithful to their word”— jaqix mayakiw parlaña —makes for
secure community contracts when help is needed.

• Generosity and hospitality not only provide for needs, they cement solidarity.

Sharing with visitors or needy persons is a cultural norm. When a person passes by a
potato fi eld during harvest, the women working the fi elds always give the passerby
some potatoes to take home. The person who receives the gift then kisses the potato
because it is sacred, and is the Aymara's principal food. A traveling visitor never
leaves a home without something, such as food, spices or coca. They always are
invited to a meal or, at least, a snack. Many times the left-overs are given as a present
for them to take home. Such generosity is understood as reciprocal because someday
the visitor will have to return the favor and offer hospitality: you have to give hospi-
tality to the traveler because someday you too will be a stranger in need. A wise
Aymara saying dictates: Jaya jaqix jilasawa kullakasawa —the stranger is our brother