Ashaninka Indigenous Culture
Ashaninka mother & baby.
The largest indigenous group in Peru's Amazon is the Ashaninka (also known as the Campa or Kampa, but this is considered pejorative).
Demographic estimates put their numbers at roughly 55,000, living in 200 scattered and mainly remote communities in the Departments of Junin, Pasco, Huanuco and Ucayali.
A smaller number live across the border in the Brazilian state of Acre.
History of the Ashaninka:
Their history since the Spanish Conquest has largely been one of intrusion and resistance.
Initially the Ashaninka numbers declined sharply, along with all of South America's indigenous peoples, as a result of the diseases brought by the Europeans, such as smallpox and influenza, to which they had no natural immunity.
Then, as the Conquistadors consolidated their grip on their new Empire, the settlers began to encroach on the Ashaninka traditional lands, which lay on valuable river systems.
Concerted attempts were made by missionaries, throughout the Colonial period, to convert them to Catholicism.
The Rubber Boom of the late 19th / early 20th Century was particularly devastating for the Ashaninka, as they were forced to work in the lucrative extraction of the gum of rubber trees (Hevea brasiliensis).
Those that resisted were killed, and human rights abuses were widespread.
Ashaninka men.
The next major upheaval to the Ashaninka occurred in the 1980s and early 1990s, when their territory became a battleground between the Maoist guerrillas of the Shining Path and the Peruvian armed forces.
The former would often force young Ashaninka males to join their ranks, at gunpoint. The latter would carry out reprisals for 'collaboration'.
To escape this spiral of violence, many villagers fled deeper into the rain forest, but this led to tension with those indigenous peoples already living there.
Overall, when the Truth & Reconciliation Commission published their findings in 2003, it was estimated that 6,000 Ashaninka had been killed in the conflict; 10,000 disappeared; 5,000 had been captured by the Shining Path; and 40 communities had ceased to exist.
Post-Conflict Ashaninka:
Ashaninka kids washing in the Pichis River.
Even though the terrorist insurgency died down from 1993 onwards, there are still pressures from farmers and extractive industries, wishing to use the natural resources of the jungle in which the semi-nomadic Ashaninka live.
But with the help of outsiders, including the British anthropologist, travel writer and tour operator, Dilwyn Jenkins, the Ashaninka have been encouraged to set up projects such as coffee production, sustainable farming, rainforest management, and eco-tourism.
It is hoped that the income generated from these will dissuade the community from cutting down the trees that are a resource for the future.
One step in the right direction has been the protection in law of some of their traditional Peruvian homelands:
In 1986, the Yanachaga-Chemillen National Park was created in the Department of Pasco. In 2010, this was designated by UNESCO as the focal area of the Oxapampa - Asháninka - Yanesha Biosphere Reserve.
Otishi National Park was created in the high jungle area of the Vilcabamba Range, traversing the Departments of Junin and Cusco. The stated aim of this Park is to protect the outstanding natural beauty of the area and the cultural integrity of the indigenous communities therein, including the Ashaninka.
How to Experience Ashaninka Indigenous Culture:
If you are interested in witnessing the Ashaninka way of life first-hand, there are a few ways to do this … but you need to be determined as their territory is remote!
Marankiari Bajo is an Ashaninka village 26 km (16 miles) from La Merced, on the road to Satipo, which welcomes eco-tourists and has simple accommodations with local families. Villagers will guide you on walks and boat rides.
Puerto Bermudez, is a village on the Pichis-Pachitea River, between La Merced and Pucallpa. Here, expeditions to visit remoter Ashaninka villages can usually be organised.
The Yanachaga-Chemillen National Park can be accessed from the town of Oxapampa. The nearest airport is in Huanuco, which is a five-hour drive away. Alternatively, driving from Lima takes at least 10 hours, along the Central Highway.
To find out more about these options, just get in touch.