GLOSSARY

A

aguardiente Raw liquor distilled from wine or sugar cane

ahijadero Plot of pasture with abundant moisture reserved for the dry season and frequently fenced with a stone wall

alcalde Municipal magistrate; officeholder in indigenous communities

alquila Tenant laborer who is carrying out transport tasks for his or her patrón

arroba Spanish weight of 25 pounds (11.5 kilograms)

avíos Food rations distributed to tenant laborers on altiplano estates

ayllu Prehispanic Andean social unit based on kinship; Indian peasant community

aynoca Parcels of agricultural land worked under communal regime of fixed crop rotations with usufruct for individual families

B

buscadores Estate employees during the colonial period, charged with recapturing runaway hacienda laborers

C

cabaña Sector of pastures of livestock estate assigned to one shepherd family

carga Regionally variable measure of weight; in Puno it equaled four to five arrobas

caserío Central building complex of livestock hacienda

ceja de la selva Eastern escarpment and piedmont of the Andes, bordering on the tropical rain forest

censo Mortgage imposed on real estate yielding an interest

chalona Dried and salted carcass of a sheep

chuño Freeze-dried potatoes

collpares Eroded spots of altiplano pastures with a surface of saline or nitrate minerals

compadrazgo Ties of fictive kinship between the sponsor of a lifecycle ritual (baptism, wedding, etc.) and the parents of the person or persons sponsored

composición Compact between the Crown and a private person that adjusted defective land titles during the colonial period in return for payment of a fee

E

en casco Livestock estate without livestock capital

encomendero Colonist entrusted with right to tribute of a group of Indians and with responsibility for their physical and spiritual welfare

F

fanega  Spanish measure of grain and seed; usually about a hundredweight

forastero  Indian peasant during the colonial and early republican periods with no or limited rights to communal lands and paying lower tribute rate

G

guataco  Estate employee during the colonial period charged with forcefully recruiting Indian peasants as hacienda laborers

H

hilacata Officeholder in traditional altiplano peasant communities

J

juanillo One-time, nonrefundable deposit for leasing an altiplano livestock estate

K

kuraka Officer in Indian communities during the colonial period, often descended from prehispanic Andean nobility

L

leva See aynoca

lihua See aynoca

M

manda See aynoca

masa Traditional altiplano land measure equal to 760 square meters

merced Royal grant of land

mita Prehispanic and colonial system of draft labor

mitani Indian peasant woman doing domestic service in the household of a local authority or estate owner on a rotational basis

mitayo Draft laborer

moya See ahijadero

O

obraje Textile manufactory

originario Indian peasant during the colony and early republic with unrestricted communal rights

P

parcialidad Moiety; Indian peasant community

pongo Male Indian peasant doing domestic service in the household of a local authority or estate owner on a rotational basis

Q

quintal A hundredweight; 4 arrobas, or 46 kilograms

quipu Foreman on altiplano livestock estates

R

repartimiento Forced distribution systems: either of labor or of goods

S

segunda Officeholder in altiplano peasant communities

sobrino See forastero

T

tiana See cabaña

topo Land measure of prehispanic origin employed for equitable land distributions in communities; variable according to region and quality of land

U

uros Members of an ancient altiplano ethnic group; by the republican period, they had often been integrated as the poorest stratum of Aymara or Quechua peasant communities

Y

yanacona Servile labor tenant on altiplano livestock estates