Coca Production and Consumption

The purpose of this paper will be to briefly describe the biosocial aspects of coca production and consumption among the indigenous peoples of the Peruvian Andes. Coca is a plant similar to the rosebush; the leaves of this plant contain a stimulating narcotic when chewed (Cobo, 1989, pp. 27-38 & p. 264). Until the 1920s or thereabouts, depending upon prohibition by local ordinances, coca was used as the basis for flavoring popular soft drinks worldwide, hence "Coca Cola," and was a major Peruvian export commodity along with coffee. Coca is also the basis for cocaine, a powerful narcotic. At the turn-of-the-century a popular and oft-prescribed medication internationally, cocaine was gradually made illegal from the 1930s through the 1970s. In 1978, cultivation of coca for narcotics uses was made illegal in Peru (Hudson, 1993, pp. 55-56). Cultivation of small quantities for personal consumption by indigenous peoples is still legal in Peru (Morales, 1989, pp. 47-56).

Peru is a South American country of nearly 1.3 million square kilometers with three distinct geographical regions: a mountainous and arid Pacific seacoast, tropical and semi-tropical rain forests at the headwaters of the Amazon tributary system, and, traditionally central to the country and its dominate indigenous culture, highland plateaus and valleys situated in the Andes mountain range (Hudson, 1993, pp. 63-72). A major population shift in the past three decades has been on-going, from rural to urban, wi

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s in the rugged Andean terrain, achieving "vertical complementarity" by the ability to produce a wide variety of essential crops at different altitudes for household consumption (Hudson, 1993, pp. 8-9). Inter-familial complementarity formed the basis of ayllu relationships - a system of reciprocal exchange among social units. Local lords (curacas) arose for various reasons (war, religion, ability) to bind together subordinate ayllus. Above the local lords, the Inca bound together the separated valley and plateau communities into their widespread empire. Theirs was an hierarchical rule but, while despotic, did not disturb the local societal structures. Vertical complementarity was extended to include Incan administrative and military services in reciprocity for communal goods offered as tribute to the imperial court at Cuzco. Anthropologist John V. Murra describes the Incan organization of separated mountain colonies as "vertical archipelagos" (Hudson, 1993, p. 10). The Spanish conquest in the 1500s - a fifty year endeavor - perverted the highland culture in specific areas: coca use and consumption was one of the more pernicious examples. As a matter of settlement, the Spanish conquest of Peru was motivated solely by fisc

Category: Science - C