Tinku

Tinku is a form of ritual conflict practiced by local people in Potosí, Bolivia. In a local kinship system people are divided to two halves or moieties, which have unequal status. The word "Tinku" belongs to the Quechua language and means encounter, meeting.

Times of the year

Tinku takes place on specified holidays, when the members of moieties, both men and women, fight hand-to-hand with those of the other moiety. In Bolivia, the Tinku is held around the 3rd of May and lasts for a few days. Though the conflict is largely symbolic and ceremonial, the brawl may inflict real, serious physical harm that may sometimes be fatal. Status of a specific moiety is determined by this conflict.

In the Andes, a tinku is a "ritual battle." These battles can be part of "festivities or rites of passages and are often sponsored or supervised by political and/or religious authorities." These are similar to games, like boxing, and military training exercises that are done in the United States today. They are celebratory battles that are controlled, as opposed to warfare, which is not controlled or celebratory.

Types of events that could be included in tinkus:
* The "annual or semiannual fighting ritual linked to agricutlural fortune"
** The "pasola" on Sumba Island
** The Nahua "tiger fights" in Mexico
* Scripted battles
** "Moros y Cristianos" in Spain and Latin America
* The Aztec "flower wars"

Groups who participate

Tinkus occur "between different communities, moieties, or kin groups." They are prearranged and usually take place in the small towns of southern Bolivia. Tinkus are very festive, with an audience of men, women, and children, who bring food and drink. Alcohol is also brought and is sometimes sold along with food during the tinku.

Methods of combat

The weapons used during tinkus are traditional or Inca weapons.
*Slingshots
*Boleadoras
*Clubs
*Whips
*Sometimes horses

The tinkus can become very violent, and people do get injured and even die. But, the deaths can be seen as good omens for good harvests. Because of the violence, police attend tinkus in some places to prevent bloodshed. In other places, tinkus are banned by the government or church because they had become too violent in the past.

Reasons

Tinkus do not end with trophies or awards. There are different reasons for why tinkus are fought, which include:
*The winning side will have a prosperous year.
*A person or group is targeted because of past actions.
*Groups with old animosity fight for prestige.
*Statements of "indigenous peasant autonomy and fierceness versus the dominant or mestizo culture"

History

Tinkus have been a tradition of Andean culture since before they first had contact with Europeans. Some anthropologists hypothesize that Ancient Andes culture would have tinkus instead of battles. This would help curb aggression between different groups, and allow for entertainment, similar to football games in the United States. There are some anthropologists that believe the tradition of the Tinku dates back to the time of the Moche culture, where neighboring tribes would annually fight one another.

References

*Arkush, Elizabeth and Stanish, Charles. "Interpreting Conflict in the Ancient Andes." "Current Anthropology" 46.1 (February 2005).

External links

* [http://www.tanzgruppebolivia.at.tf Fotos of the Tinku in Macha and Pocoata/Bolivia]

* [http://www.tinku.org/content/view/2037/94/ Tinku - Ritual fight - Bolivia]

* [http://www.tinkuscochabamba.tk Group Tinkus Cochabamba]

Recommended Bibliography

*Arnold, Denise. At the heart of the woven dance-floor: the wayñu in Qaqachaka. In: Iberoamericana. Lateinamerika-Spanien-Portugal. 16. Jahrgang, Nr. 3/4 (47/48), Vervuert, Frankfurt, 1992.
*Arnold, Denise. En el corazón de la plaza tejida. El Wayñu en Qaqachaka. In: Anales de la Reunión anual de etnología. Museo nacional de etnografía y folklore. MUSEF, La Paz, 1992.
*Arnold, Denise. Ensayo sobre los origenes del textil andino. En: Anales de la Reunión Anual de Etnología, MUSEF, La Paz, 2001.
*Arnold, Denise. López, Ricardo. Jukumarinti sawurinti: El soso-guerrero y la tejedora. Un repertorio literario de lo masculino y lo feminino en los Andes. Universidad Católica Boliviana. Revista número 9 - junio. La Paz, 2001.
*Arrueta H., Walter. El Tinku. En: Anales de la Reunión anual de etnología. Museo nacional de etnografía y folklore. MUSEF, La Paz, 1987.
*Arzáns de Orsúa y Vela, Bartolomé. Relatos de la Villa Imperial de Potosí. Selección, introducción y cronología de Leonardo García Pabón. Plural. La Paz, 2000.
*Baumann, Max Peter. Julajulas – ein bolivianisches Panflötenspiel und seine Musiker. In: Studia instrumentorum musicae popularis. Band 7, Musikhistoriska Museet, Stockholm, 1981.
*Baumann, Max Peter. Tinku – zur Fiesta der Begegnung in der Dynamik von Ordnung und Chaos. In: ¡Atención!, Jahrbuch des Österreichischen Lateinamerika-Instituts. Band. 2: Von der realen Magie zum Magischen Realismus. Weltbild und Gesellschaft in Lateinamerika. Hrsg.: Mader, Elke. Dabringer, Maria. Frankfurt, 1999.
*Corso Cruz, Cristobal. Calendario folklórico y religioso de Potosí. En: Anales de la Reunión anual de etnología. Museo nacional de etnografía y folklore. MUSEF, La Paz, 1990.
*Fernández Juárez, Gerardo. Tinku y Taypi: Dos recursos culinarios pertinentes en las ofrendas aymaras a la Pachamama. In: ANTHROPOLOGICA. 11. Jahrgang, Nr. 11. Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú. Departamento de Ciencias Sociales. Lima, 1994.
*Flores Aguanta, Willer. Calendario de fiestas tradicionales en los ayllus de la Provincia Bustillo. In: Reunión anual de Etnología 1993. Band 2, Serie Anales de la Reunión Anual de Etnología. MUSEF, La Paz, 1994.
*Flores Aguanta, Willer. Chullpas en el siglo XXI. (Resúmen histórico del ayllu Chullpa). En: Anales de la Reunión anual de etnología. Museo nacional de etnografía y folklore. MUSEF, La Paz, 2001.

*Flores, Willer. López, Jaime. Plicque, Katherine. Lliqllas chayantaka. Textiles en el Norte de Potosí. En: Anales de la Reunión anual de etnología. Museo nacional de etnografía y folklore. MUSEF, La Paz.
*Marquez Contreras, Juan Carlos. Vargas Mercado, Oscar Pablo. Tinku: Espacio de encuentro y desencuentro. En: Anales de la Reunión Anual de Etnología, MUSEF, La Paz, 2005.
*Mendizábal Nuñez, René et al. El Tinku en Macha : Violencia ritual y violencia represiva. Cuadernos de investigación 5. CEPA, Oruro, 1996.
*Ordoñez Oporto, Luis et al. Primer Simposio Nacional Sobre Revalorización Cultural del Tinku. La Paz, Prod. CIMA, um 2003.
*Platt, Tristan. Conciencia andina y conciencia proletaria. Qhuyaruna y ayllu en el norte de Potosí. In: HISLA. Revista Latinoamericana de Historia Económica y Social. Band 2. Hrsg.: Bonilla, Heraclio. Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú. Instituto de Estudios Peruanos, Lima, 1983.
*Platt, Tristan. Los Guerreros de Cristo. Cofradías, misa solar, y guerra regenerativa en una doctrina Macha (siglos XVIII-XX). ASUR y Plural editores, La Paz, 1996.
*Platt, Tristan. Simon Bolivar, the Sun of Justice and the Amerindian Virgin: Andean Conceptions of the Patria in Nineteenth-Century Potosi. In: Journal of Latin American Studies, Vol. 25, No. 1. (Feb., 1993), pp. 159-185.
*Sikkink, Lynn. Water and Exchange: The Ritual of "yaku cambio" as Communal and Competitive Encounter. In: American Ethnologist, Vol. 24, No. 1. (Feb., 1997), pp. 170-189.
*Stobart, Henry. Primeros datos sobre la musica campesina del Norte de Potosí. En: Anales de la Reunión anual de etnología. Museo nacional de etnografía y folklore. MUSEF, La Paz, 1987.

*Stobart, Henry. The Llama's Flute: Musical Misunderstandings in the Andes. In: Early Music, Vol. 24, No. 3, Early Music from Around the World. (Aug., 1996), pp. 470-482.
*Stobart, Henry. Cross, Ian. The Andean Anacrusis? Rhythmic Structure and Perception in Easter Songs of Northern Potosí, Bolivia. In: British Journal of Ethnomusicology, Vol. 9, No. 2. (2000), pp. 63-92.
*Stobart, Henry. Flourishing Horns and Enchanted Tubers: Music and Potatoes in Highland Bolivia. In: British Journal of Ethnomusicology, Vol. 3. (1994), pp. 35-48.
*Urrea Bustamante, Fernanda. El tinku como fenómeno y sus manifestaciones duales-antagónicas: Representación y continuidad simbólica del dualismo andino. Diplomarbeit. Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso. Facultad de Filosofía y Educación. Instituto de Música. Valparaíso, 2004.
*Valeriano T´ula, Emmo. Tinku. Patrimonio Cultural del altiplano central. En: Anales de la Reunión anual de etnología. Museo nacional de etnografía y folklore. MUSEF, La Paz, 2003
*Valeriano Thola, Emmo Emigdio. Música y danza de Julajula en Venta y Media. En: Anales de la Reunión anual de etnología. Museo nacional de etnografía y folklore. MUSEF, La Paz'