Ecuador
Culture Name
Ecuadorian; ecuatoriano (masc.)ecuatoriana (fem.)
Alternative Names
Republic of EcuadorRepública del Ecuador (official namein Spanish)El Ecuador
Orientation
Identification. In 1830Ecuador took its name from the Spanish word for the equator, which crosses the entire northern sector. The three mainland regions are referred to as the Coastthe Sierraand Amazoniaor the Oriente ("east"). A constitutional democracyEcuador is a multiculturalmultiethnic nation–state that many consider multinational. It has one of the highest representations of indigenous cultures in South America and two distinct Afro–Ecuadorian cultures. The dominant populace is descended primarily from Spanish colonists and settlers and to a lesser extent from GermanItalian, Lebaneseand Asian immigrants. Spanish is the national language; thirteen indigenous languages are spokenof which the principal ones are Quichua in the Sierra and the Oriente and Jivaroan in the Oriente.
The citizens take great pride in being Ecuadorian and refer to themselves as ecuatorianos(-as) and gente (people). Despite continuing discriminationindigenous and black citizens identify themselves as Ecuadorians as well as native people or black people.
The elites and those in the upper–middle classes are oriented toward educationpersonal achievementand the modern consumerism of Euro–North America. People in these classes regard themselves as muy culto ("very cultured")and while they may learn English, Frenchor German as part of their formal educationmost disavow knowledge of any indigenous language.
People in the upper and upper–middle classes generally identify by skin color as blanco ("white")to distinguish themselves from those whom they regard as "below" them. The prevalent concept of mestizaje is an elitist ideology of racial miscegenationimplying "whitening." Those who self–identify as "white" may use the term "mestizo" for themselvesas in blanco–mestizo to show how much lighter they are than other "mestizos."
Black peoplerepresented by their leaders as Afro–Ecuadorians (afroecuatorianos) speak Spanish and range through the middle to lower classes. They are concentrated in the northwest coastal province of Esmeraldasthe Chota–Mira River Valley of the northern Andesand the city of Guayaquil. A sizable black population lives in sectors of the Quito metropolitan areaand there is a concentration in the oil-rich Amazonian region.
The cultures of the indigenous people are rich and variedbut there are commonalities across languages and societies. The Quichua (pronounced Kéechua) speakers of the Andes and Amazonia are differentiated from one anotherbut come together when common causes arise. Quichua includes the northern dialects of Quechuathe language of the imperial Inca. In Quichua and Quechua people identify as Runa ("fully human"), and their language as runa shimi ("human speech").
All of the nationalities identify in their own languages as both fully human beings and as Ecuadorians. There is no word resembling indio ("indian") in indigenous languagesand the use of that term is deeply resented. In Spanishthe term for indigenous person ( indígena ) is preferredthough gente (personhuman being) is the most appropriate designation for any Ecuadorian. People throughout Ecuador make it very clear that identification as Ecuadorian is for all peopleand is not only for the elite and upper–middle classes.
Location and Geography. Ecuadorwhich is 109,493 square miles (283,600 square kilometers;
Demography. The population of Ecuador is estimated as approaching fourteen million and is under–enumerated. It is divided almost evenly between the Coast and the Sierra. The Amazonian region consists of only about 6 percent of the nation's population. Guayaquilthe major coastal city with nearly four million peopleand the Andean capitalQuitowith its two million peopleconstitute the powerful polarities of a political–economic coastal–sierran divide. Both metropolitan areas vie for control of the nation's wealth and power. Indigenous people may comprise as much as 25 percent to 35 percent of the republic, and black people about 7 percent. When those descended from indigenous or Afro–Ecuadorian parents or ancestors are added to these statistics, people who from an elite and upper–middle–class perspective carry the "taint" of ethnicity become the majority. The Quichua– speaking people constitute the largest indigenous population of about two millionfollowed by the Jivaroans who number between 50,000 and 70,000. The smallest groupthe Zaparoansnumber only a handful of actual speakers. The other indigenous groups range between 500 and 1300.
Linguistic Affiliation. Spanishcalled castellano is the official Ecuadorian language. According to the 1998 constitutionthe state guarantees the system of bilingualintercultural education that uses the principal language of a particular culture and Spanish as the idiom of intercultural relations.
The indigenous nationalities speak various languages that belong to different linguistic families. Quichua is spoken by most indigenous people in the Sierra and by the largest indigenous group in Amazonia. Well–known cultural clusters in the Sierra include the Otavalo of Imbabura–Carchithe Tigua–Zumbagua of Cotopaxithe Colta of Chimborazothe Cañari of Cañar and Azuayand the Saraguro of Loja. The AwaChachiand Tscháchila of the northern coastal region speak mutually intelligible dialects of Barbacoan. In the Amazonian regionShuarAchuarand Shiwiar are Jivaroan languagesthough those identifying with the latter may speak AchuarShuarQuichuaor Záparo. The WaoraniZáparoand Cofán (A'i) speak languages unrelated to other language families of South Americaand the Siona and Secoya speak Western Tukanoan.
Quechuasubsuming Quichuahas twelve million speakers ranging from southern Colombia to Argentina in the Andesand ColombiaEcuadorand Peru in Amazonia. It is the largest Native American language. The Jivaroan languages (ShuarHuambisaAchuarand Aguaruna) are spoken in northeastern Peru; Cofán is spoken in Colombia; Siona and Secoya are spoken in Colombia and Peru.
Symbolism. Identity as Ecuadorian has many key symbols. La patria ("the motherland") is complemented by el país, "the fatherland" (country). The former is the more powerful evocative referent of collective identity. While el país may be in chaos la patria endures. The government el gobierno ,is closely related to the fatherland. It expresses itself through el estado ("the state"). The people look to the government for sustenance and protectionbut also expect corruption. When the government cannot serve the peoplethey rise up as one. The common collective chant during such uprisings is el pueblounidojamás será vencido ("the united people will never be defeated"). The feminine concept of la nación ("nation") is weaker than the other twoas is the collective idea of an estado–nación ("nation– state"). While scholars debate whether Ecuador is a true nation or nation–statethe people identify with la patria and look to el gobierno for salvation of individual and collective selfas citizens of el país . "Governability" is another key symbol in Ecuadorand every leader has stated that Ecuador is very difficult to governor that governability is impossible.
The national flag (the "tricolor") emerged in the union of Gran Colombia in 1820s. A broad horizontal yellow stripe represents the sunfount of all natural abundance; a red stripe is for the blood of the heroes who fell in the making of a nationspecifically those who died in Quito; and the central blue strip is for the sky. The national coat of armswhich is also part of the national flagfeatures the union of Coast and Sierra. The condorthe national birdis on top of the coat of arms. In the 1960s the Central Bank of Ecuador took as its emblem a golden sun mask from the La Tolita archaeological culture of Esmeraldas Province. In the 1990s the indigenous organization CONAIE appropriated this same mask as its own emblem of multinationality of el pueblo . One of Ecuador's most powerful collective symbolswhich appears on some official stationery and in other placesis ¡el Ecuador esha sidoy serápaís amazónico! (Ecuador has beenisand will bean Amazonian country!). This slogan arose after Peru attacked Ecuador in the war of 1941. After brief but costly wars in 1981 and 1995the boundary dispute was resolved in October 1998. With the acceptance of the treatyEcuadorians everywhere reported feeling as though a limb had been amputated from the collective body of el país long after the Peruvian violation of la patria .On 12 May 1999presidents Jamil Mahuad and Alberto Fujimori presented a new symbol of unity—the Spondylus shell—evidence of ancient long-distance trade between the native peoples of Ecuador and Peru—renewing their nations' cooperation in development and prosperity.
The national anthem reflects these themes. It is played and sungoften with all of its versesat all public gatherings in every setting, including those involving nationalities that may be at odds with the governmentthe nationand the nation–state. Every television station signs on with the national anthemoften accompanied by pictures of the national flag flying and the golden sun mask radiating. Also included are ethnic and geographic scapes that remind everyone of the topographical and cultural diversity of the country.
Two key symbols represent both cultural– biological centralization and homogenization and diversificationhuman integrityand dignity. The first is that of mestizaje which is promulgated by the elitewho descend from Europeans. It refers to a body of blended Ecuadorians who occupy the middle to lower classes. It is confronted constantly by the second symbol of nacionalidad ("nationality") which refers to being culturally distinct in an oppressive nationalist state. The most prominent nationality in Ecuador is that of the Quichua– speaking people. In the 1970s their slogan was a common greeting in the Inca Empire: ama shuaama llullaama quilla ("don't stealdon't liedon't be lazy"). The indigenous–based social–political movement pachakutik ("return to the land")formed in 1996chose as its flag a rainbow spectrumrepresenting the anacondawhich emerges from the Amazonian lowlands to unite people from the Andes and Amazonia. This rainbow flag was combined with the golden sun and Inca greeting to build a master set of symbols of a diverse yet unified body. These symbols are now nationally recognizeddefining an indigenous space of dynamic nationalities within the republic.
History and Ethnic Relations
Emergence of the Nation. Pre–Inca indigenous existence—which is important to the concept of national culture in Ecuador—is difficult to unravelbut it was rich in its diversitycomplex in its multiplicity of politiesand left an archaeological record that differentiates its cultures from others in South America. The Incaic periodto which most Ecuadorians refer when discussing the indigenous pastbegan about 1480 and ended fifty years later with the Spanish conquest led by Francisco Pizarro and Diego Almagro. The Incawhose northern leader in the 1530s was Atahualpa, probably introduced Quechuaas Quichuainto Andean Ecuadorand they certainly promoted its usage as a political lingua franca. The Spaniards introduced their language as they imposed colonial rulebut Quichua continued to spread.
As the Spanish took over Quitobegan the exploration of Amazoniaand sought to establish a viable Pacific portAfrican-American people began their own conquest of the northwest rain-forest region of what is now Esmeraldas. By the mid– sixteenth centuryself-liberated Africans and their offspring controlled what was known as the Zambo Republic ( zambo refers to intermixture of African and Native peoples). As Quito became a royal court system of the Spanish crown in 1563it extended bureaucratic control westward to the northwest coast and eastward to the Upper Amazon. In both areas full-scale revolts occurredwith the "Zambos" of the northwest coast and the Quijos and Jivaroans of the Amazonian region resisting all attempts of Spanish incursion. The Spanish were forced to make alliances with the representatives of the Zambo Republic to the west; they managed to subdue the Quijos in the north Amazonian territorybut not the Jivaroans in the center and south Amazonian regions.
The colonial era lasted for three hundred years and caused large–scale depopulation due to disease and the emergence of a system of "racial hybridity" that denied nationality to all those classed as indio and negro . Through it all there were uprisingsrevoltsrevolutionsmovements of self–assertionand relationships that promoted subsistencetrade, commerceand cultural coherence beyond colonial bureaucratic control.
National holidays that proclaim the sequence of events leading to the one hundred fifty years of republican history are 10 August (1809), "shout for Independence," and 24 May (1822)"Battle of Pichincha." After that battle Ecuador broke from Spainwhich also governed Peruand joined the Confederation of Gran Colombiawhich also included present–day Colombia and Venezuela. In 1830 Ecuador became an independent republicgained its nameand began a tumultuous history racked with ethnic clashes and dominated by a white, European–oriented oligarchy.
A unifying force between about 1860 and 1875 was a conservative–Catholic alliance aimed at infrastructural development and consolidation of the blanco elite's position against that of the armywhich was filled with blacks and mestizos. As conservatism reigned in the Sierraliberalism grew on the Coast. Political conflicts between liberal and conservative, Coast and Sierra played heavily in national governing throughout the late 1800s and early 1900s led to a series of civil warsincluding the assassinations of conservative President Gabriel García Moreno and liberal President Eloy Alfaro Delgado.
The decline of dependency on the world market that accompanied World War I calmed the violence and civil disorder and ushered in an era of internal development. As dependency on world trade returnedviolence again became common until the army of the Sierra rebelled against coastal dominance and initiated a new era of Quito–dominated bureaucratic controls that included a central bank (inaugurated 10 August 1927). Between 1925 and 1979Ecuador's political historywhich has a powerful hold on its cultural historywas characterized
Since 1979after nine years of military dictatorshipEcuador has had a series of democratic governmentseach one strengthening the role of the white elite and increasing the poverty of the rest of the nation. Three elected presidents have failed to fill their terms. In 1981Jaime Roldós Aguilera perished in a plane crash; in 1997Abdalá Bucaram Ortiz was ousted by an act of congress and by grass–roots movements for "mental incapacity"; and in 2000Jamil Mahuad Witt was ousted by a conjuncture of an indigenous and grass–roots uprising and a military coup. Although a growing middle class has been increasingly apparent in the last quarter centurypoverty has grown exponentially as an economy of capital dependence has overridden subsistence pursuits. The most recent manifestation of these processes is that of "dollarization" of the national currency in 2000.
National Identity. In all walks of lifepeople identify as ecuatorianos(-as) . National identity emerged historically in several sectors. The elites and the upper–classalong with ideologues in the military and the pressuse the concept of " blanco– mestizo " to both identify with the masses (through the concept mestizo )and to affirm their distance from the masses (through the concept blanco ). The elites have a concept of gente de bién ,or gente bién ("good people"; "people of good or proper background"). They are complemented by a new elite that sometimes is known as gente de bienes ("rich people"). The concept of sociedad ("society") refers to the old eliteboth internally and among the new rich.
Among the elite and the newer wealthyidentity as Ecuadorian is paralleled by identity as goodrighteousCatholiccivilizedwhite peoplewho share a European and United States orientation. Colonial wealth is importantas is the maintenance of high status with great power and substantial wealth. Among the middle classesthe elite focus on whiteness is conjoined with the elitist ambivalent stigma of mestizaje . Middle–class commercial people tend to identify with their familiestheir jobsand a general sense of the republic without worrying about their ethnicity.
Over half the nation is poorand poverty is a self–identity referent. Here national identity is with a state system that owes the poor a livelihood. Those who self identify as "fully human" in one of seven or eight language families also identify as being Ecuadorianbut look to themselves and to their own social movements for critical livelihoodand for the political capital by which to construct a nation of indigenous people. Where the elites and middle classes are dominated by capitalist thought and activitythe indigenous peoplewho are at the forefront of movements of self-affirmationfavor socialist reforms. Black people are caught between the dominant elitethe prejudices of the middle classesand a tenuous and tentative rapproachment with indigenous people.
Ethnic Relations. Black and indigenous people identify with cultural counterparts in other nations. For exampleQuichua–speaking people identify with other such speakers in ColombiaPeruBoliviaand Argentina. Jivaroan speakers do the same with Peruvians. CofánSecoyaand Siona make little differentiation between themselves and those speaking the same languages who live in adjacent countries. At another levelthe very fact of being indigenousof being "original people," serves as a binding reference not only in South Americabut across the Americas and beyond. Black people identify more tenuously with those who would seem to be phenotypically similarand the processes of identity are stronger within their own regions than they are internationally. In the last decade, movements for black ethnic unity have taken place. Black leaders suffer from a lack of funding while indigenous leaders have considerable resources for international ethnic nationalist movements of self–affirmation.
UrbanismArchitectureand the Use of Space
Urbanism permeates the world view of the white–mestizo sectors of Ecuador and is denied by other Ecuadorians. To be urbane in the Sierra is to be a social part of a major city—QuitoAmbatoRiobamba, Cuenca—where whitenessCatholic Christianityeconomic wealthand ties to political power define the dignidad ("dignity") and gentileza ("gentility") of those who set themselves off from the majority. In the large coastal cities—Guayaquil and Manta—similar concepts prevailbut the phenomena of being listo ("ready to respond") and vivo ("ready to seize an opportunity") are more salient than they are in the Sierra. The cultural and political differences between the Coast and the Sierra are greatand each region may constitute a political– economic bloc that severely impedes a national consensus on matters of critical collective concern.
Both urban–oriented serranos as the highlanders are calledand costeños the people from the Coastdraw a primary contrast between that which is urban and that which is wilderness. The wilderness includes rain forest and dry–forest areashigh mountainous regions ("páramos")and riverine systems. These are the systems whichin other contextsdefine the beauty and romance of the countrythat which the tourism industry seeks to "develop" for the benefit of the richmobileand powerful.
Those with wealth and power long ago established what they regard as civilized spaces through the haciendaswhich are extensive land holdings surrounding large rural homes. Those in control of their haciendascalled hacendados treated people on their lands by a system known in the Sierra as the huasipungo (described by western scholars as "landed slavery"). On the Coast the concept of concertaje was very similarand carried the same meaning. Agrarian reformwhich began in the early 1960s and continued through the 1970shas rectified this system to a large extentbut many large hacendados retain their landed power bases.
For indigenous and Afro–Ecuadorian peopletogether with their various cultural "mixtures," urban areas and rural areas blend; each depends on the otherand the ability to move between the sites of the "government" and the "home" and the "land" is critically important. Many such people are familiar with one or more of the urban centers of Ecuadorhaving spent time there in one or another capacity. Most such rural people have relatives and friends in the cities. People in the poor sector are able to move in and out of urban centers because of kinship tiesties of ritual kinship ( compadrazgo )and ties of patronage. Social movements usually originate in a rural sector and move toward the governing center.
Architecture can be thought of as a cultural complement to the nation's beautifulvaried scenery. It runs the gamut from humble wattle–and–daub houses with thatched roofs in the northern countryside to the magnificent La Companía Church in Quito with its gold–leaf interior; from thick–walled colonial monasteries to glass–walledangular skyscrapers. The pace of urbanism has steadily increased since the beginning of petroleum production in the early 1970sbut it has not erased regional architectural s that rely on natural materials such as palmmangrovebambooand thatch on the Coast; eucalyptusmaguey stemsearthpampas grassand thatch in the Sierra; and palmbambooand thatch in the Oriente. Increasinglythese natural materials are being supplemented or replaced by cut planks, cinder–blockcementbrickceramic and asbestos tileand corrugated metal.
Urban sprawl is visible around the major cities and towns and along the Panamerican highway that runs north–south through the center of the countrybut there are vast open spaces in the more rural areas. In the less populous coastal and Amazonian sectorsopen spaces abound despite colonization and urbanization. Population density in urban areas, particularly in poorer neighborhoodsis greatly underreported.
The use of personal household space is extremely varied. In general terms, there tends to be a female portion and a male portion of a domicile. Visitors enter through the male side and are received in a sala ("living room"). To be polite as a guest is to be seated; hosts move to serve guests. Within this framework there are innumerable variations. For exampleamong the indigenous Canelos Quichua native peoples of the Bobonaza River regionand radiating out of urban Puyothe head of the house sits on a round carved wood stoolthe seat of power of the water spirit–master Sungui. Guests sit on a long bench that symbolizes the anaconda. The Achuar native people carry this further, insisting that male and female guests be separated: women enter through the female door and sit with the women on small stoolswhile the men enter through the male side and sit on the anaconda–bench.
Food and Economy
Food in Daily Life. The most basicubiquitous prepared food is soupwith many variations according to region and ingredients. Coastal fish and coconut milk chowderssierran potato–based soupsand Amazonian pepper–pot dishes are joined by chicken consommécream of avocadoand cow's foot and tripe soup. The mildly fermented chicha made from manioc by indigenous people of Amazonia could be regarded as a soup in its dailynonceremonial consumption. Other common nonfermented food drinks are made with barley and oatmeal.
The middle and upper classes follow a European model of diet and dining: the primary mealdinnerfeatures several coursesis served at 2:00 P.M. and may last for two hours. First comes the soupand then the segundo ("second") or seco ("dry") courses. It is a time to gather with family at homeor to meet friends or business acquaintances at a restaurant. Workers who travel far from home may take along lunch in a vertically compartmentalized lunch bucketor buy inexpensive hot food from kiosks or street vendors. These foods include potato and meat soups or stews choclos (corn on the cob)small sausages fried with onions and potatoesand eggs. Other national favorites from the street to restaurants include empanadas small meatvegetableor corn pies; shrimpbivalvesfishporkor beef specialties; and "typical" dishes such as locro a potato and cheese soupand llapingachos potato– cheese fritters. In urban Quito and Guayaquil one may choose food from Arby'sDomino's PizzaKentucky Fried ChickenMcDonald'sor TGI Friday's. A small number of caterers specialize in home–delivered prepared meals to accommodate employed women. Abundant fresh fruits and fruit juices are extremely popular.
Food Customs at Ceremonial Occasions. A variety of special dishes are prepared from fresh ingredients for ceremonial occasions by the woman of the house and her female maids. In the Sierra and parts of the Coast fanesca a hearty soup that combines numerous beansgrainsand other vegetables cooked in fish brothis served during Holy Week. Native people of Amazonia and the Sierra prepare chicha a brew made from manioc and maizerespectively. This drink is served on all ceremonial occasionsbut in Amazonia it also provides daily caloric intake. For the elitealcoholic drinksparticularly
Basic Economy. The lush Andean valleys and coastal farms produce vegetables and fruits in great variety and abundanceand there is active interregional marketing. Stable starches are ricebananasplantainsand tarogrown on the coast; potatoescornbarleyquinoaand wheat from the Sierra; andin Amazoniaplantainsbananasand particularly the root crops manioc and taro. Coffeesugarcacaoand coconuts from the coast are widely distributed. Chickens are raised everywhere for meat and for eggs, which are a major source of protein. Other meats are provided by hogs, cattleand sheep; fish and some game are important in the Oriente. A wide variety of sausagesprocessed meatsand canned tuna and sardines is available in markets. The dairy industry is strong in the Sierra and the Coastproviding milk and numerous types of cheeses. Supermarkets carry an increasingly wide variety of imported canned and dehydrated soupsas well as nationally produced canned cow's foot and tripe soups.
Until recentlyEcuadorians depended entirely on domestic produce. Probably 50 percent or more of Ecuador's people produced their own food. Such production took place on coastal and sierran haciendaswhere the elite controlled the land. Peasants (often indigenous) eked out an existence bordering on abject povertyoften in systems of sharecropping or landed slavery. Since the petroleum boom and the land reforms of the 1970smore people depend on meager cash incomes to purchase food grown by fewer people. Commercial agriculture and floriculture have increased dramatically with the use of plastic greenhouses—the plastic sheeting is a product of the petrochemical industries. Fish farming (primarily trout and tilapia) and shrimp farming are important sources of food and income.
Land Tenure and Property. Black people of the northwest coast and indigenous people in the Amazonian region have long been excluded from any land tenureship of the property on which they have dwelledsince the mid–16th century in the formerand from time immemorial in the latter. The lands of indigenous and black people in these lowland regions are declared tierras baldías ("uninhabited lands") even though they are teeming with Afro– Ecuadorian or indigenous people. During the time of sierran land reformsthey were opened for colonization by poor Andean people. The resulting clashes and conflicts continue.
Commercial Activities. Petroleumbananasshrimp and other seafoodtimber and wood products, fruitsand flowers constitute Ecuador's primary legal exports. Its major industry is petroleum processingwhich takes place in Balaojust outside of the city of Esmeraldas. Most of the oil comes from the Amazonian regionwhere companies such as Texaco have caused one of the worst oil disasters in the world. Indigenous organizations have tried to sue Texaco in the United Statesbut the white– mestizo judges and lawyers of Ecuador support Texaco as a major source of national and institutional wealth.
Division of Labor. In the upper and middle classesfamily connections and higher education are extremely important for significant participation in many professional and commercial venturesas are payments to powerful political figures. Manual labor opportunities are often controlled by labor bosses who recruit among poor people and illegally take a portion of the workers' wages. This systemknown as enganche exploits especially black and indigenous people by setting them against low– class and usually unionized mestizo workers. People have multiple means of labor mobilization including the community–based minga, in which everyone pitches in to accomplish a task.
Social Stratification
Classes and Castes. Ecuador is a highly stratified society with strong symbolic as well as socioeconomic and political ordering. The social structure constitutes a class pyramid. The all–white oligarchies represent the pinnacle of political powereconomic controland social esteem. There is a significant middle class of professionalcommercialand service workers who generally self identify ethnically as blancos . Their representations of other people depend on many political and socioeconomic situations and contexts. Power and control are associated with being blanco and upward mobility often involves a process known as blanqueamiento (whitening). In vulgar discourse blanqueamiento means moving away from any mancha (taintor stain) of the hybrid categoriesas well as denying the sources of indio and negro . Despite quasi-racial categorization and vast differences of wealth, there is a great deal of mobility and fluidity in all social and cultural sectors.
Well over half the nation is composed of those stigmatized as black or "Indian" people and those with ancestry falling into such categories; they are excluded from access to wealthpoweror social esteem. These are the people who must be mobilized in a national election or for collective actionand to whom a caudillo must appealusually through the assertion of the commonality of all Ecuadorians as el pueblo . Ecuadorians whose forefathers came from other landsespecially Lebanonhave been particularly successful in such mobilization and some of them have also been quickly deposed by those mobilized. Recent ex–presidents Bucaram Ortiz and Witt Mahuad illustrate these dual processes of caudillismo .
People throughout Ecuador are thoroughly familiar with the economic machinations at the pinnacle of power and argue against aggressive self– serving capitalism and corporate privatization while at the same time looking to patrons in the government for relief from poverty and opportunities to advance socially and economically. The symbolic structure of stratification permeates all dimensions of the republic. Even Amazonian shamanswhen in trancetravel to spirit governments to gain the power to cure. In their festivalsblack people in Esmeraldas may dramatize diverse relationships with distant central governments.
Political Life
Government. Ecuador is a constitutional democracy. Political life is focused on caudillos within a contemporary system of coalitions that features from seven to twenty political parties. Parties constantly coalesce and fragmentbut a fewsuch as the Social Christiansthe Leftist Democratsand various populist partiesendure. The judicial system is based on the Napoleonic codewherein a person is treated as guilty until proven innocent. The military is the most powerful force within the countryand the police force is substantial. Poor people have little recourse to police helpand the idea and practice of justicia por propia mano ("justice by one's own hand") is increasingly prevalent. The military system of socioeconomic mobility stresses the doctrine of mestizaje . During social movementsincluding uprisingsthe military takes control but more often than not serves as a forceful mediator rather than as an oppressor.
Social Welfare and Change Programs
National welfare programsincluding a social security system with extensive health–care componentsexist. It is common for a program to be established with inadequate funding. The concept of a "program without money" is a ubiquitous cultural image that reflects economic reality. The failure of the social security system has provoked numerous protests for reform. Successful efforts for social change usually come from the poor sectorsof which the most powerful are the many indigenous organizations and the national unions representing labortransportationand education.
Nongovernmental Organizations and Other Associations
Ecuadorians have created some very important nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). Fundación Natura is well known internationally for its efforts at ecological preservation. Since the 1970sindigenous people have developedwith substantial help from European sourcesmany organizationsmost notably the Confederation of Indigenous People of Ecuador (CONAIE)Ecuador's Indigenous Awakening (ECUARUNANI)the Shuar Federationand the Confederation of Indigenous People of Amazonian Ecuador (CONFENIAE). The Association of Ecuadorian Blacks (ASONE) is growing in strength. In recent years there has been an explosion of NGOs serving the interests of numerous groupsmainly grass–roots ethnic–gender–and labor–based. Active NGOs number over two hundred and are largely sponsored by foreign capital. While many NGOs are real forces in the transformation of institutional dysfunctions, it is often claimed that they contribute to corruption within institutions.
Gender Roles and Statuses
Division of Labor by Gender. Women make up a considerable portion of the workforce and are particularly visible in banking and financeuniversity teaching and researchand NGOs. They play a prominent role in indigenous and Afro–Ecuadorian mobilizations and movements. They hold high government positions in the national and regional judicial systemthe national congressand the executive branch.
The Relative Status of Women and Men. Gender roles vary greatly across classes and ethnicitiesranging from equal to male–dominated. Context specificity alters gender roles and statuses so that women may control sectors of activity even when ideological maleness is said to prevail. The ideology of machismo refers to masculine dominance and sexual conquest. It is said by people in some sectors to be complemented by marianismo whichin reference to the Virgin Marydesignates an ideal of female purity and fidelity. How this somewhat vague ideologywhich is not universal in Ecuador and varies enormously by genderclassand ethnic perspectivesarticulates to actual gender roles is not clearand deserves serious research attention.
Women have gained legal rights over their children and their own property. A womaneven with a stable and enduring marriagemay elect to omit her husband's name from her child's birth certificate to protect that child from possible future bad fatherhood or separation or divorce, in which the father could claim the child.
MarriageFamilyand Kinship
Marriage. Marriage varies greatlywith its expressions ranging from those characteristic of middle–class United States or Europe to a variety of systems that include "trial marriage" and "serial polygyny."
Domestic Unit. The family is a key feature in the social structural and mobility systems of Ecuador. The basic domestic unit focuses on the mother and children with the father as provider. The mother nurtures the children and manages the household; the father legally provides for the family and the home. This system operates at all class levels and across different cultural systems. Overallstrong men try to keep their nuclear and expanded families around themwhile bringing in–laws in. Where this succeedsa kindred political–economic base develops; where it does notpeople become attached to relatively more successful kin. Children are cherishedand socialization focuses on the granting of respect to parentssiblingsother relatives, the communitythe nationGodand those who lend a helping hand.
Etiquette
Respeto (respect) is the key to etiquette across all of the class and ethnic divisions and between the genders. To be granted respect is to have dignidad (dignity) which is a social cognate of the legal status of derechos ("rights"). The granting and receiving—or withholding and denying—of respect governs much of interpersonal relationships. The opposite of respect is desprecio (disrespect). One counters disrespect to one's dignity by claiming "rights," and such rights come to one as an ecuatoriano Ecuadorian. All Ecuadorians demand respect in their interactionsand conflict on interpersonalaggregateor group bases occurs when disrespect is repeatedly observed or inferred. One of the fundamental features of the black social movement is found in the phrase el rescate de la dignidad national ("the rescue of national dignity"). Black leaders say that Ecuador will lack dignity until the ideology of mestizaje with its built–in premise of blanqueamiento and subtext of mejorar la raza ("improve the race" of indigenous and Afro–Ecuadorian people) is abandoned. The indigenous and black social movementsand movements by women and poor peopleare oriented toward achieving the status of dignity through the allocation and/or appropriation of respect.
Religion
Religious Beliefs. White–mestizo religiosity is predominantly Roman Catholic and varies considerably according to social class. Conservative Catholicism is infused with patriotism. Protestantism with many dimensions and sects is common and growingthough with smaller congregations. Overalla fatalistic world view prevails whereinultimatelyGod's will is seen to dominate events. Phrases such as "if God permits," "if God helps me," and "thanks to God," are ubiquitous. Natural disasterswhich are common in Ecuadorare said to be God's punishment for collective sin. The governmentthough secularis thought of as a powerful but unconcerned father who cares little for his "children" (citizens)thereby provoking God's wrath.
Rituals and Holy Places. A root metaphor for many Catholics is that of the Passion of Christ. His life symbolizes the value of suffering. Virgins and saints are second to Christ's imagery in wide– spread Ecuadorian Catholicism. People make pilgrimages to the virgins and saints from great distances, primarily to become healed of physical or mental afflictions. It is believed some saints can heal and inflict harm and that at least oneSan Gonzalocan kill. Syncretisms between Catholic Christianity and local–level beliefs and practices are ubiquitous and permeate every sector of Ecuadorian culture. Indigenous people have a rich spiritual universewhich shamans tap for curing and for sending harm.
Death and the Afterlife. Death occursit is said everywhere"when one's time comes," and this is accompanied by the assertion that "no one knows when my time is to come; when my time is up I die." This knowledge is restrictedaccording to someto God ("when God calls me")but others say even he doesn't know when one's time will be up on this earth. On or near deathsaints from heaven and demons from hell come to claim the soul. Conceptions of the afterlife also vary greatlyfrom pious assertions that the good go to heaven and the bad go to hellto the Afro–Ecuadorian coastal idea that most souls go to purgatory. Souls are thought to return to earth to seek their households where the living still existand this is something that is not wanted. Indigenous people have many concepts of soul movement after death, and the heaven–hell dichotomymediated by purgatoryis usually a superficial overlay on indigenous cosmologies and cosmogonies. In the Sierra and the Coast during the Day of the Dead—All Souls Day—which occurs at the end of October or early Novemberpeople congregate in cemeteriessocialize with souls of the deceasedand honor death itself through the imagery embodied in special bread–dough figurines and colada morada a drink made with blue–black corn mealblueberries, blackberriesother fruitsand spices.
Medicine and Health Care
Religionshamanismand home remedies are important resources. Traditional and alternative medicines were recognized in the constitutional reform of 1998. Amazonian Quichua shamans and coastal Tscháchila healers are considered to be the most powerful healers and minister to people speaking other languagesincluding those who come from many classes and backgrounds from the Sierra and the Coast. The use of Banisteriopsis caapi called ayahuasca ("soul vine") in Quichuais widespread and has attracted attention from medical–care personnel international pharmaceutical companiesand foreign tourists.
Western health-care delivery exists mainly in the large citieswith outlying clinics rarely functioning in anything resembling western designs. While there are exceptionshospitals are places where people in dire straits goafter trying many possible cures for illness. Pharmacists do a big business in diagnosis and prescriptionand almost any drug or medication can be purchased over the counter.
Secular Celebrations
Soccer ( futbol ) is the national passion for the majority of men in every walk of life. As one encounters poverty and ethnic marginalityone finds women playing with men. Futbol reflects regional and economic differences. When the national team plays in international matchesa united Ecuadorian presence emerges throughout the country. When not unitedEcuadorians become divided in terms of the racial features of its national team. Some argue that powerful sports figures seek to "lighten" the phenotype of the teams. Attempts at such blanqueamiento are vigorously protested by the most prominent black organizationASONE. The celebrity soccer players can achieve quasi-sainthoodparticularly when they die under unforeseen and tragic circumstances. Heroes of other individual sports (e.g. track and field) are also idolized and may become quite prosperous.
The most prominent national secular celebrations are 24 May and 10 August, the two dates of national liberation. The assumption of presidential office always takes place on the latter. Other celebrations are 12 OctoberColumbus Dayknown as the dia de la raza ("day of the race"). The elite take this to mean the day of the European (white)Spanish race from which they descend. Other Ecuadorians take this day as a symbol of racial blendingof mestizaje . It is a day of infamy for indigenous and black leaderswho are excluded by its symbolismas they are excluded in everyday life. New Year's Eve features a huge secular festival where prominent figurescalled muñecos or años viejos —effigies or "old years"—are created on platforms on public streetslampoonedand burned at midnight. Epiphany (6-11 January) is the Three Kings' Daywhich is celebrated by indigenous people of the Sierra as a secular festival. Pre–Lenten Carnival is celebrated throughout the country as a big water fight. In June and JulySierran festivals of Saint PeterSaint Pauland Saint John fuse with those of Corpus Christi and the Incaic Inti Raymi solstice celebrationattracting national and international tourists. The founding days of cities and towns are celebrated throughout the nationwhile the alleged European–Andean "discovery" of the Amazon on 12 February is acknowledged primarily in the Oriente.
The Arts and Humanities
Support for the Arts. Quito proclaims itself to be the Patrimonio de Humanidad"the Heritage of Humanity," and in 1999Cuenca was designated by UNESCO as an international Heritage of Humanity. Two major organizations that support the arts and the humanities are the Casa de la Cultura Ecuatoriana (the House of Ecuadorian Culture)and the Banco Central del Ecuador. These organizations are funded by the federal government. Archaeological and colonial arts are considered national treasures.The Instituto Nacional de Patrimonio Cultural (the National Institute of Ecuadorian Heritage) is involved in the restoration of colonial edifices and some archaeological sites and in preventing national treasures from leaving the country. Excellent newspaperstelevision documentariesand ethnographic and historic video productions all feature a wide spectrum of writers, analystsand commentatorsincluding intellectuals in various sectors of cultural lifeas well as in the academies.
Literature. Literature is rich in Ecuadorand includes writings not only by those highly educated and by journalistsbut also by self-taught people who have produced works of value. Best known authors include Juan Montalvo, Juan León MeraLuis A. MartínezJorge IcazaJorge Enrique Adoumand Alfredo Pareja Diezcanseco. Artists such as Benjamín CarriónOswaldo GuayasamínEdwardo KingmanCamilo Egasand Oswaldo Viteri are internationally known. Julio Jaramillo is the best known national composer.
An internationally significant corpus of literature is produced by black scholars such as Nelson Estupiñán BassArgentina Chiriboga, Aldalberto Ortizand Preciado Bedoyaamong others. Indigenous authors write in Spanish and in Quichua.
Performance Arts. There is a national symphony and national folkloristic ballet in Quito, but Ecuador is probably best known internationally for indigenous bands that combine and recombine various genres of Andean "folk" music. Many come from Otavalo and Salasacabut groups exist throughout the Andes and the Amazonian region. Black marimba groups from Esmeraldas are becoming internationally known.
The State of the Physical and Social Sciences
Major universities in Quito and Guayaquiland smaller ones in other citiesall have curricula in physical and social sciences. Private and public universities vary greatly in their emphasesbut offer a respectable array of liberal arts and sciencesmedicallegaland engineering training. Funding comes from the governmentfrom tuition, from foreign aidand from gifts and private donations. Many Ecuadorians, from all classes and walks of lifeearn master's and doctoral degrees in Latin Americathe United Statesand Europe.
Bibliography
Acosta–SolisMisaelet al. Ecuador: In the Shadow of the Volcano, 1981.
AdoumRosangela. "L'Art Equatorien Préhispanique: Une Autre Monumentalíté," in Tresors du Nouveau Monde, 1992
Albán GómezErnestso. Los Indios y el Estado–País: Pluriculturalidad y Multietnicidad en el Ecuador: Contribuciones al Debate, 1993.
AlmeidaIleanaet al. Indios: Realidad Nacional, 1992.
Ayala MoraEnrique. Los Partidos Políticos en el Ecuador: Síntesis Histórica, 1989.
——ed. Nueva Historia del Ecuador, 12 volumes1988–1992.
—— et al. Pueblos IndiosEstado y Derecho, 1992.
CervoneEmmaand Fredy Riveraeds. Ecuador Racista: Imágenes e Identidades, 1999.
CuviPablo. Crafts of Ecuador, 1994.
Donoso ParejaMiguel. Ecuador: Identitidad o Esquizofrenia, 1998.
Espinoza ApoloManuel. Los Mestizos Ecuatorianos: y Las Señas de Identitidad Cultural, 1977.
HurtadoOsvaldoNick D. MillsJr.trans. Political Power in Ecuador, 1977.
——. El Poder Político en el Ecuador, 10th ed.1997.
IbarraAlicia. Los Indígenas y el Estado en el Ecuador: La Práctica Neoindigenista, 1992.
LaneKris. Quito 1599: City and Colony in Transition, 2001.
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—N ORMAN E. W HITTEN J R. D OROTHEA S COTT W HITTEN AND D IEGO Q UIROGA
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However there is one information I found to be erroneous,
under "Arts and Humanities - Literature"you wrote Julio Jaramillo was a composerand he was only an interpreterthe best but only interpreter. One of the best composers of Ecuadorian songs was Nicacio Zafari. Another one that many people erroneously believes to be Colombian but he is actually Ecuadorianoriginary from the town of Zarumahis name is el Chaso Jara.
I must congratulate you for such fine writing.Many thanks.
I'm a junior in high school and this paper is A LOT of points
help is greatly appreciated! :)
can ou help me??
I am now in my senior year of highschool and it is still something I remember slearly to this day.
My step-grandmother is from Ecuadorand she's also been a great help. I'm not from Ecuador and can't say that there is any Ecuadorian blood in mebut I'm super proud to say that I have an Ecuadorian family. Mi abuela has shared a buunch of info with me; food and traditionsand I can feel the pride that she feels when she talks about it. Ecuador truly is an amazing countryand I can't wait to visit!!
UnfortunatelyEcuador is still plagued by Spanish dominion "think" which riddles the country with a pervasive web of institutional and cultural bias.
I think it will take a few generations to die out before the country can truly surge culturally.
I come from a varied background of Inca nobilitySpanish criolloLebanese and Turkish bloodlines.
There is every color of the rainbow in my family- but the lighter skinned people are regarded as gods and goddes.
I am fair skinnedand was seen as superior in many ways.
I had cousins that were blonde and some indigenous. I can tell you that the white cousins had a better life and more opportunities. I was the exotic American cousin and found that being multilingual- fair skinned and young was a great commodity.
I beat out an anthropologist for a position at a prestigious cultural institution based on personality and good looks alone. I'd say that beauty is highly regarded in Ecuador.
It wasn't fair. 2 years later I resigned with letters of reference. I could not work for a place that had such low ethics. The anthologist eventually was hired and I learned a great lesson about my ancestral home- it's a very prejudice place.
On a more wonderful note I will add that the Galápagos Islandsthe beaches of Ecuador's coast and the mythical villages of the mountains are Ecuador's jewels!
There is great melancholypassion and beauty in the heart of Ecuador's people. It's not all idiosyncrasy and bias- and the men are very handsome and romantic!
I'm excited to return for a visit soon and for those of you that like adventure - try Ecuadorian recipes- the cuisine is wonderful too!
I was fortunate enough to visit the Galapagos last summersailing around for seven days on the Silver Galapagos. Everything went smoothly.
In the story I am writingthe characters will be on fictitious cruise shipand there will be a murder on board. I want to ensure that the details surrounding the handling of the investigation are realistic.
For example:
What authorities would be dispatched to investigate? The National Park police? Or some other entity?
Which town would they come from?
After the authorities questioned the suspectswhat would happen with the cruise ship? Would it be allowed to continue its voyageor would the cruise have to abort? And if sowhere would the passengers and crew be taken?
Would there be any quarantine imposed while the murder site was cleaned up?
If someone is a suspectwould they arrest the person immediately? Or wait for more proof? If not immediatelywould the person be kept in any kind of custody (or passport heldetc.?)
If a person is arrestedwhere would he or she be taken? Is there a jail in the islandsor would they go to the mainland?
Approximately how long would a person have to wait for a trial if accused of murder? And would he or she be able to post bail or have to stay incarcerated while waiting?
Thanks so much for any information you can provide.
I'm engaged to an ecuadorianwho's an american now. But I'm only curious how people names there works. Do they really go by so many names? I mean they would have different name on birth certificate and different on their IDs? I hope someone who is native from Ecuador can be kind enough to answer my question. Thanks!
My mother is a white ecuadorian and my father is britishI was raised in Ecuador but later moved to the United States where I have lived up to this point. I understood that there was a strong class system but not to this extent. What you've written here really sums up the Ecuadorian mentalitywhere being whiter is better. I've talked to my mother about it before and having a very white son kind of raised our family's prestige in our town.
Was adopted from orphanage in Quitoparents were from Guayaquil drove to city to have me a better hospital and so i would in-turn go to a better orphange.
If anyone is willing to help please contact me. I have my birth name and certificate.
Alsodo not try and scam me... I graduated with a criminology degree and I am skeptical of everything when it comes to me trying to locate my birth family. Odds not very likely but it's worth a shot.
Since thenEcuador's contemporary history has been characterized by deep instability and absolute dependence on fluctuations in oil prices and in international financial marketsas well as in its external debt.