[aymara] Aymara and Western Culture

[Omar Beas <omarhbeas@xxxxxxxx>]

Hola amigos de Aymara Uta:

Algunos comentarios rapidos sobre lo ultimo que nos
plantean, Jorge y Laura:

Ustedes consideran factible el  paralelismo de  los
analfabetismos de la mayoria de los griegos y
sanscritos y el pueblo aymara?

<<Una pregunta dificil de responder, sobre todo si no
hay una posicion ideologica de por medio. En todo caso
aunque es interesante hacer comparaciones, creo que
ellas no deben llevarnos a mayores conclusiones (a una
"explicacion" o algo misterioso como ello en este
caso) que la descripcion misma de los hechos. Quiza en
este contexto sea igual de importante poner de relieve
las diferencias>.

I'm a little surprised that when the language is so
tremendously sophisticate, I don't see anything about
a
literature or a writing system.

<<I do not understand what you mean by "sophisticate".
Is it in the sense of the grammar? Which aspects? If
so, what about another languages?>

Of course, the literature can be oral, Greek
literature was transmitted orally for a long time, and
even when the great tragedians, etc., came along, I
never researched it because I never before was
interested in the issue, but I bet most of the Greeks
were still illiterate and knew the literature orally. 


<<I agree with your intuitions and the comparison that
you establish. In case of Quechua and Aymara cultures
(that are closely related), we could suppose that
there was a kind of "literature" (in the western
sense)that was transmitted orally (Comentarios Reales
and Cronicas could give a clue to make such
conjecture). Since literature and education have
always been related, we could say that Inka family and
relatives had some access to oral traditions in the
"standard version". Peruvian history, however, has
been extremely violent to our native cultures and
Spanish Conquest is a proof.
Another important difference could be the diversity of
cultures during the Inka Empire, which is stronger
than in the case of Greeks (we had different
"kingdoms" with different customs and
languages/dialects (!!)Cuzco Quechua, Quiteño Quechua,
Mochica language, Culle language, Puquina language,
Mochica language, Quingnam language, etc)the tendency
was, however, to a functional multiculturalism /
multilinguism where a dialect of quechua worked as a
koine.

I guess, come to think of it, that having a good
grammar would be one way to preserve the purity of a
language so it would not degenerate as the vernacular
changed, already with koine Greek, the Greek language
is linguistically declining

<<You are right in a prescriptive sense when you say
that "having a good grammar..." and definitively
Bertonio was a genius. I say that because he could
make an excelent and accurate description of Aymara
despite of the limitations fo this period. He has not
comparison in the Aymara world and perhaps Domingo de
Santo Tomas/Gonzales Holguin are only comparable in
the Quechua side. So, Bertonio's grammar is not only
important because of its prescriptive role (that is
how "to speak correctly"), but -I think- because of
its descriptive power (how Aymara is spoken in...).
I think we could say that there was a koine here but
-which is obvious- with different functions and roles.
During the Spanish Conquer and colony, Quechua,
Aymara, Mochica, Puquina (in a first stage) were taken
as a way to spread the Catholic religion. They were
"lenguas generales", that is, languages that had a
wide range of influence.
Perhaps it is interesting to point out the well known
case of Quechua. Along the lines you mention, Quechua
"koine" of Domingo de Santo Tomas (1583)(DST)was not
the same of Gonzales Holguin (1610?)'s. The first one
was based on Quechua dialect which was spoken, mainly,
in the Peruvian coast; while the second one is a true
koine, based on aspects both from Cuzco Quechua and
DST Quechua, a "construct" to be used to functional
purposes. The former as a tool of Catholic religion
dissapeared because of the latter.
It is a complex picture... definitively, and that is
why it is more interesting!!

Take care, 

Omar

P.S. Tengo la mala costumbre de escribir "discursos",
pero es lo mejor que puedo hacer por ahora, amigos.
Cuidense mucho.

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