This print of a Native woman and her child exemplifies the domestic roles of indigenous women in Peru during the era of early Independence movements in South America. Beginning with a broad description, this drawing is extracted from reports of Father Manuel Sobreviela and Narcisco Garbel y Barcelo who had traveled throughout Peru. It was featured in the El Mercurio Peruano, a newspaper in Lima in the year 1805. This date is significant because this drawing was after the Tupac Rebellion but also right before the creation of new American Republics. Beginning with an analysis of her domestic life, the description of this drawing specifies “Indian Woman of a Village”. This could imply this woman was Andean. As an Andean woman, she was most likely a participant of sales of the cash economy of Peru by selling goods at markets or fairs (Walker 22). Perhaps that is why the location of this photo is in Lima, she could be traveling to the city to participate in the cash economy by selling goods at a central market or fair. Along with her possible role in the economy, Andean women held a huge role in the household as primary leaders when men aren’t present (Walker 22). We can see here that this woman is holding a baby in a shawl, implying her maternal responsibility of taking care of not only the household, but her children. Unfortunately, indigenous women’s roles in Peru were stagnant even when Peru gained independence. Her domestic virtue and sexual purity would still be the same as portrayed in this photo (Wood & Alexander 37). Indigenous women failed to reap the benefits of liberalism and were constantly reduced to their previous domestic role. This was mainly due to the fact that it was difficult to maintain a job while taking care of the home and family (Wood & Alexander 40). Indigenous women such as the one depicted in this print were deprived of rights before and after independence, thus, it would be interesting to ponder whether or not this same indigenous woman would be depicted in the same way during the post-independence period.
Works Cited:
1.Walker, Charles F. The Tupac Amaru Rebellion. The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2016.
2. Problems in Modern Latin American History : Sources and Interpretations, edited by James A. Wood, and Anna Rose Alexander, Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2019. ProQuest Ebook Central, https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/baruch/detail.action?docID=5743856.