Felipe Huaman Poma de Ayala (also known as Guamán Poma)
Felipe Huaman Poma de Ayala was a prominent indigenous figure from Peru, believed to be born around 1536 in the Huamanga province. He was of a royal lineage, descending from both Inca and pre-Inca nobility, and was a fluent speaker of Quechua, Aymara, and Spanish. His upbringing during the Spanish colonization of the Andes significantly influenced his life and work; he became involved in the colonial administration as a scribe and translator, witnessing the impact of colonial policies on native populations. Huaman Poma is best known for his extensive letter to King Philip III, titled *Nueva Corónica y Buen Gobierno*, which detailed the history and culture of the Andean people and criticized the abuses they faced under colonial rule. This nearly 1,200-page manuscript included illustrations and maps, reflecting his deep commitment to advocating for indigenous rights and proposing reforms to improve their situation. Although his letter was largely forgotten until its rediscovery in the early 20th century, Huaman Poma's work remains a crucial historical document, offering insights into the life and struggles of Andean communities during the colonial period. His legacy is a testament to the resilience of indigenous voices in the face of oppression.
Felipe Huaman Poma de Ayala
Historian
- Born: c. 1536
- Birthplace: Huamanga, Peru
- Died: c. 1616
- Place of death: Unknown
Also known as: Felipe Wamán Poma de Ayala; Felipe Guamán Poma de Ayala
Significance: Felipe Huaman Poma de Ayala was an indigenous man of the Andes Mountains known for chronicling the poor treatment of the Andean peoples following Spanish colonization of Peru. He spent decades working for the colonial government as a translator and documenter. He took detailed notes of the things he witnessed and also compiled a number of illustrations related to his journeys. In 1615, Huaman Poma wrote a 1,200-page letter to the king of Spain describing the atrocities he observed. His letter also included his own suggestions for remedying the situation. His letter was lost for many centuries before resurfacing in the early twentieth century.
Background
Although debate surrounds Huaman Poma's exact birth date, it is believed he was born sometime around 1536 in the Huamanga province of southern Peru. He was a descendant of the royal Inca line on his mother's side. His father also descended from the royal pre-Inca Yarovilka dynasty. He had a half-brother, Martín de Ayala, who was partly of Spanish heritage and classified as a mestizo, which means "mixed" and usually describes a person of European and American Indian ancestry. Huaman Poma existed during the period of Spanish colonization of the Andes Mountains region and the subsequent conversion campaign led by Christian priests from Spain. His half-brother was a priest and persuaded his family to convert to Christianity. Huaman Poma's brother also taught him how to read and write. Huaman Poma was a native speaker of the Quechua and Aymara languages and later learned to speak Spanish fluently.
His ability to read and write earned Huaman Poma a position as an administrator and scribe in the Andean colonial government. He worked for the ecclesiastical inspector Cristobal de Albornoz, who was responsible for identifying and punishing practitioners of traditional Andean religion. Huaman Poma also worked as a translator for Albornoz and Spanish priests during their religious campaign to eliminate idol worship from Peruvian Andes society in the 1570s.
Huaman Poma was present during the reign of Viceroy Francisco de Toledo, whose regime instituted several pieces of legislation that greatly affected the social and economic dynamic between the colonists and the natives. Toledo forcibly removed Andes natives from their homelands and resettled them in areas where they could serve as colonial labor. During this time, Huaman Poma began documenting what he observed, and he noted his thoughts on the matters. He was against the execution of Incan royalty, and he describes watching Andean women mourning after the execution of Incan prince Tupac Amaru.
Life's Work
Throughout the 1580s, Huaman Poma also worked with Christian friar Martín de Murúa, a member of the Order of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mercy, during his conversion efforts within the native communities of the Andes. His work with Murúa gave him access to the friar's extensive library. The knowledge he acquired from Murúa's text informed his personal chronicles and illustrations he had been collecting over the last few decades. Huaman Poma also provided some of the illustrations in the manuscript known as the Galvin Murúa, Murúa's own chronicles of his journeys.
Between 1594 and 1600, he held a position as an interpreter and witness during the proceedings in Huamanga involving the confirmation of land titles and policy implementation. During this period, Huaman Poma also tried and failed to have a plot of land returned to his family, claiming he was of noble birth and entitled to the lands. He was later accused of falsely claiming nobility and exiled from Huamanga around 1600.
After leaving Huamanga, Huaman Poma headed south to Lucanas province, an area he became familiar with while traveling with Albornoz. In 1611, he was imprisoned for defending a group of Andean natives against a general inspection by local priests. He was acting as the group's representation as an appointee of the colonial administration.
Huaman Poma grew more and more discontented with the treatment of Andes natives by the Spanish. He decided to write a letter to Spanish king Philip III. The completed letter was nearly 1,200 pages long and detailed the history and culture of the Andes people before colonization as well as the brutal treatment they were subjected to by colonists in the decades after Spanish settlement. His letter, which he titled Nueva Corónica y Buen Gobierno (The First New Chronicle and Good Government), described how the Andeans were being exploited through abuses of colonial power. The text offered Huaman Poma's own proposals on how to reform Spain's new colonies to prevent the destruction of the Andes people. Nueva Corónica y Buen Gobierno also included illustrations and maps drawn by Huaman Poma. He hoped his letter would be printed when it arrived in Europe, and he made sure his text conformed to the typesetting conventions of that time.
Almost nothing is known of Huaman Poma's life following the completion of his letter. Although the true date of Huaman Poma's death is unknown, scholars believe he died sometime around 1616.
Impact
Historians are unsure if King Philip ever saw Huaman Poma's letter. The text disappeared into obscurity for several centuries after it was written. It did not reemerge until the twentieth century when it was discovered in the Danish Royal Library in 1908. Huaman Poma's chronicles shed light on the tragedies experienced by the Andeans of Peru, and his text remains an important contribution to Peruvian history.
Bibliography
Adorno, Rolena. Guaman Poma: Writing and Resistance in Colonial Peru. U of Texas P, 2000.
Cummins, Thomas B.F., and Barbara Anderson. The Getty Murua: Essays on the Making of Martin de Murua's "Historia General del Piru." Getty Research Institute, 2008.
Cummins, Thomas B.F. et al., editors. Manuscript Cultures of Colonial Mexico and Peru: New Questions and Approaches. Getty Research Institute, 2015.
Huaman Poma de Ayala, Felipe. The First New Chronicle and Good Government: On the History of the World and the Incas up to 1615. Translated and edited by Roland Hamilton. U of Texas P, 2009.
Kilroy-Ewbank, Lauren. "Guaman Poma and the First New Chronicle and Good Government." Khan Academy, www.khanacademy.org/humanities/art-americas/new-spain/viceroyalty-peru/a/guaman-poma-the-first-new-chronicle. Accessed 28 Sept. 2017.
Woolf, D.R., editor. A Global Encyclopedia of Historical Writing. Vol. 2. Garland Publishing, 1998.