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WAYU CRAFTS: A DILEMMA OF CULTURE AND DEVELOPMENT

Andrs M. Gramajo

ABSTRACT

This article claims that there are characteristics of the institutional structure of some

indigenous societies that in some cases prevent economic development by complicating

the emergence of extra-family networks (social capital), and the transition from personal

to impersonal exchange; this is illustrated in the context of the Wayu people from the

Guajira Peninsula of Colombia. They have a strong tradition of craft production, which

has changed much in recent years due to exigencies of Wayu and non-Wayu

consumers. Foreign elements, such as commercial brands, are commonly included today

in their traditional crafts, sometimes even replacing conventional motifs. However,

artisans behave strategically selling different designs to different markets. The main

economic difficulties of the Wayu artisans are related to the lack of commercialization

of their products. From an institutional analysis perspective, the absence of extra-family

social and commercial networks in locations relatively far from markets, it is argued, is

one of the factors explaining these problems. It is suggested also that the promotion of

cooperatives should be attempted from the bottom-up given the particular legal

characteristics of this society.


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Those who know it, believe it

Those who dont know it, dont believe itWe who know, believe it

Old Wayu proverb

INTRODUCTION

Economic development is a process that takes place when certain circumstances

of a human group (health, education, living conditions, among others) improve. For the

purpose of analysis economists usually translate these conditions into monetary income.

In terms of monetary income, there are more or less objective measures of poverty anddevelopment. The World Bank, for example, estimates that a person is absolutely poor

when her daily income is less than one US dollar a day. This definition is based on the

assumption that an income of less than one dollar is not sufficient to properly cover basic

needs such as food, education, health care, and living conditions on a daily basis.

Although I recognize that the World Banks measurement is problematic because it lends

itself to discretionary valuations, and because it has to be carefully applied in contexts

where the cash economy is less prevalent, I also think that it is useful since it

approximatesan individuals (community) well being. My analysis relies on this

standard. In the context of the Wayu I argue that the economics and tradition are

linked.1 By traditional I denote those elements that are part of the Wayu culture and

history, such as a legal system that can only be found in the Wayu territory, and Wayu

dresses and crafts that are associated by Wayu and outsiders with the Wayu past and

cosmology.

One of the essential components of development at the rural level is social capital

(Pretty & Ward, 2001). The concept of social capital is associated with norms, which

could be formal or informal. The notion of social capital includes the concept of trust but

it also refers to the norms that shape the levels of trust in a particular social group. Pretty

& Ward (ibid.) identify social capital with four central aspects: relations of trust;

reciprocity and exchanges; common rules, norms and sanctions; and connectedness,


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THE WAYU

The Wayu people of the Guajira Peninsula of Colombia preserve a beautiful

artisan mosaic of colorful chinchorros3(hammocks) and mochilas (bags). Its

mythological origin can be traced back to the spider, Waleker, who taught the first

artisans how to weave and crochet. According to the Wayu mythical world Waleker

passes on her teachings through dreams. The art and work of weaving and crocheting

constitute rich and important manifestations of cultural identity. Wayu women often

say: the woman who doesnt weave isnt really a woman. Crafts are the only means of

subsistence in most of the rancheras in the rural Guajira.4 In fact, the semi-arid

conditions that impede intensive agriculture make craft production, stockbreeding(mainly of goats, and some cattle) and commerce, the main economic activities among

the Wayu.5

The Wayu artisans of the rural Guajira sell mostly in local markets and their

limited sales generate a very low income. These families live in conditions of

subsistence-craft-production, so to speak; in other words, they produce crafts and sell

them for an income that is only sufficient for survival; more precisely, the income might

be enough to buy food, but not enough to pay for medicine in cases of illness, or for

transportation costs to a hospital. This situation is more common in the rancheras of the

high Guajira.6

Although for the majority of artisans in the rural Guajira craft production is only a

means of subsistence, it generates higher income than other frequent economic activities

in the area such as selling coal, or working as a housecleaner in nearby towns. The

income I make from my work is not enough, but it is sufficient to send my children to

school, said an artisan from Nazareth.7 On the other hand, craft production contributes

to the autonomy and independence of women. Most of the artisans interviewed manage

their money and decide the destiny of their income. In this regard an artisan said: My

husband works in the mine but he only provides us with food, I pay for other expenses

[] [h]e has two wives and lives more often with the other one.8 In fact, women

generate more income than men. When men work, they work in the coal mine, otherwise


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they have temporary jobs but not real labor stability. Cash flow problems are frequent

and some artisans keep inventories for very long periods, months, or even a year. In

some cases, however, artisans get credit to buy provisions from local store owners who

know that artisans will eventually sell their crafts.

The anthropological literature on craft production is extensive, and the paradigm

that distinguishes its analysis is different from that of economics. Anthropologists

usually study petty commodity or single commodity production through the applications

of center-periphery, modes of production, or world systems models.9 These models are

generally based on a labor theory of value, although there are exceptions (see for instance

Milgram, 2005). Economists on the other hand use microeconomic tools for the study of

the rural and usually apply neoclassical theories, which are based on the subjective theory

of value. In the dominant anthropological literature on single commodity production theidea of unequal exchange prevails; in the economic literature, on the other hand,

exchange is conceived as a positive sum game. This paper, however, does not deal with

the philosophical issues of theories of exchange, but with the social dynamics that

prevent fluid exchange, which happen in the context of the rural or what anthropologists

would call the periphery. The article is intended to furnish a dialog between economics

and anthropology. It is relevant for economists who explore the elements that might

complicate the emergence of markets; and it is relevant for anthropologists who explore

the elements that keep cultural diversity.10

This article explores the dynamics between culture and rural economic

development in a microcosm represented by an indigenous group inColombia. It

combines an analytical narrative approach and economic anthropology methods to

describe important aspects of the Wayu craft industry. Ianalyze its socio-economic

situation and claim that there are characteristics of the social and legal structure of the

Wayu society that in some cases prevent development by complicating the emergence of

social capital. Indeed, their traditional way of solving conflicts based on thepalabrero

(mediator), which has allowed this society to subsist for hundreds of years, has at the

same time the negative consequence of impeding the emergence of trust, cooperation, and

reciprocity. Based on a diagnostic, I suggest some avenues to improve their

socioeconomic conditions taking into account the cultural heritage that crafts represent


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for the indigenous group under study. This article is based on six weeks of fieldwork

done mainly in rural areas of the high Guajira (Nazareth) and low Guajira (Barrancas and

Hato Nuevo), andalso in Riohacha, Maicao, allin Colombia, andadditionallyin

Maracaibo, Venezuela. I conducted approximately forty semi-structured interviews.

SETTING

The Wayu, numbering around 127,00011in the Colombian territory, is one of the

few indigenous groups in the country that still conserves its language and traditions.

There are approximately 173,000 Wayu in Venezuela located in the Paez District in the

Zulia State, with a high density in the Ziruma neighborhood in the city of Maracaibo

(Escobar, 1996). The Wayu think of themselves as members of a single cultural unitand regard the political border between Colombia and Venezuela an artificial separation,

and most of them have both nationalities.

The Wayu, sometimes called Guajiros, constitute more than fifty percent of the

total population of the Guajira Peninsula (located mainly in the municipalities of Maicao,

Manaure and Uribia) and occupy almost exclusively seventy percent of its territory. The

origins of the Wayu can be traced back to the Amazon region of Colombia and Brazil.

From there they migrated to their current location. The migration process represented a

dramatic change from a humid tropical rainforest in the Amazon to the Peninsula. The

archeologist Gerardo Ardila describes the Wayus impressive adaptive capacity:

Nothing can be more stimulating than the study of the history of theGuajiros, the Wayu from the Guajira, people undoubtedly originated inthe Amazon region that in a short time adapted to the extremely dryenvironmental conditions of the peninsula through alliances, links ofsolidarity, and maybe wars against other peoples that arrived in differenttimes and to different places of the peninsula. Their adaptive capacity ledthem, around the 16thcentury, to become pastoralists and cattle herders,which gave them an advantage to survive the processes of transformationand destruction that came with the conquest (1996, p. 15). [Translation bythe author]

The importance of alliances in the form of confederations or clusters of

indigenous groups for their survival or expansion, although the member groups


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were not always loyal, has been identified in different times and parts of the

world. Two of the most illustrative cases are the Iroquois confederation in

Northeast America in the fifteenth century, and the cluster fostered by the Zulu in

Southern Africa in the eighteenth century (Wolf, 1982, pp. 165-166 and pp. 349-

350). In a more recent example it has been suggested that the conformation of

networks and alliances among African slaves in the USA explains why they

reached higher survival rates compared with their counterparts in the Caribbean

and South America (Gutman, 1976; cited in Wolf, 1982, p. 281). In the case of

the Wayu it is likely that conflicts between them and other indigenous societies

in the Amazonian region caused their migration to the north in the second half of

the fifteenth century. This suggests that they made a journey from the

southernmost toward the northernmost part of the territory currently occupied byColombia, which must have been possible only through the establishment of

alliances with other indigenous groups. Their arrival to the dry Guajira Peninsula

must have coincided with the advent of the Spaniards, from whom the Wayu

adopted cattle herding. It must have been difficult, if not impossible, for the

Wayu to settle in the arid Peninsula without the economic subsistence that cattle

provided. In this sense the Spanish influence introduced elements that marked the

Wayu history in the post-conquest period up to the present; paraphrasing Wolfs

words: the Wayu history is part of the history of the European expansion itself

(Wolf, 1982).

The Wayu were hunters and gathers during pre-colonial times. Fishing,

and some agriculture complemented their economic and social universe during

this period (Goulet, 1981, p. 3; cited in Gmez, 1988). The Wayu are well

known for their tenacity and strong disposition to defend their culture and values;

and the Spaniards did not settle in their territory,12but influenced their economic

system in significant ways. As Ardila notes, less than thirty years after the

beginning of the European conquest, the Wayu became pastoralists, adopted

different agricultural products as the baseof their subsistence, and acquired

countless cultural elements of European and African origin. These practices still

exist today where goat breeding represents one of the main occupations among


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Wayu men, for example. In fact, goat meat is an important component of the

daily diet.

La Guajira Peninsula, measuring about 15,000 square kilometers, hastremendous

climatic and ecological diversity from green forests in the relatively high areas in the

south (also called the low Guajira), to the dry deserts of the low regions in the north

(also called the high Guajira). The extremely arid conditions and constant droughts in

the high Guajira partiallyexplain the migrations that the Wayu make yearly to the

lowlands in search of fertile soils and water. Even in the low Guajira there are only two

small rivers. Due to these conditions the high Guajira is the region with the driest climate

and the most arid soil in Colombiacharacteristics that make agriculture very difficult

with the technology available.13 The Guajira, which historically has been one of the

poorest regions in Colombia and Venezuela,14in terms of income and access to basicservices, contains a high proportion of the Wayu population. In fact the Wayu living

in rural areas also consider themselves as poor.15 In recent years, with the beginning of

the largest mining project inColombia, the coal project of El Cerrejn, and the gas and

salt extractions, the Peninsula acquired economic strategic importance for national and

international corporations (Prez, 1990, p. 25).

Geographically, the Wayu mythological origin is located in the high Guajira,

particularly in an area where the present-day small town of Nazareth is situated.16

Nazareth is probably the largest settlement in the high Guajira. It has a hospital, a

catholic and several protestant churches, an electrical plant, and two schools, including

the Nazareth Catholic Boarding School. The Capuchins created the boarding school to

introduce the Wayu children into the Christian faith. The Capuchin nuns who currently

manage it pay special attention to the teaching of craft making, their technical aspects and

cultural meaning. In fact, several renowned artisans in the Guajira have learned in the

boarding schools. To the south of Nazareth are the Makuira Mountains. The green

vegetation of the Mountains and the existence of small rivers of clean water make a clear

contrast with the surrounding desert environment. According to the Wayu mythology it

was in the Makuira where the spider taught the first woman artisan the art of weaving.


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LIVING CONDITIONS

There are substantial differences in living conditions between the Wayu who live

in urban areas and those who live in rural areas. In the former, for example, the Wayu

experience different degrees of acculturation. Some of the women have abandoned the

manta, or traditional female dress. The male traditional dress was abandoned at least

twenty years ago. Generally, teenagers do not speak Wayuunaiki any more. In the cities

the houses of Wayu families are generally built with cement and bricks, they have

electronic devices, such as televisions, radios, microwaves, refrigerators, toasters, etc.,

and they usually buy supplies in supermarkets or grocery stores. Also in urban areas

Wayu parents send their children to schools and colleges in cities like Riohacha,

Valledupar, Bogot, Barranquilla, or Cartagena. In the rural areas it is a different story.The rancherasdo not have electricity, and there is no running water; in fact, in some

cases women need to walk for hours to the closest well. The diet consists of chicha(a

cold beverage made of corn), mazamorra (a hot beverage made of corn and milk), arepa

(a type of tortilla), rice, and sometimes goat meat. The lack of a diet rich in vitamins and

its excessive cholesterol explain the common health problems even among the young

population and malnutrition among children. The High Guajira region, along with

Ecuadors Carchi, and Panamas Darien, are the regions with the lowest human

development indicators in Central and South America (UNICEF, 2005). Although

children in the rancherasattend school, their parents are usually illiterate and do not

speak Spanish. Access to some rancherasis also difficult. People walk, sometimes

women ride mules, and men in a few cases use bicycles.17 A situation that aggravates the

difficult conditions in the rural areas is the large size of Wayu families; it is not

surprising to find families of twelve children. In fact,Wayu society is partially

polygamous, some men caciques have forty to fifty children. Polygamy, which has a

mythological explanation (see Perrin, 1987), is not frequently practiced these days, and it

is more prevalent in the high Guajira.18


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CRAFTS

Weaving and crocheting are the main expressions of Wayu crafts. According to

Artesanas de Colombia, the public office in charge of promoting development in the

craft sector, around sixty five percent of the artisans in the Guajira weave and crochet.19

In earlier times, until the mid twentieth century, Wayu crafts were made for utilitarian

purposes or self-consumption. The market trends and the introduction of industrial

thread foster craft making as an activity to produce for others. Women artisans begin

weaving at an early age, some of them when they are six or seven years old. They

usually learn from their mother or sisters in the household, and in some cases they pay to

learn. But generally the household becomes a sort of silent school where children learn

from their parents examples. In other words, since the early years children develop, so tospeak, real expectations about their practical occupations in life.

The importance of crafts in a womans life increases during the seclusion process

that constitutes her initiation, or rite of passage. In seclusion, a girl learns how to weave

and crochet and many improve their skills and excel as artisans. This process used to last

as long as one year, during which time the girl interacted only with her mother, her aunt,

or/and her grandmother. Nowadays however the seclusionis notpracticed as before. In

the past there were only a few women that attended school; now Wayu parents put more

value on their childrens formal education, and the time a girl used to devote to seclusion

is currently dedicated to attending school. Today seclusions last only a few days,

sometimes a week, and only in rare occasions does it lasts several months.

Usually Wayu woman make hammocks and bags. Men, on the other hand, make

guaireas (traditional shoes), hats, and bracelets. There are three types of hammocks:

simple ones (chinchorro sencillo, chinchorro de tripa), and doubled-faced. The prices

vary significantly depending on the quality and place of sale. The bags also have different

prices depending on the location of their making, their size, and their quality (see Tables

1 and2). These figures can be put in perspective byconsidering that the minimum wage

in Colombia is approximately 381,000 CP, or US$191 a month.


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Table 1. Chinchorros or hammocks:Average prices in US$, production time, and

approximate profits.

Chinchorros,

average prices

Average time

to finish

Approximate Range

Monthly ProfitSimple 75 150 1 month 41 116

De Tripa 125 200 1 month 91 166

Double-Faced 350 700 3 months 105 222 Includes the cost of labor and assumes a price of US$7.5 for one kg. of thread.It takes approximately 4.5 kg. to make a chinchorro.

Table 2. Mochilasor bags: Average prices in US$, production time, and approximate

profits.

Mochilas,average prices

Average timeto finish

Approximate Range ofMonthly Profit

Small 10 - 15. 2 days 66 140

Medium 15 25 4 days 52 122

Big 30 80 1 week 75 275 Includes the cost of labor and assumes a price of US$7.5 for one kg. of thread. It takesapproximately 1.5 kg. to make a big mochila, 1 kg. for a medium one, and 0.75 kg. for a

small one.

THEINFLUENCEOFMARKETS

The poor living conditions of the Wayu, and their subsequent need to sell, help

explain why artisans modify their traditional designs to make their products more

attractive to bothWayu and non-Wayu costumers. In fact, the Wayu artisans, and

mainly the leaders, behave strategically. They know very well their target markets anddesign their products taking into account the preferences of each market. For example, in

the case of bags, the combinations of darkor lightcolors are used for the non-Wayu

market; and combinations of more intense (even fluorescent) colors are commonly used

for the Wayu market (seeFig. 1), these however are not rules carved in stone. In their


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efforts to sell and subsist some artisans substitute western logos and brands(Tommy,

Guess, and Coca Cola, among others) for their traditional geometric designs, (see Fig. 2).

This trend is stronger in the high Guajira, and is also observed in traditional shoes. An

artisan who makes traditional shoes noted that whiteconsumers buy Wayu designs,

and Wayu consumers buy designs with western brands.

Fig. 1. The mochila on the left has colors that Wayu consumers like; the one on the

right has colors for non-Wayu consumers.

Fig. 2. Wayu mochila with a non-Wayu design.


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NORTH-SOUTH MIGRATION: CLIMATE AND CONFLICT

The Wayu crafts originated in the high Guajira, specifically in the Nazareth area.

The south of thepeninsula, on the other hand, has become Wayu territory due to

constant migrations and movements of families looking for more favorable climatic

conditions, access to goods and services, and job opportunities. The high Guajira is a

remote region, very poor, mostly rural, and of difficult access, especially during the rainy

season. Another reason for the constant migrations from the north isconflicts between

different families, or among the members of the same family.20 Regarding conflict

resolution, the Wayu, mostly in rural areas, but also in urban areas to a lesser extent, do

not depend on the Colombian police, instead they use an institutional mechanism to solveconflicts based on direct compensationthrough apalabrero or mediator. When this

system is not effective, or it is not used, families take revenge. Vengeances can cause a

chain of deaths that in some cases exterminate entire families in wars that can last several

years. Therefore, to escape from wars, families in conflict sometimes move to the low

Guajira and to Maracaibo, Venezuela.

The craft situation in the north reflects an important problem: the lack of demand

and commercialization, which reinforces the migration trend. Regarding this trend, one

of the most prestigious artisans from the north said: I used to have approximately one

hundred artisans [working for me]. Nowadays I have only sixty-five. They are leaving

for Maracaibo, Venezuela. Sometimes I dont have money to buy materials and they

leave [] this is understandable.21

MAIN ECONOMIC PROBLEMS

The main problems Wayu artisans face are related to the lack of sales. The

commercialization of crafts in the rural Guajira is mainly an informal economic activity.

Artisans usually sell to friends and people they know. In other words, the crafts

commerce is based on personal exchange. One view of economic development claims

that the key for development is not only personal exchange but impersonal exchange as


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well(North, 1989; 1990; Grabowski, 1999). Although personal exchange, it has been

argued, is the default monde of economic behavior (McCabe, 2003, p. 66; Smith, 1998, p.

11)22, both personal and impersonal exchange are necessary for human betterment

(Smith, 2004, p. 12; but see Sahlins, 1972, and Polanyi, 1968, for a different view).23

This means that while Wayu artisans keep selling only to friends or acquaintances their

small businesses will not grow. It is therefore the lack of impersonal exchange, or lack of

extended commercialization, that is the main problem faced by Wayu artisans. This was

an observation but also a situation that they explained once and again, which indicates

that they value commercialization because it provides monetary income. Below I explain

the reasons for the lack of commercialization.

How Have Other Artisans Solved Commercialization Problems?

The lack of sales is not an exclusive problem of the Wayu artisans. In fact, the

general issue concerns the majority of indigenous artisans in both developed and

underdeveloped countries. There are, however, some exceptional cases that help to put in

perspective the Wayu problem: artisans of Otavalo, Ecuador, indigenous Nahuas of

southern Mxico (Cowen, 2005; Good, 1988), and West African artisans and merchants

in The United States (Stoller, 2002). These examples are successful because high sales

not only have improved artisans living standards, but have also fostered their culture. It

is important to emphasize that in these cases social networks emerged endogenously; in

other terms, artisans organized themselves.24

Why did these cases succeed? The three of them have a common denominator:

the existence of social and business networks among artisans. Indeed, artisans unite to

commercialize their products and to buy raw materials. This allows them to reach distant

markets where buyers consider the products more exotic. Also, social networks have

been instrumental for themin being able to pay less for raw materials. When there are

social networks, artisans can save transportation costs because a few people can sell in

distant cities the crafts that belong to an extended group of artisans. The more integrated

the social structure the more likely that exchange across great distance and time can be

carried out in an impersonal manner (Grabowski, 1999). This is due to the fact that


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isolated groups of individuals are likely to lack the economic, political, and social

resources necessary to carry out viable economic activities (ibid.). Additionally, social

networks save time and effort by allowing artisans to sell in strategic locations while

others dedicate themselves to creation and innovation. Networks are the channels

through which patrons seek potential markets and advertise crafts from developing

countries to international buyers. In one of the above examples, global marketing

networks have been instrumental in the proliferation of certain West African crafts in the

United States and Western Europe (Stoller, 2002). When social networks exist,

economies of scale emerge. This means that artisans working together work faster and

improve quality by competing and cooperating with each other, and this at the same time

leads to greater trust, confidence and capacity to innovate (Pretty & Ward, 2001, p. 214).

The Impressionist painters illustrate the importance of social capital in artisticcreation. Indeed, Impressionists established a group that shared common features and

rebelled against the existing cultural trends of the time (classicism, romanticism, and

realism). Part of their success has been attributed to the synergies that emerged from

their close collaboration (Farrell, 2001). In fact, Impressionist painters took advantage of

their peers ideas and incorporated them into each others work. They built on those

ideas to create new ones, generating increased creativity and productivity. In this sense,

creative networks cooperate. Competition was a second force that contributed to the

increase of ideas and productivity among Impressionist painters. Professional

competition motivated impressionists to look for new ways and ideas, as well as to work

harder to improve their techniques and knowledge.

Collaboration and competition do not exist when artisans work in isolation. With

some exceptions, it takes longer for lone artisans to fully develop their talents.

Collaborative circles usually go beyond mere acts of creation and consist of groups of

friends who share cultural and social values (ibid.).

Social and Commercialization Networks Among Wayu Artisans

The need of commercial networks does not exist in a vacuum; they are necessary

because of objective or exogenous circumstances. Networks have been essential in the


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fostering of commerce in inhospitable areas and conditions; commercial links in West

Africa, for example, furnished the trans-Saharan trade in the fifteenth century (Wolf,

1982, pp. 37-41). For the Wayu, the existence of networks is important due to elements

such as the long geographic distance to markets especially from the high Guajira.

Unfortunately, social and commercialization links among Wayu artisans are weak, and

in some cases non-existent. This is so particularly regarding extra-family links. The few

Wayu artisans who have experienced weaving together say that they finish their crafts

faster, and they like very much that they can talk and learn from each other. 25 In terms of

commercialization, the few Wayu who travel to cities such as Barranquilla, Bogot,

Bucaramanga, Medellin, and others mention that sales are good, which suggest that

demand do exists in this urban centers. The market is very competitive in Maracaibo and

prices of crafts tend to be homogenous in the main selling areas, for example a simplehammock is around US$150, and intermediaries usually buy products available for that

price, which leaves around US$115 for rural artisans to cover family expenses, labor, and

transportation costs.

Production and commercialization in the rural Guajira is mainly a household

activity, and in several cases it is an individual activity. A community leader illustrated

this point: [w]e have the problem of organization, everybody is doing her own thing.26

In fact, only 7 out of 100 artisans in the Guajira belong to some type of organization. 27

This limits the selling capacity and impedes the evolution of scale economies. It is costly

and difficult for an individual artisan to produce and travel separately to sell her products

and buy cheaper materials in distant cities. One kg. of thread costs 25,000 CP in

Nazareth (approximately US$12), but it costs only 15,000 CP (US$7), in the southern

city of Maicao. Assuming a competitive price of 150,000 CP (US$75) for a simple

hammock, and given that it takes 4.5 kg. of thread to make it, an artisan will make a

profit of nineteen dollars if she buys the thread in Nazareth, and around forty dollars if

she buys the thread in Maicao, not including the cost of labor and transportation.

Therefore, without social networks the transportation costs and the time to sell in other

cities become prohibitive; consequentially, the selling points are close to the location of

production.28


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Considering that the clusters of commercialization are essential for the economic

and aesthetic success of Colombian crafts, the governmental office Artesanas de

Colombia has worked steadily in the generation of productive chains in la Guajira, and

other regions of the country. My fieldwork suggests, however, little evidence of the

existence of productive chains in the rural areas. If we consider that networks and social

links are necessary and/or sufficient conditions for the success in craft commercialization,

as suggested by the cases of Ecuador, southern Mexico, and West African merchants in

the USA, then their absencepartiallyexplains the problem of Wayu artisans, and their

deprived living conditions. The question of why these networkshave not emerged is

complex, but it is possible that the answer is related to the Wayu social and legal

structure.

Lack of Trust and Low Social Capital

Trust is a fundamental element for the emergence and maintenance of social

networks among the members of a community, and according to our analysis social

networks are also necessary for the emergence of impersonal exchange. Impersonal

exchange, on the other hand, can be supported if each member of the society is a member

of a community that can establish an intra-community contract enforcement institution

and the individuals community affiliation is commonly known (Greif, 2001). Some

Wayu artisans have had negative experiences regarding trust and reciprocity. In several

occasions materials were not bought and the money was not retuned, or the money from

sales was not returnedeither. A part time artisan, who is also a nurse, mentioned that her

mother does not trust other artisans: My mother had a bad experience in the past, she

said. She gave six bags to a friend to sell in Maracaibo, but we never heard from her

again.29 Obviously, these experiences deteriorate trust and reciprocity because artisans

do not want to take the risk of loosing their scarce capital in subsequent interactions. In

fact, if we consider that most of the transactions are on credit, in a framework of low

trust, it is not surprising that artisans prefer to sell only to friends and acquaintances

otherwise they take the high risk of loosing their money. In the case of the few

workshops in the Guajira, eighty percent of them produce only when they have orders. 30


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This problem suggests that policies devised for the improvement of the Wayu living

conditions should target the formation and consolidation of trust and social capital.

It isplausible that some Wayu artisans in rural areas do not know the network

model that seemsto beso obvious. On the other hand, there are reasons to believe that

Wayu do haveexperience in working together. In fact, although it is not very frequently

used nowadays, theyanama model, or communitarian work, is used for different tasks

such as the building of rancherias, wells, or in agricultural work.

Low Trust Explained by the Wayu Social and Legal Structure

To understand the lack of trust among artisans in the Guajira it is necessary to

consider the Wayu social and legal structure. The Wayu possess a matrilineal societyand the social structure is based on the maternal family. It is through the mother that the

clan denomination is passed on. The maternal uncles are fundamental in the education of

their nephews and nieces, and in several cases they have more influence than the father.

For example, if for some reason the compensation mechanism does not work, the

offended family (the maternal family) usually takes revenge not only against the direct

offender but also against any of his relatives in the maternal side, although vengeances do

not generally harm women. In this manner, the legal Wayu system is not based on

personal responsibility, as are most western legal systems, but on the collective

responsibility of the maternal family.31

In addition, historically, the Wayu society is very sensitive toward offenses. In

past centuries, for example, certain attitudes that would have been considered ordinary by

other societies were serious matters among the Wayu. For instance, some actions such

as turning the back on a person or asking for the name or personal information of a dead

relative were considered harmful because they caused emotional pain. The offended side

had the right to ask for compensation.32 The Wayu pay the compensations with goats,

necklaces, and cash, among other things. Besides its purpose to rescind harm (and not

without some exceptions), Wayu currently use the compensation as a way to get

material resources and may take advantage of every single opportunity. Therefore, the


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Wayu are very careful about their social interactions because the minor frictions,

discussions, and arguments, can lead to demands for compensation.33

The legal and social structures have implications in the way the Wayu behave

toward their neighbors, and the way members of relatively homogenous groups, such as

artisans, interact with each other. More specifically, it is possible that artisans are so

careful about their social interactions that they avoid being involved in many social

networks. Besides, social networks are highly unlikely to emerge among artisans who

belong to families in conflict.34 An argument between two artisans that happened in a

cultural encounter between an NGO and different artisans helps to illustrate this point.

The disagreement was due to misinformation about the purpose of the meeting. The

dispute between the two artisans reached a point where I thought the event would end.

Fortunately another artisan addressed the audience in Wayuunaiki and calmed thesituation. Afterwards I found out that there had been a conflict between the families of

the two artisans who were arguing. In fact, one artisans son had killed the other artisans

brother.

On the other hand, the emphasis on collective rather than on individual

responsibility, in a context where personal exchanges prevail, generates incentives for

cheating in production and business interactions, which impedes the emergence of

sustained cooperation. Indeed, it is possible that social links are weak among the Wayu

because when an artisan receives money to buy materials, or merchandise for sale in

other cities, she has a low incentive to comply with her duty because the consequences

might not fall on her but on any member of her maternal family. A system of

cooperatives, which performs better in collective responsibility environments, and which

usually creates and consolidates social networks, is a plausible mechanism for

contributing to the generation of extra-family social networks and commercial links

among the Wayu. However, as suggested by the successful cases, it is desirable that

such a system emerges from the artisans own initiative. For this to happen it is

necessary that the artisans learn the benefits that come out of the cooperation with their

peers in such a way that they consider themselves owners of the cooperative project.

Therefore, the role of NGOs and the government should be that of showing artisans the

high social and economic benefit of networks. Artisans should accept and recognize that


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the benefits of working together exceed the costs of doing it. There are some illustrative

cases of the positive role of cooperatives creating trust and economic improvement. For

example, Milgram (2005) describes a case of artisans in Banaue, Ifagao, Philippines. A

cooperative led by the artisans themselves, and based on church links and pre-existing

relationships established through reciprocal labor exchanges, was instrumental in

reaching markets and NGOs. The cooperative also allowed artisans to travel to sell in

distant cities.

CONCLUSION

Wayu crafts are instrumental in the maintenance of their cultural heritage.

Despite the difficult conditions of poverty and relative isolation, artisans do notstopweaving and crocheting. Most of them want their children to become artisans; but the

traditional meaning of the Wayu crafts is vanishing, especially in the low Guajira, where

artisans do notseem to know the meaning and origin of the traditional symbols or

kannas. The Wayu cosmology and culture are experiencing interesting mutations, such

as occidental designs included in traditional products. This shows how the market is

transforming their cultural expressions. On the other hand, artisans want better lives, and

higher incomes to build better houses, buy a bicycle, and also decent clothes. In other

words, the perceptions of development among the Wayu women coincide with western

perceptions of development. For the Wayu this raises the difficult dilemma that

indigenous peoples of the world face: finding away to improve their living conditions

while maintaining at the same time the traditions that link them with their ancestors.

Regarding economic development, the social and legal structures of the Wayu

society might be obstructing the formation of social networks through their negative

effect over social capital. If the Wayu want their crafts to continue as a cultural

manifestation that can also improve their socio-economic condition, it is necessary for the

artisans to acknowledge the advantages of cooperation and the conformation of social and

business networks. In the case of the Wayu society this process should not be

implemented in a top-down manner.


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From this analysis old grand questions emerge: What would be an adequate legal

system that supports impersonal exchange among the Wayu? Can the current system be

modified so that the formation of networks is facilitated? Will a new institutional system

emerge spontaneously, or will an external influence (of the Colombian State, for

example) arise, as suggested by Platteau (1994)? Is the current body of rules and

institutions the best attainable scenario given the Wayu history, current geographic

circumstances, and the cost of change (Hayek, 1945; 1978)?

NOTES

1. The concept of tradition has been questioned by anthropologists like JudithFriedlander (1975) who claims that to be Indian in Hueyapan (Mexico) is to havea negative identity which refers to what indigenous people do not have vis--visnon-indigenous people.

2. For illustrations of the benefits of social capital manifested in groups see (Pretty& Ward, 2001).

3. A chinchorro is the common name Colombians give to a hand weaved hammock.In Wayuunaiki, the language of the Wayu people, chinchorro issui equivalent

to oulaa whichcomes from achounlaa, meaning uterus. Therefore oulaa is thebabys chinchorrowhile she stays in her mothers uterus. When a child is bornshe has to also have an actual chinchorro. Old Wayu used to be buried in achinchorro, too. According to these mythological symbols a Wayu spends mostof his or her life, and death, in a chinchorro.

4. Strictly speaking there is no Wayu village (Perrin, 1987, p. xiv). A rancherais a traditional Wayu house for a family unit.

5.

In 1993 (the year of the last national census) after goat breeding, craft productionrepresented the second most important economic activity among the Wayu,

employing almost 18% of the economically active population. Pastoral activitiesand crafts combined employed 55% (DANE, 1993).

6. The Guajira Peninsula is usually divided between high and low Guajira, whichresponds to the differences in the geologic and climatic conditions between thetwo areas.

7. Interview CA20.


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8. Interview CA8-PT.

9. For reviews of this literature see Smith (1974), OLaughlin (1975), Nash (1981),Nugent (1988), Kahn (1985), and Roseberry (1988), just to suggest a few.

10.Although some economists argue that in some instances the market promotescultural diversity (Cowen, 2002; 2005; 2006).

11.Repblica de Colombia: Departamento Administrativo Nacional de Estadstica(DANE) (1992).

12.In spite of several Spanish attempts at conquest, the Wayu remained outside ofHispanic dominance. Besides, the inexistence of precious stones, metals, etc.(with the exception of pearls), contributed to an absence of Spanish settlements inthe Guajira (Ardila, 1996, p. 35).

13.Information taken from Perez (1990).

14.High childhood mortality rates are presented by NGOs working in rancheriasinthe high Guajira, see for example http://www.wayuutaya.com/.

15.Interestingly this situation contrasts with my experience in the ColombianAmazon where indigenous Ticuna consider themselves well-off when my firstimpression was that they were poor.

16.In Wayuunaiki the region is calledIshoulu (land of cardinals).

17.

Bicycles according to some Wayu are better than mules. Bicycles, they say arecheaper and convenient, they dont get tired, dont drink water, and dont get lostin the bush.

18.The French anthropologist Michel Perrin, who did his fieldwork among theWayu during the late 1960s, explains that one Wayu men out of five practicedpolygyny at that time.

19.Ministerio de Desarrollo Econmico: Artesanas de Colombia S. A. (1998).

20.

The Wayu society is organized in matrilineal, nonexogamous clans, each ofthem associated with a totemic animal.

21.

Interview IA24.

22.Leeson (forthcoming) offers an alternative explanation.

23.Economists however are not sure about how the transition occurs (McCabe, 2003).


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24.Greif (2001) presents another historical example of how community linksemerged from the bottom in pre-modern Europe.

25.Interview IA21-T.

26.Interview CA14. A Wayu woman who works for the government even said:The association doesnt go with our culture. Field notes: October 2, 2005.

27.Ministerio de Desarrollo Econmico: Artesanas de Colombia S. A (1998, pp.219-221).

28.In the Guajira almost ninety percent of the craft selling points are located in thesame municipality where the workshops are located (ibid., p. 250).

29.

Field notes, September 22, 2005.

30.Ministerio de Desarrollo Econmico: Artesanas de Colombia S. A (1998, p. 255).

31.A Venezuelan organization produced a video to show and explain the Wayuculture. The video describes a woman visiting her family and friends asking forcontributions to pay compensation for a crime a relative committed. The processis narrated by young Wayu women who openly say [f]or us individualresponsibility doesnt exist.

32.

See Candelier (1994), who did ethnographic work in the Guajira in the late 19 thcentury.

33.

A local leader in Nazareth said: [i]t is very difficult to deal with Wayu people,if something happens they look for a little thing to send the word. To send theword putchi means to send thepalabraro or mediator to ask for compensation.On the other hand, the same leader indicated that their justice system has beenessential for the survival of the Wayu people. Field notes, September 25, 2005.

34.It is possible that an imposed attempt will create a social network that includesartisans who belong to families in conflict.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I acknowledge the help and collaboration of the Wayu people; especially of Rafael and

Irma Iguarn in Nazareth; Maritza Gonzlez in Maicao; and of Aura Robles and her


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husband Armando, who as good parents provide me a cordial family environment in

Barrancas. I also acknowledge financial support from Francisco Marroqun University in

Guatemala, and logistic support of Aid to Artisans, Colombia. I also thank Tyler Cowen

for his advices, and Michele Greet, Carrie Meyer, Jon Rundle, Pedro Romero, and Phyllis

Puffer for their comments; and especially to Donald Wood and one anonymous referee

for extensive and valuable comments. I retain responsibility for any errors.

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