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| Figure 1: Combatants shaking hands before beginning their ritualized Takanakuy combat (Image Credit: N. Villaume) |
December is a time where cultural groups around the world come together to celebrate a variety of customs and traditions. These can range in purpose from celebrating a religious deity (e.g., Advent or Yule), reinforcing cultural values and beliefs (e.g., Kwanzaa or Hanukkah) or appropriate behaviors (e.g., the Yule cat or Krampus), or simply bring communities together in celebration (e.g., Mummering). The diversity of December holiday traditions is great, and today’s blog post will feature one more December, specifically Christmas day, tradition: the annual ritualized violence of Takanakuy, observed in Peru.
Takanakuy is an annual ritual fight observed on December 25 in the Chumbivilcas province of southern Peru. The term is a Quechua word that means “to hit each other,” which both accurately and succinctly captures what the event is about-to fight. The purpose of the Takanakuy custom is for participants to pre-plan and execute a public fight between willing combatants. These fights can come about from personal or family squabbles or more serious matters, such as contract violations or other legal matters. Anyone, regardless of age or gender, can engage in these fights. Combatants agree to fight ahead of time, and they alter their appearance by wearing masks and costumes as well as change the pitch of their voice to avoid saboteurs from interrupting or disrupting their conflict (Figure 1). Upon entering the fighting area, which is typically a public town square or gathering place, combatants shake hands or embrace, fight for five to ten minutes with just their hands (no weapons are allowed, and there are strict rules of combat that must be adhered to). Referees, selected from local villages by the majority of townspeople, strictly supervise the fighters and manage the crowds. Upon completion of the combat both fighters embrace, and the entire community comes together to celebrate together. The largest gatherings of hand to hand combats occur in the village of Santos Tomás, but smaller versions of the Takanakuy do take place in various villages and residential areas throughout the Chumbivilcas province.
The Takanakuy’s purpose is not just to fight but to act as a mechanism of conflict resolution. Individuals who engage in the hand-to-hand combat also agree to resolve any and all differences within the fighting area. Regardless of who “wins” the fight the conflict is considered fully resolved at the cessation of the fight, and both parties are not to speak of the issue that initiated the fight from then on. The public nature of the physical fights ensures that both parties adhere to these expectations and rules. If either or both were to reengage in the conflict the community members who watched the fight would intervene accordingly. Ultimately, these ritualized combats act as mechanisms of social control by allowing individuals to resolve their conflicts quickly and efficiently. By using one quick fight to resolve their issues the likelihood of the conflict never being resolved or being unnecessarily drawn out and dragging others into the mix is eliminated. This also reduces the likelihood of revenge fighting to occur since all participants and community members agree that the conflict is now fully resolved after the fight has ended.
This tradition may seem quite odd to outsiders, but it is an accepted and celebrated custom among the citizens of the Chumbivilcas province. They view it as a favorable celebration despite the fact that participants get very bloody and a few have died during the melee. It is steeped in hundreds of years of traditions, and it ultimately connects them to their traditional culture, which had been previously repressed through colonialism. Additionally, the Takanakuy is a strictly voluntary custom, as well as an effective means of conflict resolution that has many benefits not just for the participants but the community at large, making the benefits outweigh the consequences.
References
Escalante, Edwar E. and Raymond J. March. "Fighting on Christmas: brawling as self-governance in rural Peru." Journal of Institutional Economics (2019): 1-14. Electronic.
Mpannell1. "Takanakuy." 29 October 2018. Cross Cultural Psychology. 6 December 2021.
Villaume, Nicolas. "Takanakuy: Boiling Blood and Healing Wounds in Peru." Americas Quarterly 17 January 2018.
6 comments:
I found this article to be interesting. Takanakuy is also celebrated on a holiday that I too celebrate on December 25. From my understanding this holiday is where individuals engage into a brawl that is meant to cause more good than harm. These fights different in age and gender differences where individuals try to disguise themselves by dressing up in attire so they want get recognized by the public. This encounter is suppose to
represent good faith to both parties and are aided to help resolve any problems with more orderliness. After the fight has come to an end it is expected that both individuals neve intervene again and in the event of it reoccurring it would not be an acceptable outcome.These gatherings are encouraged so people can reconcile their differences and move forward with their conflicts that they have with one another. This seems to be a therapeutic way for the Chimbivilcas province to hash out any negative emotions they have against one another. This altercation can become deadly but this is a tradition that they cherish and love deeply and has done more good than harm for them. This custom has enhanced the Chumbivilcas province and has contributed to a solid foundation of its everlasting commitment to their culture.
The blog is fascinating. The Takanakuy fight and celebration are supposed to bring people together. It leads to resolving the dispute which is a good way for Chimbivilcas province to get rid of their differences and move forward as one. Despite the possibility of it going in an unwanted direction, it is cherished and celebrated which promotes culture.
I think this is an interesting tradition. It is very different from the holiday tradition that we celebrate on that same day. However, this tradition ends in peace as Christmas is peaceful. I understand that it is better to release anger rather than to bottle it up, but violence is never the answer in most cases. It is important for cultures to keep their traditions and also sort problems out in the best way they know how. Although I do not usually support any sort of violence, there is a happy ending with this tradition and people are able to mend broken relationships.
McKenzie Williams
Tyler Roe said...
This is cool. For this tradition to take place on Christmas day is even better. People who celebrate Christmas day, view it as a day to celebrate the birth of Christ or to exchange gifts. To celebrate it as a day of conflict resolution is a different custom. I know I have a lot of family members who could use "Quechua". It amazes me that family members can sit in a room together, even on holidays, and not speak. The encounters and very controlled and conflicts are considered resolved after the fight takes place. The ability for individuals to keep their anonymity is also a huge benefit.
I had never heard of Takanakutuy. It was cool the learn it is a way of conflict resolution. Very interesting.
Elaine Christopher
Although I never heard of Takanakutuy, I learned that it is a tradition that takes place on Christmas day. It is a day to celebrate conflict resolution, as opposed to Christmas being a day, we celebrate the birth of Christ and give gifts to friends and loved ones. This was really cool and fun to read and learn about.
- Jada Watkins
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