Historical Background!

Asháninca o Asháninka people is an amazonic ethnic Group  that belongs to arawak linguistic family, used to be called “antis”,“chunchos”,“chascosos”,“campas”,“thampas”,“komparias”, “kuruparias” and “campitis”.

Through the history, they have always been characterized by a great cultural pride and protective defense of their independence, freedom and land. Nevertheless, their history is full of suffering.

At the beginning of the 2oth Century, rubber exploiters killed Asháninka people and forced a great part of this population to move to inhospitable places in the rainforest. This was just a sample of what happened during the Colony.

In the middle of the 18th Century, Juan Santos Atahualpa headed an uprising of Asháninka and other native communities against Spanish missionaries and the colonial Spanish power; much earlier than Tupac Amaru.

The last episode of their tragedy and fight for survival took place in the 2oth Century, between the end of the 8º’s and the beginning of 90’s concerning Shining Path Guerrilla. It kidnapped many Asháninka families and carried them to villages which were like concentration Camps.

Children were especially chosen to be re-educated and adults worked as slaves. Asháninkas fight for freedom so they faced subversive’s firearms with traditional arches and Arrows.

Asháninkas are the largest indigenous group of the Peruvian Amazon representing the 21.89% of the total indigenous population census. Most people are young and the predominant sex is the male; being population per community is 171 people divided in houses and ages depending on the family rate.

Their houses are made of wood and sometimes palms, and most of the times are located near to the rivers so they can get their food.

Their traditional clothes are called “Cushma”, that is a piece of cloth that comes from the neck to the ankles.

The agriculture is their principal economic activity, they grow banana, maize, sweet potato, fruits, citrus, pine apple, sugar cane, beans, rice, etc.

  

The Asháninka Native Community Reserve it’s located in Cordillera of Vilcambamba, in Satipo province, in Junín department.