Tinku (Bolivia)
- Name of sport (game): Tinku
- Place of practice (continent, state, nation):
Bolivia (Norte Potosi, especially in the town of Macha)
- History:
An age-old tradition with roots in the heart of the Bolivian Andes, the Tinku is a ceremonial fight practiced in honor of the mother earth: the pachamama.
The fight sees people of similar physiology confronting each other; resembling boxing, there are no rules governing the Tinku. The absence of a framework explains the degree of violence and the tragic endings that mar the ceremonial fight.
The blood that flows during the fights is used as an offering to the pachamama, which, according to the beliefs, will give fertility to the women, a good harvest or peace in the village.
The origin of this phenomenon stems from the Potosi region, and dates back to the Spanish conquest when the indigenous population of Potosi met the uninvited guests with fists and stones and hence comes the name "tinku" meaning " the violent encounter." This ritual-like combat is particularly vivid in the town of Macha. - Description:
The Tinku, a word that in Quechua means “encounter” and in the local Aymara dialect “physical attack,” is celebrated in certain Quechua towns in May as a traditional way of resolving problems, rather than allowing them to fester.
The fight sees people of similar physiology confronting each other; resembling boxing, there are no rules governing the Tinku. The absence of a framework explains the degree of violence and the tragic endings that mar the ceremonial fight. The injuries still do occur despite all the rules, precautions, and the presence of police and authorities. The action begins with men and women dancing to warlike motifs, and gradually men become encircled by women, and that is where tinku begins. Supposedly nowadays violent street fighting helps hard-working people to unwind and truly let all their anger out once a year, and participation in the "tinku" ritual is considered a sign of true bravery. These street wars break out suddenly, and likewise quickly wind down.
During the actual fight, men sometimes hold stones in their hands to make their blows more powerful, or throw them at their opponents. Slings and whips are also used, although not as often as hand-to-hand combat. Tinkus usually last two to three days. The last day of the fight is considered the most brutal. - Current status:
Practiced.
Each year, it is reenacted during the Festival de la Cruz, featuring around 3,000 brave participants, typically wearing splendid colourful costumes and leather helmet-like hats to prevent fatal outcomes.
- Sources of information :
Books:
Arrueta H., Walter. El Tinku. En: Anales de la Reunión annual de etnología. Museo nacional de etnografía y folklore. MUSEF, La Paz, 1987
Corso Cruz, Cristobal. Calendario folklórico y religioso de Potosí. En: Anales de la Reunión annual de etnología. Museo nacional de etnografía y folklore. MUSEF, La Paz, 1990
Fernández D., Francisca, Significado del Tinku, Centro de Extensión del Senado de la República, Santiago de Chile. 2015
Marquez Contreras, Juan Carlos. Vargas Mercado, Oscar Pablo. Tinku: Espacio de encuentro y desencuentro. En: Anales de la Reunión Annual de Etnología, MUSEF, La Paz, 2005
Mendizábal Nuñez, René et al. El Tinku en Macha : Violencia ritual y violencia represiva. Cuadernos de investigación 5. CEPA, Oruro, 1996
Ordoñez Oporto, Luis et al. Primer Simposio Nacional Sobre Revalorización Cultural del Tinku. La Paz, Prod. CIMA, um 2003
Urrea Bustamante, Fernanda. El tinku como fenómeno y sus manifestaciones duales-antagónicas: Representación y continuidad simbólica del dualismo andino. Diplomarbeit. Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso. Facultad de Filosofía y Educación. Instituto de Música. Valparaíso, 2004Articles:
https://pachakamani.com/blog/fiesta-de-la-cruz-boletin/
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/bolivias-andes-indigenous-quechua-settle-disputes-ritual-dance-hand-ha-rcna151077
https://www.bigbeaverdiaries.com/tinku-festival-fighting-macha-bolivia-part-2-fights/
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/picturegalleries/howaboutthat/12150440/Bolivian-men-and-women-in-violent-harvest-festival-punch-up-in-pictures.html
https://jornada.com.bo/unas-gotas-de-sangre-riegan-la-madre-tierra-en-el-rito-milenario-del-tinku/
Baumann, Max Peter. Tinku – zur Fiesta der Begegnung in der Dynamik von Ordnung und Chaos. In: ¡Atención!, Jahrbuch des Österreichischen Lateinamerika-Instituts. Band. 2: Von der realen Magie zum Magischen Realismus. Weltbild und Gesellschaft in Lateinamerika. Hrsg.: Mader, Elke. Dabringer, Maria. Frankfurt, 1999
Fernández Juárez, Gerardo. Tinku y Taypi: Dos recursos culinarios pertinentes en las ofrendas aymaras a la Pachamama. In: ANTHROPOLOGICA. 11. Jahrgang, Nr. 11. Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú. Departamento de Ciencias Sociales. Lima, 1994
La Ojhot’a, Periódico del Norte Potosí, La fiesta de la cruz un rito ancestral, en La Ojhot’a, Periódico del Norte Potosí, 2008
Laurentiis, Michele de, Apuntes para una investigación política del tinku. Etnografía del ciclo ritual de la Virgen del Rosario de Aymaya-Norte de Potosí, en Anales de la Reunión Anual de Etnología. Tomo II. La Paz XXV, Museo Nacional de Etnografía y Folklore, La Paz, Bolivia, pp. 191- 203, 2011
Medina Portilla, Facundo y Sebastián Cohen, El tinku: escenario cultural de la violencia ritualizada, ponencia presentada al IX Congreso Argentino de Antropología Social, Facultad de Humanidades y Ciencias Sociales, Universidad Nacional de Misiones, Posadas. 2008
Platt, Tristan. Conciencia andina y conciencia proletaria. Qhuyaruna y ayllu en el norte de Potosí. In: HISLA. Revista Latinoamericana de Historia Económica y Social. Band 2. Hrsg.: Bonilla, Heraclio. Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú. Instituto de Estudios Peruanos, Lima, 1983
Platt, Tristan, Un archivo campesino como ‘acontecimiento de terreno: Los nuevos papeles del curaca de Macha (Alasaya), Potosí, en Americanía. Revista de Estudios Latinoamericanos de la Universidad Pablo de Olavide de Sevilla, nueva época, núm. 2, pp. 158-185, 2015
Rodríguez Rodríguez, L. I., Tinku, los guerreros del Tata Wilakruz. Ciclo agrícola y celebración de la Cruz en Macha, Potosí. Alteridades, 33(65), 2023Photos:
https://www.francescoalesi.com/story/story-tinku-traditional-fighting-in-bolivia/Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s33rXiyQaro
https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=jAN2atmsoF0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2GgC-Oa5xIE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6aVa_RrJ164Source of photos used in this article and gallery:
https://www.lostiempos.com/actualidad/cultura/20131029/tinku-lucha-donde-vale-todo
https://vault.si.com/vault/1987/10/05/fiesta-town-ghosts
https://elpais.bo/nacional/20230506_la-fiesta-de-la-cruz-y-el-tinku-en-bolivia-un-enigmatico-encuentro-de-fuerzas-en-honor-a-la-madre-tierra.html
https://adolfomendozaleigue.blogspot.com/2012/03/el-tinku-fue-declarado-patrimonio.html
https://alteridades.izt.uam.mx/index.php/Alte/article/view/1336 - Gallery:
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