"Buscando vida.,.": Hacia una teoría Aymara de la división del trabajo for género

Abstract

The purpose of this study is ta describe and explain how the Ay mura population of the highlands of Northern Chile conceptualise and practice a division of labour by gender. I intend to analyze the relationship established by women and men in the home, and interpret the Aymara theory concerning the division of labour and sexual differentiation. By describing and analyzing the distribution and evaluation of labour among the different Aymara social categories in the life cvcle of household members, I assert that exchange relationships generate social inequalities rather than egalitarian interchange. These inequalities acquire particular characteristics as a consequence of the insertion of peasant communities in the regional socio-economic structure, as well as of the gender ideology that constitutes part of the reproductive practices of the Aymara community.