| Sumario: | This article describes women's reciprocal labor in a rural community in Ayacucho, Peru. While formalized practices of reciprocity have been studied for decades in Andean communities as critical to social formation there, most literature has focused on communal arrangements called upon for construction and agricultural production, meaning that reciprocity has been analyzed as a male-dominated phenomenon. However, ethnographic research with landless, single women demonstrates that their reciprocal work in childrearing and household reproduction tasks enables them to engage in a precarious labor market and take advantage of state efforts to improve their circumstances, while providing a supportive environment that many lacked in marriage. Understanding women's reciprocal work in providing for families is critical in Ayacucho, where the number of single mothers has grown, in part as a result of decades of warfare. This study presents a critical complement to traditional descriptions of ayni, analyzing Andean women's uses of reciprocal practices to thrive under difficult conditions. [Andes, class, gender, labor, Peru]
|
|---|