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Huasipungo

Jorge Icaza

3.68 · Rating details · 781 ratings · 85 reviews

Huasipungo es una pieza fundamental en el desarrollo de la narrativa indigenista andina. El indio que aparece en ella no es un indio mitico, sino un indio acosado por una naturaleza hostil y por los tradicionales abusos de los latifundistas. Junto al indio aparece el cholo, victima del blanco y verdugo del indio.

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240 pages

Published by Losada (first published 1934)

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Oct 11, 2015 Emma Deplores Goodreads Censorship rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-fiction, ecuador, world-books-challenge, op-ed-books, read-in-spanish, latin-america, 2-stars-and-a-half

This is a work of social realism/protest literature, which portrays a dire situation in intimate detail but has limited literary value. Huasipungo was originally published in 1934 (followed by substantial revisions in 1953 and 1960, aimed at making the novella more emotionally effective). It portrays the oppression of indigenous people in Ecuador, who are bound to the land, forced to work for little or no pay for rich landowners, and suffer all kinds of abuse with no recourse – the church is sho This is a work of social realism/protest literature, which portrays a dire situation in intimate detail but has limited literary value. Huasipungo was originally published in 1934 (followed by substantial revisions in 1953 and 1960, aimed at making the novella more emotionally effective). It portrays the oppression of indigenous people in Ecuador, who are bound to the land, forced to work for little or no pay for rich landowners, and suffer all kinds of abuse with no recourse – the church is shown to be complicit, with the local priest fleecing the serfs however he can, and the army ready to step in with no questions asked at any hint of rebellion. This system was apparently in effect until land reform in 1964. “Huasipungo” is the indigenous word for the parcels of land worked as subsistence farms – but only at the will of the landowner, who could remove people from their homes at any time.

The narrative begins with a landowner, Alfonso Pereira, who relocates to his property in the Andes after many years of absentee management. His goal is development, aided by foreign investors. From there, the novella is a catalog of the machinations of the powerful and the abuses suffered by the Indians. It doesn’t quite have a protagonist: Alfonso is its most prominent character, but functions as a villain, while its major indigenous character, Andres Chiliquinga, is often absent from its pages.

To the modern American reader, choosing Andres as the symbol of indigenous suffering and vehicle for the readers’ sympathies is puzzling: he beats his wife, and he’s not very bright even compared to his equally uneducated peers. Throughout the book, he is easily manipulated and shows a complete lack of forethought or ability to consider the probable consequences of his actions. This is after two revisions that, according to the introduction to my edition, were primarily aimed at making Andres a more human and sympathetic character. I can only presume that the original readers’ expectations were very different from mine.

Nevertheless, I didn’t wholly dislike this book. The writing is quite vivid, and reading it is a cultural experience. There is a lot of disembodied bystander dialogue, which gives the reader the sense of being a fly on the wall in this place and time. While a challenging read, I think it’s a valuable historical document and learned quite a bit about Ecuador.

If you do plan to read Huasipungo in Spanish, the Stockcero edition seems to be a good choice. It includes both footnotes and a glossary, which were essential to my understanding of the Quichua words that pepper the text. (Quichua, as it turns out, is not a misspelling of Quechua but a variation spoken in Ecuador.) And while a 42-page introduction seems excessive for a 168-page novella, it does include some interesting information. On the downside, the occasionally misplaced punctuation and line breaks are just sloppy. ...more

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Sep 26, 2016 Jim rated it it was amazing

Shelves: ecuador, fiction

Not since the Jungle Novels of B. Traven has there been such an indictment of the treatment of Indians by white landowners. Don Alfonso Pereira is in debt to his uncle Julio, whereupon Julio convinces him to talk his Indians into building a road so that gringos could tear down the forests and drill for oil.

Written in 1934, Huasipungo by Jorge Icaza tells the story of the brutality, starvation, and natural disasters that come in the wake of Don Alfonso's road. The landowner refuses to show any we ...more

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Apr 03, 2020 Andrias Scheuchzeri rated it really liked it

Shelves: owned, fiction, reviewed

I couldn't help but think about Animal Farm while reading Huasipungo, and as a Spaniard living in Ecuador, I've been wondering about the remains of colonialism and the history of the country. I'm surprised to see how many of these characters could very well be people I've met here. I had to ask my Ecuadorian friends what do they think about the book, to be told it is actually the story that has been repeating everywhere in the country, even before the Spaniards, during the Inca empire.

I felt a s ...more

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Apr 07, 2019 Vir - Física Lectora rated it really liked it

Shelves: around-the-world-read, 2019

Around the world book challenge #14
Country: Ecuador

(Reseña en español debajo)

Jorge Icaza makes an excellent direct criticism of the treatment of "Indians" by Ecuadorian high society, represented by Don Alfonso Pereira and his family. The "Indians" are in the lowest place on the social scale, since not only are they mistreated and despised by landlords, religious, politicians, etc., but they are also abused by the "cholos" (mestizos, half-"white", half-indian).
Huasipungo is a Quechua word, meanin Around the world book challenge #14
Country: Ecuador

(Reseña en español debajo)

Jorge Icaza makes an excellent direct criticism of the treatment of "Indians" by Ecuadorian high society, represented by Don Alfonso Pereira and his family. The "Indians" are in the lowest place on the social scale, since not only are they mistreated and despised by landlords, religious, politicians, etc., but they are also abused by the "cholos" (mestizos, half-"white", half-indian).
Huasipungo is a Quechua word, meaning "lot of land", and was used to refer in particular to the lot that the landlord "gave" to the "Indian" along with some supplies in exchange for unpaid work. Obviously, these supplies were never enough for the "Indians" to live with dignity, but they lived in deplorable conditions and had to ask the landlord for "help", which were future supplies and which the "Indians" never paid, for what this debt was passed on to their children and they were always subject to the will of the "lord".
Also, the religious authorities took advantage of the ignorance and submission of the "Indians" to abuse them, and demand payments for masses, burials, etc, making them continue to borrow to get absolution when they die, both them as their loved ones.
Along this work we follow Andrés Chiquilinga, an Indian of the large estate of Don Alfonso, who suffers multiple humiliations for minimal or non-existent faults, and gives us a reflection of the "Indian" submitted. It also shows us how they are used by their "owners", who consider them less than people, only cheap labor, which, according to them, is cured of their illnesses by degrading and unhealthy living conditions, under the indiscriminate use of the whip or elements of torture.
The book also reflects the position of women, which in different social classes, was inferior to that of men.
The novel is a crude denunciation of the abuses committed, which is why Icaza was despised in the high circles of society, since it reflected the outrageous reality to which the "Indians" were subjected. Icaza also did an excellent job incorporating the colloquial language, although this made my reading a little difficult and made me lose the thread a bit.
Fully recommended if you are interested in Latin American history.

Jorge Icaza plantea de manera excelente una crítica directa al trato a los "indios" de parte de la alta sociedad ecuatoriana, representada por don Alfonso Pereira y su familia. Los "indios" se encuentran en el lugar más bajo de la escala social, ya que no sólo son maltratados y despreciados por latifundistas, religiosos, políticos, etc, sino que también son abusados por los "cholos" (mestizos, de rasgos indígenas y blancos.)
Huasipungo es un término quechua, que significa "lote de terreno", y se utilizaba para denominar en particular al lote que el latifundista le "cedía" al "indio" junto con algunos abastecimientos a cambio de trabajo no remunerado. Obviamente, éstos abastecimientos nunca alcanzaban para que los "indios" vivan dignamente, sino que vivían en condiciones deplorables y debían pedir al terrateniente "socorritos", los cuales eran abastecimientos a cuenta futura y a los que nunca alcanzaban los "indios" a pagar, por lo que esta deuda se transmitía a sus hijos/as y quedaban siempre sujetos a la voluntad del "señor".
A su vez, las autoridades religiosas se aprovechaban de la ignorancia y sometimiento de los "indios" para abusarse de ellos, y exigirles los pagos para misas, entierros, etc, haciendo que sigan endeudándose para conseguir la absolución cuando mueran, tanta suya como de sus seres queridos.
En gran parte de la obra seguimos a Andrés Chiquilinga, indio de la hacienda de don Alfonso, quien sufre múltiples vejaciones por faltas mínimas o inexistentes, y nos da un reflejo del pensamiento del "indio" sometido. También nos muestra cómo son utilizados por sus "propietarios", quienes los consideran menos que personas, sólo mano de obra barata, la cual, según ellos, se cura de sus enfermedades por condiciones de vida denigrante y malsana, bajo el uso indiscriminado del látigo o elementos de tortura.
El libro también refleja la posición de la mujer, la cual en las distintas clases sociales, era inferior a la de los hombres.
La novela es una denuncia cruda de los abusos cometidos, motivo por el cual Icaza fue despreciado en los altos círculos de la sociedad, ya que reflejaba la realidad indignante a la que los "indios" fueron sometidos. Icaza hizo también un excelente trabajo incorporando el lenguaje coloquial, aunque ésto dificultó un poco mi lectura y hacía que perdiera un poco el hilo.
Totalmente recomendado si te interesa la historia latinoamericana. ...more

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Sep 16, 2018 Laura rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: global-reading-project

COUNTRY: ECUADOR

Written in 1934, this novel describes the exploitation of Indian and cholo (half-Indian, half-European) workers on haciendas in Ecuador. It follows the lives of two main characters: the hacienda owcer, Don Alfonso Pereira and the Indian worker Andres Chiliquinga. As Don Alfonso tries to expand his hacienda and enter into the thriving lumber industry, he joins forces with the local sheriff and the local priest to convince the villagers on his land to work for free. As dangerous wo ...more

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Jan 25, 2018 Shine Zaw-Aung rated it liked it

A book like Huasipungo is hard to score -- does it highlight the plight of the indigenous Ecuadorian Indians? Yes, brilliantly. Does it work as a novel? Only partly. It is fairly short but writing (or translation) is uneven. Only rarely Icaza notes who said what in his dialogue scenes, and characters speak in noisy, confusing, cacophony. In some crowd scenes, it works, but mostly it does not. Also, the ending -- depressing and realistic perhaps, but a bit rushed.

The novel is about a landowner a ...more

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Mar 30, 2016 Marco rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: 2016-reads, disappointment, classics, historical, for-college

Huasipungo is a great example of Spanish-American Indigenous literature, which I’m currently studying at college.
For me, the only interesting part of this novel was the portrait of the class conflict between landowners and the indigenous people, their slaves - that is actually the main point of the book, I believe. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to fully appreciate it because of the aspects that made not enjoy this novel altogether.
In Huasipungo, I wasn’t the biggest fan of this literary movemen ...more

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Jan 08, 2013 Leonel Guillermo rated it really liked it

traggic

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Feb 15, 2020 DIEGO KEVIN rated it liked it

Huasipungo is novel written by the Ecuadorian writer Jorge Icaza that narrates the story of the landowner, Alfonso Pererira, who is running out of money and owes a lot of money to his uncle. Due to this, he accepts his uncle’s offer that consists in exploiting the wood on his land.
The story is narrated in third person with changes in the approach of the third narrator. I mean, at the beginning, the narrator follows Alfonso Pereira and his establishment in his abandoned cottage. Later we will kn Huasipungo is novel written by the Ecuadorian writer Jorge Icaza that narrates the story of the landowner, Alfonso Pererira, who is running out of money and owes a lot of money to his uncle. Due to this, he accepts his uncle’s offer that consists in exploiting the wood on his land.
The story is narrated in third person with changes in the approach of the third narrator. I mean, at the beginning, the narrator follows Alfonso Pereira and his establishment in his abandoned cottage. Later we will know Andrés Chiliquinga and the narrator will follow him sometimes. So, the narrator will focus on either Alfonso or Andrés. The most interesting feature of the narration is the use of Quichua language and a lot of Ecuadorian idioms that make us fell as if we were part of the community where the story is set.
The story has some plot-holes. At the beginning of the story, we know that Alfonso’s daughter is pregnant and his grandson’s father is a “cholo”. This is one of the reasons that encourages Alfonso to accept his uncle’s offer and to establish himself and his family in his old cottage. This story is no more developed that in this case or as an excuse to take Cunshi into the cottage. The main story is the Alfonso’s attempt to evict the “huasipungeros” from his land to let his uncle and the investors construct a road and exploit the wood. But I think the best moments of the novel is when Icaza relates the abuses to the “indios” are subjected. The best about this is that when we read these stories, Icaza is able to convey the naturalness or daily life of these events. It is not a surprise or a vexation for the “indios” that Alfonso or the political and religious authority take advantage of their women and even rape them. Or to pay for something that the “incas” do not need or be forced to work. We read this through the silence and inexpressive eyes of the “indios” and we only realize the evil and injustice of these acts because we know that these acts are evil and injustice.
Unfortunately, because of the plot-holes the construction of the characters is not as good as possible. It is hard to criticize this, because my reality is too far from the reality where this behavior and these practices were establoshed. I do not know the psychology of the “indios” or how they had grown up, but the characters in the book do not help me to understand that at another lever, either. That is the reason why I think they could have been built better.
Huasipungo is a direct story that tries to make you feel and understand the problems of the “indios”. It is powerful and able to make you think and meditate about the reality and the life they used to life. It is easy to read, but with moments of great drama and even pain.
...more

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Oct 20, 2020 Jo Reason rated it really liked it

Shelves: read-the-world, 4-star-reads

As I start out on my new journey of reading the world, I knew there would be some shockers out there. Book number two was one of them. I have meaning to read this for years, after all I in live in Ecuador and it is one of the most famous books written by an Ecuadorian. I read t in it’s original Spanish. This book is all about how shockingly the ‘white high society’ treated the local ingedinous population. The name of the book, in the original spanish is Huasipungo means a small parcel of given t ...more

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Apr 11, 2019 Rosie rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: read-round-the-world

A story of Ecuador, this was written in the 1930s and felt a bit old-fashioned, but it also felt like a proper translation i.e. the original idioms came through along with a good number of vernacular words (with glossary) which kept conversation real. Although I haven't visited South America myself, the story was depressingly familiar - the indigenous Andean Indians and mixed-race people being used and abused abominably by the colonialists, their few rights (a hut each and an annual small gift o ...more

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Oct 11, 2019 Sally rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: ecuador-literature, 20th-century-literature

1934 novel which highlights the plight of the Inca-descended Ecuadorian Indians under the local whites, Big Business and the Catholic church. Trying to scrape together a living, utilized at will as slave labour to work for the Spaniards, their women seen as fair game, the church extorting every penny it can by invoking God's displeasure... This is a grim read, focussing on the Job-like figure of Andres Chiliquinga, a spirited Indian, but one who will, over time, lose everything.
Not brilliant wri ...more

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Jun 23, 2019 Françoise rated it it was amazing

Shelves: latin-american, reading-the-world

There's a reason why this book is considered one of the best or most famous Ecuadorian books. It touches upon latinoamerican realism, how the indigenous groups were mistreated and abused (And are still to this day unfortunately). I think it's a must read in order to understand more the current society.

I read it in Spanish and I think it would be more appreciated in the language (the indigenous people speak Spanish a bit differently, and it was very easy for me to understand since I'm from there, ...more

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Mar 07, 2018 Slymandra rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: around-the-world, owned, read-in-translation, read-in-english

[Around the World challenge: Ecuador]

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Sep 19, 2019 Rivkah rated it liked it · review of another edition

This was a hard book to read but a great look into Ecuadorian culture. Very intense, and some violence and rape scenes (not graphic however) that were hard. The amount of abuse that goes between people when respect and acknowledgement of the humanity of another is grievous. A decent book to read, but not one to pick-up if you're looking for something uplifting. ...more

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Oct 20, 2017 Zachary Rudolph rated it liked it · review of another edition

“The Indians must never taste a single bite of meat. ... They're just like animals, they'd get used to the beef. And then who could stop them? We'd have to kill the Indians so they wouldn't kill off the cattle. For of two evil, tragic choices, we must always choose the lesser.”

...more

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Sep 22, 2017 Eduardo rated it really liked it

Very sad.

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May 27, 2018 Maud (reading the world challenge) rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: america-latina

[#111 Ecuador] This book was interesting to learn more on the indigenous Ecuadorian Indians' fate, but to me it didn't really work as a novel, making the story sometimes hard to follow. ...more

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Dec 29, 2017 Daniel Simmons rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Sheds light on the awful historical subjugation of Ecuadorian Indians by colonialists. An important novel — but not a particularly compelling one, I’m afraid.

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Dec 12, 2007 Andrea rated it really liked it

I first read this in a doctoral seminar, then again for exams. This time, while teaching the novel to undergrads, I appreciated it a lot more.
***
Read again (October 2015) with undergrads and loved it. They, however, did not. Maybe they just need to read it four times to appreciate what a masterpiece it is! This novel is for those interested in Latin American literature, and more specifically indigenist literature from the 20th century that addresses the abuses against native populations in the A ...more

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Nov 01, 2009 Anna rated it it was amazing

This is a fascinating account of life under the Huasipungo system, showing the web of power, the different pressures and motivations, and the depth of human-inflicted suffering. Great book. It's interesting to reflect on both the vestiges of and reactions to this system evident in contemporary Ecuadorian society. ...more

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Nov 02, 2010 Robin rated it liked it · review of another edition

Definitely a good read for anyone interested in the culture of Northwestern South America, and/or the history.

It also reads like the history of the United States and natives, only if the natives became the slaves and there was a more personal subjugation.

Basically: good read, sad story.

Very interesting, though.

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Jun 28, 2007 Ryan rated it liked it · review of another edition

Recommends it for: anyone working in Ecuador

As far as literature, not AMAZING, but definitely a must-read for anyone working with indigenous people in Ecuador. Depresses, but also helped me see how far things have come and how far thing can continue to progress.

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Aug 03, 2009 Ssvenkat rated it liked it

It is a personal love to know about Ecuador . The book was depressing but nevertheless was touching as the locals are called Indians and I could relate it to India too !!
The writing approach was very "real" ( different from the magic realism I have been accustomed to from Latin America)
...more

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Nov 09, 2010 Paula Vivanco rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

The truly shocking story of the Spanish colonization in Ecuador, and the treatment the indigenous people received. It has many words in "Quichua" or "Kichwa", one of the native languages of our country, which makes it really interesting and involves you in the story. ...more

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May 19, 2011 Bustopher_ii Jones rated it it was amazing

Shelves: indigenism, novels

This books was published in 1934. It is one of the greatest literary works of Ecuadorian nationalism. It deals with indigenism matters in the Andean region of Ecuador, South America, during the thirties.

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Aug 27, 2007 Kristin rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: anthropology

This was such an great book of fiction, which represents real events that happened to real people. Great imagery if despair and sadness.

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Oct 09, 2008 John rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

The classic Indian novel of Ecuador, a precursor of magico-realism. Depressing, accurate, descriptive.

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Jun 19, 2009 Victor marked it as to-read · review of another edition

Classic about oppression of the indigenous population and the continuation of the Conquest 500 years after it began in the Americas.

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May 09, 2012 José rated it liked it

what an cruel and freak book!.. i mean the historical type was so weir.. just.. uuggh!.. weirD!

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About Jorge Icaza

Jorge Icaza

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Jorge Icaza Coronel (1906-1978) fue un novelista ecuatoriano.

Su más célebre novela, Huasipungo (1934), que le daría fama internacional y que lo llevaría a ser el escritor ecuatoriano más leído de la historia república, además se convirtió en una obra fundamental en la evolución de la corriente indigenista del Ecuador, uno de los máximos representantes del siglo XX. Con él, la novela ecuatoriana e ...more