ABSTRACT

Class stratification on the altiplano as a whole is so rigid that Tschopik referred to it as “caste-structured” rather than “class-structured.” The governmental structure of Soqa divides the island into several sectors, roughly equivalent in population. Most kin and communal ties are formed by a system of mutual obligations that permeates almost every aspect of social life, so that one might well designate reciprocity as the glue that holds the society together. Community government is divided in two parts, the municipal and the political. The agente municipal heads the municipal side and is directly under the mayor of the district of Acora. Community meetings are democratic; anyone may, and does, speak, though the president is obviously in charge. Work on the coast provides extensive contact with the once remote industrial world, and undoubtedly results in many extra-community friendships.