ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the author quotes a story at length for several reasons; because he thinks it provides a fascinating commentary on literacy and power, when Clemente meets God. God's authoritarianism contrasts not only with the Salasacas' more consensual approach to community decision making, but also the relative egalitarianism in their gender relations, largely due to female land ownership and the important role of women in agricultural production, as documented throughout the Andes. God's book consists of names, with birth and death dates, exactly like baptism books and birth certificates, as well as funeral and death certificates. God's book derives, in short, from specific textual models, notably baptism books and birth certificates, as well as a general association between lines, power, and control. God's book is nothing if not an image of universal, powerful, permanent, and comprehensive knowledge. The Salasacas exhibit their sense of God's omniscience every time they say jahua pacha, meaning "By God, it's true."
