Cultural Hybridism According To Historian Peter Burke

Cultural hybridism according to historian Peter Burke

The global health crisis that we are currently living is the perfect evidence that today we are more interconnected than ever. Within this context we must recognize that we live in an increasingly hybrid world, as the historian, Peter Burke in his text, cultural hybridism, reflections on theory and history and history. While it was written 20 years ago, the text does a good job to start describing a phenomenon that, at the time, only showed its beginnings. It is interesting to reflect on what Burke’s thoughts would be about this same hybridism in the world of great digital phenomena from Netflix, YouTube, Instagram and Facebook, to the novel Tiktok.

However, as Burke also mentions, hybridism is not a new concept, especially for cultures like ours. The author mentions that Latin America has been considered a hybrid terrain par excellence, within it Peru seems to me an exemplary case. From a century ago, hybridism, mixture, miscegenation, is a key part of our identity as a nation, evidenced in phrases such as; "All the bloods", or, "if there is no Inga, there is Mandinga". Apart from whether these interpretations of Peruvian culture are correct, the reality is that the nation project of our country has been based on trying to create a unique identity, which somehow includes the immense diversity of existing cultural forms.

Determining the moment when Peru becomes a terrain of hybrid cultures is complicated, since from Tahuantinsuyo, and even before, we can find cultural encounters between pre -Hispanic cultures.

Then, from the conquest these traditions were combined with the Spanish in complex criollization, syncretism, etc. At the same time this same hybridization occurred with the African culture of those who were forced to come to the Americas. With the Republic came migration, from the Chinese and Japanese, to the Italians and currently Venezuelans, Peruvian culture became an amalgam of traditions whose origin is now complicated to track. In this way, the rest of the themes addressed by Burke in his deepening in the nature of the hybrid, also perfectly fit the Peruvian context.

In the first place, the author mentions how the phenomenon of hybridization is found in all fields related to culture, Burke classifies them into three types; artifacts, practices and peoples. Hybrid artifacts are those cultural productions that we find within the material plane. For example, in architecture it usually happens that styles from different places of origin become a single building. This is the case of the Andean Baroque, a characteristic artistic movement of the Sierra Sur del Peru that arises from the inspiration of the European Baroque style and decoration techniques provided by indigenous artisans. It is also mentioned that the images can be hybrid, in this case the Cusco school comes to mind, where the apprentices of indigenous and mestizo origin introduced elements of the Andean worldview in the religious representations of Catholic deities of Catholic deities.

On the other hand there are also hybrid practices, such as religion, music, celebrations, dances, etc. As for religion we frequently find mixtures between Christianity, with indigenous and African religious practices. On the other hand, music is one of the best known examples of hybridization in Peru, from salsa and cumbia, to the Creole waltz, we can appreciate the mixture of influences from different origins. The author also includes the language within this category. As Peru is already known, it has a great diversity of languages, however what we do not always consider is that the "standard" Castilian itself has many common words from Quechua and Aymara. Words like "Choclo", "Palta", "Huaico" and "Andes", among many others, are examples of adopted terms of native languages. Finally, in terms of festivities, Burke explains how Brazilian carnival has established itself as a flag festival of the neighboring country, in our country the European carnival tradition has also been permeated. Regional carnivals such as Ayacucho, Cajamarca, etc., show cases in which carnival adapts to the specific culture of each region.

Finally there are hybrid peoples, those human groups that are characterized by having influences from different cultures. As I have already mentioned, the Peruvian identity project has been based on hybridization as a pillar, which is not free, considering the history of ethnic and cultural encounters in our country. However, although the Peruvian people are hybrid by definition, the question becomes to what extent and what culture. We cannot say with certainty that Peruvian culture is a hybrid of such or which cultures, since it is as diverse as the individuals who profess it. Peruvianity is incredibly diverse, so instead of labeling Peru how a hybrid people, it would do it as a town inhabited by hybrid individuals. Individuals among which fluctuate cultural influences, some indigenous other African or European, as well as the proportion of these influences.

The issue of the meeting between cultures is incredibly complex, therefore it has led academics to use a wide variety of terms to try to explain it. These terms can be metaphorical, and come from different disciplines, however all, including the term hybridism, can be misleading, because they understand a long history of cultural reflections, which gives them meanings. In other words, these terms can be too ambiguous, even contradictory, according to Burke it is not about whether these terms are correct or not, however their treatment should be taken carefully.

In the first place are the terms imitation and appropriation, which refer to the same phenomenon, to take cultural manifestations of one or several foreign cultures and take them as their own. A clear example of appropriation, quite positive, in Peru is that of gastronomy, one of our great proud as a nation. Peruvian cuisine is composed of extremely diverse dishes that usually have their roots in the cultural encounter. We have appropriate Italian dishes, such as the noodles to pesto or the menestron, which we have returned, and how not to mention our beloved chifa, which is born from the fusion of Asian techniques and Peruvian ingredients. However, appropriation is not always positive, for example, let’s take the case of various clothing brands that appropriate traditional designs of the Peruvian mountain To women who practice it. The problem is also aggravated when we take into account how historically, these same women have been discriminated and ridiculed by their traditional clothing, however when this same aesthetic is taken to the fashion field it becomes something desirable. Only after having gone through the filter of colonialism is that these practices become deserving of admiration, there is the problem that often arises with appropriation in Peru.

Next is accommodation and negotiation. Both suppose the adaptation of cultural manifestations so that they adapt better to different cultural realities. This phenomenon was initially called accommodation, however it is currently discussed as "negotiation" or "cultural dialogue", since these terms recognize multiplicity and fluidity in identities. We can also consider these phenomena how an argument against the so -called "macdonalization of the world", because although this term is a homogenization, it would be more correct to think of a type of dialogue between the coming culture and the culture it adopts. That is, for example, in Peru Transnational brands such as Starbucks, have achieved great success, however to achieve this they have had to adapt to our context, offering drinks with national flavors, such as carob and lucum. This process has also been called "glocalization".

The author mentions how the concept of “mixing“ has had a pejorative connotation historically, as it refers to mixture or disorder. However, this appreciation has been changing, something that is evidenced by the popularity of the term "fusion". In Peru, merger is a fashion word, especially related, once again, to our rich gastronomy. It seems that within the space of food all kinds of mixture is admitted, even encouraged. The term fusion becomes related to innovation and sophistication, this being a positive example of the valuation of hybrid in our country. Syncretism, is another term that is usually used, this time to refer to the stroke between two cultures, commonly related to religion. The case of religious syncretism in Peru has been widely discussed in different manifestations, one of them the celebration of Holy Week. With Ayacucho as an epicenter, the traditional Christian heritage brought by the Spaniards, is enriched with the Andean worldview. Here a new cultural manifestation is created, which mixes music, language and quechua customs with those Creole, imported to the Iberian Peninsula.

On the other hand there is the "cultural translation", taken from linguistics under the assumption that understanding a foreign culture is how to learn a new language. In this way when understanding cultural concepts of other cultures we always use our own culture as a reference. For example, when the Spaniards arrived from Peru and see the temples and constructions covered with gold, they interpreted that the inkas were incredibly rich, however the concept of wealth as the Spaniards knew it did not exist within the indigenous worldview. Trade was based on exchange, specifically barter, however there was no conception of currency or monetary value. Seeing gold the conquerors automatically associate it with money and the currency, however the Incas decorated their temples with gold, not for their perceived monetary value, but because they considered it the tears of the sun, deity to which they worshiped. The term cultural translation is taking as a neutral term, however it does not mean that interpretation problems cannot be given in these decoding processes, since as it is known, all the elements of a culture satisfactorily cannot be translated.

The last term that Burke speaks is the "creation" or "Creole", defined as confluence of two or more cultural currents that give as a product the emergence of new cultural forms. In Peru the Creole is very present and is part of our daily vocabulary. From Creole food to music, which we celebrate with special ardor, the Creole culture is forged in the popular neighborhoods with the meeting of Spanish, indigenous and black influences, from the three regions of Peru. Likewise, this Creole identity is currently more accepted in urban Peru, without distinction of race, ethnicity or social class, which does not happen with other types of Peruvian cultural manifestations that are also hybrid, such as Huayno or the Amazon music.

Burke also explains that there are a variety of situations in which these cultural encounters are given. In the first place are the encounters between equals and unequal, in which not only includes those given in violent circumstances of colonization, but also in circumstances of exchange between minorities and majorities. The same author uses the example of the evangelization of Latin America as an unequal cultural exchange situation. In Peru, as well as in Mexico, the indigenous people were forced to adopt Christianity as a unique cult, and set aside their own religious traditions. The Bible was used as a tool in this evangelization process, even the attempt to translate it into indigenous languages. The indigenous people resisted this change, how well documented, to which the colonizers reacted with repression and violence. However, the traditional customs of these peoples are maintained until today, however they have combined with the hegemonic traditions of Christianity.

On the other hand, in terms of appropriation traditions, the text differentiates between cultures with strong traditions (appropriation) and those with weak (adaptation) traditions. With this the author means that there are certain more prone cultures to appropriate other cultures. Peru is a clear example of a culture with strong traditions, since we have absorbed customs of many cultures with which we have had contact. All examples already mentioned are evidence.

The metropolis and the border are those scenarios in which the encounters between cultures have historically occurred. Lima is a great example of a metropolis where cultures are and disagree, especially in a country as centralized as Peru where the capital is the social, economic and political nucleus of the country. From the Lima neighborhood it is the favorite space of cultural exchange, advancing in history, this confrontation becomes even more marked with migration to the city in the second half of the twentieth century. Although these two spaces raised by Burke are still very relevant today, a new cultural meeting space on the Internet and social networks has also been founded, where there are no physical limits, or borders, which can restrict these exchanges. In the internet era we learn and we are influenced by cultural forms of others every day, leading to continuous hybridization whose magnitude is difficult to even imagine.

Finally there is talk of social classes as cultures that interact within a great culture. In Peru the race and class have been intimately related since the time of the colony, this is how certain cultural practices are usually associated with certain social classes. Being an inescapably racist and classist country, customs associated with indigenous and African populations, or in general non -white populations, are considered as popular expressions and therefore of a lower status than expressions more related to traditions of European influences of influences of European influences. It is also interesting how certain practices are considered lower according to the social class and ethnic group that practices them, although these are therefore practiced the popular classes and elites. For example, bullfights are an important part of regional carnivals, however in this context they are usually considered as an incivilized and ordinary practice. However, taking that same practice to the elites, who perform it within a hermetic and exclusive environment, this tradition defends itself as a culture and historical inheritance.

Next, the diversity of reactions to cultural encounters is discussed, which are classified into four; acceptance, rejection, segregation and adaptation. Acceptance is that by which it is accepted and even welcomed to the new. Burke proposes the explanation of this process as "the fashion of the foreigner", that is, it is considered more civilized, sophisticated or perhaps interesting the adoption of foreign customs. For example, the adoption of Halloween in Peru, an American custom derived from the celebration of the All Hallows Eve, despite the fact that on that same day he of a Peruvian celebration, the day of the Creole song. On the other hand we find the resistance, which is based on the defense of cultural traditions against foreign traditions. The emblematic case in Peru is that of the Inca Kola, because no matter how much tried to adopt Coca Cola as a favorite drink, we resist renouncing our flag drink, to the point that Coca Cola Company had to buy the Inca Kola brand. The next reaction is segregation, a situation in which parts of cultural life are compartmentalized and some pure foreign influence are maintained. Finally there is adaptation, where portions of culture outside their own culture are adopted. As I mentioned throughout this essay, examples of this type of reaction abound in Peruvian culture.

Finally, the diversity of cultural interaction results is exposed, here Burke explains the main theories in what are the long -term consequences of these cultural encounters. In the first place is the homogenization theory which assumes that a hegemonic culture will absorb the rest of cultural expressions, the so -called "Americanization", or that a global culture will be built. In contrast to this perspective is the theory of anti -globalization that postulates that the more globalization progresses we stick to our cultural values, sometimes confrontational ways. Burke is committed to a more moderate position in this debate, raising cultural dysglosia and Creole as alternatives. First of all, he states that we will all have a double culture, a global culture, as well as a culture of their own. However, he also states that hybridism will only be accelerated, eventually leading to a worldwide Creole culture. We see that in Peru it approaches this concept of cultural diglosia, because we increasing.

In, in this text Burke seeks to immerse yourself in the depths of an extremely complex process such as hybridization. It is clear that it is a phenomenon that has incredibly numerous interpretations, sometimes confusing, however it would be completely absurd not to recognize that we live in a hybrid world. As Burke himself mentions, the term hybridization implies a natural process that does not emphasize human action, which I consider problematic at times. It is important to recognize that these cultural exchanges were often not given from equal conditions, rather in numerous cases they were part of forced colonization processes on ethnic groups that had no option to adopt certain traditions and practices. While Burke mentions these facts, he catalogs them as something past, and does not recognize or analyze how these colonization and violence patterns are often repeated today. In that sense, I consider that Burke’s perspective, although incredibly complex and well documented, is a naive in terms of considering hybridization as a most positive process and that he cannot suppose deep problems in intercultural interaction.