Florida Atlantic University

The Empathy of a Merciful Divinity: Symbolic

Meanings of the Pacific Ocean Among the Peruvian

Fishermen–Surfers from Huanchaco Beach.

Ricardo Sabogal
Z15249643

THESIS PROPOSAL
Dr. Michael Harris, Advisor
November 18, 2013
 Introduction

Peruvian fishermen–surfers from Huanchaco Beach believe that the Pacific Ocean is

a divine being that has the power to influence both human behavior and the course

of events. And, in a practical sense, their personal observations and understandings

about the maritime conditions are their best guide for many of their daily activities.

The fishermen–surfers from Huanchaco are descendants of a long–line of

fishermen–surfers who have used the ocean for centuries. Their explanations,

interpretations, and meanings associated with the Pacific Ocean are both collective

and personal, and some have a very old origin. Many of these meanings are varied,

even contradictory. As a matter of fact, these explanations, interpretations, and

meanings about the ocean are not simple and direct. On the contrary, those

meanings are symbolically mediated and extremely complex. Surely, the ocean is not

just the ocean per se, it is a symbol that has many meanings. The fishermen–surfers

from Huanchaco are closely connected with the ocean via their ancient deities and

objects represented in the Moche and Chimú maritime iconography.

The worldviews and ways of life of the local fishermen-surfers are based

upon their symbolic interpretations of the ocean. In other words, we will

understand more about Huanchaco’s customs, traditions, beliefs, values, and needs

through research about the fishermen–surfers’ symbolic meanings of the ocean.

I will do ethnographic fieldwork in my hometown, Huanchaco Beach, a

village on the northern coast of Peru famous for its surfing and the local fishermen–

surfers who ride caballitos de totora (reed watercrafts). Huanchaco Beach is a

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touristic place, located eight miles from Trujillo, the third largest city in Peru. In

2007, the census counted 42,745 people in Huanchaco district (INEI n.d.). However,

the population of Huanchaco Beach is much less than that of the district. The

fishermen–surfer population of Huanchaco is comprised of approximately 100

generally low–income female and male adults between 18 and 60 years old. This

thesis is an exploration meant to describe and explain the characteristics of the

symbolic meanings of the Pacific Ocean among the fishermen–surfers from

Huanchaco. This description and analysis can be approached through the

examination of fishermen–surfers’ rituals and beliefs (Turner 1986).

My working hypothesis is that the Peruvian fishermen–surfers from

Huanchaco Beach organize their daily activities around traditional interpretations of

the transitory local characteristics of the Pacific Ocean, in spite of available and

accurate technological/scientific information about the ocean. Oral traditions

containing symbolic meanings about the ocean are very common among the

fishermen–surfers.

Following Turner (1986), three dimensions of symbolic activity will be

utilized: observations, interpretations, and contexts. These dimensions have both

objective and subjective components. They are subjective in the sense that those

interviewed answer questions in order to report their different symbolic

interpretations about the ocean. They are objective in the sense that the researcher

observes social facts and analyzes contexts as well.

I think it is fruitful to investigate this topic because it is a problem of great

significance: we want to know about the needs and worldviews of fishermen in this

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age of sea level rise and overfishing. In fact, the fishermen–surfers and the

authorities of Huanchaco Beach are worried about sea level rise. Sea level rise

increases the risk of both temporary and permanent flooding of coastal streets in

Huanchaco Beach. Also, the fishermen–surfers complain regularly about the scarcity

of fish and they blame commercial fishing vessels for fish decline.

Research Significance

This thesis is meaningful because most anthropological work has been focused on

land–based cultures. Yet, critical cultural facts take place on water in Huanchaco

Beach such as rituals, fishing, socialization, conflicts, surfing, superstitions, and

traditions. Further, many fishermen–surfers suffer from their particular

expectations and understandings of the ocean, and surely if we know more about

these facts, we can begin to mitigate their consequences. For instance, all the

fishermen–surfers agree that caballitos de totora riding in order to catch fish is a

desirable tradition, but many fishermen–surfers acknowledge that it is a low paying

profession. I think that the results from this research will give us a new insight into

maritime anthropology because, to the best of my knowledge, there are not

investigations about this topic in Peru. This topic is of primary urgency and

importance currently because the traditional fishing community in Huanchaco is

undergoing transformation as Peruvian capitalism develops at an increasingly rapid

pace. I believe and hope that this research will generate interest not only among

anthropologists, but also among ecologists, environmentalists, politicians,

archaeologists, and the public.

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 Literature

My research plan contains three equally important thematic aspects: 1) native

symbols and rituals, 2) the fishermen–surfers from Huanchaco, and 3) the local

Pacific Ocean. More specifically, the goal of this research is to study the ways in

which symbolic meanings of the ocean are present and used within the fishermen–

surfer community of Huanchaco and to trace how these meanings affect their lives.

The fishermen–surfers from Huanchaco Beach belong to a remarkable

community in Peru because they are, together with Peruvian Santa Rosa Beach

fishermen, the last riders of the traditional caballitos de totora, an observation that

makes it necessary to review and study the available literature in order to

understand the theoretical and methodological symbolic situations in this maritime

village. Victor Turner’s book The Forest of the Symbols: Aspects of Ndembu Ritual

(1986) is a good beginning because it presents the theory and method of symbolic

analysis. According to Turner:

“Symbol” is a thing regarded by general consent as naturally

typifying or representing or recalling something by possession

of analogous qualities or by association in fact or thought.

The symbols I observed in the field were, empirically, objects,

activities, relationships, events, gestures, and spatial units

in a ritual situation. [1986: 19]

Fishermen–surfers from Huanchaco Beach attribute many symbolic meanings to

the Pacific Ocean through several rituals. In fact, rituals of diverse types are

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characteristic of the fishermen–surfers, and they include religious ceremonies such

as Saint Peter’s Day, daily superstitious practices, and occasional funerals. Ritual is a

“prescribed formal behavior for occasions not given over to technological routine,

having reference to beliefs in mystical beings or powers” (1986: 19). Specifically, in

Huanchaco Beach the Pacific Ocean possesses supernatural abilities, according to

the fishermen–surfers. Therefore, oceanic symbols can be analyzed through oceanic

rituals since, as stated by Turner, symbols are the basic elements of all rituals which

still hold the specific characteristics of ritual behavior (1986: 19). The analysis and

interpretation of the symbolic meanings of the ocean can be done via examination of

the contexts of the rituals related to the ocean. The aims of the rituals will help to

resolve the meanings of the symbols (1986: 45), and the characteristics of ritual

symbols can be collected through observations, interpretations, and contexts (1986:

20). Also, the meanings of symbols have three levels: 1) native interpretation, or

exegetical meaning, that is obtained from asking informants about observed ritual

behavior, 2) the operational meaning - that is, the factual use of the symbol - which

can be obtained by observation, and 3) the positional meaning, which is determined

through analyzing the symbol in relation to other symbols (1986: 50-51). In other

words, I will apply Turner’s analytical duo ritual–symbol to Huanchaco Beach

because they are mutually necessary.

Again, Turner identifies diverse symbols: objects, activities, relationships,

and spatial units in a ritual background (1986: 19). In this thesis, the ocean is a

symbol that has many meanings for fishermen-surfers from Huanchaco Beach who

care for their maritime oral tradition. For this reason, I will analyze the oceanic

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symbol with the concept of multi–vocality: symbols are polysemic, therefore they

have diversity of meanings (Turner 1986: 50–52). Moreover, I will analyze the

maritime symbols as agencies representing social forces that have moral, economic,

religious, and political connotations (Turner 1975: 145).

Turner’s Dramas, Fields, and Metaphors: Symbolic Action in Human Society

analyzes social dramas and metaphors (1974). Social drama is an important element

that can represent a disharmonic process that produces conflicts in society (1974:

37–41). These social dramas are connected to ritual metaphors. Important to

realize, the Huanchaco’s fishermen–surfers exhibit conflicts metaphorically related

to the ocean, therefore this concept of social drama will be useful for this research.

Publications about maritime traditions, characteristics, customs, and

activities from Huanchaco are Impacto de la Expansion Urbana Sobre la

Sustentabilidad Ambiental del Litoral de la Bahia de Huanchaco Peru (Urban

Expansion Impact on Environmental Sustainability of the Coastal Bay of Huanchaco

Peru) (Bocanegra 2006), El Relato Popular (The Popular Storytelling) (Alva 1995),

and Tradiciones Huanchaqueras (Traditions From Huanchaco) (Díaz-Sánchez 1995).

Concerning the Moche and Chimú maritime iconography, The Art and Archaeology of

the Moche edited by Steve Bourget and Kimberly Jones (2008) and The Worlds of the

Moche on the North Coast of Peru by Elizabeth Benson (2012) offer careful analyses.

I intend to build on the symbolic approaches developed by more recent

anthropologists such as Dolgin et al. (1977), Lal (1995), Rival (1998), and Womack

(2005). Also, this thesis will contribute to the relatively small number of works

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directly related to maritime anthropology (Acheson 1981; Casteel and Quimby

1975; Claesson 2011; D’Arcy 2006; Sall 2007; Smith 1977).

Methodology

This research is qualitative and therefore it considers qualitative methods in the

development of the investigation. The specific methods of data collection that I am

going to use are literature review and analysis, informal interviewing, unstructured

interviewing, and participant observation (Bernard 2011).

Literature review

I will review the essential literature available regarding the topic of this research.

Unfortunately, and to the best of my knowledge, there are not publications about the

symbolic meaning of the ocean among fishermen in Peru. For this reason, I will

study important publications about symbolic anthropology (Dolgin et al. 1977; Lal

1995; Rival 1998; Turner 1974, 1975, 1986; Womack 2005), maritime anthropology

(Casteel and Quimby 1975; Claesson 2011; D’Arcy 2006; Smith 1977), the

Huanchaco (Bocanegra 2006), anthropology of fishermen and surfers (Díaz-Sánchez

1995; Sall 2007), and meanings of the sea (Alva Mendo 1995). Additionally, I will

review local poetry, tales, and narratives about Huanchaco in order to find

indications of pertinent information related to this research thesis (Alva Mendo

1995; Bocanegra 2006; Díaz-Sánchez 1995). Besides, this background knowledge

helps to place the topic area of the symbolic meaning of the ocean among the

fishermen–surfers in context (Bernard 2011: 75).

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Ethnographic Interviewing

Informal interviews, or quotidian conversations, are an appropriate method since I

am from Huanchaco Beach. These interviews will center on descriptions of the

ocean and activities carried out by the group under study. Daily field notes, jottings,

and datebooks will be kept as the means to record all relevant information (Bernard

2011: 156–157). The rationale for utilizing unstructured interviewing is that I need

to explore the topic at Huanchaco Beach. Unstructured interviews mean that

anthropologist and informant know that they are holding an interview. However,

this interview is unstructured because there is no control over the informant’s

answers. There is a plan to perform the interview, but the lack of structure is very

important because I want to hear informants’ spontaneous answers (Bernard 2011:

157). What will result are free–flowing responses/narratives from informants.

Participant observation

Detailed participant observation is very important in order to obtain experiential

knowledge (Bernard 2011: 256–258), so I will spend as much time as possible in

Huanchaco Beach. For this research, I will spend three months in the field: May,

June, and July 2013. Additionally, I will videotape –and photograph– some activities

at Huanchaco Beach.

Additionally, Symbols and Meaning by Mari Womack (2005) provides

methods for the study of symbols. Womack analyses the relationship between

symbols, art, religion, and social crisis, and her approach to the study of symbols is

eclectic, an approach that allows the anthropologist to analyze the use of symbols in

different contexts and to incorporate data from a multiplicity of sources (2005: 45).

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I will use this eclectic approach as well because I intend to collect data from various

such sources as: publications, conflicts, beliefs, idolatries, tales, handicrafts, designs,

and iconographies.

Analytical Framework

I will apply narrative analysis to my interviews. This analytical tool is appropriate

because narrative analysis is the search for regularities in how people tell stories

(Bernard 2011: 416). As a rule, fishermen–surfers from Huanchaco are good story

tellers, and I intend to find if there are regularities in their stories. The goal is to

discover topics and constant forms (2011: 416). In addition, I will apply content

analysis to my information. Content analysis is a group of methods for coding and

analyzing qualitative data in order to explore manifest and latent content (2011:

443). Both implicit and explicit fishermen–surfers’ information are relevant to this

thesis.

I will collect data that contains the symbolic meanings of the ocean among

the fishermen−surfers. I will elicit the meanings associated with the ocean as a

symbol, as something more than its basic physical properties, through ethnographic

interviewing. Furthermore, fishermen–surfers from Huanchaco Beach carry out

rituals built around the ocean that can be recorded. For this purpose, I will use the

Turner’s concept of ritual –formal behavior for mystical occasions that is composed

with the basic unit of the symbol- to analyze and describe the maritime rituals from

Huanchaco (Turner 1986: 19–25). I will also describe and analyze how the “oceanic

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symbols” represent instrumentalities of several social forces: moral, economic,

religious, and political (Turner 1975: 145).

Fishermen–surfers value their ancestors’ symbols found in the iconography

of Moche and Chimú cultures. Notably, this iconography is important to the

fishermen–surfers’ identity (Rostworowski 1989). These symbols display polysemy

or multi–vocality in a very complex manner. I will focus analytical attention on the

group’s reaction to these ancient representations.

Conclusion

The Pacific Ocean is an important cultural element for the fishermen–surfers from

Huanchaco Beach, Peru. This influential element possesses human sentiments and

values that affect some aspects of the fishermen–surfers’s social life. Surprisingly,

the fishermen–surfers plan their daily activities according to the ocean’s behavior in

spite of the available marine forecast. The fishermen–surfers’ worldview is closely

related to the symbolic meaning of the blue portion of the planet.

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 References

Acheson, James M.

1981 Anthropology of Fishing. Ann. Rev. Anthropol. (1981)10:275–316

Alva Mendo, Jacobo

1995 El Relato Popular: Memoria Colectiva e Imaginería en la Tradición

Oral de Huanchaco [Popular Account: Collective Memory and Imaginery

in Huanchaco’s Oral Tradition]. Informe Final de Prácticas Pre–

Profesionales de Antropología Social, Facultad de Ciencias Sociales,

Universidad Nacional de Trujillo, Perú.

Benson, Elizabeth

2012 The Worlds of the Moche on the North Coast of Peru.

Austin: University of Texas Press.

Bernard, H. Russell

2011 Research Methods in Anthropology. 5th edition. Maryland: AltaMira Press.

Bocanegra García, Carlos

2006 Impacto de la Expansión Urbana Sobre la Sustentabilidad Ambiental del

Litoral de la Bahía de Huanchaco Perú [Urban Expansion Impact on

Environmental Sustainability of the Coastal Bay of Huanchaco Peru].

Lima, Peru: Asamblea Nacional de Rectores.

Bourget, Steve, and Kimberly Jones, ed.

2008 The Art and Archaeology of the Moche. Austin: University of Texas Press.

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Casteel, Richard W., and George I. Quimby, ed.

1975 Maritime Adaptations of the Pacific. The Hague, Netherlands: Mouton

Publishers.

Claesson, Stefan

2011 The Value and Valuation of Maritime Cultural Heritage.

International Journal of Cultural Property (2011)18:61–80.

Díaz-Sánchez, J. W.

1995 Tradiciones Huanchaqueras [Huanchaco’s Traditions]. Trujillo, Peru:

Colegio Particular Claretiano.

Dolgin, Janet L., with David S. Kemnitzer, and David M. Schneider, ed.

1977 Symbolic Anthropology: A Reader in the Study of Symbols and Meanings.

New York: Columbia University Press.

INEI

N.d. Censos Nacionales 2007 : XI de Población y VI de Vivienda [2007 National

Censuses: Eleventh Population and Sixth Housing Censuses].

http://desa.inei.gob.pe/censos2007/tabulados/?id=ResultadosCensales,

accessed April 9, 2013.

Lal, Barbara Ballis

1995 Symbolic Interaction Theories. American Behavioral Scientist (38)3:421+

Rival, Laura, ed.

1998 The Social Life of Trees: Anthropological Perspectives on Tree Symbolism.

Oxford: Berg, Oxford International Publishers Ltd.

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Rostworowski, María

1989 Costa Peruana Prehispánica [Pre–Hispanic Peruvian Coast]. 2nd edition.

Lima: Instituto de Estudios Peruanos.

Sall, Aliou

2007 Loss of Bio-Diversity: Representation and Valuation Processes of Fishing

Communities. Social Science Information (46)1:153–187.

Smith, M. Estellie, ed.

1977 Those Who Live From the Sea: A Study in Maritime Anthropology.

New York: West Publishing Co.

Turner, Victor

1986[1967] The Forest of Symbols: Aspects of Ndembu Ritual.

Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press.

1974 Dramas, Fields, and Metaphors: Symbolic Action in Human Society.

London: Cornell University Press.

1975 Symbolic Studies. Annual Review of Anthropology (1975)4:145–161.

Womack, Mari

2005 Symbols and Meaning. New York: AltaMira Press.

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 Interview Questions

1. Por favor, explica el Festival del Mar. (Please, explain the Festival of the Sea)

2. Por favor, explica la festividad de Takaynamo. Por qué viene desde el mar?

(Please, explain the Festival of Takaynamo. Why does he come from the sea?)

3. Por favor, quién era Naylamp? Por qué viene del mar? (Please, who was

Naylamp? Why does he come from the sea?)

4. Por favor, explica la fiesta de San Pedro? Por qué viene del mar? Please,

explain the Festival of San Peter. Why does he come from the sea?

5. Por favor, qué opinas de que el mar se está saliendo? Please, what do you

think about the sea level rise?

6. Por favor, qué significa el mar? Please, what is the meaning of the sea?

7. Por favor, sabes cuentos o historias sobre el mar? Please, do you know

stories or tales about the sea?

8. Por favor, sabes creencias o supersticiones sobre el mar? Please, do you

know beliefs or superstitions about the sea?

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