September’s book review “The White Rock” by Hugh Thomson
The White Rock by Hugh Thomson came highly recommended by a colleague of ours, and the exploration theme of Inca ruins surrounding Machu Picchu. This book fits nicely with many other Peruvian travel books we have read this year. In addition, the initial trip description into Peru happens during a fascinating time in the early 1980’s just before the country descended into the dark era of terrorism and civil guerrilla warfare. This book is likewise recommended by us for your Peru reading list with several cautionary notes on translation and writing style.
First, we will dive into the picky analysis of translation. If some of the basic words are being miss-represented one must also wonder what else in the great historic stories related are also missing the mark! Major Quechua geographic terms and town names, such as Apurimac (a principal river), Choquequirao (a site some attempt to portray as rivaling Machu Picchu but in truth is half as significant), and Llactapata (a small satellite ruin) are incorrectly explained. On page 54 Thomson gives to the name of “Apurimac” the meaning of the “Great Roarer.” To the Incas an “apu” was a sacred location, which are generally hilltops. The Quechua word “rimay” means to speak. Apurimac general translate to “what speaks the spirit” or “speech of the holy place.” Neither “great” nor “roaring” is implied. Next, Thomson gives the ruin of Choquequirao (see page 59) a Quechua meaning of “cradle of gold”, although the Quechua word for gold is “kori.” At least having personally taken a week of eight-hour day private Quechua lessons in Cusco while having years of learning the odd word here and there in Peru and a having a mother-in-law who speaks Quechua made these translations errors quickly recognizable. Not all translation errors are limited to Quechua-English, likewise on page 217 Thomson gives the Spanish word “aji”, which means chili pepper, a translation to mean garlic.
Clear miss-understanding of the Peruvian culture was demonstrated by Thomson when stating that preparing and eating cuyes (Guinea pigs) was purely for the tourist whereas my Peruvian wife will clearly argue that saying they are delicious and used as a staple food. There have been several documentaries about how Peruvians use Guinea pigs as a source for protein. This error in Peruvian culture representation is fairly significant. By extension, one must question what else in the text is being incorrectly reported!
Second, the style of the travel stories has the cultural flavor of the Englishman. What do we mean by this? Here is an example also from the early 1980’s witnessed while rock climbing in Yosemite National Park. My partner and I were starting up a multiple pitch traditional moderate climbing route on the north valley wall and we had another team beginning their day’s climb tens of meters off to our right. This pair were clearly British, using dual ropes, and climbing in pants and wearing helmets. We were in shorts, without helmets, and using a single line. This relatively short rock wall had a walk-off route around the side, so no need for the extra rope for rappelling, but also keep in mind the European double rope method uses 8-mm climbing ropes compared to the California approach of 10.5-mm lines. Enough of the context, the important thing is this British team were heading up a very basic route, something around 5.6 in difficulty. The leader was going through a very detailed narrative of his experience while climbing, relying to his partner things that were obvious, such as “I am lay-backing up this corner”, and “the crack is quite difficult”, etc. Constant chatter about minuscule moments in the belief that the greater society finds interest in one person’s central experience. In many ways this is the essence of material descriptions in so many travel journals, and the White Rock comes with the chattering British narrative giving details on the lunch options, perhaps exaggerated characterizations of the travel companions, and inflation of the adventure.
A particular theme found sprinkled throughout the White Rock is drawing contrast between what comprises an “explorer” versus an “archaeologist.” Many of the insights sound spot on, and contribute positively to the context of Hugh Thomson’s Peruvian experience. An explorer is a person seeking out either newly discovered location or finding forgotten ruins whereas an archaeologist is painted as being aloof superior scientist that contend explorers damage sites and are glorified grave robbers. Specific examples are given in the Peru exploration history, most particularly regarding the expeditions of Hiram Bingham with comparisons to current archaeological digs during the time Mr. Thomson was travelling in Peru. The definition of an “explorer” is limited in this view to the interface of geography and cultures. In contrast, nearly my entire career has been in exploration geology searching for gold and copper, including intermittent travel throughout Peru over the last 21 years. Exploring the Andes in applied and scientific geology has a far broader area of interest and presents a very different approach than the small self-funded travel adventure explorers or the university back archaeology teams. What is one of the major differences? Budget and technologies. Mineral exploration covers individual to team expeditions, may use helicopters, be focused in certain project regions for several years, and also goes through employing local workers and travel logistics. The mineral industry generally conducts this work with higher standards on safety with extensive governmental permitting. Thus, reading Hugh Thomson’s discussion of exploring Peru comes with a thorough background knowledge of the Peruvian Andes and a different way of running exploration. This is why many of technical translations of Quechua words explained out earlier stood out while reading the White Rock- other readers will not have this distraction.
Much the White Rock has interjected historic event commentary, about both the Incas and the Spanish, which presumably are related to provide “meaning” for Thomson’s hiking about in thickly vegetated Cordillera Oriental of southern Peru. Being generally familiar with the topic of Peru’s conquest by the Spaniards, and many of the citations referred to in the book, at times these history lessons become interruptions from the journey descriptions. Furthermore, the majority of the time period covered is that awkward post-contact fall of the Incas where struggling remnants of the survivors were still attempting to push back from the conquest without ever really having any hope of success. In this topic too much significance is place on the “last Inca” or the last Inca village which here are mere shadows compared to the pre-contact reality of the Incas. How much effort is needed studying an outlying little used settlement for hiding from the Spanish? Particularly when right in Cusco, the former capital of the Inca Empire, there is so much grander history and covering multiple generations of rulers. These major aspects of the Inca Empire are only briefly covered in the White Rock as compared to the amount of effort expended on tracking down the huts of the fugitive Incas hiding in the mountain jungle.
To me what is also unsavory is several instances of Thomson’s attempt to self-identify with the Latin America “struggle” against “imperialism”, or anti-America sentiment, with references on page 117 to communist Eduardo Galeano (we provided a book review of “Open Veins of Latin America” earlier this year), and of course, the communist violent revolutionary Che Guevara. England was always more “Imperial” national than the U.S.A. until its inward collapse. The separation of the U.S.A. truly provided the example and impetus for the South American regions to declare Independence from Spain several decades later. Latin America emulated the United States of America, then confound the issue of “imperial” intents.
In a nutshell, the White Rock delivers colorful writing on the theme of unprepared Peru trekking and camping, where intentional deprivations transform into exaggerated appreciation of minor luxuries once they are encountered. The story focuses on lesser ruins surrounding Machu Picchu, and is full of unverifiable assertions, given as revelations, but are merely speculations about the Inca’s lifestyle and customs. A central premise of the later is Thomson’s belief that the Inca built many site and structures on the basis of aesthetics over religious purposes. The writing style frequently mimics old travel stories from the turn of the nineteenth to twentieth centuries, wanted towards adventure larks, side explorations, and distracting now largely irrelevant literary comparisons. The travel story does indeed end up with a visit to the “White Rock”, to learn about what this feature is, this book is probably one of the better sources of information without going through a technical archaeological site description in a published journal.
Those readers completely unfamiliar with Peru will likely appreciate this book more so than we did because like Hugh Thomson describes, there are many levels and types of exploring.
James M. Wise- September, 2019
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South America seems to refuse to show its inexhaustible creative force.
