Description
Book SynopsisExplores 'child circulation,' informal arrangements in which indigenous Andean children are sent by their parents to live in other households. This book describes how child circulation is intimately linked to survival in the city, which has had to withstand colonialism, and economic isolation.
Trade Review“
The Circulation of Children is a real contribution to several fields, including kinship studies and Andean studies. Jessaca B. Leinaweaver has done substantial fieldwork in an important region of South America on a topic of great current interest and lasting scholarly importance.”—
Mary Weismantel, author of
Cholas and Pishtacos: Stories of Race and Sex in the Andes“In this highly readable, quite original study of the practice of child circulation, Jessaca B. Leinaweaver discusses the social, economic, racial, gender, legal, and moral contours of that practice; locates it in a complex web of local, regional, and national vectors of culture and power; and offers a nuanced interpretation of it as neither entirely benevolent nor completely exploitative. Leinaweaver is respectful and empathetic, and her book is rich in ethnographic information, thick descriptions, and personal stories.”—
Carlos Aguirre, author of
The Criminals of Lima and Their Worlds: The Prison Experience, 1850–1935 Table of ContentsAbout the Series vii
Acknowledgments ix
A Note on Translation xiii
Introduction: Moving Children in Ayacucho 1
1. Ayacucho: Histories of Violence and Ethnography 21
2. International Adoption: The Globalization of Kinship 37
3. Puericulture and Andean Orphanhood 61
4. Companionship and Custom: The Mechanics of Child Circulation 81
5.
Superación: The Strategic Uses of Child Circulation 105
6.
Pertenecer: Knowledge and Kinship 134
7. Circulating Children, at Home and Abroad 154
Glossary 163
Notes 165
Bibliography 195
Index 213
