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dc.rights.licenseCC-BY-NC-ND
dc.contributor.advisorJara Gomez, Fabiola
dc.contributor.authorVeldscholten, I.G.
dc.date.accessioned2018-07-19T17:02:06Z
dc.date.available2018-07-19T17:02:06Z
dc.identifier.urihttps://studenttheses.uu.nl/handle/20.500.12932/29368
dc.description.abstractThe World we live in is getting smaller and smaller. Processes of globalization have spread images, peoples and cultures all over the world. Because of this different cultures more and more get into first hand contact and influence each other. One of the ways this happens is true tourism. This sector has taken an import place in many peoples lives in the last half a century since it spreads many people and their money over different areas of the earth. The Otavalos who live in the northern Andes of Ecuador are known for their handicrafts, music and indigenous culture. Every Saturday the market is visited by thousands of tourists, who are the main economic resource for many Otavalos. Besides the masses who disappear again after the market is over, there’s always some tourists that stay for a couple of days to get to know more about the local culture. These ethno tourists are usually looking for traditional – exotic - culture, but to receive them a community already changes. Their income and daily practices focus on the tourists and the are confronted with their culture because they have to think about the aspects they want to share with the tourists. This again can influence the way the see themselves and certain aspects of their culture. This thesis describes the way in which Otavalos have commercialized different aspects of their culture to be able to sell them to tourists. The considerations that they make in this process are an indication for the way they try to keep their ethnicity while searching for their place in a globalizing world. There’s different ways anthropologists can look at the interaction between local and global. Many theories that were written down some years ago are based on the concept of acculturation; the idea that the weaker culture will adapt to the stronger one. But situation in Otavalo shows that many developments can’t be cought in one-way schedules. Tourism in this region comprises a complex whole of interactions between tourists and inhabitants which exist on totally different levels. These levels are shaped bij expactations of the other, which are usually based on images and ideas produced by a third party – for example a travel guide. History partly explains why the Otavalos managed to keep control over the development of tourism in their region. They were always artisans who travelled around to sell their goods. When they regained their freedom after some centuries of colonial rule, they spread all over the world to market their handicrafts and music. From these travels they brought back ideas for the development of tourism in the region, which shows that they adapted to this new market from within. This enabled them to react at changes in the global market while consciously staying in touch with their traditional culture. Thereby they make a difference between products that don’t mean to much to them anyway because they were always produced for the market and cultural aspects that are meaningful for the community. The former are changed and manipulated as much as possible to make money, while people are supposed to be more subtle in sharing the latter with outsiders. This shows that the model of creolisation fits better to describe reactions of the Otavalos to processes of globalization. Theories that are based on acculturation – like the invention of tradition and reconstructed ethnicity – describe processes that do happen in Otavalo, but they happen in a more complex way then described in the initial theory. While searching a way to keep their ethnicity, while partaking in the globalizing world, Otavalos constantly reconstruct aspect of their culture to stay in touch with their roots. At the same time new traditions come into being because of the connection with other cultures. We can’t stop things from changing, and this happened in Otavalo even before the arrival of the first bus with tourists. The Otavalos show that it is important for people to be conscious about the changing world around them so they can decide what part of their live and culture they are willing to share with others. Cultural aspect will change no matter what, whether they are sold to tourists or just fit to the ever changing world. The way they change and the thoughts behind it determine the new value for both the community and their visitors.
dc.description.sponsorshipUtrecht University
dc.format.extent1086246
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdf
dc.language.isonl
dc.titleModerne Pelgrims in de vallei van de reizende entrepreneurs, Een onderzoek naar culturele veranderingen ten gevolge van etnisch toerisme in Otavalo, Ecuador.
dc.type.contentBachelor Thesis
dc.rights.accessrightsOpen Access
dc.subject.keywordsCulturele Antropologie; Ecuador; etnotourisme; mondialisering
dc.subject.courseuuCulturele antropologie en ontwikkelingssociologie


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