Alarm in Otavalo for the purchase of hair from indigenous people

For the leaders of the Kichwa community, it is an attack against the culture of this people.

The leaders and members of the indigenous community of Otavalo are concerned about the presence of people who buy hair from members of their community in Imbabura, in northern Ecuador.

For three weeks, foreign citizens have been walking the streets of the city, offering money to women and men to allow them to cut their hair, denounced Rumiñahui Jimbo, president of the Otavalo Kichwa Council,

Buyers are looking for hairs that measure more than 30 centimeters, for which they offer between USD 10 to 50, depending on the extension and quality of the hair fibers, which are acquired for the manufacture of wigs in Colombia.

This is an attack on the Kichwa culture of Otavalo, in which men are characterized by having long hair combed in braids, Jimbo claims.

The leaders of the Kichwa Cabildo, accompanied by the Municipal Police, made a tour of the city, verifying that the complaints they received and the rumors that were spread through social networks were true.

Eight pairs of hair buyers, cutting indigenous hair with scissors, were located. The task is carried out on Saturdays and Wednesdays, which are the days of the fair in Otavalo, when most of the inhabitants of the rural area go to the city to make purchases and paperwork.

The leaders of the Cabildo Kichwa have spoken with several buyers of hair to explain the intercultural context of Otavalo and request that they suspend their activity, but the foreigners argued their rights to free mobility and work.

Lizbeth Imbaquingo, vice president of the Cabildo, maintains that it is an offensive practice, which takes advantage of the need of people, affected by the economic crisis, to sell their hair.

Several people have allowed their hair to be cut, arguing that it is a personal decision, that there is no problem because it will grow back.

Rafael Maigua, promoter of the culture of Otavalo, considers that it is an attack against the identity of his people.

“Long hair is one of the few elements that identify us as Kichwas Otavalo. Therefore, cutting it off is an offense against our roots and against our parents, who defended this thousand-year-old tradition ”, he declared.

Jimbo insists that it is not only attacking culture, but also against health, because haircuts are carried out on public roads, with an accumulation of people, so the Cabido Kichwa requested that officials from the Municipality, Police Station National and Health Directorate.

The control operations will continue and, if the hair buyers continue with their practice, the hair fibers will be confiscated and indigenous justice will be applied to them, for not complying with a provision of the local authorities, warned the leaders of the Kichwa people of Otavalo.