EXTERNAL INDUCEMENT AND NON-WESTERNIZATION IN THE USES OF THE ASHENINKA-CUSHMA

The cushma is a cotton tunic worn by the Pajonal Asheninka and other m ontana Indians in the Peruvian Amazon. The cushma constitutes an impor tant article of dress and cultural identity. Its continued use points to the persistence of shared Asheninka values and practices in the fac e of prolonged colonization efforts in the area. An influx of industri al goods into the Asheninka trading system has boosted the circulation of traditional exchange items. Recent political organizing has furthe r strengthened Asheninka identity. Asheninka leaders who have started to wear Western-style clothes now don the cushma to display Asheninka- ness to influential outsiders. No longer may we assume that its use me rely testifies to the cultural purity of its wearer. Its use may also be an indication of his or her sophisticated acknowledgment that the t imely display of indigenous identity may well be rewarded. This adds a new layer of meaning to the Asheninka cushma.