Tradizione orale, letteratura e violenza nell'Amazzonia peruviana: l'epoca del "caucho"

The main theme of this thesis concerns the indigenous representation and self-representation of the historical and socio-economic period known as “Época del Caucho” (Rubber Era), and in particular the invisibilization of the native point of view. During the Rubber Era (between the last decades of the XIXth century and the beginning of the XXth) in the Peruvian Amazonian region a really hard coercive working system was established, involving and confronting native Amazonian people with western and “mestizos” entrepreneurs. Violent acts committed against indigenous workers brought to, according to various sources, tens of thousands of victims but, nevertheless, these facts rarely appear on history books and literature. The thesis – in addition to an historical review and the examination of some official documents – analyses some novels centred on this subject, underlining similarities and differences among them and the emic perspective, which is presented through testimonials of some “caucheros” workers' descendants and their oral literary creations (like tales and songs). Oral materials have been collected through interviews realized during field work and they are not just a cultural resistance operation, but also an effective practice of decolonization, in the way that they give an account of the unbalanced power relationships and present an alternative way to understand them.