User:OliWN/Acullico

Acullico, chacchado, akulliku, acuyico (from the Quechua akullikuy), acusi, pijcho or mascada is a social, ritual and medicinal custom in which a small bundle of coca leaves is placed in the mouth between the cheek and the jaw. This tradition is found in various parts of South America, including northern Argentina, northern Chile, western Bolivia (although due to west to east migration it is common amongst the working classes across the country) Peru, Ecuador, and Colombia. It helps to eliminate or reduce the effects of altitude sickness caused by the lack of oxygen at high altitudes, as well as alleviating fatigue, hunger and indigestion. The act of chewing the coca is frequently called acullicar, chacchar, pijchaer, coquear, while those who practice acullico are called coqueros

Consumption
Usually, the coca leaves are chewed alongside a small amount of an alkaline substance, such as bicarbonate of soda, lime or the ashes of a plant known natively as 'lejía', or 'llipta ' when it is quinoa, in order to increase effectiveness.

History
Evidence of chewing coca leaves, across the Andean region, dates back 8000 years. In the culture of the Moche civilization it can be seen on ceramic vases.

Chewing coca became frowned upon following the Spanish invasion, it did not disappear, however, since it was used by indigenous workers in order to survive in the difficult conditions in Cerro Rico de Potosí.

Contemporary usage
Many who work in jobs demanding physical exertion, such as long-distance bus driving, building work, mining and other such roles have adopted acullico. In certain fields such as  mining this can be traced back at least as far as colonial times, but there is also a group of new activities into which chewing coca leaves has been assimilated, including students suffering of stress in exam periods which require long periods of study without sleep.

Bolivia
Several governments of Bolivia, such as that of Jaime Paz Zamora have defended the consumption of coca, be it in its traditional form, acullico or in medicinal infusions as an important cultual practice.

The tenure of Evo Morales led to a new wave of support and publicity for acullico as a daily practice for an important section of the Bolivian population, with events such as the National Day of Acullico celebrating the fact that on the 11th January 2013 Bolivia re-ratified the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs with the following statement: The multicultural state of Bolivia reserves the right to permit, within its borders, the traditional chewing of coca leaves and the consumption and use of the coca leaf in its natural form for both cultural and medicinal purposes The issuing of this statement was considered to be a triumph against the previous opposition to the chewing of coca leaves.

In October 2012 Evo Morales asked the actory and activist Sean Penn to defend acullico as a cultural practice on the international stage.

Argentina
The tradition of chewing coca leaves still survies in areas of northern Argentina, despite certain prejudices which surround the practice. It is a widespread social custom which is used as a way of affirming an identity.