Tawanku:
Intercouple Bonds in a Qolla Village (Peru)
Ralph Bolton
1. Introduction
Although an interest in human sexual arrangements involving multiple
nia les and multiple females has a venerable history in anthropology, during
re cent decades this topic has been virtually neglected 1 . However, I think
that one might confidently expect to witness a resurgence of theoretical
c °n.cern over group sexual phenomena in the next few years, largely, of
c °urse, as a consequence of the widespread emergence of such arrangements
111 the social life of contemporary America.
While a few examples of multiple male-female bonds which include
Se ^ual intercourse are justly renowned - such as wife-lending among the Eskimo
dn d the Chukchee and group marriage among the Kaingang of Brazil - sur
prisingly little information is available on the subject for other societies. It is
prute likely, nevertheless, that other cases can be located. In 1969 Ben Wal-
Uce described a previously unreported spouse-exchange institution among
e Pagan Gaddang of the Philippine Islands. It is to be hoped that as more
exa mples are brought forth our understanding of the theoretical problems
P°sed by this type of sexual involvement - in our own society as well as in
°fhers - win k e enhanced.
The purpose of this paper is to describe tawanku, a form of intercouple
re la.tionship in existence among the Qolla Indians of the Qollao (Altipiano),
1 The field work on which this paper is based was supported by the Foreign Area
d , ° WsE ip Program. A grant from the John Randolph Haynes and Dora Haynes Foun-
n provided support for the analysis of field materials and for the writing of this
on ^ ^ am § rateful Professor Bernd Lambert, Cornell University, for his comments
An^ 111 6ar ^ er version of this work, which was presented at the annual meeting of the
to eilCan Anthropological Association, in New York, 1971. Additionally, I should like
ex press my appreciation to Charlene Bolton for invaluable assistance in the field.
Authropos 68. 1973 10
