Chawpi runa

Chawpi runa (Wechua: chawpi runakuna, "people of the center") is a traditional Wechua term for individuals whose gender identity exists outside or between the male-female binary. The concept is rooted in the Wechua cosmological principle of yanantin, which holds that the universe operates through complementary dualities. In Wechua understanding, chawpi runakuna occupy the sacred space between complementary opposites and have historically held specific spiritual and social roles within their communities.

The recognition of chawpi runa as a distinct social category predates the Wechua Nation's formal establishment in 1657 AN and has persisted through various periods of external domination. Following the formation of Nouvelle Alexandrie in 1685 AN, Wechua cultural concepts regarding gender complementarity influenced broader federal attitudes toward gender identity, contributing to legal protections that reflect both secular rights-based frameworks from Aldurian and Alexandrian traditions and spiritual recognition from Wechua heritage.

Cosmological basis

Yanantin and complementary duality

The concept of chawpi runa cannot be understood apart from yanantin, the foundational Wechua principle that all existence comprises complementary pairs. Unlike dualistic systems that frame opposites as conflicting, yanantin posits that apparent opposites are mutually necessary and exist in dynamic balance. Day requires night, mountain requires valley, and masculine requires feminine. Neither pole is complete without its complement.

Within Wechua cosmology, the three realms of existence, hanan pacha (upper world), kay pacha (this world), and ukhu pacha (inner world), are themselves linked through points of tinkuy, or convergence. These meeting points, which include certain mountains, springs, and caves, are considered sacred because they embody the connection between realms.

Gender as complementary category

Traditional Wechua understanding applies the yanantin principle to gender. Qhari (man) and warmi (woman) are complementary categories whose union, whether in marriage, labor, or ritual, creates balance and enables productivity. The ayllu system of communal organization assumes this complementarity, with most community roles structured around paired male-female participation.

However, Wechua tradition has long recognized that some individuals do not fit neatly into either qhari or warmi categories. These chawpi runakuna are understood not as failures of the binary system but as embodiments of tinkuy, the meeting point between categories. Just as certain geographic locations serve as bridges between cosmic realms, chawpi runakuna are seen as bridges between gendered states of being.

Traditional roles

Spiritual functions

In traditional Wechua communities, chawpi runakuna have historically held roles associated with mediation between the mundane and sacred. While not all chawpi runakuna pursued spiritual vocations, certain ritual functions were considered particularly suited to individuals who embodied tinkuy.

Among these roles were certain categories of paqo (ritual specialists), particularly those focused on divination and communication with apu (mountain spirits). The logic underlying this association held that individuals who bridged gender categories possessed enhanced capacity to bridge the boundary between kay pacha and the spirit world. Some highland communities maintained traditions in which chawpi runakuna served as caretakers of wak'a (sacred sites) or as specialists in certain healing practices.

Textile traditions

The Wechua textile tradition, which carries deep symbolic and social meaning, has historically included chawpi runakuna as weavers. Certain complex pallay (woven patterns) were traditionally associated with chawpi runa weavers, though these associations varied by region and community. The symbolic connection derived from weaving as an act of bringing together separate threads into unified cloth, a metaphor for the tinkuy principle that chawpi runakuna were seen to embody.

Social integration

Within the ayllu system, chawpi runakuna were generally integrated into community life according to their individual circumstances and the customs of their particular community. Practices varied considerably across regions and periods. In some communities, chawpi runakuna formed their own households or lived within extended family structures. In others, they were incorporated into community labor and ritual obligations in ways that accommodated their distinct status.

The communal nature of Wechua society, with its emphasis on ayni (reciprocity) and collective welfare over individual distinction, generally worked against rigid exclusion of chawpi runakuna. An individual's contribution to the community through labor, skill, and participation in collective life typically carried greater weight than categorical gender status.

Historical continuity

Pre-state period

Evidence from oral traditions and early written records suggests that recognition of chawpi runakuna existed among Wechua communities during the period of Atteran domination and the subsequent centuries of instability. The decentralized nature of Wechua society during these periods meant that practices regarding chawpi runakuna were primarily matters of local custom rather than codified law.

Some Atteran-era sources document Wechua gender practices with varying degrees of accuracy and cultural bias. Later Wechua scholars have worked to recover and contextualize these accounts, distinguishing between genuine descriptions of traditional practice and misunderstandings or distortions introduced by outside observers.

Wechua Nation period (1657-1685)

The establishment of the first Wechua Nation in 1657 AN created new contexts for traditional practices. The centralization of authority under the Sapa Wechua and the formal institutionalization of the Faith of Inti brought questions of social custom into the realm of state concern. However, the Wechua Sorrow that followed soon after disrupted state-level developments, and many traditions persisted primarily at the community level during the subsequent period of hardship.

The Great Restoration beginning in 1673 AN brought renewed attention to Wechua cultural practices as part of broader efforts to recover and preserve tradition. The founding of the Royal Academy of the Wechua Language and related cultural institutions created spaces for documenting and discussing chawpi runa traditions, though this work remained primarily scholarly rather than legal.

Federation period (1685-present)

The formation of Nouvelle Alexandrie through the Proclamation of Punta Santiago in 1685 AN brought Wechua communities into political union with Alduria and its predominantly Alexandrian population. This union created new possibilities for the recognition of chawpi runakuna by combining Wechua cultural frameworks with Aldurian and Alexandrian legal traditions.

Both Alduria and the former Alexandrian Empire had developed relatively progressive approaches to individual rights and personal autonomy, grounded in secular-influenced philosophy. However, these traditions conceptualized gender primarily in terms of individual rights rather than cosmological categories. The Wechua contribution to the emerging federal culture introduced a framework in which gender diversity carried spiritual significance beyond mere tolerance.

The Proclamation of Punta Santiago guarantees equality before the law and protection of human dignity for all citizens. Subsequent federal legislation and judicial interpretation have extended these protections to cover gender identity, drawing on both rights-based reasoning from Aldurian-Alexandrian legal philosophy and cultural recognition rooted in Wechua tradition.

Contemporary status

Legal recognition

Under current federal law, New Alexandrians may identify as male, female, or a third category on official documents. This provision, implemented through administrative regulation in 1702 AN and confirmed by subsequent legislation, reflected input from both secular civil rights advocates and Wechua cultural organizations. The Wechua term chawpi runa is recognized alongside the Alexandrian troisième genre and Martino tercer género as equivalent designations.

Federal anti-discrimination law prohibits discrimination on the basis of gender identity in employment, housing, and public accommodations. These protections apply throughout the Federation, though enforcement mechanisms and cultural attitudes vary by region.

Cultural preservation

The chawpi runa tradition is recognized as part of Wechua cultural heritage and is included in educational materials about Wechua history and society. The Royal Academy of the Wechua Language has documented terminology related to chawpi runa traditions as part of its broader lexicographical work.

Cultural organizations including the Wechua Cultural Renaissance Movement have worked to preserve knowledge of traditional chawpi runa roles and to support contemporary chawpi runakuna in connecting with their heritage. These efforts exist alongside and often in collaboration with secular LGBTQ advocacy organizations operating throughout the Federation.

Religious contexts

Within the Faith of Inti, attitudes toward chawpi runakuna vary among different priestly lineages and regional traditions. Many practitioners maintain that traditional acceptance of chawpi runakuna reflects authentic Intic teaching, while some more conservative voices have been influenced by Nazarene or other traditions that take different positions. The High Priest of the Sun has not issued formal doctrinal statements on the matter, leaving it to local practice and individual conscience.

Communities that have blended Intic practice with Nazarene or Melusinian elements show varying approaches depending on how the different traditions have been reconciled locally.

Terminology

Several Wechua terms relate to chawpi runa concepts:

• Chawpi runa (pl. chawpi runakuna): Literally "person of the center" or "middle person." The most common contemporary term for individuals outside the gender binary.
• Yanantin: The principle of complementary duality underlying Wechua cosmology.
• Tinkuy: Convergence or meeting point, particularly the sacred meeting of complementary opposites.
• Qhari: Man, male person.
• Warmi: Woman, female person.
• Q'iwa: Rainbow. Sometimes used metaphorically in relation to gender diversity, though usage varies by community.

See also

• Quariwarmi
• Wechua people
• Faith of Inti
• Ayllu
• Wechua language
• Proclamation of Punta Santiago