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55-405: ]].Indigenous peoples of the Americas|indigenous]] citizens of Quechua and Aymara descent. This Potosí Department location article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Quechua people Quechua people ( / ˈ k ɛ tʃ u ə / , US also / ˈ k ɛ tʃ w ɑː / ; Spanish: [ˈketʃwa] ) , Quichua people or Kichwa people may refer to any of

110-421: A chumpi which protects the lower back when working in the fields is also worn. Men's fine dress includes a woolen waistcoat, similar to a sleeveless juyuna as worn by women but referred to as a chaleco , and often richly decorated. The most distinctive part of men's clothing is the handwoven poncho . Nearly every Quechua man and boy has a poncho, generally red decorated with intricate designs. Each district has

165-537: A Quechua word for a pit cooking technique used in Peru, includes several types of meat such as chicken, beef, pork, lamb, and/or mutton; tubers such as potatoes, sweet potatoes, yucca , uqa / ok’a ( oca in Spanish), and mashwa ; other vegetables such as maize/corn and fava beans; seasonings; and sometimes cheese in a small pot and/or tamales . Guinea pigs are also raised for meat. Other foods and crops include

220-478: A distinctive pattern. In some communities such as Huilloc, Patacancha, and many villages in the Lares Valley ponchos are worn as daily attire. However, most men use their ponchos on special occasions such as festivals, village meetings, weddings, etc. As with the women, ajotas, sandals made from recycled tires, are the standard footwear. They are cheap and durable. A ch'ullu , a knitted hat with earflaps,

275-431: A family to accomplish a large private project, for example, house construction, and in turn can expect to be similarly helped later with a project of their own. In almost all Quechua ethnic groups, many traditional handicrafts are an important aspect of material culture . This includes a tradition of weaving handed down from Inca times or earlier, using cotton, wool (from llamas , alpacas , guanacos , and vicuñas ), and

330-448: A feedback loop that leads to damage of the ecosystem. Fire often accompanies grazing as a management tool and is one of the main threats to the grasslands. The drier areas are being threatened with progression to desertification. Despite the fact that the puna grasslands experience heavy grazing, as an ecosystem it is highly resilient. In these areas of high grazing, successional species of grass and forbs grow back thick, thereby preserving

385-807: A few hundred in Brazil. They have an only slight sense of common identity. The various Quechua dialects are in some cases so different that mutual understanding is not possible. Quechua was spoken not only by the Incas , but also by long-term enemies of the Inca Empire , including the Huanca ( Wanka is a Quechua dialect spoken today in the Huancayo area ) and the Chanka (the Chanca dialect of Ayacucho ) of Peru, and

440-533: A great diversity of freshwater fish. Some of these include the giant coot , the silvery grebe , the Chilean teal , and the diademed sandpiper-plover (one of the rarest shorebirds in the world). Puna grasslands are being rapidly depleted by human activity, and as a result need much attention in the conservation realm. Numerous factors can lead to the cause of this destruction, but the preservation of it depends almost entirely on to what degree humans are populating

495-471: A loss of both ethnic identity and the Quechua language. This is also a result of steady migration to large cities (especially Lima ), which has resulted in acculturation by Hispanic society there. Quechua people cultivate and eat a variety of foods. They domesticated potatoes, which originated in the region, and cultivated thousands of potato varieties, which are used for food and medicine. Climate change

550-522: A multitude of natural dyes , and incorporating numerous woven patterns ( pallay ). Houses are usually constructed using air-dried clay bricks ( tika , or in Spanish adobe ), or branches and clay mortar (" wattle and daub "), with the roofs being covered with straw, reeds, or puna grass ( ichu ). The disintegration of the traditional economy, for example, regionally through mining activities and accompanying proletarian social structures, has usually led to

605-403: A religious significance, but this belief is not uniform across communities. Quinine , which is found naturally in the bark of the cinchona tree, is known to be used by Quechuas people for malaria -like symptoms. When chewed, coca acts as a mild stimulant and suppresses hunger, thirst, pain, and fatigue; it is also used to alleviate altitude sickness . Coca leaves are chewed during work in

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660-638: A song about a bloody river. In their myth of Wiraquchapampa , the Q'ero people describe the victory of the Apus over the Spaniards. Of the myths still alive today, the Inkarrí myth common in southern Peru is especially interesting; it forms a cultural element linking the Quechua groups throughout the region from Ayacucho to Cusco . Some Quechuas consider classic products of the region such as corn beer , chicha , coca leaves , and local potatoes as having

715-515: A total of about 270,000 (and 22,000 men) according to official figures. The sterilization program lasted for over five years between 1996 and 2001. During this period, women were coerced into forced sterilization. Sterilizations were often performed under dangerous and unsanitary conditions, as the doctors were pressured to perform operations under unrealistic government quotas, which made it impossible to properly inform women and receive their consent. The Bolivian film director Jorge Sanjinés dealt with

770-475: Is a high elevation, wet, montane grassland in the southern high Andes, occurring from northern Peru to northern Bolivia. The wet puna shares its border on the west with the Sechura desert and the east with the wet Peruvian Yungas. The characteristically mountainous landscape contains high lakes, mountain valleys, snow-covered mountains, and plateaux. The high elevation of the wet puna (4200 to 5000 m) causes

825-597: Is a mixture of styles from Pre-Spanish days and Spanish Colonial peasant dress. Starting at puberty, Quechua girls begin wearing multiple layers of petticoats and skirts, showing off the family's wealth and making her a more desirable bride. Married women also wear multiple layers of petticoats and skirts. Younger Quechua men generally wear Western-style clothing, the most popular being synthetic football shirts and tracksuit trousers. In certain regions, women also generally wear Western-style clothing. Older men still wear dark wool knee-length handwoven bayeta pants. A woven belt called

880-555: Is frequently worn. The first ch'ullu that a child receives is traditionally knitted by their father. In the Ausangate region, chullos are often ornately adorned with white beads and large tassels called t'ikas. Men sometimes wear a felt hat called a sombrero over the top of the ch'ullu decorated with centillo , finely decorated hat bands. Since ancient times men have worn small woven pouches called ch'uspa used to carry their coca leaves. The following list of Quechua ethnic groups

935-456: Is only a selection and delimitations vary. In some cases, these are village communities of just a few hundred people, in other cases ethnic groups of over a million. Dixon, Melissa, "Against all odds: UM grad charts new course with $ 90,000 fellowship" Puna (ecoregion) The puna is found above the treeline at 3200–3500 m elevation, and below the permanent snow line above 4500–5000 m elevation. It extends from central Peru in

990-596: Is threatening their potato and other traditional crops but they are undertaking conservation and adaptation efforts. Quinoa is another staple crop grown by the Quechua people. Ch’arki (the origin of the English word jerky ) is a dried (and sometimes salted) meat. It was traditionally made from llama meat that was sun- and freeze-dried in the Andean sun and cold nights, but is now also often made from horse and beef, with variation among countries. Pachamanca ,

1045-688: The Indigenous peoples of South America who speak the Quechua languages , which originated among the Indigenous people of Peru . Although most Quechua speakers are native to Peru, there are some significant populations in Ecuador , Bolivia , Chile , Colombia , and Argentina . The most common Quechua dialect is Southern Quechua . The Kichwa people of Ecuador speak the Kichwa dialect ; in Colombia,

1100-765: The Inga people speak Inga Kichwa . The Quechua word for a Quechua speaker is runa or nuna ("person"); the plural is runakuna or nunakuna ("people"). "Quechua speakers call themselves Runa -- simply translated, "the people". Some historical Quechua people are: The speakers of Quechua total some 5.1 million people in Peru, 1.8 million in Bolivia, 2.5 million in Ecuador (Hornberger and King, 2001), and according to Ethnologue (2006) 33,800 in Chile, 55,500 in Argentina, and

1155-757: The Kañari (Cañari) in Ecuador. Quechua was spoken by some of these people, for example, the Wanka, before the Incas of Cusco , while other people, especially in Bolivia but also in Ecuador, adopted Quechua only in Inca times or afterward. Quechua became Peru's second official language in 1969 under the military dictatorship of Juan Velasco Alvarado . There have been later tendencies toward nation-building among Quechua speakers, particularly in Ecuador (Kichwa) but also in Bolivia, where there are only slight linguistic differences from

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1210-553: The Puna . The typical Andean community extends over several altitude ranges and thus includes the cultivation of a variety of arable crops and/or livestock. The land is usually owned by the local community ( ayllu ) and is either cultivated jointly or redistributed annually. Beginning with the colonial era and intensifying after the South American states had gained their independence, large landowners appropriated all or most of

1265-550: The Bacillas species, these organisms are composed of dormant cells that enable them to survive in the extreme climatic conditions in the puna ecosystem. The dormant bacterial community of puna grasses is similar to those found in desert soils. The puna flora is characterized by its unique assemblages of cushion and mat forming species. Many of these species, most notably the large Azorella compacta (Yareta) has been heavily harvested for fuel and medicinal use. The vegetation with

1320-760: The Education Council of the Quechua Nation ( Consejo Educativo de la Nación Quechua , CENAQ), which is responsible for Quechua instruction or bilingual intercultural schools in the Quechua-speaking regions of Bolivia. Some Quechua speakers say that if nation-states in Latin America had been built following the European pattern, they should be a single, independent nation. Despite their ethnic diversity and linguistic distinctions,

1375-511: The Puna with distinct soil conditions that can be used to identify the main flora of each area. Up to 3000 m above the desert, the arid vegetation of the mountainous steppe is characterized by columnar cacti, arid shrubs and herbs. Vegetation located between 3800 and 4000 m are sustained by brown andic soils on ash-fall deposits and includes many endemic plant species as Hersodoma arequipensis , Piplostephium tacorense and Opuntia corotilla . In

1430-512: The area to have large temperature differences between night and day. The average annual temperature is low, ranging from 5 to 7 °C; with night frost periods from March to October. Temperatures shift from characteristic summer highs in the day and drop to winter lows at night. This extreme temperature shift has caused selective adaptation to occur and many endemic plants such as the Culcitium , Perezia , and Polylepis center their diversity in

1485-534: The area. Humans dramatically shape the ecosystem through the conversion of much of the land to farming grounds and grazing areas. Due to the high demand for cooking and heating fuel among the residents of the area, much of the land is degraded. For example, trees of the polylepis genus used to be easily found throughout the ecosystem and now are scarce. People of this region cultivate barley , potatoes and maca . Alpacas, vicuñas, and guanacos are raised for wool , and llamas for wool and transport. Human habitation in

1540-465: The areas in the south have one to two wet months. The average precipitation in this region ranges from 400 to 2000 mm. This ecoregion is a very dry, high elevation montane grassland of the southern high Andes. It extends into northern Chile and northwest Argentina and east into western Bolivia occurring above 3500 m between the tree and permanent snow lines. The vegetation of the dry puna consists of tropical alpine herbs with dwarf shrubs. Within

1595-564: The case of the community of Sarayaku has become well known among the Kichwa of the lowlands, who after years of struggle were able to successfully resist expropriation and exploitation of the rain forest for petroleum recovery . A distinction is made between two primary types of joint work. In the case of mink'a , people work together for projects of common interest (such as the construction of communal facilities). Ayni is, in contrast, reciprocal assistance, whereby members of an ayllu help

1650-461: The current situation. These impact measures are minimal however, since the ratio of protected areas to the rest of the ecosystem is minute. A growing population, construction of new roads, and mining activities are all acting as hindrances to the conservation of the ecosystem. Luckily, awareness is being raised about the problem, and steps are being taken to help improve its preservation. Currently range management programs are being introduced in many of

1705-474: The dry puna are salt flats, high plateaus, snow-covered peaks and volcanoes. Dry puna is distinguished from the other types of puna by its diminished annual rainfall. The dry puna has an 8-month long dry season and receives less than 400 mm of rainfall each year. The region lies at an elevation of 3500–5000 m above sea level. The dry puna is oligothermic as well. The average temperatures in this ecoregion range from 8 to 11 degrees Celsius and are lowest in

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1760-507: The entire Chilean bird population. Many of these species are rare and attract visitors to the area. One example of this rare avifauna is the giant flightless Darwin's rhea ( Rhea pennata ), which is similar to the ostrich found in the Old World, reaching up to one meter in height and 20 kg in weight. The puna also includes a great variety of aquatic species particularly at Chungará Lake located in northern Chile. The puna ecosystem has

1815-477: The entirety of the puna is under the effect of animal grazing. Cattle, horses, and donkeys are localized in the wet/humid puna while llama, sheep and alpaca can be raised in both the wet and drier areas of the puna. The most widespread influence on the grasslands is extensive grazing combined with the effects of fire. Grazing dries out the land, making it more susceptible to fire. Once a land has been exposed to fire, it makes it more likely to burn again, creating

1870-524: The fields as well as during breaks in construction projects in Quechua provinces. Coca leaves are the raw material from which cocaine , one of Peru's most historically important exports, is chemically extracted. Many Indigenous women wear colorful traditional attire, complete with bowler-style hats . The hat has been worn by Quechua and Aymara women since the 1920s when it was brought to the country by British railway workers. They are still commonly worn today. The traditional dress worn by Quechua women today

1925-424: The issue of forced sterilization in 1969 in his Quechua-language feature film Yawar Mallku . Quechuas have been left out of their nation's regional economic growth in recent years. The World Bank has identified eight countries on the continent to have some of the highest inequality rates in the world. The Quechuas have been subject to these severe inequalities, as many of them have a much lower life expectancy than

1980-539: The land and forced the Native population into bondage (known in Ecuador as Huasipungo , from Kichwa wasipunku , "front door"). Harsh conditions of exploitation repeatedly led to revolts by the Indigenous farmers, which were forcibly suppressed. The largest of these revolts occurred in 1780–1781 under the leadership of Husiy Qawriyil Kunturkanki . Some Indigenous farmers re-occupied their ancestors' lands and expelled

2035-445: The land. The second style of management is cooperative. This type of management originated from a movement that took land from large landholders and turned it over to council composed of workers. Agronomists and animal scientists see over the land and make sure the grazing is sustainable. Though there are a significant number of problems in puna grasslands, mostly being attributed to overgrazing, there are measures being taken to improve

2090-493: The landlords during the takeover of governments by dictatorships in the middle of the 20th century, such as in 1952 in Bolivia ( Víctor Paz Estenssoro ) and 1968 in Peru ( Juan Velasco Alvarado ). The agrarian reforms included the expropriation of large landowners. In Bolivia, there was a redistribution of the land to the Indigenous population as their private property. This disrupted traditional Quechua and Aymara culture based on communal ownership, but ayllus has been retained up to

2145-640: The meat of llamas and alpacas as well as beans, barley, hot peppers, coriander, and peanuts. Up to the present time, Quechuas continue to be victims of political conflicts and ethnic persecution. In the internal conflict in Peru in the 1980s between the government and Sendero Luminoso about three-quarters of the estimated 70,000 death toll were Quechuas, whereas the war parties were without exception whites and mestizos (people with mixed descent from both Natives and Spaniards). The forced sterilization policy under Peruvian president Alberto Fujimori affected almost exclusively Quechua and Aymara women,

2200-482: The montane guinea pig . Among carnivorous animals, there are puma (mountain lion), Pampas cat , the rare Andean mountain cat , Andean fox , and some Spectacled bear . Relatively few birds, such as the Darwin's rhea , Andean condor , and certain miners and yellow-finches , are found in the vast expanses of puna grasslands; however, many more birds are associated with the highland lakes and marshes that are found in

2255-404: The mountain spirits ( apu ) as well as lesser local deities ( wak'a ), who are still venerated especially in southern Peru. The Quechuas came to terms with their repeated historical experience of tragedy in the form of various myths. These include the figure of Nak'aq or Pishtaco ("butcher"), the white murderer who sucks out the fat from the bodies of the Indigenous peoples he kills, and

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2310-604: The north, across the Altiplano plateau of Peru, Chile and Bolivia , and south along the spine of the Andes into northwest Argentina . Other sources claim that it goes on Suni (high plateaus and cliffs, some agriculture) and from 4000 m to the snow line ( permafrost and alpine desert) of puna grassland (mountain tops and slopes, much colder). The puna is a diverse ecosystem that comprises varied ecoregions labeled wet/moist puna, dry puna and desert puna. This ecoregion

2365-513: The original Peruvian version. An indication of this effort is the umbrella organization of the Kichwa people in Ecuador, ECUARUNARI ( Ecuador Runakunapak Rikcharimuy ). Some Christian organizations also refer to a "Quechua people", such as the Christian shortwave radio station HCJB , "The Voice of the Andes" ( La Voz de los Andes ). The term "Quechua Nation" occurs in such contexts as the name of

2420-598: The parliamentary officer Carlos Torres Caro refused their acceptance. Practically all Quechuas in the Andes have been nominally Catholic since colonial times. Nevertheless, traditional religious forms persist in many regions, blended with Christian elements – a fully integrated syncretism . Quechua ethnic groups also share traditional religions with other Andean peoples, particularly belief in Mother Earth ( Pachamama ), who grants fertility and to whom burnt offerings and libations are regularly made. Also important are

2475-543: The present time in remote regions, such as in the Peruvian Quechua community of Q'ero . The struggle for land rights continues up to the present time to be a political focal point of everyday Quechua life. The Kichwa ethnic groups of Ecuador which are part of the ECUARUNARI association were recently able to regain communal land titles or the return of estates—in some cases through militant activity. Especially

2530-520: The puna grassland displays complex patterns of spatial variation, despite the low cover and overall density. The puna belt which ranges from wet puna in the north of the Andes to dry puna to the southwestern Andes is composed mostly by poaceae (Grasses) and shrubs of the asteraceae (daisy) family. Other representative grasses include species Jarava ichu ("Paja Brava"), Calamagrostis vicunarum ("Crespillo"), and Festuca dolichophylla ("Chillihua"). There are several main rock unit formations in

2585-410: The puna is widespread and tends to increase to the east, toward the moister areas. Native tubers and grains are cultivated over large areas of the central puna. The inhabitants of this region cultivate native tubers (potatoes and maca) along with non-native grains such as barley and native pseudocereals such as quinoa . Alpacas, vicuñas, llamas, and guanacos are raised for wool and, as a result, most of

2640-561: The puna. The most common examples are the Andean goose , Andean flamingo , Andean avocet , giant coot , puna teal and diademed sandpiper-plover . The highland puna is a biome that encompasses relatively large reserves. Bird populations in the puna ecosystem are surprisingly diverse for such a harsh and extreme environment. For example, the Lauca National Park includes 148 species of birds, which represents about one third of

2695-541: The regional average, and many communities lack access to basic health services. Perceived ethnic discrimination continues to play a role at the parliamentary level. When the newly elected Peruvian members of parliament Hilaria Supa Huamán and María Sumire swore their oath of office in Quechua—for the first time in the history of Peru in an Indigenous language—the Peruvian parliamentary president Martha Hildebrandt and

2750-416: The scattered halophytes around and in the depressions. These salt lakes are home to the endemic Andean flamingo . The World Wildlife fund defines three distinct puna sub-ecoregions: Puna soils are composed of an organic rich layer and a stony layer. The average soil profile is 33 cm deep. The puna ecosystem has a low diversity of bacteria in its soils. The rhizosphere of the grasses are dominated by

2805-467: The soil which means its potential to rebound is higher. The grasslands are also influenced more locally by agriculture, mining, and waste disposal depending on the concentration of the population. There are two predominant forms of management of the puna grazing lands. The first is communal. In this form of management, the community controls the land and every member of that community grazes livestock. This generally leads to overgrazing and degradation of

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2860-469: The south. As a result of the elevation, varied temperatures and lack of rainfall, the Central Andean dry puna is a unique ecoregion with highly adapted flora and fauna. The southern region of the dry puna encompasses an even drier puna known as the desert puna. In the desert puna the average rainfall ranges from only 51–406 mm. The desert puna is dominated by the huge salt lakes and is known for

2915-470: The various Quechua ethnic groups have numerous cultural characteristics in common. They also share many of these with the Aymara or other Indigenous peoples of the central Andes . Traditionally, Quechua identity is locally oriented and inseparably linked in each case with the established economic system. It is based on agriculture in the lower altitude regions, and on pastoral farming in the higher regions of

2970-484: The wet puna. The ecoregion contains snow-capped peaks, glacial lakes, and several rivers that originate in the Cordilleras. The biggest lake in the ecoregion is Lake Titicaca , which is the highest navigable lake in the world, at an elevation of 3800 m (above sea level). The Suches and Tiwanacu rivers in Bolivia are the lakes tributaries. The areas in the north surrounding Lake Titicaca have eight wet months, and

3025-426: The wettest area shrubby vegetation of families asteraceae , fabaceae and solanaceae dominate. The puna is generally drier than the páramo montane grasslands of the northern Andes. Native mammals include (domesticated) llama and alpaca , and their wild relatives, the vicuña and guanaco . The rare Taruca deer is shy and reserved. Also present are well-known rodent species, such as chinchilla , paca , and

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