Aymara- Culture Unit
Naya Todd
Friday 13th January
Humanities-6
Naya Todd
Aymara DescriptionThe Aymara people (eye-MAHR-ah) are an indigenous ethnic group who are
Indian who live in South America, specifically Bolivia, Peru and Chile. The Aymara
people have faced being with of the Inca Empire and later on the Spanish. There are
about two million, mostly around Bolivia in the altiplano (high plains) or the Andes
Mountains.mn
Aymara OpeningAll around the world there are millions of cultures. It’s hard to imagine people
today surviving without technology, electricity or modern communication devices. Well
some of the Aymara people do. They are Indian and live in South America and are an
indigenous ethnic group who are located specifically in Bolivia, Peru and Chile. This
culture is filled with an appreciation of nature and love of one another. This report will
share about this and the way they live and have survived over the centuries.
HistoryMany years ago in the 1570’s the Spanish forced the natives to work in the rich silver
mines in the Altiplano area of the country. They were part of the Incas in the sixteenth
centaury.
LocationWhere are they from? The Aymara people come from the Southern Hemisphere
in South America and are located mostly in Bolivia, Southern Peru and Northern Chile.
They are South American Indian’s and live high above in the Altiplano (high plateau) in
the Andes. The weather conditions are cold and the farming there is difficult. Many of
Aymara people live in the cities, but still do the traditional activities of their culture.
1
Naya Todd
Rites of PassageA significant event for an Aymara child is their first haircut, known as rutucha.
The baby’s hair is allowed to grow until he or she is able to walk and communicate.
Aymara children people do not participate in religious feasts, but have their own
celebration called the kachua its the most important childrens feast and a time where
children pass on to childhood to adult.
The kachua feast usually takes place on November twenty-ninth and December
thirteenth. Its led by an older boy and girl known as kawa iras while they sing and dance
in groups. “In one dance the boys and girls pretend not to have interest in each other”
(James Eagen, The Aymara of South America, 2002, pg. 44). The girls take the lead
mostly, while the boys play the flute.
Belief/ValuesThey believe in the power of the spirits in the mountain, the sky, natural forces
like lighting. They respect Pachamama- Earth Goddess/ Mother Earth, the most sacred of
their deities. She has the power to make soil fertile and grow a good crop. In
They also believe that some animals, such as the alpaca, condor, fox, llama and sheep
have supernatural powers. These animals are considered sacred.
Language-
2
Naya Todd
“Kamisaraki”, “hello” as the Aymara people say. The languages they speak are
Aymara language, Spanish and a few people can speak Quechua. The Aymara language
was originally known as jaqi aru and comes from the word jaya mara aru, which means
“Ancient language”. Most of the Aymara people are bilingual, speaking both Aymara and
Spanish and some are trilingual even speaking Quechua. The language now is not the
same as the ancient Aymara language and has changed over the centauries borrowing
Spanish words. The Quechua language sound quite similar, but the languages have only
one hundred-eighty words in common.
Nearly all schools located in Bolivia, Chile and Peru teach classes in Spanish, so
educated Aymara children know how to speak it. When they sell products they must
speak Spanish, but at home they prefer to speak their language. However, the Aymara
language is very close to extinction.
Arts:
DanceThe dance in Aymara mostly represents communities joining other cultures. They
dance in many occasions and festivals, to remember wars their ancestors have fought and
to thank the gods for rain. Many dance features their traditional costumes, large, bright
and masks. One dance called “old man dance,” includes a bent-over Spanish nobleman
with a large top hat. Mestizo the dance in Aymara represents mostly the community
joining other cultures and is one of their favorite activities young people also use this
time to socialize. The Chaqallus, Lawa k’umus, Chuqilas and K’usillos are performed
occasionally in festivals.
Dress/Clothing/AppearanceThe clothes the people wear is colorful. The men in the cities usually wear
Western Clothing/ traditional outfits and sometimes wear modern style clothing and the
women always wear traditional clothing, even in the cities. The women wear their
traditional polleras (big one-piece skirts) made in nice materials including velvet and
brocade. In the Altiplano they require warm woolen clothes, because of the strong winds,
3
Naya Todd
so women wear long skirts and sweaters.
When there are festivals or important holidays women wear five or six shirts layered on
top of each other. Bright shawls, as they call ahuayos are used for strapping babies to
their mother’s backs or carrying heavy things, such as crops and firewood. They also
wear thick belts from llama fleece and human hair. In some places men wear ponchos,
too. Both genders wear jandals/flip flops or shoes, but sometimes go barefoot. They are
also skilled weavers, their techniques date back to the Pre-Inca times. They us great
materials including cotton wool from sheep, alpacas and llamas.
FoodIn cities, the Aymara diet is varied, one of the typical ingredient is aji,a hot pepper
is used to season the dishes. In the countryside, potatoes and grains, such as quinoa.
Quinoa has been grown in the Andes for centauries and is a nutritious, high-protein grain.
The most important grown crop is potato, corn, quinoa and barley. One of their
traditional dishes are olluco con charqui, olluco is a small potato root, which is cooked
with charqui, dried llama meat. However, because llama is important for their wool and
carrying things, they are rarely eaten.
HolidaysThe Aymara celebrate the same occasions as the Bolivian people. They celebrate
the civic holidays like Independence Day and Christmas and Easter are some of their
religious holidays. On August second is Dia del Indio, an important holiday of their
tradition.
AnimalsThe Aymara people cannot survive without animals, they provide them meat for
food and wool for clothes. They also carry very heavy things. Thousands of years ago
they tamed the alpaca, llama, dog and guinea pig. The Spanish brought other
domesticated animals to Aymara lands in 1500s, these animals included chickens, cows,
donkeys, ducks, geese, horses, pigs, and sheep. Many wild animals also live in the
Altiplano, such as wolves, foxes, deers, and rodents.
4
Naya Todd
GREEF-
GovernmentRecreationWhen the Aymara are not working they enjoy their own T.V shows. One activity
they love is dancing in folk festivals, which young people use the time to socialize in.
ReligionCatholic priests accompanied the first Spanish rulers in the Andes. These
priests converted the Aymara to Catholicism, however the Aymara didn`t give up
their own religion completely. They combined their traditional religion with
Catholicism and called it folk Catholicism. Some are Christians, too. The modern
Aymara still practice this.
Their religion is based on the concept of when you give something, each time you
take something.
EconomyAymara people are skilled weavers, their techniques date back to the Pre-Inca times, and
so this is one way that they earn their money. They also do pottery making. In the
countryside they’re most likely to grow crops on their fields and sell them to people,
although there are no specific tasks for husbands and wives working together. However,
because of the harsh environment it’s sometimes hard to grow crops properly. Some
people work in silver or tin mines, this work can be very dangerous.
EducationIn Bolivia primary school is until your fourteen years old. However, some don’t
complete school and boys are more likely to complete schools, than girls, who have more
tasks to do from a very young age.
5
Naya Todd
FamilyA typical family will include parents, children and grandparents in one house or in
many small houses. A typical Aymara house is a small oblong building made of adobe
(clay). Large families with as many as seven or eight children are common. “Property
owned by women will be passed down from mother to daughter.”(Countries and their
Cultures, Family Life)
Marriage is a quite a long process, which includes a planting ceremony, interference
feasts and building a house. In the Aymara culture divorce is accepted.
Current StatusAlthough many of the Aymara people are living in the cities having the modern
way of life, the Aymara tribe is running out of people. After over ten thousand years
some have still lived in the cold, dry, mountain environment and although they have
fought many wars with people who invaded their land. However, European colonizers
and their descendants have treated the Aymara as insignificant, taking away their lands
and resources and offering nothing in return. Which was a social problem they had. The
Aymara have kept their ancient culture alive and have maintained their ancient language.
They still participate in festivals, and some still live in the Andes having a hard life with
no technology, around and a few places have no electricity or modern communication
devices. Many have moved to cities and participate in the modern day life of the country.
They are finding new ways living in the olds ways and new ones.
Juspajaraña-Thank-you
6
Naya Todd
7