The Aymara People's Unique Year Count

All of the citizens in Bolivia and indigenous use the Gregorian Calendar to record history in newspapers and historical references. However, the members of the Aymara village mark time within themselves by events that occur, the age of their family members, major life milestones, and major local events. The Aymara people's year count is directly connected to the winter solstice. They used to perform rituals in the 70's at a famous Bolivian archeological location in Tiwanaku but now they celebrate it throughout the region at many public venues. These celebrations are very important to the economy of the Aymara people because these events draw many people to their markets.

The Wiphala

The Wiphala is a square multi-colored emblem that the Aymara People use as a flag and symbol of their culture.  The Wiphala has seven horizontal stripes which represent the colors of the rainbow. Each color represents something specific. The red represents earth and the Andean man, Orange represents society, yellow represents energy, white represents time, green represents natural resources, blue represents the heavens, and purple represents the government. Along with the Wiphala being a flag for the Aymara people, many other cultures in the Bolivia and Peru region have adopted the flag as their own. In 2009, Bolivia made the Wiphala their national flag alongside the flag they already have. 

Refrences

3 Websites:

http://www.precolombino.cl/en/culturas-americanas/pueblos-originarios-de-chile/aymara/#/patron-de-asentamiento/

http://www.culturalsurvival.org/publications/cultural-survival-quarterly/peru/aymara-indians-adaptation-and-survival-southern-peru

http://intercontinentalcry.org/peoples/aymara/

3 Books:

Buechler, Hans C., and Judith-Maria Buechler. The Bolivian Aymara. Case studies in cultural anthropology. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1971.

Carter, William E. Aymara Communities and the Bolivian Agrarian Reform. Gainesville: University of Florida Press, 1964.

Tschopik, Harry. The Aymara of Chucuito, Peru. 1951

3 Academic Journals:

I found 3 articles in the academic search complete section on the ESU Library database.

The Aymara Year Count:Calendrical Translation in Tinawaku, Bolivia

Complicating the local, Defining the Aymara in Tinawaku, Bolivia

Mental Health of Indigenous Children in Northern Chile

Migrations and Dispora -The Aymara People

The Aymara people began as simple villagers who lived throughout Peru, Bolivia, and Chile. As time went on, many of the Aymara people made the decision to modernize and move into the money economy. The need for work moved people into the cities which resulted in the majority of the Aymara people moving to city named La Paz in Peru. It is noted that about 750,000 people live outside of the homeland of the Aymara people.

Cosmos Beliefs of the Aymara People

The Aymara people divide their world and beliefs into different sub groups. The first group is the "marka" which consists of the "ayllu", the human community. The "Sallqa" represents the surrounding wilderness where the animals and plants live. The "Huacas", which is composed of "Pachamama", represents the mountain spirits, other powerful places, and stars. Altogether these groups make up the "Akapacha", which sits between the higher and lower world. The lower world is known as "Manqhapacha" and the higher is known as the "Arajpacha". The higher world represents good and and the lower represents bad. The balance between the two is called "Tinku".

Homeland of the Aymara People

The modern-day Aymara people mostly live at the basin of Lake Titicaca, which is located within the Andes Mountains. This region is also named the Altiplano region. The people of this region raise animals by the basin and live off of the agriculture they grow on their land. The land that they live on is very fertile which helps their production of crops greatly.

Interview with a member of the Aymara People

On August 13, 2013, the Associated Press had an interview with a man named Carmelo Flores Laura. Flores is a 123 year old who is a member of the Aymara people and is the oldest man ever documented.  Flores lives under a straw roof-dirt hut close to the banks of Lake Titicaca. In addition, he only speaks the native Aymara language, he has no teeth, and he does not wear glasses.

At the beginning of the interview, Flores approached the press chewing coca leaves. The coca leaves are used as a stimulant to prevent hunger. Flores stated that he knew that he was at least 100 years old when asked but his bad memory prevented him from recalling his age.

Eugineo Cordino, Bolivia's civil registrar, says that Flores baptism certificate says that he was born on July 16, 1890. Since the baptism certificates were registered by priests, the state approved it. When asked what he owes his longevity to, Flores stated "I walk a lot, that's all. I go out with the animals".

I found this interview to be  interesting because a member of my culture is now the oldest man to ever live. By analyzing this interview, one could gain a first hand perspective of the life that the Aymara people lead.

Cultural Survival of the Aymara People

The native language of the Aymara People is Aymara but many of these people speak Spanish as their second language because that is what is most predominately spoken in their region. Only about 1,000 individuals still speak this language in the region where they reside. In addition, the Aymara people have had a history of dealing with invaders and even inflicting their own power on smaller groups. I believe as time goes on, the Aymara people will completely assimilate into the mainstream culture.

The Aymara People and their Neighbors

Through my research, I have found that the Aymara people have had a profound impact on their neighbors. Several different Uru tribes such as the "Irohito" have maintained the Aymara people's language throughout time. However, the Chipaya and Ayparavi were in major conflict in the 70's with the Aymara people. The Chipaya and Ayparavi tribes are two Uru tribes that maintained their traditional language and culture. During the 70's, the Aymara's gradually began to settle on the Chipaya and Aypravai's land and invoked their way of life on the tribes. Due to this power, the Aymara People became the most dominant ethnicity in their region.

Birds of the Aymara People

The Grey-Hooded Parakeet, which is also known as the Aymara Parakeet, is the most common bird that is found in the region where the Aymara people reside. This bird is a species of parrot in the Psittacidae family. The native habitat of this bird is in the high altitude shrub land and subtropical weather. The conservation status of this bird by the IUCN is noted as Least Concern.

The Condor of the Andes is the bird that is of most importance to the Aymara people. This bird is the largest bird in the world that can fly. The Condor of the Andes represents the highest communal power the Aymara people. In addition, the Andean goose is a easy bird to spot that resides along the rivers and lakes by the Andes mountains. The Aymara people are known to have hunt this bird in the past most often.

World of the Aymara People

The urban culture that is present now in the lives of the Aymara's was developed though the working-class neighborhoods of La Paz. The "Wiphala", which is the name of their flag, is an object that is very important to the Aymara People. The people of this culture show their appreciation and love for their culture by wearing the colors of the flag on their clothing. In addition, coca leaves is the major agricultural crop of the Aymara people. The Aymara's use coca leaves as medicine and during rituals to the gods. Moreover, the Aymara people have been active in South American politics attempting to gain  better rights for their people and stronger political power for their leaders. The Aymara people were apart of the Bolivia Protests and Bolivian Gas War in 2003 and 2005 respectively.

Beginning in 1950's, the economy of the Aymara people began to grow slowly. In 1963, it is noted that the average Aymara family generated 37 dollars a year. This statistic suggests that these people are exceptionally poor but their form of agriculture is so productive that it supplies all of their basic needs to live. As the Aymara people jumped into the money economy, they began to get jobs as craftsman, band members for fiesta parties, and truck drivers.

History of the Aymara People

The Aymara people are a native culture to the Andes and Altipano regions of South America. The ancestors of this cultural lived in this region peacefully for centuries until the 15th and 16th century due to war. The Aymara's became subject to the Inca's and the Spanish and remained on the land that was newly named Chile, Bolivia and Peru. Studies have shown that the Aymara people have lived in the contemporary region of Chile, Bolivia and Peru for over 800 years. In addition, individuals have been found speaking their language farther north up the coast from Peru which suggests the condensing of their culture over time. The Aymara people descend from a group named the Uru that resided around Lake Titicaca and Lake Poopo

Intro/Index

The Aymara people was the traditional cultural that was assigned to me this semester in World Geography. Through the use of this blog, I will provide images and facts about the lives of the Aymara people. The content that will be covered throughout the blog will consist of the history of the people, the birds located in their region, their physical neighbors, where they migrated from, a personal interview with a member of the Aymara culture and several cultural challenges that these people have had to endure. The Aymara people are a unique cultural and I have enjoyed my research analyzing their way of life.