Photo of the Day: Alpacas Grazing in Upis, Peru
- An alpaca lifts his head while grazing on ichu grass, near Mount Ausangate; photo c. Barbara Drake 2008
Anthropologist Inge Bolin comments on the deep bond between traditional people in the high Andes and their animals:
“People talk about their llamas and alpacas with great emotion. ‘They are our brothers and sisters,’ the people of Chillihuani often comment. ‘We owe our lives to these animals and they owe theirs to us.’
High-altitude herders have also called llams and alpacas ‘our ancestors.’ In the Andes, humans and their alpacas are part of the same empirical and spiritual world. They are believed to arise from the same source and to be governed by the same supernatural powers.”
(from Rituals of Respect, pp. 55-56)
Barbara
I am an American writer who lived in Lima for seven years (2007-2014), where I covered Andean traditions, melting glaciers and daily life in the capital for Miami Herald, MSNBC and Huffington Post. I now live and work in northern Florida where I champion climate change advocacy and compassionate, affordable eldercare.
2 Comments
Martha Isaacs
Are their any visitable llama/alpaca farms near Lima??
Barb
Martha,
Unfortunately there aren’t any llama or alpaca farms near Lima. Llamas and alpacas thrive in cold-weather climates, and Lima’s desert climate is too warm for these furry animals.
When I visited Arequipa last year, I went to a sweater store right in the downtown and was surprised to find that the store had a whole alpaca farm out back. It was great to see the different kinds of llamas and alpacas, and then to visit the rest of the “exhibit,” which showed how the llama fur is turned into wool.