Taquile Island
Encyclopedia
Taquile is an island on the Peru
vian side of Lake Titicaca
45 km offshore from the city of Puno
. About 2,200 people live on the island, which is 5.5 by 1.6 km in size (maximum measurements), with an area of 5.72 km². The highest point of the island is 4050 meters above sea level and the main village is at 3950 m. The inhabitants, known as Taquileños, are southern Quechua speakers.
In 2005, "Taquile and Its Textile Art" were honored by being proclaimed "Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity" by UNESCO
.
Taquileños are known for their fine handwoven
textile
s and clothing
, which are regarded as among the highest-quality handicraft
s in Peru. Knitting is exclusively performed by males, starting at age eight. The women exclusively make yarn and weave.
Taquileans are also known for having created an innovative, community-controlled tourism model, offering home stays, transportation, lodging for groups, cultural activities, local guides and restaurants. Ever since tourism started coming to Taquile in the seventies, the taquleans slowly lost control over the mass day-tourism operated by non-Taquileans. The local Travel Agency Munay Taquile has thus been established to regain control over tourism.
Taquileños run their society based on community collectivism
and on the Inca moral code ama sua, ama llulla, ama qhilla, (Quechua for "do not steal, do not lie, do not be lazy"). The island is divided into six sectors or suyus for crop rotation purposes. The economy is based on fishing
, terraced farming
horticulture
based on potato
cultivation, and tourist-generated income from the approximately 40,000 tourists
who visit each year.
The wildlife on Taquile includes rams, sheep, cows, guinea pigs, chickens. Dogs and cats are rare and if wanted a permission from the authorities of the community is needed.
Taquile also offer a wide range of typical dishes. Breakfast consists of two pancakes with sugar or bread with eggs with a cup of tea made from either Muña or Coca. For lunch, you get a vegetable soup, fish with rice and a tomato and onion salad. For dinner, the taquilean people serve a nice vegetable soup with bread.
The majority of the inhabitants on Taquile are Catholic. They adapted this religion harmonizing their ancient culture with the new Christian culture. The mother earth (Patchamama), the principal Andean deity which directly controls harvesting, fertility, offering a number of payments (offering) each year and three coca leaves prior to each activity or trip. God is present throughout the year in the festivities. There are two Catholic churches (the largest in the Centre and the other in Huayllano) and an Adeventist church (Huayrapata).
Taquile has a radio station and is equipped with generators, although islanders have elected not to use them in favour of solar panel
s. The island has the curious distinction of being free of dogs because the natives consider them, as well as cats, delicacies. And although chicken is eaten, it is not raised on the island due to problems with foxes.
You encounter a number of flowers and trees on the Island, among which are Kolle, the tree used to roof the houses and for firewood, the Cantuta flower (the national flower of Peru), the Chukjo (used as detergent) and Muña (for stomach disease). A variety of flowers on the island are used as natural medicines, like Muna. The coca is brought from Puno and mainly comes from Cusco.
and has a number of Inca ruins. The island was one of the last locations in Peru to capitulate to Spanish domination during the Spanish conquest of Peru. It was captured for Carlos V
and eventually passed to Count Rodrigo of Taquila, after whom the island was named by the colonists. As the Spanish forbade traditional dress, the islanders adopted the Spanish peasant clothing. They are known for maintaining that as traditional dress today. They combine this with finely made Andean-style garments and accessories (ponchos, belts, mantles, coca-leaf purses, and others).
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
vian side of Lake Titicaca
Lake Titicaca
Lake Titicaca is a lake located on the border of Peru and Bolivia. It sits 3,811 m above sea level, making it the highest commercially navigable lake in the world...
45 km offshore from the city of Puno
Puno
Puno is a city in southeastern Peru, located on the shore of Lake Titicaca. It is the capital city of the Puno Region and the Puno Province with a population of approximately 100,000. The city was established in 1668 by viceroy Pedro Antonio Fernández de Castro as capital of the province of...
. About 2,200 people live on the island, which is 5.5 by 1.6 km in size (maximum measurements), with an area of 5.72 km². The highest point of the island is 4050 meters above sea level and the main village is at 3950 m. The inhabitants, known as Taquileños, are southern Quechua speakers.
In 2005, "Taquile and Its Textile Art" were honored by being proclaimed "Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity" by UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
.
Weaving
Weaving is a method of fabric production in which two distinct sets of yarns or threads are interlaced at right angles to form a fabric or cloth. The other methods are knitting, lace making and felting. The longitudinal threads are called the warp and the lateral threads are the weft or filling...
textile
Textile
A textile or cloth is a flexible woven material consisting of a network of natural or artificial fibres often referred to as thread or yarn. Yarn is produced by spinning raw fibres of wool, flax, cotton, or other material to produce long strands...
s and clothing
Clothing
Clothing refers to any covering for the human body that is worn. The wearing of clothing is exclusively a human characteristic and is a feature of nearly all human societies...
, which are regarded as among the highest-quality handicraft
Handicraft
Handicraft, more precisely expressed as artisanic handicraft, sometimes also called artisanry, is a type of work where useful and decorative devices are made completely by hand or by using only simple tools. It is a traditional main sector of craft. Usually the term is applied to traditional means...
s in Peru. Knitting is exclusively performed by males, starting at age eight. The women exclusively make yarn and weave.
Taquileans are also known for having created an innovative, community-controlled tourism model, offering home stays, transportation, lodging for groups, cultural activities, local guides and restaurants. Ever since tourism started coming to Taquile in the seventies, the taquleans slowly lost control over the mass day-tourism operated by non-Taquileans. The local Travel Agency Munay Taquile has thus been established to regain control over tourism.
Taquileños run their society based on community collectivism
Collectivism
Collectivism is any philosophic, political, economic, mystical or social outlook that emphasizes the interdependence of every human in some collective group and the priority of group goals over individual goals. Collectivists usually focus on community, society, or nation...
and on the Inca moral code ama sua, ama llulla, ama qhilla, (Quechua for "do not steal, do not lie, do not be lazy"). The island is divided into six sectors or suyus for crop rotation purposes. The economy is based on fishing
Fishing
Fishing is the activity of trying to catch wild fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping....
, terraced farming
Soil conservation
Soil conservation is a set of management strategies for prevention of soil being eroded from the Earth’s surface or becoming chemically altered by overuse, acidification, salinization or other chemical soil contamination...
horticulture
Horticulture
Horticulture is the industry and science of plant cultivation including the process of preparing soil for the planting of seeds, tubers, or cuttings. Horticulturists work and conduct research in the disciplines of plant propagation and cultivation, crop production, plant breeding and genetic...
based on potato
Potato
The potato is a starchy, tuberous crop from the perennial Solanum tuberosum of the Solanaceae family . The word potato may refer to the plant itself as well as the edible tuber. In the region of the Andes, there are some other closely related cultivated potato species...
cultivation, and tourist-generated income from the approximately 40,000 tourists
Tourism
Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".Tourism has become a...
who visit each year.
The wildlife on Taquile includes rams, sheep, cows, guinea pigs, chickens. Dogs and cats are rare and if wanted a permission from the authorities of the community is needed.
Taquile also offer a wide range of typical dishes. Breakfast consists of two pancakes with sugar or bread with eggs with a cup of tea made from either Muña or Coca. For lunch, you get a vegetable soup, fish with rice and a tomato and onion salad. For dinner, the taquilean people serve a nice vegetable soup with bread.
The majority of the inhabitants on Taquile are Catholic. They adapted this religion harmonizing their ancient culture with the new Christian culture. The mother earth (Patchamama), the principal Andean deity which directly controls harvesting, fertility, offering a number of payments (offering) each year and three coca leaves prior to each activity or trip. God is present throughout the year in the festivities. There are two Catholic churches (the largest in the Centre and the other in Huayllano) and an Adeventist church (Huayrapata).
Taquile has a radio station and is equipped with generators, although islanders have elected not to use them in favour of solar panel
Photovoltaic module
A solar panel is a packaged, connected assembly of solar cells, also known as photovoltaic cells...
s. The island has the curious distinction of being free of dogs because the natives consider them, as well as cats, delicacies. And although chicken is eaten, it is not raised on the island due to problems with foxes.
You encounter a number of flowers and trees on the Island, among which are Kolle, the tree used to roof the houses and for firewood, the Cantuta flower (the national flower of Peru), the Chukjo (used as detergent) and Muña (for stomach disease). A variety of flowers on the island are used as natural medicines, like Muna. The coca is brought from Puno and mainly comes from Cusco.
History
Taquile, whose Quechua name some believe was Intika, was part of the Inca EmpireInca Empire
The Inca Empire, or Inka Empire , was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The administrative, political and military center of the empire was located in Cusco in modern-day Peru. The Inca civilization arose from the highlands of Peru sometime in the early 13th century...
and has a number of Inca ruins. The island was one of the last locations in Peru to capitulate to Spanish domination during the Spanish conquest of Peru. It was captured for Carlos V
Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor
Charles V was ruler of the Holy Roman Empire from 1519 and, as Charles I, of the Spanish Empire from 1516 until his voluntary retirement and abdication in favor of his younger brother Ferdinand I and his son Philip II in 1556.As...
and eventually passed to Count Rodrigo of Taquila, after whom the island was named by the colonists. As the Spanish forbade traditional dress, the islanders adopted the Spanish peasant clothing. They are known for maintaining that as traditional dress today. They combine this with finely made Andean-style garments and accessories (ponchos, belts, mantles, coca-leaf purses, and others).