AK MAGMA DESIGN: Peru

Showing posts with label Peru. Show all posts

islands with anchors- Uros Peru

Las Islas de Uros are a collection of islands off of the port town of Puno, Peru that are entirely made out of floating mud and totora reeds, and each island actually has its own anchor so that it doesn’t float away. In order to make the islands in the first place, large blocks of floating mud are cut from much larger blocks that are found out in the middle of the lake. The mud blocks are then towed closer to shore into shallower water, where they are then literally tied together with rope via stakes that stick down through the mud. Finally, once all of the blocks have been tied together to form an island, large swaths of totora reeds that grow naturally around the lake (the same reeds that the fishermen in Huanchaco, Peru used to construct the world’s first surf craft), and are laid in a criss-cross fashion until the entire island has a massive crunchy cushion. Then, one-room houses are eventually built from the reeds, as are their boats (some with dragon heads), and then people move into the houses and decide to call the floating island home. Oddly enough, when a motorized boat passes one of the islands, the entire earth below you ripples as it is hit by the boat’s small wake. PS: once you peal the outer layer away, the totora can be eaten as well!

Getting to Uros is a beautiful adventure where along the way you see the locals embroidering wonderful historical stories.

pss: I purchased a really great little painting.

en route to Uros, Peru

class on dying yarn- Peru

It's hard to imagine all of the dynamic colors seen in traditional Peruvian woven goods are all natural. They are and I learned how it's done with grinding and cooking and soaking and drying- over and over again.

peruvian markets

I traveled to several different markets in Peru. Got to love the gigantic BBQ pit with buckets of meat. The last picture was a demonstration I received on how the stones for jewelry are shaped

peru snaps

just a few snaps. The cafe was an accidental find in Cusco- usually overrun with tourists and tourist traps, this little cafe became my refuge after a long day of hiking around. It was off an odd alleyway and I'm pretty sure it was just someone's backyard, only had 3 tables, and one evening the owner needed to run an errand and asked me to lock up the gate when I was ready to go.

unknown festival Peru

i don't know; really don't know. Happened upon this elaborate festival and still haven't gotten around to figuring out what was going on. Could be a Peruvian Lucha Libre and I missed seeing the match with Barney- I'd love to see his big purple ass kicked!

Peru Gourd Carving

In the Andean mountains of Peru, in a tiny village of 50 families, fine gourd carving has been practiced for generations. Pablo, a master carver, recalls his grandfather telling how it all started. “Around 200 years ago, people from Huancayo made regular trips to the jungle to trade for rice, corn, beans and other goods. Theåy met there with people from many places including gourd carvers from Ayacucho.” That's how they learned the carving techniques and brought them back to their village while creating a style of their own. Historically, Andean people used gourds to store food and to this day they are used for storing salt and spices or drinking chicha and mate

Story telling or illustrative gourd carving in Peru has a long history. Carvers served their communities by recording Andean celebrations, oral traditions, rituals, myths, and weddings.

ceramic bulls Pucara, Peru

The arrangement of these ceramic sculptures known as Torito de Pucara varies from village to village and from homeowner to homeowner. I learned that these were not just a roof decoration but something of great significance. In order to honor Pachamama (or Mother Earth) the ceramic sculpture is often placed on the roof of a new house when the home is first blessed and this causes the economic well-being of the family living there. These small ceramic bulls represent happiness, wealth and fertility. The water jugs can also represent fertility. This is just one of the many examples from the mixture of Catholic and native religions.

Brick Making

In three South American countries -- Peru, Argentina and Ecuador -- brick factories are concentrated on the outskirts of large cities and can be seen all over the countryside. Families make bricks out of clay packed into simple molds. The clay is dried, and then baked in a kiln. Workers are often unskilled immigrants from rural areas. Fresh water and electricity are scarce and pay is low while production quotas are high. Some efforts, funded by the ILO, are being made in the three countries to modernize brick production, eliminating middle-men between workers and the kilns, and supply social services, especially education. The ILO's goal is to withdraw children from brick-making work and ensure a living wage can be earned.
black and white photo borrowed from: http://www.childlaborphotoproject.org

Chancay Dolls

These Chancay dolls (named after the Chancay culture ca. AD 1000 - 1476) are near facsimiles of a doll making tradition that was in practice along the arid central coast of Peru 1000 years ago. These modern dolls are an example of indigenous Peruvian artisans redeveloping an ancient industry of their ancestors to provide a new source of income.

The original Chancay dolls have mostly been found in the tombs of people from the extinct culture. They may have served in memorial celebrations or as 'companions' for the dead (similar to the Egyptian Ushabti figurines). On the other hand, it has been suggested that they were toys or even puppets. It is interesting that some dolls have been found to contain small items such as spindles and yarns along with the usual stuffing of more rigid plant fibers.

hike up Amantaní Island

The legend of Titicaca is that people lived happily in its valley, where the land was extremely fertile.

The gods of the mountains, the Apus, protected humans and prohibited only one thing: they could not climb to the top of the mountains, where the sacred fire was burning.

But the devil also lived in those lands and it was unbearable for him to see all that happiness. So he incited the men to go up to the top of the mountains. Los Apus' fury was so great that he released Cougars who devoured the whole population, except for a couple.

Given this carnage, the Sun God, Inti, wept for 40 days and 40 nights, thus forming Lake Titicaca. When the sun returned, the couple, who had fled in a boat, saw that the Cougars had all turned to stone.

This is probably the etymology of the name of the lake. Titi, which means cat or puma, and kaka, stone.

Off to Islands in Lake Titicaca

Tomorrow, I take a boat to some islands deep in the lake that separates Peru and Bolivia. I will be spending the night and eating meals in a native family's home with absolutely no plumbing. Upon my return to land, I'll take yet another bumpy day long bus tour- this time to La Paz (via Copacabana). I've realized that since I left NY less than 2 months ago: I've stayed at over 18 different hotels and have had far fewer really hot showers.
PS: I'm loving every minute of it!