The llama is a member of the camel family. The llama is about four feet tall and four feet long and can weigh 300 pounds. They can travel long distances without needing water. They can carry light loads of not over 100 pounds. They can easily travel 6 miles a day over lumpy bumpy ground. On flat ground, the llama can run faster than a horse. Llamas are herd creatures. They need to be with other llamas to be happy. Most llamas have big personalities. They love to be hugged. They are very loving and gentle. But, they do not like to be stared at. If you ever meet a llama, be sure and follow this simple rule of llama...
This little girl is wearing an example of a simple but colorful traditional hat, known as a montera. Traditionally, it is said that one could identify which village a woman was from based on the type of hat that she wore. Hats continue to be popular, but styles increasingly vary and different examples can be seen throughout the region.Segundo BThe Inca Bag
Cloth identified people, both by locality and social rank. Each area in the Andes produced a distinct type of clothing, and the Incas insisted people wear their local native dress – or risk severe punishment. The Incas needed to identify people from diverse ethnic groups, since whole populations were often transplanted to different parts of the empire to discourage rebellion. Additionally, subject peoples often had to travel great distances to work on public projects, such as roads and bridges.
The Incas did not know the meaning of money. Gold was sacred and reserved for the gentry, similar to the fine wool of the best lama species (Vicunas). They estimated as a gift of the gods and the image of the sun, from which it was born. The brilliance and converting were important, but not the amount of the gold. Razor-thin gold masks had been regarded as precious as massive big cups or crowns. The Spanish often had to melt down hundreds of pieces of jewellery to send a gold bar to their king. The exposed treasures are evidence of this.
Every Inca citizen was assigned a very strict task in life, connected to their age, gender and social position. For example children over five years of age had the responsibility of carrying water up to the fields where grown-ups were growing crops. And women older than fifty had to weave cloth for making clothes. Even the physically and mentally disabled were given daily tasks that were attuned to their capabilities. One of these tasks was chewing maize or corn and spitting it back into a big bowl. By letting this substance ferment the Inca made their own special corn beer called Chicha which they drank on festive occasions.
