Amantani is an island on the

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

vian side of

Lake Titicaca Lake Titicaca (; es, Lago Titicaca ; qu, Titiqaqa Qucha) is a large freshwater lake in the Andes mountains on the border of Bolivia and Peru. It is often called the highest navigable lake in the world. By volume of water and by surface area, ...

. According to a 1988

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...

, it had a population of 3,663

Quechua Quechua may refer to: *Quechua people, several indigenous ethnic groups in South America, especially in Peru *Quechuan languages, a Native South American language family spoken primarily in the Andes, derived from a common ancestral language **So ...

speakers divided among about 800 families. The most current census (2017) estimates a population of 3,557. The island is circular and about in size. It has two mountain peaks, ''Pachatata'' ("father earth") and ''

Pachamama Pachamama is a goddess revered by the indigenous peoples of the Andes. In Inca mythology she is an " Earth Mother" type goddess, Dransart, Penny. (1992) "Pachamama: The Inka Earth Mother of the Long Sweeping Garment." ''Dress and Gender: Making ...

'' ("mother earth"), with ancient

Inca The Inca Empire (also known as the Incan Empire and the Inka Empire), called ''Tawantinsuyu'' by its subjects, (Quechua for the "Realm of the Four Parts", "four parts together" ) was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The admin ...

and

Tiwanaku Tiwanaku ( es, Tiahuanaco or ) is a Pre-Columbian archaeological site in western Bolivia near Lake Titicaca, about 70 kilometers from La Paz, and it is one of the largest sites in South America. Surface remains currently cover around 4 square kilo ...

ruins on top of both. The hillsides are

terraced In agriculture, a terrace is a piece of sloped plane that has been cut into a series of successively receding flat surfaces or platforms, which resemble steps, for the purposes of more effective farming. This type of landscaping is therefore ...

, mostly worked by hand, and planted with

wheat Wheat is a grass widely cultivated for its seed, a cereal grain that is a worldwide staple food. The many species of wheat together make up the genus ''Triticum'' ; the most widely grown is common wheat (''T. aestivum''). The archaeologi ...

quinoa Quinoa (''Chenopodium quinoa''; , from Quechua ' or ') is a flowering plant in the amaranth family. It is a herbaceous annual plant grown as a crop primarily for its edible seeds; the seeds are rich in protein, dietary fiber, B vitamins, and ...

potato The potato is a starchy food, a tuber of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'' and is a root vegetable native to the Americas. The plant is a perennial in the nightshade family Solanaceae. Wild potato species can be found from the southern Unit ...

es, and other vegetables.

Livestock Livestock are the domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to provide labor and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The term is sometimes used to refer solely to animals ...

, including sheep, also graze the slopes. Amantani is known as the "Island of the Kantuta", after the

national flower In a number of countries, plants have been chosen as symbols to represent specific geographic areas. Some countries have a country-wide floral emblem; others in addition have symbols representing subdivisions. Different processes have been used to ...

and

Bolivia , image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg , flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center , flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...

, which grows plentifully on the island.

Overview

The temples at the top of the peaks are generally closed during the year. Entrance is permitted on the morning of the annual feast day on or around January 20 (the third Thursday in January), at which time the island's population divides in two, with each group gathering at its respective temple. A race is then held from each peak to a point somewhere between the two, and a representative of each group is chosen to run. According to tradition, a victory for ''Pachamama'' portends a bountiful

harvest Harvesting is the process of gathering a ripe crop from the fields. Reaping is the cutting of grain or pulse for harvest, typically using a scythe, sickle, or reaper. On smaller farms with minimal mechanization, harvesting is the most labor-i ...

in the year to come. Similar to the Taquileños, the inhabitants of Amantani are also known for their

textile Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, different fabric types, etc. At first, the word "textiles" only referred to woven fabrics. However, weaving is not the ...

s, as well as their

ceramics A ceramic is any of the various hard, brittle, heat-resistant and corrosion-resistant materials made by shaping and then firing an inorganic, nonmetallic material, such as clay, at a high temperature. Common examples are earthenware, porcelain ...

. Most of the inhabitants live in houses of

adobe Adobe ( ; ) is a building material made from earth and organic materials. is Spanish for ''mudbrick''. In some English-speaking regions of Spanish heritage, such as the Southwestern United States, the term is used to refer to any kind of e ...

. There is a small health clinic and school on Amantaní. The island has no cars but does have a generator, though it is no longer functional. There are no hotels, but some of the families on Amantani open their homes to tourists for overnight stays and provide cooked meals, arranged through tour guides. The families who do so are required to have a special room set aside for the tourists and must fit a code by the tour companies that help them. Guests typically take food staples (cooking oil, rice, fruits) as a gift or school supplies for the children on the island. Sweets and sugar are not recommended as regular dental care is uncommon on the island. They hold nightly traditional dance shows for the tourists where they offer to dress them up in their traditional clothes and participate. Women of the families also offer self-made alpaca-hats to their visitors as cover for the night-breeze, which the visitors are most welcome to buy at the end of their stay.

Sources

* Jordi Gascón, ''Gringos como en sueños: Diferenciación y conflicto campesino en los Andes Peruanos ante el desarrollo del turismo''. Lima: Instituto de Estudios Peruanos. *CBC - "INKA POWER PLACES, SOLAR INITIATIONS" by Mallku Aribalo

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Amantani Lake islands of Peru Islands of Lake Titicaca

Overview

See also

Sources

References