Taquile ( es, Isla de Taquile, ; qu, Intika) 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, ...

45 km offshore from the city of

Puno Puno (Aymara and qu, Punu) 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 140,839 (2015 estimate). The city was establish ...

. About 2,200 people live on the island, which is in size (maximum measurements), with an area of . The highest point of the island is

above sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of the vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) of a location in reference to a historic mean sea level taken as a vertical datum. In geodesy, it is formalized as ''orthometric heights''. The comb ...

and the main village is at . The inhabitants, known as ''Taquileños'', speak Puno Quechua. In 2005, "Taquile and Its Textile Art" were honored by being proclaimed "

Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity The Proclamation of Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity was made by the Director-General of UNESCO starting in 2001 to raise awareness of intangible cultural heritage and encourage local communities to protect them and t ...

" by

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

Textiles

Taquileños are known for their fine handwoven

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 and

clothing Clothing (also known as clothes, apparel, and attire) are items worn on the body. Typically, clothing is made of fabrics or textiles, but over time it has included garments made from animal skin and other thin sheets of materials and natural ...

, which are regarded as among the highest-quality

handicraft A handicraft, sometimes more precisely expressed as artisanal handicraft or handmade, is any of a wide variety of types of work where useful and decorative objects are made completely by one’s hand or by using only simple, non-automated re ...

s in Peru. Knitting is exclusively performed by males, beginning in early boyhood. Women spin wool and use vegetables and minerals to dye the wool to be used by the community. Women are also the weavers of the Chumpis, the wide belts with woven designs worn by everyone in the community of Taquile.

Tourism

Taquileans are known for having created an innovative, community-controlled

sustainable tourism Sustainable tourism is a concept that covers the complete tourism experience, including concern for economic, social and environmental issues as well as attention to improving tourists' experiences and addressing the needs of host communities. Su ...

model, offering home stays, transportation, lodging for groups, cultural activities, local guides and restaurants. Ever since tourism started coming to Taquile in the 1970s, the Taquileans slowly lost control over the mass day-tourism operated by non-Taquileans. Taquile community have their own Travel Agency Munay Taquil

has been established to regain local control over tourism.

Society and economy

Taquileños run their society based on community Collectivism and individualism, collectivism and on the Inca moral code ''ama sua, ama llulla, ama qhilla'', (

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 ...

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 is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques inclu ...

, terraced farming

horticulture Horticulture is the branch of agriculture that deals with the art, science, technology, and business of plant cultivation. It includes the cultivation of fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, herbs, sprouts, mushrooms, algae, flowers, seaweeds and no ...

based on

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 ...

cultivation and tourist-generated income from the approximately 40,000

tourists Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tours. The World Tourism Organization defines tourism mo ...

who visit each year. Taquile's families own rams, sheep, cows, chickens and sometimes guinea pigs.

Cuisine

Taquile offers 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, dishes are a vegetable soup, fish with rice and a tomato and onion salad. For dinner, the Taquilean people serve vegetable soup with bread.

Religion

The majority of the inhabitants of Taquile are Catholic. They adapted this religion, harmonizing

Andean religion The Inca religion was a group of beliefs and rites that were related to a mythological system evolving from pre-Inca times to Inca Empire. Faith in the ''Tawantinsuyu'' was manifested in every aspect of his life, work, festivities, ceremonies, e ...

with the

syncretic Syncretism () is the practice of combining different beliefs and various schools of thought. Syncretism involves the merging or assimilation of several originally discrete traditions, especially in the theology and mythology of religion, thu ...

Christian culture. The mother earth (

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 ...

), the principal Andean deity, directly controls harvesting and fertility; the island is home to four

Apu APU or Apu may refer to: Film and television * ''The Apu Trilogy'', a series of three Bengali films, directed by Satyajit Ray, with the fictional character Apu Roy, comprising: ** ''Pather Panchali'' (''Song of the Little Road'') (1955), the first ...

s, Andean mountaintop deities. People make several offerings to these deities each year, and they offer three coca leaves prior to each activity or trip. God is present throughout the year in the festivities. The two Catholic churches are in Centre and Huayllano; a

Seventh-day Adventist The Seventh-day Adventist Church is an Adventism, Adventist Protestantism, Protestant Christian denomination which is distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the Names of the days of the week#Numbered days of the week, seventh day of the ...

church is located in Huayrapata.

Infrastructure

Taquile has a radio station and is equipped with generators. Islanders have elected to use

solar panel A solar cell panel, solar electric panel, photo-voltaic (PV) module, PV panel or solar panel is an assembly of photovoltaic solar cells mounted in a (usually rectangular) frame, and a neatly organised collection of PV panels is called a photo ...

s to generate energy.

Flora

Flowers and trees on the Island include 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, used as natural medicines. Coca leaves are not cultivated in Taquile.

Gallery

File:Taquile festival.jpg, A festival on Taquile File:Isla Taquile Fiesta de Santiago 2006 2.jpg, The annual Fiesta de Santiago File:Taquile Mujer hilando.jpg, Taquile, Puno, Perú. Mujer hilando File:Peru-titicacasee-1.jpg, Taquile, Peru: Lake Titicaca Children of Taquile File:Taquile.jpg, The Arch leading to the main square of the island File:Isla Taquile Pérou (3).jpg, Banks of the lake Titicaca

Bibliography

* ''Kusikiy A Child from Taquile, Peru,'' 2010 * Elayne Zorn, 2004. ''Weaving a Future: Tourism, Cloth and Culture on an Andean Island'', Iowa City: University of Iowa Press.

External
links

Munay Taquile, travel agency owned by the people of Taquile Island.

{{Authority control Lake islands of Peru Islands of Lake Titicaca Landforms of Puno Region Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity