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Salasaca
Salasaca is a community and an indigenous people located in the Tungurahua Province in the center of Ecuador, halfway along the road from Ambato to Baños. The Salasaca speak Spanish and their traditional language of Quichua. Their main economic activities are agriculture, livestock-raising, and handcrafts. A market in the central plaza of Salasaca is called "Plaza of the Arts." Local craftsmanship includes items such as tapestries, which are woven by hand on looms of very ancient technology. Many of the designs depict different aspects of their lives. Pigments are often derived from the female cochineal of the Dactylopius family which are crushed to make red colors. Salasca women wear a woolen garment around the shoulders, personalized by choosing a different shade of red. After pressing the insects into cakes, they use the dried cakes to dye the garments three at a time. One is left crimson, one is soaked in lemon juice to turn it scarlet, and the third is rubbed with wood ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Quichua
Kichwa (, , also Spanish ) is a Quechuan language that includes all Quechua varieties of Ecuador and Colombia (''Inga''), as well as extensions into Peru. It has an estimated half million speakers. The most widely spoken dialects are Chimborazo, Imbabura and Cañar Highland Quechua, with most of the speakers. Kichwa belongs to the Northern Quechua group of Quechua II, according to linguist Alfredo Torero. Overview Kichwa syntax has undergone some grammatical simplification compared to Southern Quechua, perhaps because of partial creolization with the pre-Inca languages of Ecuador. A standardized language, with a unified orthography (, ), has been developed. It is similar to Chimborazo but lacks some of the phonological peculiarities of that dialect. The earliest grammatical description of Kichwa was written in the 17th century by Jesuit priest Hernando de Alcocer. First efforts for language standardization and bilingual education According to linguist Arturo Muyulema, the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Inti Raymi
The Inti Raymi ( Quechua for "Inti festival") is a traditional religious ceremony of the Inca Empire in honor of the god Inti (Quechua for "sun"), the most venerated deity in Inca religion. It was the celebration of the winter solstice – the shortest day of the year in terms of the time between sunrise and sunset – and the Inca New Year, when the hours of light would begin to lengthen again. In territories south of the equator, the Gregorian months of June and July are winter months. It is held on June 24. During the Inca Empire, the Inti Raymi was the most important of four ceremonies celebrated in Cusco, as related by Inca Garcilaso de la Vega. The celebration took place in the Haukaypata or the main plaza in the city. Overview According to chronicler Garcilaso de la Vega, Sapa Inca Pachacuti created the Inti Raymi to celebrate the new year in the Andes of the Southern Hemisphere. The ceremony was also said to symbolize the mythical origin of the Inca people. It laste ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dactylopius
''Dactylopius'' is a genus of insect in the superfamily Coccoidea, the scale insects. It is the only genus in the family Dactylopiidae.Van Dam, A. R. and B. May. (2012)A new species of ''Dactylopius'' Costa (''Dactylopius gracilipilus'' sp. nov.) (Hemiptera: Coccoidea: Dactylopiidae) from the Chihuahuan Desert, Texas, U.S.A.''Zootaxa'' 3573: 33–39. These insects are known commonly as cochineals,Ramírez-Puebla, S. T., et al. (2010)Molecular phylogeny of the genus ''Dactylopius'' (Hemiptera: Dactylopiidae) and identification of the symbiotic bacteria. ''Environmental Entomology'' 39(4), 1178-83.Chávez-Moreno, C. K., et al. (2011)Distribution and habitat in Mexico of ''Dactylopius'' Costa (Hemiptera: Dactylopiidae) and their cacti hosts (Cactaceae: Opuntioideae).''Neotropical Entomology'' 40(1), 62-71. a name that also specifically refers to the best-known species, the cochineal (''Dactylopius coccus''). The cochineal is an insect of economic and historical importance as a main so ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Quechua People
Quechua people (, ; ) or Quichua people, may refer to any of the aboriginal people of South America who speak the Quechua languages, which originated among the Indigenous people of Peru. Although most Quechua speakers are native to Peru, there are some significant populations in Ecuador, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, and Argentina. The most common Quechua dialect is Southern Quechua. The Kichwa people of Ecuador speak the Kichwa dialect; in Colombia, the Inga people speak Inga Kichwa. The Quechua word for a Quechua speaker is ''runa'' or ''nuna'' ("person"); the plural is ''runakuna'' or ''nunakuna'' ("people"). "Quechua speakers call themselves Runa -- simply translated, 'the people.'" Some historical Quechua people are: * The Chanka people, who lived in the Huancavelica, Ayacucho, and Apurímac regions of Peru. * The Huanca people of the Junín Region of Peru, who spoke Quechua before the Incas did. * The Inca, who established the largest empire of the pre-Columbi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tungurahua Province
Tungurahua ( es, Provincia del Tungurahua, literally ''Province of the Tungurahua''; ) is one of the twenty-four provinces of Ecuador. Its capital is Ambato. The province takes its name from the Tungurahua volcano, which is located within the boundaries of the provinces. Population In 2011, Tungurahua had an estimated population of 581,389. Approximately 10% of that population is made up of indigenous peoples, while another 70% are of mestizo or mixed race heritage. The final 20% is made up of peoples of African, Asian, and European ancestry. Climate The province has a dry, temperate climate. Like all mountainous areas, the region experiences the phenomenon known as microclimates, in which small portions of the province have drastically different conditions from others due to winds and area pressure. Generally though, Tungurahua experiences temperatures between 14 and 17 degree Celsius in the day-time, with cooler nights. At higher altitudes, conditions are much colder. Despit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ecuador
Ecuador ( ; ; Quechuan languages, Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar language, Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechuan languages, Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar language, Shuar: ''Ekuatur Nunka''), is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. Ecuador also includes the Galápagos Islands in the Pacific, about west of the mainland. The country's Capital city, capital and largest city is Quito. The territories of modern-day Ecuador were once home to a variety of Indigenous peoples in Ecuador, Indigenous groups that were gradually incorporated into the Inca Empire during the 15th century. The territory was Spanish colonization of the Americas, colonized by Spain during the 16th century, achieving independence in 1820 as part of Gran Colombia, from which it ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ambato, Ecuador
Ambato (; full form, San Juan de Ambato; Quechua: Ampatu Llaqta) is a city located in the central Andean valley of Ecuador. Lying on the banks of the Ambato River, the city also sits beneath several tall mountains. It is the Tungurahua province capital city Tungurahua, at an elevation of 2,577 meters above sea level. It is variously nicknamed "City of Flowers and Fruits", "Land of the Three Juan's", and "Garden of Ecuador." Ambato's inhabitants are called Ambateños or Guaytambos (after a type of native peach that the valley is famous for producing). The current mayor of Ambato is Javier Altamirano. The city has been fully or partially destroyed by earthquakes several times in its history, most recently on 5 August 1949, when the city and its cathedral were almost completely devastated. The city was rebuilt in the following two years. In honour of the tenacity of their residents, Ambato celebrates "The Festival of Fruits and Flowers" during Carnival in February. Today, the Fe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Baños De Agua Santa
Baños de Agua Santa (), commonly referred to as Baños, is a city in eastern Tungurahua Province of Ecuador. Baños is the second most populous city in Tungurahua, after the capital Ambato, and is a major tourist center. Baños is known as the "Gateway to the Amazon," as it is the last city still located in the mountain region before reaching the jungle and other towns that are located in the Amazon River basin. Baños is located at an elevation of 1,820 metres (5,971 feet) on the northern foothills of the Tungurahua volcano, whose activity has been characterized by frequent powerful ash explosions and lava flows that can be seen from Banos. Etymology Baños de Agua Santa (Spanish for'' Baths of Holy Water'') is named after the hot springs located around the city which have a reputation of having healing properties due to the various minerals they contain. History The city is also a Catholic religious center, as some Catholic believers say that the Virgin Mary appeared near ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tapestries
Tapestry is a form of textile art, traditionally woven by hand on a loom. Tapestry is weft-faced weaving, in which all the warp threads are hidden in the completed work, unlike most woven textiles, where both the warp and the weft threads may be visible. In tapestry weaving, weft yarns are typically discontinuous; the artisan interlaces each coloured weft back and forth in its own small pattern area. It is a plain weft-faced weave having weft threads of different colours worked over portions of the warp to form the design. Tapestry is relatively fragile, and difficult to make, so most historical pieces are intended to hang vertically on a wall (or sometimes in tents), or sometimes horizontally over a piece of furniture such as a table or bed. Some periods made smaller pieces, often long and narrow and used as borders for other textiles. European tapestries are normally made to be seen only from one side, and often have a plain lining added on the back. However, other tradit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cochineal
The cochineal ( , ; ''Dactylopius coccus'') is a scale insect in the suborder Sternorrhyncha, from which the natural dye carmine is derived. A primarily sessile parasite native to tropical and subtropical South America through North America (Mexico and the Southwest United States), this insect lives on cacti in the genus ''Opuntia'', feeding on plant moisture and nutrients. The insects are found on the pads of prickly pear cacti, collected by brushing them off the plants, and dried. The insect produces carminic acid that deters predation by other insects. Carminic acid, typically 17–24% of dried insects' weight, can be extracted from the body and eggs, then mixed with aluminium or calcium salts to make carmine dye, also known as cochineal. Today, carmine is primarily used as a colorant in food and in lipstick (E120 or Natural Red 4). Carmine dye was used in the Americas for coloring fabrics and became an important export good in the 16th century during the colon ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
