• Tag Archives taquile
  • Taquile Island

    We stopped at Taquile Island, a relatively large island in Lake Titikaka.

    image

    The islanders do a lot of sheep farming.

    image

    Each section of the island is led by three men that wear tophats. There are statues of them on archways between the sections.

    image

    The island had gulls.

    image

    And big beetles.

    image

    Our boat is on the right.

    image

    This is the view of the lake from the island.

    image


  • Taquile Island Clothing

    On Taquile island clothing helps show if you are single or married. It is also is used for indicating if you want to date or not. This is a boys hat and the top part is still white because he is single and it is for the wife to complete him. He can show whether or not he is interested by moving the peak to the left or right. We can’t remember which side is which anymore.

    image

    This is the primary outfit of a married man. The belt is used to help support weight and includes the wife’s hair in the making of the textile.

    image

    The important people of the village also wear another hat underneath the leather cap.

    image

    The president of the community has a different style hat that resembles the incan and pre-incan crowns that have long ear coverings. These were long because incans wore gauges in their ears to stretch the lobes and the covers were to keep the stretched ears warm.

    image

    Here is a better display of the boys hat with the white top unfinished.

    image

    Then he showed us how to wash them. First you take this plant, which is called something like “chooshoo”. It contains a natural detergent.

    image

    To get it you crush it with a rock against another rock to make a foamy mess.

    image

    Then you mix it with some water and put in the clothes.

    image

    Before is on the left, and after is on the right. As you can see the brown dirt has been completely removed, and replaced with bits of green plant. Usually it is crushed much finer so you don’t get as many plant remains caught in what you are washing. image