from Peru

[Jaga]

Hi guys, we landed in Lima yesterday.we were in the hoteknarv1am and I tried to login to the forum but the system did not let me, sofinally I went to sleep? It is beautiful here, we spent the whole day in Lima center, markets and st Francis is Church

[karl]

Jaga

This is so nice of you to think of us when your plate is full with travel. I was thinking of you both with wondering how you both were doing and enjoying.

Travel safe and looking forward to your travel experience.

Karl

[Jaga]

Karl, thanks for your nice words. We are travelling together with our British friends that make sure we are always busy.... doing something. The internet connection is limited and slow.
Pieter, we saw a Dutch young couple yesterday at the tour, there were many young people from europe and only a few elderly..... so we felt actually good that in spite of the fact that we are not the young crowd we still could do things like they.\We tried some of the Peruvian alcohol and it was good but strong

[pieter]

Dear Jaga,

How great that you landed safely and enjoyed your first two days. I hope your British companions are good tour guides and company. I hope the Dutch couple was nice and if you travel with them are pleasent companions too. Dutch people travel all over the world and are everywhere. What other European nationalities did you encounter there? French, Italian, German people? Watch out with those Southern-American drinks. Have a great time over there, lot's of fun and maybe some interesting cultural and historical lessons and experiences.

Cheers,
Pieter

[Jaga]

We are on the way to Quives resort, or santa Maria de Quives in Easter Andis. We will spend a week there. We had a great time in Lima, we saw alive crabs, walking of the rocks and many condors over our head. People are nice, transportation great, Peru is doing well, much better than Brazil or Mexico. People are different.
Pieter, there are many Japanese origin people in Peru, but the majority look like descendent of Chichua's people. By the way, Dutch people were young and very tall, but I had no chance to talk to them. I talked to Danish people. We will have a Danish exchange student for a couple of weeks in August, September.
I feel safe here in Lima and in Peru and it feels very much like Europe.

[karl]

Jaga

It is good to see your updates on your travels in South America and all is well. Interesting to hear you become friends with some Danish people, what did you think of their English?

Karl

[kaima]

Sounds like an ideal trip, and great experience for Elaine as well!

[Jaga]

We are in Cusco right now and I have a slow internet connection. We went to Quives Santa Rosa resort for a week and it was beautiful in the Andes but we had no internet. You are the first people I make a post to. We survived beautiful trips with narrow roads seeing some beautiful countryside but also a lot of poverty. Peruvian people are very nice and very different than Brazilians. We survived two different flat tires, one engine problem.... and we made it here!

[Jaga]

I am worried that this constant attacks on the soft targets in Turkey and Bangladesh would increase chances of Donald to become a president since people would vote with their guts instead of a reason.
We had a wonderful breakfast in Cuzco hotel, ready to go to the town

[pieter]

Dear Jaga,

The spirit of Peruvian Man, sculpted by art and religion, has given rise to a creative vein which crops up in an endless variety of shapes, rhythms and rituals. From what I read in encyclopedia Britannica and Wikipedia is that Native Americans (the Quechua Indians and the Aymara Indians) constitute almost half of Peru’s population. The Peruvian census does not contain information about ethnicity so only rough estimates are available. Some international reliable references, estimates it to be composed of Amerindians (native americans): 45%, Mestizos (persons of mixed native american and European descent): 35%, European: 16%, Asians: 3% (the Japanese Peruvians and other Asians), Afro-Peruvians: 3%. There are also small minority populations of Aymara Indians, and others.

European descendants are estimate of 16% of the total population. They are mosty descendants of the Spanish colonizers. And other Europeans such as Italians, British, French, Germans, Irish, Dutch, Portuguese, Swiss, Poles and Croatians ( en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatian_Peruvian ) who arrived in the 19th and 20th centuries. The majority of them live also in the largest cities, usually in the North and Center cities of Peru: Lima, Trujillo, Chiclayo, and Piura.

The only southern city with a significant white population is Arequipa. Also Oxapampa and Pozuzo in the Pasco Region, and through all Northwest (mainly the highlands of the Coast Regions, Cajamarca Region and part of the San Martin Region), a considerable white population can be found, mostly descendants of Spanish, German, British, French and Italian settlers. Recently, Peru has seen a migration of American retirees and businessmen come to settle in the country, due to lower cost of living and economic booms from the year 2000 to present.

Modern Peru’s complex ethnic mosaic is rooted in its history. The Spanish conquerors dominated the indigenous Native Americans and colonial Peruvian society, including politics, religion, and economics. They brought their European culture, the Spanish language, and the Roman Catholic religion to the region. The Spaniards introduced some African slaves, but the number of slaves transported to this part of South America was not significant; their descendants are found mainly in Lima and a few central coastal valleys. Following independence (1824) and the prohibition of slavery (1854), Chinese arrived to work as farm labourers, and new groups of Spaniards, northern Europeans, and Japanese were among other arrivals. These diverse ethnic groups have tended to intermarry over time.



Differences in lifestyles and attitudes are pronounced. Peruvians of Spanish descent and mestizos live mainly along the coast and control most of the country’s wealth. Typically, a small group of people of European ancestry hold the main power in government and industry. Mestizo culture is a blend of Indian and European ways known as criollo. The Spanish-speaking mestizos make up the middle class of Peruvian society. They hold managerial, administrative, and professional jobs, but some are also small landowners and labourers. The Indians of the Sierra live in extreme poverty in a harsh environment; many remain both indifferent to and outside the mainstream affairs of the country. Land reform acts in the 1960s and ’70s have brought some improvement, such as the dismantling of haciendas—typically large estates with absentee owners—and reallocation of the land in smaller segments to individuals or cooperatives. However, many highland Indians still shepherd llama herds or work tiny plots of land to eke out a living. The lowland Indians of Amazonia occupy a social position similar to that of the highland Indians.





It is great that you had a beautiful week in Santa Maria de Quives in Easter Andis. Maybe it is good to have no Internet for some time. Do you remember the analogue times we had no computers, not internet and no cell phones. How great that was. It is nice you had such a great time in Lima. It must have been a great sight to see the crabs walking of the rocks and the condors flying over our head. It must be pleasent that the people are nice. It is also pleasent that the transportation gis good over there. Maybe the more Urban and European and Mestize area's in Peru are doing well as you say? And the more Southern-American Native American rural area's are more poor? Maybe that has to do with the fact that people of European ancestry hold the main power in government and industry? It is interesting to hear that Peru is doing much better than Brazil or Mexico. My father who deals in stocks as a retired man told me the Brazillian economy is doing rather bad today. People are different everywhere. So like in Europe Southern-Americans could be different from nation to nation. A girlfriend of mine who speaks Spanish told me that Southern-American, Latin-American and Cuban Spanish is very different from the Spanish from Spain, like the Brazillian Portugese from Brazil is very different from Portugese from Portugal. They have several Southern- and Latin-American Spanish languages, with different vocabularies, probably influenced by native american, African, Portugese and maybe Italian and other languages? Peruvian Spanish will be different than the Mexican, Cuban, San Salvadorian, Hondurian, Colombian, Chillean, Urugayan and Argentinian Spanish.

Jaga, so next to many offspring from the Chinese contratworkers of the 19th century there are many Japanese origin people in Peru. I remember that Japanese dictator guy, Alberto Fujimori, who fled the country to seek refuge in Japan. but the majority look like descendent of Chichua's people. By the way, Dutch people were young and very tall, but I had no chance to talk to them. I talked to Danish people. We will have a Danish exchange student for a couple of weeks in August, September.
I feel safe here in Lima and in Peru and it feels very much like Europe.


Alberto Fujimori

I read that Cusco is a city in southeastern Peru, near the Urubamba Valley of the Andes mountain range. The site was the historic capital of the Inca Empire from the 13th into the 16th century until the Spanish conquest. In 1983 Cusco was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. Accept the slow internet connection Jaga and enjoy some time with less internet and more local experiences, culture, food, people, the Brits that accompany you and the local environment. Please take care of your food hygene. I read that the water over there is not always trustworthy and that you have to cook everything. You are used to North-American and European standards.

I am glad that you survived those beautiful trips on narrow roads with probably deep ravines that took your breath. Seeing some beautiful countrysides must be worth while the trip. The poverty must be hard to see and accept, but it is the reality of Southern-America and the world. It is interesting to hear that Peruvian people are very nice and very different than Brazilians. What is the difference Jaga. I know you have been to both countries now. Keep it safe and enjoy the rest of your time over there in that interesting country in Southern-America.

Cheers,
Pieter

[pieter]

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Q%27orianka_Kilcher

[pieter]

Culture and religion of the indigenous Peruvians



Ancient Peru had various polytheistic and pantheistic religions. The most important gods were Viracocha (lord, creator, and father of men) and Pachamama (Earth mother). The Sun, Moon, and such phenomena as lightning and mountains were also worshipped. Each culture raised temples to honour its local divinity.


Viracocha, lord, creator, and father of men


Earth mother Pachamama


Phenomena as lightning and mountains were also worshipped



The indigenous Native American Peruvians have mixed many pagan beliefs into the Roman Catholic rituals to produce a syncretic religion rich in traditions.


A Peruvian Shaman in the Andes mountains


A group of Peruvian Shamans

The two major indigenous or ethnic groups are the Quechuas (belonging to various cultural subgroups), followed by the Aymaras, mostly found in the extreme southern Andes. A large proportion of the indigenous population who live in the Andean highlands still speak Quechua or Aymara, and have vibrant cultural traditions, some of which were part of the Inca Empire, arguably the most advanced agricultural civilization in the world during its time.

Peruvians of Amerindian descent who have adopted aspects of Hispanic culture also are beginning to consider themselves "mestizo". With economic development, access to education, intermarriage, and large-scale migration from rural to urban areas, a more homogeneous national culture is developing, mainly along the relatively more prosperous coast. Peruvians view themselves as a racially mixed people: a "half indigenous, a third European, a sixth African and one part Asiatic" composition as a "melting pot" recipe for a Peruvian stew. But still many indigenous Peruvian native Americans of the Sierra live in extreme poverty in a harsh environment; many remain both indifferent to and outside the mainstream affairs of the country. Jaga, you will have witnessed that over there.



Land reform acts in the 1960s and ’70s have brought some improvement, such as the dismantling of haciendas—typically large estates with absentee owners—and reallocation of the land in smaller segments to individuals or cooperatives. However, many Quechuas (indigenous Native Americans) and Aymaras (the indigenous Native Americans too) of the highlands still shepherd llama herds or work tiny plots of land to eke out a living. The lowland Indians of Amazonia occupy a social position similar to that of the highland Indians.


Amerindian woman with child

Peruvian culture is primarily rooted in Amerindian and Spanish traditions, though it has also been influenced by various African, Asian, and European ethnic groups. Peruvian artistic traditions date back to the elaborate pottery, textiles, jewelry, and sculpture of Pre-Inca cultures. The Incas maintained these crafts and made architectural achievements including the construction of Machu Picchu. Baroque dominated colonial art, though modified by native traditions. During this period, most art focused on religious subjects; the numerous churches of the era and the paintings of the Cuzco School are representative. Arts stagnated after independence until the emergence of Indigenismo in the early 20th century. Since the 1950s, Peruvian art has been eclectic and shaped by both foreign and local art currents.


Roman-Catholic cathedral in Lima


The Basilica Cathedral of Lima is a Roman Catholic cathedral located in the Plaza Mayor of downtown Lima, Peru. Construction began in 1535, and the building has undergone many reconstructions and transformation since, however it still retains its colonial structure and facade. It is dedicated to St John, Apostle and Evangelist.



The two major indigenous or ethnic groups are the Quechuas (belonging to various cultural subgroups), followed by the Aymaras, mostly found in the extreme southern Andes. A large proportion of the indigenous population who live in the Andean highlands still speak Quechua or Aymara, and have vibrant cultural traditions, some of which were part of the Inca Empire. Dozens of indigenous cultures are also dispersed throughout the country beyond the Andes Mountains in the Amazon basin. This region is rapidly becoming urbanized. Important urban centers include Iquitos, Nauta, Puerto Maldonado, Pucallpa and Yurimaguas. This region is home to numerous indigenous peoples, though they do not constitute a large proportion of the total population. Examples of indigenous peoples residing in eastern Peru include the Shipibo, Urarina, Cocama, and Aguaruna, to name just a few.


Quechua Women With Children In A Village In The Andes, Ollantaytambo, Peru


Aymaras in Peru

The people of Peru



The population of the Inca empire at the time of the Spanish conquest in 1532 is commonly estimated to have been around 12 million, although estimates vary. Not all of these people, of course, lived within the boundaries of modern Peru, but it is clear that Peru was the most densely settled area in pre-Hispanic South America. During the first century of Spanish domination, the Indian population declined by almost 80 percent—owing to overwork, malnutrition, and the introduction of such diseases as smallpox and measles. The country’s first accurate census (1791) showed the impact of Hispanic dominance of the Inca: the population had declined to slightly more than one million (which included Europeans, people of mixed ancestry, and black slaves). After independence the population gradually increased, mainly as a result of high birth rates. By the mid-1960s the population of Peru was about the same as that of the Inca society at its height—in other words, it took more than 300 years to replace the population lost in the first century of Spanish domination.



During the 20th century the population of Peru grew rapidly, particularly in the middle decades, and became predominantly urban. The rapid population growth led to a surplus of population in many areas, particularly in the Andean highlands, and overpopulation of the rural areas was one root cause of the mass migration to the cities that occurred in Peru in the decades after World War II. There was a sharp decline in death rates in the period between 1940 and 1970, while, at the same time, birth rates remained very high. Growth rates peaked in the 1970s at more than 3 percent; since then, the spread of birth control (notwithstanding widespread opposition by the Peruvian Roman Catholic hierarchy) and the desire of urban dwellers for smaller families have slowed the rate of population growth. In the early 21st century Peru’s birth rate and life expectancy were close to the world average, its death rate slightly lower.

[pieter]

[pieter]

[pieter]