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ALPACAS
MAGAZINE
NATURAL FIBER
Industry News
History
In 1789 Count Buffon, the French naturalist
and author, published his work, “Natural
History,” in which he drew attention to
the lack of information about the South
American camelids—in particular the
alpaca and the llama. Buffon wrote:
“It is very noticeable that the domes-
tic animals of Peru and Chile, unlike the
horses in Europe or the camels in Arabia,
are hardly known and this after more than
two centuries of Spanish rule. Not one
author has given an accurate description
of the daily use of these animals in their
region—all they say is that they cannot
be transported to Europe nor taken away
from the mountains. The writers living in
Lima could, at the very least, have drawn,
described or dissected them.”
Indeed, Buffon rectified his own com-
plaint by publishing one of the first scien-
tific drawings of a llama that we have.
However, and despite what Count Buffon
was told, there is evidence that at least one
live llama was exported to the Netherlands
as early as 1558 when the species was
referred to as
Allocamellus.
Today it is
classified as
Lama glama.
Essentially domesticated around 7,000
years ago as a pack animal, the llama is
strong, hardy and was well-equipped to
make the long and arduous treks from
Bolivia, travelling over the Andes and
down to the coastal regions of Peru and
Chile. In Incan times, the animals accom-
panied the army, carrying provisions and
were also a source of meat. In religious
ceremonies they were often sacrificed in
the belief that they could help man see
into the future.
A traditional way of life
These days the majority of the world’s
llama population is to be found in Bolivia
where around 950,000 animals produce an
average 1.9 million kilograms of fiber per
annum. Bolivia’s leading processor
of fiber through to finished garments is
Altifibers S.A., based in La Paz. Peru is the
next largest producer, with approximately
350,000 llamas.
There are two distinct breeds of llama—
the Kcara (or light fleece), which is most
commonly used as a beast of burden, and
the Chaku (or heavy fleece) which is the
main source of llama hair for textiles.
The animals survive on any type of
pasture and can, in fact, go several days
without eating. They can tolerate thirst for
a considerable period of time.
An ancient and traditional way of life is
still carried out by some of the ‘llameros’
(llama herdsmen) who live high up in the
Altiplano Region of the Andes, some 4,600
meters above sea level, and who every
morning leave their small stone houses
with thatched roofs to let their llamas out
of the pens where they have been corralled
for the night. Once freed, the llamas head
out to graze the dry pasturelands at the
top of the mountains.
From November to March, during the
rainy season, the llameros are intent on
ensuring that the most virile ‘jaynachos’
mate with as many of the females as
possible, as the breeding season is
relatively short. This is also the time
when the animals are sheared.
In April some of the herds are rounded-
up and descend to the fertile valleys,
following the routes of their ancestors.
With each animal carrying a load of
30 kilograms, they pass through villages
and settlements on the way, with their
merchandise of clay pots, dried meat
(‘charki’), textiles, ropes and guano (used
as a fertilizer) which will be traded for
corn, beans, potatoes and barley. At each
settlement the llamas will also be used to
carry the crops in from the fields.
When the harvest is safely gathered-in,
the herds move on to the warmer desert
plains where further trading will take
place for red peppers, kidney beans,
figs and dried fruits.
It is in the desert that the llameros
practice their ancient rituals to give thanks
for the first leg of their journey and to ask
for luck to complete the final trek down
to the sea. With this in mind some of the
animals will be sacrificed and their blood
used to paint symbols on stones.
Inkarri legend tells that “… when the Inca
distributed resources while descending
from the Altiplano, he gave only livestock
and grazing grounds to the inhabitants of
Sibaya (the Andes) and, since that land
could not be cultivated, he gave them
fields in the sea where they could grow
a seaweed called ‘cochayuyo’.”
At the coast, other foods are loaded for
the herd’s return to the Altiplano—fish,
rice, sugar cane and fruit and, when
September comes, they head back. Some
llameros may deviate their homeward
route to spend more time along the coast
visiting Mamacocha (the Sea Mother,
goddess of water) before ascending to the
mountains—their journeys are long and
tortuous and in an area that can cover
the whole of Tahuantinsuyo (the Inca
Empire which stretched from Colombia
to Northern Argentina).
Llama Fiber:
Moving Out of the Shadows
BY FRANCIS RAINSFORD
Llamas in the Andean Altiplano.
Photocourtesyoftheauthor