The Quechua: The Modern Inca

 

Quechua women posing with camelids (Source: World Atlas)

 

Today’s blog post addresses one of the largest Indigenous groups of the Americas: the Quechua.  The word Quechua refers to both the language spoken and the ethnic group, which is reportedly a descendant of the Inca culture.  It is documented that the Quechua ethnic group were conquered by the Inca prior to Spanish conquest, leading them to adopt various Inca cultural traits. After Spanish conquest and colonization the Quechua culture underwent a series of changes that are reflected in their ways of life today.  This blog post will discuss their culture.

 

The Quechua (ethnic group) reside throughout the Andes of Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia.  It is estimated that they number anywhere from 2 to 6 million, although the number of Quechua speakers is estimated to be around 10 million.  Most of the Quechua reside in small villages in the Andean highlands, but several reside in urban centers, working in the service industry and labor occupations.

 

The Quechua maintain their traditional lifeways as subsistence farmers, working in their chacras (fields).  Highland farmers grow and maintain the hundreds of varieties of potatoes, many of which they are credited with creating through their centuries of cultivation techniques.  Lowland farmers specialize in growing quinoa and corn.  Women continue to practice traditional weaving traditions, creating the clothing the Quechua wear and woven items that are sold to tourists. 

 

The Quechua are characterized by their traditional clothing.  Men and women wear colorful ponchos and hats, but women wear colorful skirts.  These are often woven from alpaca wool that they hand spin and dye.  They have also used cotton or made clothing from repurposed fabrics.

 

Ideologically, many of the Quechua practice a mixture of Catholicism and animistic beliefs.  The Quechua were converted through intentional practices by Spanish colonists, and over the years religious missionaries continue to proselytize to the Quechua in hopes of converting them to Protestant faiths.  The syncretic combination of the Quechua’s beliefs is seen in their religious rituals, which celebrate Catholic beliefs and holidays by way of folk traditions.  They also maintain worship of Pachamama, or Mother Earth, a deity worshipped widely by pre-Columbian Andean groups.

 

Works Cited

ABWE Editorial Staff. "The Quechua People: Modern-Day Incas." Message Magazine 18 May 2022. Electronic.

Minority Rights Group International. "World Directory of Minorities and Indigenous Peoples - Bolivia : Highland Aymara and Quechua." 2013. United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Electronic. 17 March 2024.

Stephenson, Amanda. "The Quechua: Guardians of the Potato." 15 February 2012. Cultural Survival. Electronic. 17 March 2024.

The Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica. Quechua. 30 November 2023. Electronic. 17 March 2024.

The Peoples of the World Foundation. "The Indigenous Quichua People." 2023. The Peoples of the World Foundation. Electronic. 17 March 2024.

Yang, Ina. "Peru's Pitmasters Bury Their Meat In The Earth, Inca-Style." 30 June 2015. NPR. Electronic. 17 March 2024.