The totora men

Post by Karla

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Near the shores of Lake Titicaca, a few hours from Juliaca, department of Puno, one may see in the horizon uncommon structures made from plants where Urus, who are said to be the most ancient residents of this Peruvian zone, reside above them.

totora uros

Tourism has spoken a lot about the Urus, creating a myth whereby it is said that they are the descendants of an extinct race that has lost its language – Uroquilla – who live, exiled by the Aymaras, by the shores of the lake and who are the original settlers of the Meseta del Collao.

However, a lot of these affirmations are nothing more than interpretations from diverse colonial documents, which is why the inhabitants were called “Uros”. The Aymaras and the Uros are the same people, but the difference between them occurred when the Spanish mayors started classifying the Indians according to their socio-economic position in order to charge them tribute. They named the poorest fishermen who lived near the lake “Uros” due to the fact that since they had little resources they were not able to pay the taxes that the Aymaras paid and the name stayed.

Uros-Totora-Reed-Boat

It is customary to tell foreign tourists certain mystical characteristics about this town. One of its most prominent ones is its dark blood, which is very close to black. This is due to the fact that they possess more quantities of hemoglobin and red corpuscles than other people, which is the body’s natural reaction in order to be able to better distribute the little oxygen found at these altitudes. As a consequence of this, the skin acquires a brownish-purplish hue which is not the body’s natural pigmentation, since when they travel to the coast, where there is more oxygen, the skin clears up.

totora house2

There are 200 families that inhabit the nearly 40 floating islands in Lake Titicaca, which have been constructed with totora, a plant that grows on the water’s floor, that serves to build the homes, vessels and even food. They devote themselves to fishing, agriculture and the exploitation of the myths created around them by selling crafts to the people who come to visit.

Images: Julius Tours, Silentlandscapes.com, Travel Blog

Blogalaxia Tags: Puno, Totora, Uros, Mysticism, Tourism, Titicaca Lake, Peru.