Urubamba market

Urubamba feria –

two women in monteras

chatting in Quechua

Each area of Peru has a distinct traditional costume. These women at a street market in Urubamba are wearing tall-crowned monteras, one of felted alpaca and the other of woven straw. The style of these hats may have originated with the Spanish colonists and are worn by both men and women. The full skirts may also be of colonial derivation. The women wear several layers of polleras, as many as five for special occasions. The woman on the right wears a chuspa hanging from her waist, a small pouch used for carrying coca leaves or corn. She also has a red k'eperina on her back, a rectangular woven cloth tied with a knot in front, used like a backpack. The women are chatting in Quechua, the most widely spoken Amerindian language. The people who speak this language refer to themselves as Runa, "the people," and their language is Runasimi, "language of the people."