red k'eperina

red k'eperina

on blue clothesline with brown hen

and blue triciclo

A typical adobe house along the road between Urubamba and Ollantaytambo in the Cusco region. The colorful striped k'eperina is worn around the shoulders and used for carrying all kinds of goods. The triciclo, with its little flatbed over the rear wheels, is also used for carrying all kinds of goods, like this blue bucket. The little brown hen, resting in the shade, is used for laying eggs. I like the way the door with its faded blue and red paint picks up the color theme, and even the clothesline matches the blue of the triciclo and bucket.

mouth of a serpent

mouth of a serpent

spouting water from a stream

zigzaging uphill

Lost in the maze of the Pisac feria, I turn a corner into an open passage, relieved that I have found my way out of the labyrinth, and nearly stumble into the mouth of a serpent at my feet. The realistic stone head is spouting water into a little pool lined with round stones. A water channel set into diamond paving stones and edged with triangular mosaics of small round pebbles comprises its body. The channel runs zigzag down a very long, narrow street. A triciclo is parked not too far away, between the channel and the adobe wall, and a woman in traditional costume, with a striped k'eperina over one shoulder, is walking toward me up the hill. I stand and stare at the serpent for a long time. There is a mystery here which I cannot grasp. My eyes tell me that the water is spouting up from the serpent's mouth but the street into with the water channel is sloping down. It is like a painting by M.C. Escher. My confused mind scrambles for a logical explanation of this apparent contradiction. There must be a pump under the serpent's head that forces water up from a well or cistern, and the channel is merely for draining rainwater down the hill, as I have seen on many other sloped streets. But the mind-boggling impression remains. Perhaps this is its purpose, to take the mind beyond, into the realm of Amaru, the Cosmic Serpent.

money from a wall

money from a wall

jeans and striped k'eperinas

baseball caps and braids

Jiron Lima, the wide pedestrian street in Puno, is filled with shops and restaurants, locals and tourists, modern and traditional styles, street vendors and money that slides out from a slot in a wall.

mama with bebe

mama with bebe

wrapped in a red k'eperina

snug against her heart

This mother and baby are standing in the pedestrian street outside the school with its colorful murals. She is carrying her baby in a k'eperina, Quechua for a handwoven rectangular cloth used for carrying children and other goods. Often red, with intricate striped designs, it is used by both men and women, even by those who wear modern dress, like this young mother in jeans and a sweater. The baby wears a hand knit chullo on his head. This first cap is traditionally knit by his father and the color white indicates that the baby is a boy.

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."