Traditional Pre-Hispanic Peruvian Dance Declared Intangible Cultural Heritage by UNESCO

[Judi Lynn]

Traditional Pre-Hispanic Peruvian Dance Declared Intangible Cultural Heritage by UNESCO

Translation posted 2 January 2016 13:21 GMT



On December 2, 2015, UNESCO inscribed the wititi dance on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. The dance, where the main figure is a male character known as witite, is the most characteristic cultural expression of the people that live in the River Colca valley, in Arequipa, Peru.

According to the legend of its origin, wititi is an expression closely tied to the historic memory of the Inca conquest:

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Original Quote


The Collaguas, ancestors of the population that currently lives in the Coica valley, tried to avoid being conquered by the Incas and, as the Cuzquean sovereign wanted to marry the daughter of the great local priest (the curaca), he and his troops dressed up in female clothes to approach this noble lady. Following the plan, the Inca not only managed to get engaged with her, but forced the [local Colca Valley] population to be allies with the Cuzqueans, something locals acknowledge as a peaceful conquest.

In memory of the Inca's scheme, men wear special clothes, partially female, made up of two regional-style embroidered skirts with a slight lift on the front part, held by two Andean pins (tupus o kipkis) as is the custom for women in the region.

Website en Perú describes the typical male dress during performances of the wititi:

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The men are the main attraction for the colorful clothing they wear […]:

Chumpe: A kind of girdle around the waist, fastening the two Llicllas. They were woven with fine vicuna thread, and decorated with fine gemstones.
Llicllas: Blankets for loading. They were woven with fine vicuna thread, and were used to carry fruits to be used as projectiles, but also shared during the dance or the celebration.
Montera: A protective helmet that used to be made out of Puna hay. It is for picking up the projectiles thrown away by opponents with the slingshot. It is decorated with colorful tassels and clips known as Angoñas, woven with fine vicuna thread.
Slingshot: The weapon used to launch the fruit.

More:
https://globalvoices.org/2016/01/02/traditional-pre-hispanic-peruvian-dance-declared-intangible-cultural-heritage-by-unesco/

Anthropology:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/12292495