Taquile Island

Template: Infobox Island / Maintenance / image missing

Taquile (Spanish) or Intika ( Quechua ) is an island in the Peruvian part of Lake Titicaca, 45 km from the city of Puno. The island is about 5.5 km long and up to 1.6 km wide. The highest point is 4,050 m above sea level, the largest city in 3,950 m ( for comparison, the water surface of Lake Titicaca: 3,810 m).

Taquile has approximately 1,700 quechuasprachige residents who are called in Spanish Taquileños. The Quechua (variant Qusqu - Qullaw ) is actively spoken by all age groups. Many speak Spanish well, especially among the young.

History

Intika belonged since the 15th century to the Inca Empire. The Ruins ( two peaks: Uray K'ari and Hanan K'ari ) probably already come but from the time of the Tiwanaku culture (ca. 800 AD). The island was one of the last areas in the highlands of Peru who were conquered by the Spaniards. For a long time it was possible the inhabitants to hide from the Spaniards so that they held the island for uninhabited. Intika was taken in 1580 for King Charles V, who is at once the Count Rodrigo de Taquila ( according to other sources he was called Pedro Gonzalez de Taquile) sold. On these, the Spanish name of the island goes back. Under the Spanish colonial rule, the traditional clothing was forbidden, so that the Taquileños took Spanish peasant costume. This is their still in use today " Indian " costume. In the 1930s, served as a prison Taquile Island, where even the former Peruvian president Luis Miguel Sánchez Cerro was detained. 1937 the Taquileños bought back the property right over the island.

Business and Administration

The Taquileños are - similar to the neighboring island of Amantani - organized in a cooperative that is deliberately placed on the from the Inca period (or before) originating Commandments " Ama suwa, ama llulla, ama Qilla " ( do not steal, do not lie, do not be lazy ) refers. As a result, the locals do without the presence of a police unit.

The island can feed themselves by fishing and terraced fields (especially potatoes). A significant source of income has become the tourism, which is controlled by the cooperative. This has to date also prevents any hotel building, which was sought by tourism enterprises. The approximately 40,000 tourists annually be accommodated by a central mediation in private houses. In this way, the Taquileños could obtain a relative economic independence.

Tourist

Every year on July 25 to celebrate the island's inhabitants their patron saint at the Fiesta de Santiago. At the same time will also take place Feria artesanal, the trade fair for crafts on Taquile. The locals wear their traditional costumes and besammeln at noon on the main square for a ceremony.

Taquile is famous for its weaving and knitting, the textile products are among the highest quality in Peru. The spinning, weaving and knitting is performed primarily by men. The Textile Art of Taquile was recorded in 2005 in the UNESCO list of Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity and included in the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2008.

Special

On the island of Taquile there is a general ban on dogs and cats.

Taquile has a radio station, which is powered by generators. The community has decided to use solar cells.