Quichua

The Quichua are the largest group in Ecuador, numbering over 2 million. Ecuador’s population is ethnically mixed, with 55% mestizo (mixed Indigenous - Caucasian), 25% Indigenous, 10% Caucasian, 9% African (mainly in Esmereldas province), and 1% other. Quichua is a common language, spoken by around 10 million people from other ethnic groups who are not themselves Quichua. From the time of the Spanish Conquest in the 16^th century there has been intermarriage between the Quichua and those of Spanish origin, and the only Quichua who could claim to be ‘pure-blooded’ live in very remote communities. This co-existence can be seen in religion –although most Quichua are Roman Catholic (largely as a result of the work of missionaries), pagan and animist traditions are celebrated alongside the main religious festivals. At the annual festival La Virgen de las Mercedes, which is a Roman Catholic celebration, the festival begins with a Catholic Mass, and a statue of the Virgin Mary is carried through the streets. By the end of the second day a more traditional theme emerges, as masked men appear with offerings in the form of butchered pigs, bottles of liquor and cigarettes, and the event is given over to street dancing and activities including competitions of tying ponchos together, or seeing who can wear the greatest number of hats.

Costume varies throughout the Quichua region, and it is possible for locals to recognize where each other are from by the style of their clothes. Nevertheless there are certain common themes –ponchos are frequently worn, and the Fedora felt hat is ubiquitous. In the Otavalo area, women tend to wear white blouses, blue skirts and shawls. The most usual form of jewellery is a gold necklace worn in layers, and red coral bracelets are also popular.

There is no evidence of a written form of Quichua from Inca times, although a system of communication was used by tying cords of different colours together in a way known as quipu. It is thought that the combination of knots and colour of cords represented not only numbers, but could also stand for syllables of words. It is still used today in some places as a way of recording local events such as marriages and deaths.

As well as the Andean Quichua, there are also Quichua who live in the rainforest, in the area known as the Oriente. This group allegedly moved into the rainforest at the time of the Spanish Conquest to avoid being enslaved. The houses are built on riverbanks, and they grow crops in the relatively fertile soils left by floods. It is thought that there are around 40,000 Amazonian Quichua. They are hunters, fruit gatherers, fishermen and gold panners. They also have a huge knowledge of the medicinal properties of plants. They are also gifted artisans, making bags, hammocks and more from jungle plants, and the women have always been skilled potters.