In the brink of extinction: Llama caravans arriving to the Santa Catalina fair, Jujuy

BIBIANA LEONOR VILA

JOURNAL OF ETHNOBIOLOGY

SOC ETHNOBIOLOGY

Año: 2018 vol. 38 p. 372 - 389

0278-0771

Abstract. The practice of using llama (Lama glama) caravans has decreased in Jujuy, northwesternArgentina, in recent years. Peasants, in this area known as pastores, llameros, or caravaneros, belongto Andean indigenous communities in Nor Lipez, Bolivia. The llameros, with their caravans, travelessentially to barter llama fiber in exchange for industrial food-products, mainly flour and sugar.The caravan trip to and from Santa Catalina takes an average of 12 days, five days going to and fromthe fair, and two days camping at the fair itself. These llameros belong to extended families thatinclude young boys and women. Llameros have their own ethnotaxonomy and can recognize eachanimal of the troop. Today?s llama caravans are pre-Hispanic in origin, thereby presenting collectivecontinuance with the past. Yet caravans are disappearing given the ever more ubiquitous presence ofvehicles, a trend that is also seen in other regions of the world. This paper presents a systematic studyof the factors relating to the decline in the use of caravans in northwestern Argentina based on datacollected from 2013 to 2017. Three reasons are offered (two socioeconomic and one environmental)to explain the observed decline: (a) the presence of a growing textile industry in Bolivia, with anincrease in the demand for camelid fiber; (b) the improvement in living conditions in Bolivia; and (c)the drought that affected the area, with very little pasture for the animals on their route.Keywords: llamas, caravans, Santa Catalina, Andean fair.