The Tupe People - Ancient Andean Matriarchal Society

I present to you the TUPE people, an almost extinct ethnic group from de Peruvian Andes. There are less than one thousand left right now, so meet them now before they vanish forever. So much to say about them, just let me share with you some of their incredible characteristics.



The tupe women are expert wrestlers, while performing an andean dance they lift up the men to throw them to the ground, making it clear that they are the ones in charge and that men become mere collaborators their household chores.

Their main festivities called "Herranza" are in August, it includes mating rituals and cattle marking. They dance the "wakataki" for the cattle fertility, and prepare the "quemadito", a liquor made with herbs collected over 5000 meters high.

The festivity is used by women "matchmakers", who choose partners among young stronger people. The male will be rejected if he tries to asks the bride's hand, so the pre-marriage ritual involves the lady faked abduction.

The procreation of children is also decided by the women, taking into account the provision of food rather than family planning.

Tupe women have a habit of working immediately after birth, while the male stays in bed complaining of imaginary pains.

They practice artificial craneal deformation of the newborns, and adults can carry up to 100 kilos of dairy products and potatoes on their head, in their weekly walk to the Catahuasi market, that's a journey of more than 12 miles in six hours.



It's remarkable red color outfit with an "scottish style", adopted in 1960. The skirt is fastened by a belt attached to the waist thick. Tight to the hip they carry a sort of slingshots.



In the celebrations of great solemnity, they wear a black dress called "anako" and carry on the chest large silver disks called "topos" and two earrings that shine at first sight. These artifacts produce a vibration that puts mind in a special state.



Information tranlslated from this source : www.rumbosdelperu.com...

More info here (spanish) : tupeyauyos.blogspot.com...

Kewl thread Trueman. Thanks for bringing it to us!

Matriarchal societies are exceptionally rare historically, and especially today. This is one I've not heard of. Time to clean my reading glasses. S&F.

Wow!
Makes me want to go to traveling right now!

S & F

Very timely post. Thanks for posting this.
Its good to know others share a similar interest.

Thanks for those comments. These people were there before the spaniards, before the Incas. They represent an amazing opportunity to reconnect us with the knowledge of pre-columbian cultures almost lost in time.

Their language seems to be related to the Aymara, but older. Taking in consideration their gegraphic position, it is not less than intriguing how distant from their roots they are now. I've read somewhere a theory saying they were "relocated" by the Incas to avoid their cultural influence to the empire.

For Andean people, nothing is meanless. I wish someone rescue and decode this amazing culture. For example, I wonder about the properties of the herbs they collect and use to make their liqueur.

I just found a great video with english subtitles :

www.blinkx.com...

thanks trueman for bringing this civilisation into my ever growing knowledge!
matriarchy is the way forward imo.

i believe ancient Egypt, especially the old kingdom, dynastic and pre-dynastic periods were run by matriarchy.

Take Menkaure for example



Khamerernebty II has her arm around his waist, Khamerernebty II is stating Menkaure is hers

please watch this short section of a very long and a very very good must watch documentary

for those in a hurry, skip to 4:20



and for those who find this snippet interesting, then please watch the full thing
i promise you its worth every second

reply to post by Trueman


good for her!
shes making a full dictionary of the language, thats fantastic!
she should be deified!

reply to post by Trueman


Thanks for this one. Reminds me of a matriarchal society from around Turkey I started reading about a few years ago then dropped and didn't get back to. Motivating.

reply to post by Trueman


Hi trueman,

A couple of years ago I saw a documentary about a young tupe woman who was working her way up through the wrestling world.
It was almost surreal watching this girl wrestle in her traditional garb.

reply to post by Trueman

Trueman - these are the exact "gems" I look forward to finding on this site; something that expands my knowledge on a topic I was not previously aware of (and perhaps never would have been).

Thanks for all the work you put into presenting these fascinating people. It was a pleasure to read your post.



Timidgal