The Aymara people live high up in the Andes Mountains in Bolivia. There, they live as a native people.  In fact, Bolivia has the highest number of natives in South America.The Aymara civilization actually still exists today.

     The Aymara are very good musicians, although the Spanish had a good influence on their music.The origins of their music go all the way back to Incan times. Instruments they use are drums, flutes, panpipes, and a pututu horn. Traditional dances have been used and passed down through many generations. Dances feature large bright masks, and costumes. Clothing styles vary greatly in the Aymara culture. Men wear western style clothes, while women wear their polleras, or skirts, made of fine materials, such as velvet, and brocade. They also wear embroidered shawls.

     Aymara mythology has many legends about wind, hail, mountains, and lakes. The godTunupa is believed to be the creator of the universe. He was also thought to be the first to teach people farming, songs, and weaving, as well as rules for a moral life. The Aymara belived in the power of natural forces, such as lightning. the most sacred of their gods was Pachamama; she controlled the crops and soil. Later the Aymara people were converted to Catholicism.

     The Aymra are very skilled in a variety of art forms, such as pottery, metalworking, and textiles, like woven blankets, or ponchos made of alpaca fur. Their metalworking is very intricate and detailed. The Aymara make their own earrings, and other jewelery for traditional dances often held in villages.

    The language spoken by the Aymara people is actually called Aymara. But, it was originally called jaqi aru. The Aymara also speak spanish as a second language. Between spanish and Aymara, the people are a very civilized culture. The is no written language.

     The Aymara mostly depend on the agriculture of potatoes, quinoa, and barley. They also raise animals. Llamas, sheep, cattle, and alpacas are examples of animals used by the Aymara. People fish a lot in the villages too. The Aymara are very skilled at weaving, which is a practice that dates all the way back to the Incan civilization. They use, cotton, wool from sheep, alpacas, and llamas, and totora, a reed used a lot by different indian cultures.

      In the Tiwanaku region, the Aymara people were conquered by the Incas around 1483-1523. The Incan Empire had a strong influence on the Aymara culture. Some architecture found in the Incan ruins is clearly modeled after the Aymara style. The Aymara were colonized by the Spanish rule after the Spainards conquered the mighty Incan Empire. The Aymara were forced to work in the silver mines of the Antiplano.

 The Wipala, or Aymaran flag

Sources-

http://www.boliviaweb.com/recipies/english/cocadas.htm

http://en.wikipidia.org/wiki/Aymara

http://archaeology.about.com/od/aterms/g/aymara.htm

http://www.everyculture.com/wc/Afghanistan-to-Bosnia-Herzegovina/aymara/html

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