Interpretation of Nature Fauna and Flora in the Agricultural Culture of Aymara People: A Qualitative Study

Abstract

The beings that inhabit this vital environment grow in collaboration and harmony with nature, as happens with the evolution of knowledge. The objective of the research was to systematize the information from the interpretation of fauna and flora and the use made by the Aymara during the year; which was described by Van and Enríquez (2002), who used astronomical observation techniques and their sixth sense, in other words, pure Aymara intuition. They believed that the agroclimatic forecasting techniques of the Aymara of the north and south of the Altiplano allowed them to anticipate the months of the year to obtain a good harvest volume and ensure agricultural yields. The research corresponds to a qualitative approach with an ethnographic method with a descriptive nature aimed at interpreting the nature and use made by the Aymara throughout the year. The in-depth interview technique was applied, characterized by face-to-face dialogued interactions and participant observation in the Aymara area of Huancané in the north and the Aymara area of Ilave-Juli in the south. Ten Aymara speakers from both Huancané and Ilave-Juli areas were interviewed, aged between 45 and 80, preferably monolingual in Aymara and also included bilingual Aymara-Spanish speakers. The results show that reading the signs of nature's flora and fauna contributes to agricultural production in different months of the year.