Peru
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Language
A highland
woman preparing thread for textiles
Peru's official languages
are Spanish and, according to the Peruvian Constitution of 1993, Amerindian
languages such as Quechua, Aymara and other such indigenous languages in areas
where they predominate. Today, Spanish is spoken by some 80.3% of the
population, and is the language used by government, media, and in education and
formal commerce. There has been an increasing and organized effort to teach
Quechua in public schools in the areas where Quechua is spoken.
According to official
sources, the use of Spanish has increased while the knowledge and use of
indigenous languages has decreased considerably during the last four decades
(1960–2000). At the beginning of the 1960s some 39% of the total Peruvian
population were registered as speakers of indigenous languages, but by the
1990s the figures show a considerable decline in the use of Quechua, Aymara and
other indigenous languages, when only 28% is registered as Quechua-speaking
(16% of whom are reported to be bilingual in Spanish) and Spanish-speakers
increased to 72%.
For 2005, government
figures place Spanish as being spoken by 80.3% of the population, but among
Amerindian languages another decrease is registered. Of the indigenous
languages, Quechua remains the most spoken, and even today is used by some
16.2% of the total Peruvian population, or a third of Peru's total indigenous
population. The number of Aymara-speakers and other indigenous languages is placed
at 3%, and foreign languages 0.2%.
The drastic decline in use
and knowledge of indigenous languages is largely attributed to the recent
demographic factors. The urbanization and assimilation of Peru's Amerindian
plurality into the Hispanic-mestizo culture, as well as the new socioeconomic
factors associated with class structure have given privilege to the use of
Spanish at the expense of the Amerindian languages which were spoken by the
majority of the population less than a century ago.
The major obstacle to a
more widespread use of the Quechua language is the fact that multiple dialects
of this language exist. The variations among these Quechua dialects are as
pronounced as - for example - the differences between Spanish, Portuguese and
Italian. Quechua, along with Aymara and the minor indigenous languages, was
originally and remains essentially an oral language. Therefore, there is a lack
of modern media which use it: for example books, newspapers, software,
magazines, technical journals, etc. However, non-governmental organizations as
well as state sponsored groups are involved in projects to edit and translate
major works into the Quechua language; for instance, in late 2005 a superb
version of Don Quixote was presented in Quechua.
The percentage of native
speakers of Quechua who are illiterate has been decreasing lately, as 86.87% of
the Peruvian population is literate. More encouraging, nationwide literacy rate
of youth aged 15 to 24 years is 96.8%.
Culture
Like its rich national
history, the popular culture of contemporary Peru is the result of a fusion of
cultures, constituted primarily from the cultural legacy of the indigenous
groups, and Spanish and African colonists. This cultural mixture has been
further enriched by the contributions of other immigrant groups, particularly
Asians and non-Iberian Europeans.
Peruvian artistic creation
The Pachacamac Temple.
Panoramic
View of Cusco from Sacsayhuaman
Peruvian cultural patrimony
has its origin in the magnificent Andean civilizations, which flourished before
the Spaniards’ arrival. Peru's archaeological treasures are evidence of many
significant achievements comparable to those of other great civilizations.
Some of the first artistic
manifestations reflecting more advanced intellectual and technological
evolution are artifacts found in the deposits of Chavín de Huántar and Cupisnique.
These are examples of symbolic and religious art including gold and silver work,
ceramics,architecture and stone sculpture. These sites date as far back as the 14th
century BC and 11th century BC, respectively.
Between the 8th century BC
and 1st century AD, the Paracas Cavernas and Paracas Necrópolis cultures
developed. The Paracas Cavernas culture produced beautiful polychrome ceramics
with religious representations as well as monochrome ceramics. The Paracas
Necrópolis culture is characterized by its delicate fabrics in complex styles.
In the period between the 3rd
century BC and 7th century AD, the urban culture known as Mochica developed in Lambayeque.
Nazca culture also developed in this period in the valley of río Grande, in Ica.
In Mochica culture, the magnificent Huaca del Sol and Huaca de la Luna, Huaca
Cao Viejo and Huaca El Brujo and the Huaca Rajada of Sipan are worth
mentioning. They are notable for their cultivation in terraces and hydraulic
engineering, as well as some of the most original ceramics, textiles, and
pictorial and sculptural art in the Andean world.
The Wari civilization,
which flourished between the 8th century and 12th century AD, was based in Ayacucho.
This civilization may have been the first Andean culture to define a planned
urban layout. Such a concept was later expanded to zones like Pachacamac, Cajamarquilla,
Wari Willca and others. Tiahuanaco culture developed by the borders of lake
Titicaca between the 9th century and 13th century AD. This culture introduced
monumental lithic architecture and sculpture as well as military urbanism. These
advances in architecture were possible thanks to the discovery of bronze for
making tools.
The Chimú town improvement
on the principle of urban architecture. This civilization built the city of Chan
Chan in the valley of the Moche river, in La Libertad, between the 14th and 15th
centuries AD. The chimú were also skillful goldsmiths and made remarkable works
of hydraulic engineering.
The Inca Civilization
incorporated, and in many cases perfected, many of the cultural techniques of
the civilizations that preceded it. There are many examples of original Inca
architecture and engineering that have outlasted later Spanish colonial
structures. In this regard, the rich Inca heritage can still be observed in
cities like Cuzco, the fortress of Sacsahuaman, Ollantaytambo, Machu Picchu,
and extensive stone roads that united Cuzco with the four cardinal points of
the Inca Empire. The Spanish conquest displaced, not without violence, native
artistic practices and concepts, although in many cases, it made for enriching
hybrids of traditional Spanish and native art.
Architecture
The Basilica
Cathedral of Arequipa (1621-1656)
Peruvian architecture is a
conjunction of European styles exposed to the influence of indigenous imagery. Two
of the most well-known examples of the Renaissance period are the Cathedral and
the church of Santa Clara of Cuzco. After this period, the mestization reached
its richer expression in the Baroque. Some examples of this Baroque period are
the convent of San Francisco de Lima, the church of the Compañía and the facade
of the University of Cuzco and, overall, the churches of San Agustín and Santa
Rosa of Arequipa, its more beautiful exponents.
The independence war left a
creative emptiness that Neoclassicism of French inspiration could just fill. The
XX century is characterized by the eclecticism, to which the constructive
functionalism has been against. The most considerable example is San Martin
Plaza in Lima.
Sculpture and painting
Cathedral
of Lima facing the Plaza de Armas
Colonial
Houses at Historic Center of Trujillo
Peruvian sculpture and painting
began to define themselves from the ateliers founded by monks, who were
strongly influenced by the Sevillian Baroque School. In this background, the
stalls of the Cathedral choir, the fountain of the Main Square of Lima and
great part of the colonial production were registered.
The artistic crossbreeding
was more intense in the pictorial creation. This crossbreeding gathered,
without ambages, the native heritage and materialized, without incisions, the
historical continuity. You are able to see this in the portrait of prisoner
Atahualpa, from Diego de Mora, or in the linens of the Italians Mateo Pérez de
Alesio and Angelino Medoro, the Spanish Francisco Bejarano and J. de Illescas
and the Creole J. Rodriguez.
During XVII and XVIII
centuries, the Baroque also dominated the field of plastic arts. In the XIX
century, the French neoclassic and romantic currents found his best
representatives in
In the XX century, the
establishment of the Fine Arts School of Lima (1919) printed the decisive impulse
on Peruvian sculpture and painting. In sculpture, we have some remarkable names
like Luis Agurto, L. Valdettaro, Joaquin Roca Rey, J. Piqueras, Alberto Guzmán,
Victor Delfín and F. Sánchez. Between the painters, we have Daniel Hernández, R.
Grau, Cesar Quispez Asin and Jose Sabogal. Sabogal headed the indigenous
movement. This movemevent was one of the props of the Peruvian contemporary
painting, which more representative names are Fernando de Szyszlo, Alberto
Davila, Armando Villegas, Sabino Springett, Victor Humareda, M. A. Cuadros, Angel
Chavez, Milner Cajahuaringa, Arturo Kubotta, Venancio Shinki, Alberto
Quintanilla, G. Chavez, Tilsa Tsuchiya, David Herskowitz, Oscar Allain and Carlos
Revilla.
Literature
In the history of Peruvian
literature, the oral indigenous tradition and the technical resources of
writing (incorporated by Spaniards) converge in each other. From the beginning,
it was possible to gather and to express the different and complex cultural
realities that entered in conflict immediately after the conquest.
Quechua and Aymara literature
was transmitted in an oral way. It was linked to religious, agrarian,
affectionate, festive or funeral rites. These characteristics became into
certain forms of poetry or prose, as it is observed in the first historical chronicles
of the Inca Garcilaso de la Vega (Los comentarios reales) or Felipe Huaman Poma
de Ayala (la Nueva crónica y buen gobierno) and in the identification between
the yaravies and the patriotic and romantic poetry. One of the most outstanding
exponents here was Mariano Melgar.
Later, the hegemony of
Creole oligarchy in the Peruvian society favored the abandonment of the
indigenous forms in favor of the European ones. Then the neoclassicists arose
like Manuel Ascencio Segura and Felipe Pardo y Aliaga. They held themselves
almost until the end of the XIX century. At this time, the romantic current was
imposed thanked to the works of Carlos Augusto Salaverry and Jose Arnaldo
Marquez, between others. The general crisis derived from the War of the Pacific
gave place to the Modernism. Its best exponents were Jose Santos Chocano and José
María Eguren. After them, the Avant-gardism current popped up strongly impelled
by the magazines: Colónida and Amauta. Amauta magazine was founded in 1926 by José
Carlos Mariátegui. Between its collaborators was César Vallejo. Meanwhile the Indigenous
current in poetry was reborn thanked to Luis Fabio Xammar. The avant-gardist
writers were fragmenting in different lyric proposals like the ones of Xavier
Abril, Alberto Hidalgo, Sebastian Salazar Bondy, Carlos Germán Belli, and
others. They were opening new and diverse expressive fields.
In the XIX century,
Peruvian prose passed from the costumbrismo current: Manuel Ascensio Segura and
Ricardo Palma, to the Modernism current: Manuel González Prada and José Santos
Chocano. In the XX century, the indigenous prose reached some of its
culminating moments with Ciro Alegría and José María Arguedas, Sebastián
Salazar Bondy, Manuel Scorza and Julio Ramón Ribeyro. Without leaving the realistic
approach, Mario Vargas Llosa. Some of the most remarkable names in poetry are Emilio
Adolfo Westphalen, Jorge Eduardo Eielson, Carlos Germán Belli, Antonio Cisneros,
Washington Delgado, Marco Martos, Carmen Ollé and in narrative: Miguel
Gutiérrez, Gregorio Martínez, Alonso Cueto, Guillermo Niño de Guzmán, between
others.
Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Peru&action=history
Language
A highland
woman preparing thread for textiles
Peru's official languages
are Spanish and, according to the Peruvian Constitution of 1993, Amerindian
languages such as Quechua, Aymara and other such indigenous languages in areas
where they predominate. Today, Spanish is spoken by some 80.3% of the
population, and is the language used by government, media, and in education and
formal commerce. There has been an increasing and organized effort to teach
Quechua in public schools in the areas where Quechua is spoken.
According to official
sources, the use of Spanish has increased while the knowledge and use of
indigenous languages has decreased considerably during the last four decades
(1960–2000). At the beginning of the 1960s some 39% of the total Peruvian
population were registered as speakers of indigenous languages, but by the
1990s the figures show a considerable decline in the use of Quechua, Aymara and
other indigenous languages, when only 28% is registered as Quechua-speaking
(16% of whom are reported to be bilingual in Spanish) and Spanish-speakers
increased to 72%.
For 2005, government
figures place Spanish as being spoken by 80.3% of the population, but among
Amerindian languages another decrease is registered. Of the indigenous
languages, Quechua remains the most spoken, and even today is used by some
16.2% of the total Peruvian population, or a third of Peru's total indigenous
population. The number of Aymara-speakers and other indigenous languages is placed
at 3%, and foreign languages 0.2%.
The drastic decline in use
and knowledge of indigenous languages is largely attributed to the recent
demographic factors. The urbanization and assimilation of Peru's Amerindian
plurality into the Hispanic-mestizo culture, as well as the new socioeconomic
factors associated with class structure have given privilege to the use of
Spanish at the expense of the Amerindian languages which were spoken by the
majority of the population less than a century ago.
The major obstacle to a
more widespread use of the Quechua language is the fact that multiple dialects
of this language exist. The variations among these Quechua dialects are as
pronounced as - for example - the differences between Spanish, Portuguese and
Italian. Quechua, along with Aymara and the minor indigenous languages, was
originally and remains essentially an oral language. Therefore, there is a lack
of modern media which use it: for example books, newspapers, software,
magazines, technical journals, etc. However, non-governmental organizations as
well as state sponsored groups are involved in projects to edit and translate
major works into the Quechua language; for instance, in late 2005 a superb
version of Don Quixote was presented in Quechua.
The percentage of native
speakers of Quechua who are illiterate has been decreasing lately, as 86.87% of
the Peruvian population is literate. More encouraging, nationwide literacy rate
of youth aged 15 to 24 years is 96.8%.
Culture
Like its rich national
history, the popular culture of contemporary Peru is the result of a fusion of
cultures, constituted primarily from the cultural legacy of the indigenous
groups, and Spanish and African colonists. This cultural mixture has been
further enriched by the contributions of other immigrant groups, particularly
Asians and non-Iberian Europeans.
Peruvian artistic creation
The Pachacamac Temple.
Panoramic
View of Cusco from Sacsayhuaman
Peruvian cultural patrimony
has its origin in the magnificent Andean civilizations, which flourished before
the Spaniards’ arrival. Peru's archaeological treasures are evidence of many
significant achievements comparable to those of other great civilizations.
Some of the first artistic
manifestations reflecting more advanced intellectual and technological
evolution are artifacts found in the deposits of Chavín de Huántar and Cupisnique.
These are examples of symbolic and religious art including gold and silver work,
ceramics,architecture and stone sculpture. These sites date as far back as the 14th
century BC and 11th century BC, respectively.
Between the 8th century BC
and 1st century AD, the Paracas Cavernas and Paracas Necrópolis cultures
developed. The Paracas Cavernas culture produced beautiful polychrome ceramics
with religious representations as well as monochrome ceramics. The Paracas
Necrópolis culture is characterized by its delicate fabrics in complex styles.
In the period between the 3rd
century BC and 7th century AD, the urban culture known as Mochica developed in Lambayeque.
Nazca culture also developed in this period in the valley of río Grande, in Ica.
In Mochica culture, the magnificent Huaca del Sol and Huaca de la Luna, Huaca
Cao Viejo and Huaca El Brujo and the Huaca Rajada of Sipan are worth
mentioning. They are notable for their cultivation in terraces and hydraulic
engineering, as well as some of the most original ceramics, textiles, and
pictorial and sculptural art in the Andean world.
The Wari civilization,
which flourished between the 8th century and 12th century AD, was based in Ayacucho.
This civilization may have been the first Andean culture to define a planned
urban layout. Such a concept was later expanded to zones like Pachacamac, Cajamarquilla,
Wari Willca and others. Tiahuanaco culture developed by the borders of lake
Titicaca between the 9th century and 13th century AD. This culture introduced
monumental lithic architecture and sculpture as well as military urbanism. These
advances in architecture were possible thanks to the discovery of bronze for
making tools.
The Chimú town improvement
on the principle of urban architecture. This civilization built the city of Chan
Chan in the valley of the Moche river, in La Libertad, between the 14th and 15th
centuries AD. The chimú were also skillful goldsmiths and made remarkable works
of hydraulic engineering.
The Inca Civilization
incorporated, and in many cases perfected, many of the cultural techniques of
the civilizations that preceded it. There are many examples of original Inca
architecture and engineering that have outlasted later Spanish colonial
structures. In this regard, the rich Inca heritage can still be observed in
cities like Cuzco, the fortress of Sacsahuaman, Ollantaytambo, Machu Picchu,
and extensive stone roads that united Cuzco with the four cardinal points of
the Inca Empire. The Spanish conquest displaced, not without violence, native
artistic practices and concepts, although in many cases, it made for enriching
hybrids of traditional Spanish and native art.
Architecture
The Basilica
Cathedral of Arequipa (1621-1656)
Peruvian architecture is a
conjunction of European styles exposed to the influence of indigenous imagery. Two
of the most well-known examples of the Renaissance period are the Cathedral and
the church of Santa Clara of Cuzco. After this period, the mestization reached
its richer expression in the Baroque. Some examples of this Baroque period are
the convent of San Francisco de Lima, the church of the Compañía and the facade
of the University of Cuzco and, overall, the churches of San Agustín and Santa
Rosa of Arequipa, its more beautiful exponents.
The independence war left a
creative emptiness that Neoclassicism of French inspiration could just fill. The
XX century is characterized by the eclecticism, to which the constructive
functionalism has been against. The most considerable example is San Martin
Plaza in Lima.
Sculpture and painting
Cathedral
of Lima facing the Plaza de Armas
Colonial
Houses at Historic Center of Trujillo
Peruvian sculpture and painting
began to define themselves from the ateliers founded by monks, who were
strongly influenced by the Sevillian Baroque School. In this background, the
stalls of the Cathedral choir, the fountain of the Main Square of Lima and
great part of the colonial production were registered.
The artistic crossbreeding
was more intense in the pictorial creation. This crossbreeding gathered,
without ambages, the native heritage and materialized, without incisions, the
historical continuity. You are able to see this in the portrait of prisoner
Atahualpa, from Diego de Mora, or in the linens of the Italians Mateo Pérez de
Alesio and Angelino Medoro, the Spanish Francisco Bejarano and J. de Illescas
and the Creole J. Rodriguez.
During XVII and XVIII
centuries, the Baroque also dominated the field of plastic arts. In the XIX
century, the French neoclassic and romantic currents found his best
representatives in
In the XX century, the
establishment of the Fine Arts School of Lima (1919) printed the decisive impulse
on Peruvian sculpture and painting. In sculpture, we have some remarkable names
like Luis Agurto, L. Valdettaro, Joaquin Roca Rey, J. Piqueras, Alberto Guzmán,
Victor Delfín and F. Sánchez. Between the painters, we have Daniel Hernández, R.
Grau, Cesar Quispez Asin and Jose Sabogal. Sabogal headed the indigenous
movement. This movemevent was one of the props of the Peruvian contemporary
painting, which more representative names are Fernando de Szyszlo, Alberto
Davila, Armando Villegas, Sabino Springett, Victor Humareda, M. A. Cuadros, Angel
Chavez, Milner Cajahuaringa, Arturo Kubotta, Venancio Shinki, Alberto
Quintanilla, G. Chavez, Tilsa Tsuchiya, David Herskowitz, Oscar Allain and Carlos
Revilla.
Literature
In the history of Peruvian
literature, the oral indigenous tradition and the technical resources of
writing (incorporated by Spaniards) converge in each other. From the beginning,
it was possible to gather and to express the different and complex cultural
realities that entered in conflict immediately after the conquest.
Quechua and Aymara literature
was transmitted in an oral way. It was linked to religious, agrarian,
affectionate, festive or funeral rites. These characteristics became into
certain forms of poetry or prose, as it is observed in the first historical chronicles
of the Inca Garcilaso de la Vega (Los comentarios reales) or Felipe Huaman Poma
de Ayala (la Nueva crónica y buen gobierno) and in the identification between
the yaravies and the patriotic and romantic poetry. One of the most outstanding
exponents here was Mariano Melgar.
Later, the hegemony of
Creole oligarchy in the Peruvian society favored the abandonment of the
indigenous forms in favor of the European ones. Then the neoclassicists arose
like Manuel Ascencio Segura and Felipe Pardo y Aliaga. They held themselves
almost until the end of the XIX century. At this time, the romantic current was
imposed thanked to the works of Carlos Augusto Salaverry and Jose Arnaldo
Marquez, between others. The general crisis derived from the War of the Pacific
gave place to the Modernism. Its best exponents were Jose Santos Chocano and José
María Eguren. After them, the Avant-gardism current popped up strongly impelled
by the magazines: Colónida and Amauta. Amauta magazine was founded in 1926 by José
Carlos Mariátegui. Between its collaborators was César Vallejo. Meanwhile the Indigenous
current in poetry was reborn thanked to Luis Fabio Xammar. The avant-gardist
writers were fragmenting in different lyric proposals like the ones of Xavier
Abril, Alberto Hidalgo, Sebastian Salazar Bondy, Carlos Germán Belli, and
others. They were opening new and diverse expressive fields.
In the XIX century,
Peruvian prose passed from the costumbrismo current: Manuel Ascensio Segura and
Ricardo Palma, to the Modernism current: Manuel González Prada and José Santos
Chocano. In the XX century, the indigenous prose reached some of its
culminating moments with Ciro Alegría and José María Arguedas, Sebastián
Salazar Bondy, Manuel Scorza and Julio Ramón Ribeyro. Without leaving the realistic
approach, Mario Vargas Llosa. Some of the most remarkable names in poetry are Emilio
Adolfo Westphalen, Jorge Eduardo Eielson, Carlos Germán Belli, Antonio Cisneros,
Washington Delgado, Marco Martos, Carmen Ollé and in narrative: Miguel
Gutiérrez, Gregorio Martínez, Alonso Cueto, Guillermo Niño de Guzmán, between
others.
Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Peru&action=history