Peasant wisdom on the use and consumption of ch'aqo (edible clay) in the Aymara communities of the province of El Collao-Ilave in the Puno region

Abstract

The research systematizes the peasant wisdom about the use and consumption of ch'aqo (edible clay) in the Aymara communities of the El Collao – Ilave province in Puno region. For which, the following question is posed: What is the peasant wisdom about the use and consumption of ch'aqo in the Aymara communities? The objective is to describe the forms of use and ways of consuming of ch'aqo in the peasant communities of Puno highlands. The methodological procedure that was used was ethnography, with the help of techniques such as interviews, participant observation, life stories, and “performance”. The inhabitants of the communities of Puno highlands use ch'aqo (edible medicinal clay) to avoid different discomforts of the peptic acid type and gastritis in its initial stager, due to its digestive properties. Likewise, the consumption of this natural substance is in the form of a suspension with water and with certain tubers, mainly potatoes, in harvest sewon, where the inhabitants prepare ovens made of k'ulpa (clods) to parboil the potato, dilute the ch’aqo in water and then taste "whatia with ch'aqo". This is widely spread from generation to generation also because is used to heal wounds caused by burns and llilli (pressure sores).