Peruvian dances

Apart from dances of native origin, there are also dances that are related to the agricultural work, hunting and war. Some choreographies show certain Christian influence. Two of the most representative Andean dances are the kashua and the wayno or huayno. The kashua has a communal character and it is usually danced in groups in the country or open spaces. The huayno is a "salon ball". It is danced in couples and in closed spaces. The yaravi and the triste have also an Andean origin. They are usually songs with very emotional lyrics.

Dances of ritual character are the achocallo, the pinkillada, the llamerada (dance that imitates the llama's walk), the kullawada (the spinners' dance), etc. Between the Hunting dances, it can be mentioned: the llipi-puli and choq'elas. They are dances from the altiplano related to the vicuña's hunting.

There are some dances of war like the chiriguano that has an Aymara origin; the chatripuli that satirizes the Spanish Realist soldiers, and the kenakenas that is about the Chilean soldiers who occupied Peru during the War of the Pacific (1879). There are also Carnival Dances. A Carnival is a western holiday that, in the Peruvian Andes, is celebrated simultaneously with the crops time. Many rural communities celebrate the youths' initiation during these holidays with ancestral rites and crossbred dances. New couples might be established.

The most internationally known dance in Peru is the Marinera Norteña. This dance represents a man's courting to a young woman. There are local variants of this dance in Lima and the other regions of the country.

Amazonas Region

La Chumaichada

La Chumaichada is "the dance of Chachapoyas" because it was born in this place and it was formed until becoming institutionalized. There's no holiday or celebration that can end if it is not danced.

The music has probably an Indian origin, but the choreography has a French origin stemmed from "Los lanceros" (The lancers) - dance inserted in Chachapoyas by the bishop of the diocese at that time, monsignor Emilio Lissón, from French origin. People said that he had so much influence that the city become Frenchified at that time.

Huanca

Next to Chachapoyas, there is a small town called Huanca, where the homonym dance had its origin. It is also danced in several places of the department of Amazonas during the agricultural chores, the construction of a house, etc. It is a species of Thanksgiving pagan rite.

Los Danzantes de Levanto

Levanto is a little town that is approximately 10 km far from Chachapoyas, whose "dancers" form a showy group of thirteen cholos, very well trained, that are guided by a "pifador" (a person who whistle) that plays the "antara" and a small drum called "tinya" simultaneously.

They wear a white shirt of wide and long sleeves, a black vest adorned with red ribbons and black trousers. They also wear a crown of showy peacock's feathers. Their presence is important in all the big celebrations of the region.

Other well-known dances that are performed in diverse localities are:

* The "Conchiperla", in which the man gives a handkerchief to his partner keeping a knee in the ground and if he doesn't do it, a glass of liqueur must be drunk in punishment.

* The "Trapichillo", danced by four couples grabbed by the right hands and turning around from right to left side

* The "Quinsamana", in which insults and compliments are mixed.

Carnaval en Amazonas

The "carnival music" that is played in Amazonas presents notes of real euphoria. It is similar to the huayno. At its times, couples dance forming the "pandilla" (a kind of dance) around the "humishas" - trees adorned with quitasueños, small mirrors, ornamental chain stitches and pennants. These trees are fulfilled with gifts, including alive animals, which the guests take when these trees are knocked down at the end of the celebration.

The couple that makes the "humisha" fall down in a Mardi gras celebration has the commitment to make a new "humisha" the following year.

ee also

*Culture of Peru