the Kichwa people

the Kichwa people (or Quechua in other parts of South America) are indigenous people here in Ecuador. they are also in Peru, Bolivia, Chile and other countries of South America. for the most part they live in the mountainous areas although some are also inland in the Orient or on the coast.

i am obsessed with the way they dress - the women wear long dark colored skirts and beautiful white blouses embroidered with flowers or other designs. they wear gold necklaces and orange beaded bracelets. the men wear white pants and ponchos and hats and have ponytails or long braids. in different areas of Ecuador and in different countries, they wear slightly different types of traditional dress, but from what i can tell, what the women in the Otavalo area wear is by far the prettiest.

they speak the Kichwa language which seems pretty tough to learn to me, although many have told us it's closer to English than Spanish is so it should be easier for us.... maybe in 2 years we'll give that a shot!

generally the Kichwa tend to live in very tight knit communities, and it will mostly be all Kichwa and no Spanish. there are areas of our territory that we do not even do because it is covered by the local Kichwa congregation.