Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
TINKU: RITUAL COMBAT IN THE ANDES
The
Tinku
is a form of ritual hand-to-hand combat that still takes place on certain feast
days in some small rural towns in the northern areas of Potosí department. During the
Tinku
, young men from two rival communities (
ayllus
) take turns to engage in bloody one-
on-one
fist fights
in the midst of a drunken and raucous fiesta. The young fighters wear
leather helmets
modelled on those worn by the Spanish conquistadors, and leather breast-
plates for protection. They bind their fists with woven belts, sometimes adding a stone in
the palm of their hand to add extra force to their blows.
The
two-or three-day fiestas
start with the arrival of the young men from their home
villages, marching and playing long panpipes known as
suqusu
. The clashes take place in
a charged atmosphere of music, dancing and drunkenness. Local people and sometimes
the police oversee proceedings, but as the fiesta goes on things often escalate beyond their
control, with pitched battles between rival
ayllus
, and it's rare for a year to go by without
someonebeingkilled.Thatsaid,
bloodshed
isperhapsthemostimportant partoftheritual:
as well as serving as a warlike rite of passage for young men, the
Tinku
acts as a
fer-
tility rite
during which blood must be shed on both sides to satisfy the earth goddess,
Pachamama
, and ensure a bountiful harvest. The
Tinku
is also an important way of reaf-
firmingindigenousculturalidentity,andcanhelpdefusealltoorealconflictsbetweencom-
munities that can otherwise erupt into more serious violence.
Unmarried young women
also sometimes fight in the
Tinku
, though their aim is usually to pull hair and rip clothes
rather than draw blood.
The best-known
Tinku
takes place in the community of
Macha
, 120km north of Potosí,
in the first week of May, but there are several others in small villages in the region at other
timesoftheyear-including
Torotoro
.
Several
tour companies
inPotosítakegroupsalong
each year. Be warned, though, that these violent and alcoholic spectacles often get out of
hand and it's easy for an outsider to unwittingly provoke trouble. If you do visit, go with
a Bolivian guide who knows the area, stay clear of the crowds, don't take photographs
without permission and generally exercise maximum cultural sensitivity.
Tarapaya hot springs
Bs5 • Take a micro to Tarapaya (roughly every half-hour from Av Universitaria) and ask to be dropped off just
after the bridge before Tarapaya, from where it's a ten-minute walk up the track that climbs to the left. Return
taxi trip (with waiting time) Bs70
The
aguas termales
(hot springs) at
Tarapaya
, 25km northwest of Potosí, can be visited as
a half-day trip. Known as
El Ojo del Inca
(“The Eye of the Inca”), the natural hot springs
bubble up into a perfectly circular pool about 50m in diameter and are believed to have cur-
ative powers. As with all hot springs you should check the temperature before jumping in.
