Bofedales (singular bofedal ), known in some parts of Peru as oconales , are a type of wetland found in the Andes . They are a feature in the land use and ecology of high Andean ecosystems. They form in flat areas around ponds or streams and may be permanent or seasonal, and they can be man made or natural. Bofedales are associated with organic material in the soil and their green colour often contrasts with that of the drier surrounding landscape.
41-473: They are found at elevations exceeding 3,800 metres (12,500 ft) above sea level. Bofedales absorb the limited amount of water derived from snow, glacier meltwater and rain showers, storing it in ground and slowly releasing it. Their vegetation is dominated by cushion plants. Numerous animals including birds, mammals and invertebrates occur in bofedales. They are used by humans, who have created new such wetlands through irrigation, but human activities can also be
82-772: A Quechua language. Although Quechua began expanding many centuries before the Incas , that previous expansion also meant that it was the primary language family within the Inca Empire. The Spanish also tolerated its use until the Peruvian struggle for independence in the 1780s. As a result, various Quechua languages are still widely spoken today, being co-official in many regions and the most spoken language lineage in Peru , after Spanish. The Quechua linguistic homeland may have been Central Peru. It has been speculated that it may have been used in
123-408: A bofedal features ponds, lawns and hummocks. Plants growing in bofedales form cushions, meadows, shrubs or flat-growing forms. The bofedales can reach sizes of more than 1 square kilometre (0.39 sq mi) or less than 1 hectare (2.5 acres). In Chile, long and narrow bofedales form at the bottom of valleys. They usually form on flat terrain, next to ponds, springs and streams, but most of the water
164-1043: A fourth, a northern or Peruvian branch. The latter causes complications in the classification, however, as various dialects (e.g. Cajamarca–Cañaris , Pacaraos , and Yauyos ) have features of both Quechua I and Quechua II, and so are difficult to assign to either. Torero classifies them as the following: Willem Adelaar adheres to the Quechua I / Quechua II (central/peripheral) bifurcation. But, partially following later modifications by Torero, he reassigns part of Quechua II-A to Quechua I: Ancash (Huaylas–Conchucos) Alto Pativilca–Alto Marañón–Alto Huallaga Yaru Wanka (Jauja–Huanca) Yauyos–Chincha (Huangáscar–Topará) Pacaraos Lambayeque (Cañaris) Cajamarca Lincha Laraos Kichwa ("Ecuadorian" or Highlands and Oriente) Chachapoyas (Amazonas) Lamas (San Martín) Ayacucho Cusco Puno (Collao) Northern Bolivian (Apolo) Southern Bolivia Santiago del Estero Landerman (1991) does not believe
205-535: A reference point, the overall degree of diversity across the family is a little less than that of the Romance or Germanic families, and more of the order of Slavic or Arabic . The greatest diversity is within Central Quechua, or Quechua I, which is believed to lie close to the homeland of the ancestral Proto-Quechua language. Alfredo Torero devised the traditional classification, the three divisions above, plus
246-574: A significant influence on other native languages of the Americas, such as Mapuche . It is difficult to measure the number of Quechua speakers. The number of speakers given varies widely according to the sources. The total in Ethnologue 16 is 10 million, primarily based on figures published 1987–2002, but with a few dating from the 1960s. The figure for Imbabura Highland Quechua in Ethnologue , for example,
287-448: A threat to these ecosystems. Bofedal is the singular term; the plural is Bofedales . The Quechua languages have terms like oqho , hoq’o , waylla and qochawiña , while the Aymara language terms are juqhu and jukhu ; there are also spelling variants. Vega refers to wetlands , which frequently but not always are bofedales. The term "bofedal"/"bofedales"
328-531: A true genetic classification is possible and divides Quechua II so that the family has four geographical–typological branches: Northern, North Peruvian, Central, and Southern. He includes Chachapoyas and Lamas in North Peruvian Quechua so Ecuadorian is synonymous with Northern Quechua. Quechua I (Central Quechua, Waywash ) is spoken in Peru's central highlands, from the Ancash Region to Huancayo . It
369-459: Is 300,000, an estimate from 1977. The missionary organization FEDEPI, on the other hand, estimated one million Imbabura dialect speakers (published 2006). Census figures are also problematic, due to under-reporting. The 2001 Ecuador census reports only 500,000 Quechua speakers, compared to the estimate in most linguistic sources of more than 2 million. The censuses of Peru (2007) and Bolivia (2001) are thought to be more reliable. Additionally, there
410-637: Is a secondary division in Quechua II between the grammatically simplified northern varieties of Ecuador, Quechua II-B, known there as Kichwa , and the generally more conservative varieties of the southern highlands, Quechua II-C, which include the old Inca capital of Cusco . The closeness is at least in part because of the influence of Cusco Quechua on the Ecuadorean varieties in the Inca Empire. Because Northern nobles were required to educate their children in Cusco, this
451-530: Is an indigenous language family that originated in central Peru and thereafter spread to other countries of the Andes . Derived from a common ancestral " Proto-Quechua " language, it is today the most widely spoken pre-Columbian language family of the Americas, with the number of speakers estimated at 8–10 million speakers in 2004, and just under 7 million from the most recent census data available up to 2011. Approximately 13.9% (3.7 million) of Peruvians speak
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#1733270461619492-455: Is an unknown number of speakers in emigrant communities. There are significant differences among the varieties of Quechua spoken in the central Peruvian highlands and the peripheral varieties of Ecuador, as well as those of southern Peru and Bolivia. They can be labeled Quechua I (or Quechua B, central) and Quechua II (or Quechua A, peripheral). Within the two groups, there are few sharp boundaries, making them dialect continua . However, there
533-483: Is frequently used for other types of wetlands or Andean ecosystems that do not need the definition. Bofedales are wetlands featuring cushion plants in the Andes between Colombia and Venezuela in the north to Patagonia in the south. The surrounding drier, yellow landscape contrasts notably with the green bofedales, creating landscapes of great aesthetic value. The tropical Andes feature numerous vegetation zones, with
574-401: Is the most diverse branch of Quechua, to the extent that its divisions are commonly considered different languages. Quechua II (Peripheral Quechua, Wamp'una "Traveler") This is a sampling of words in several Quechuan languages: Nevado Tres Cruces National Park Nevado Tres Cruces National Park ( Spanish pronunciation: [neˈβaðo tɾes ˈkɾuses] ) is a national park in
615-451: Is underground. The water originates as groundwater or from rivers, lakes and glaciers and is only slowly released by the bofedales, which thus constitute important water stores for the dry season , allowing streams to continue flowing. Almost all river systems in southern Peru have bofedales in their headwaters. The climate conditions are often extreme, featuring high insolation and strong winds, lack of precipitation and oxygen due to
656-552: The Atacama Region of Chile , east of Copiapó . It includes Laguna Santa Rosa, Laguna del Negro Francisco , and a part of the Salar de Maricunga. The park is divided into two zones, the northern zone encompassing the southern portion of Salar de Maricunga and Laguna Santa Rosa, and the southern area the Laguna del Negro Francisco. The park is named after Nevado Tres Cruces , which dominates
697-750: The Chavín and Wari civilizations. Quechua had already expanded across wide ranges of the central Andes long before the expansion of the Inca Empire . The Inca were one among many peoples in present-day Peru who already spoke a form of Quechua, which in the Cuzco region particularly has been heavily influenced by Aymara , hence some of the characteristics that still distinguish the Cuzco form of Quechua today. Diverse Quechua regional dialects and languages had already developed in different areas, influenced by local languages, before
738-610: The Holocene after deglaciation and often only during the last few millennia (including the Little Ice Age ), when conditions became wetter. As of 2012, almost 549.36 square kilometres (212.11 sq mi) of Peru were covered by bofedales; this is about 0.4% of the country. Remote sensing found that in 1992–1993 about 1.4% of the Altiplano , about 2,064 square kilometres (797 sq mi), were bofedales. In Chile large swathes of
779-583: The Juncaceae Distichia muscoides and Oxychloe andina . About 61 to 62 different plant species have been recorded in Central Andean bofedales. They do not occur in every bofedal; species composition varies between regions and different parts of the same bofedal. The species composition may vary due to grazing pressure and seed dispersal by animals, water availability and temperature, the presence of nutrients and toxic elements, and different stages of
820-537: The University of San Marcos , completed and defended the first thesis in the language group in 2019; it concerned the works of poet Andrés Alencastre Gutiérrez and it was also the first non-Spanish native language thesis done at that university. Currently, there are different initiatives that promote Quechua in the Andes and across the world: many universities offer Quechua classes, a community-based organization such as Elva Ambía 's Quechua Collective of New York promote
861-1068: The ecological succession . Many of these plant species are endemic . Bofedales have a high biological productivity , the highest of all ecosystems in the Puna . The water of bofedales provides habitats to amphibians like frogs ( Acancocha water frog , common marsupial frogs and Pleurodema marmoratum ) and toads ( Rhinella spinulosa ). Numerous invertebrates like annelids , crustaceans , insects , planarians and snails live in bofedales. Birds living in bofedales include Andean geese , Andean lapwings , Andean negritos , buff-winged cinclodes , crested ducks , Darwin's rheas , golden-spotted ground doves , grey-breasted seedsnipes and yellow-billed teals . The food resources of bofedales also draw mammals like Andean deer , Andean foxes , guanacos , various species of mice, pampas cats , pumas , white-tailed deer , vicuñas and vizcachas . Bofedales are an important economic resource. At their elevations climatic conditions make agriculture unfeasible, while
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#1733270461619902-424: The páramo in the north having the highest humidity. To the south moisture decreases and the distinction between the wet season and dry season increases, yielding the transition from the páramo to the jalca vegetation and finally to the puna grassland . The Puna contains both xerophytic and wet sections. Analogous ecosystems exist in the mountains of East Africa , Hawaii and New Guinea . The landscape of
943-670: The Altiplano in the regions of Arica y Parinacota and Tarapacá are covered by bofedales. Relative to this region bofedales in the more arid Antofagasta Region are smaller and more isolated. The southernmost bofedales of the Central Andes are found at the latitude of the Nevado Tres Cruces National Park in Chile. Most bofedales lie in glacial basins. The most important plant species in bofedales are cushion plants , including
984-570: The Americas. As a result of Inca expansion into Central Chile , there were bilingual Quechua- Mapudungu Mapuche in Central Chile at the time of the Spanish arrival . It has been argued that Mapuche, Quechua, and Spanish coexisted in Central Chile , with significant bilingualism, during the 17th century. Alongside Mapudungun, Quechua is the indigenous language that has influenced Chilean Spanish
1025-595: The Inca Empire expanded and further promoted Quechua as the official language of the Empire. After the Spanish conquest of Peru in the 16th century, Quechua continued to be used widely by the indigenous peoples as the "common language." It was officially recognized by the Spanish administration, and many Spaniards learned it in order to communicate with local peoples. The clergy of the Catholic Church adopted Quechua to use as
1066-467: The Latin American nations achieved independence in the 19th century, the prestige of Quechua had decreased sharply. Gradually its use declined so that it was spoken mostly by indigenous people in the more isolated and conservative rural areas. Nevertheless, in the 21st century, Quechua language speakers number roughly 7 million people across South America, more than any other indigenous language family in
1107-488: The bofedales including irrigation techniques, animal rotation and the use of fire to remove dry plants. The human engineering of bofedales is poorly studied. The use of bofedales for pasture frequently results in overgrazing , although it may not always be detrimental to bofedal function. More localized threats to bofedales are mining and the extraction of peat, which can result in severe damage. Other infrastructure projects threatening bofedales are dams , road projects, and
1148-557: The country. The major obstacle to the usage and teaching of Quechua languages is the lack of written materials, such as books, newspapers, software, and magazines. The Bible has been translated into Quechua and is distributed by certain missionary groups. Quechua, along with Aymara and minor indigenous languages, remains essentially a spoken language . In recent years, Quechua has been introduced in intercultural bilingual education (IBE) in Peru , Bolivia , and Ecuador . Even in these areas,
1189-460: The dialects is the basic criterion that defines Quechua not as a single language, but as a language family. The complex and progressive nature of how speech varies across the dialect continua makes it nearly impossible to differentiate discrete varieties; Ethnologue lists 45 varieties which are then divided into two groups; Central and Peripheral. Due to the non-intelligibility between the two groups, they are all classified as separate languages. As
1230-459: The diversion of their water sources. Climate change is a further threat to these ecosystems as decreased precipitation and glacier retreat reduces the flow of water into bofedales, which is necessary to sustain them. Whether the activities of local communities are a threat or a benefit to bofedales is unclear. Bofedales are biodiversity hotspots , and many of the animal species living in them are threatened . Bofedales are important ecosystems in
1271-857: The governments are reaching only a part of the Quechua-speaking populations. Some indigenous people in each of the countries are having their children study in Spanish for social advancement. Radio Nacional del Perú broadcasts news and agrarian programs in Quechua for periods in the mornings. Quechua and Spanish are now heavily intermixed in much of the Andean region, with many hundreds of Spanish loanwords in Quechua. Similarly, Quechua phrases and words are commonly used by Spanish speakers. In southern rural Bolivia, for instance, many Quechua words such as wawa (infant), misi (cat), waska (strap or thrashing), are as commonly used as their Spanish counterparts, even in entirely Spanish-speaking areas. Quechua has also had
Bofedales - Misplaced Pages Continue
1312-607: The high quality of the forage in bofedales invites animal husbandry . On the Altiplano , in drier areas they are the most important pasture. Alpacas , cattle , horses , llamas and sheep are fed there. Plants used in medicine or in spiritual activities are taken from bofedales. Bofedales can be artificial, and many may have formed through the irrigation of pastures. Some bofedales are artificially created and sustained through irrigation to this day. Many more are at least partially modified by human activity. The Aymara and Quechua peoples have maintained traditional knowledge about
1353-427: The highest peak in Chile, Ojos del Salado , (6,893 meters; 22,615 feet) is located in its vicinity. The salar is 180 km northeast of the city of Copiapó in the Andes mountains. Located just south of the Salar de Maricunga, the lagoon is known for its Andean flamingos , which reside on the lagoon year-round. Laguna Santa Rosa, along with Laguna del Negro Francisco, is a Wetland of International Importance under
1394-608: The landscape of the area. The park is managed by the Corporación Nacional Forestal (National Forest Corporation; CONAF), which offers two refuges in the area: one at the south of Negro Francisco Lagoon and other at the west of Santa Rosa Lagoon. The park is open from October to April. The park lies in the northern end of the Southern Andean steppe . This salt flat spans 8,300 hectares at an elevation of 3,700 meters (12,100 feet). The world's highest volcano, and
1435-625: The language of evangelization . The oldest written records of the language are by missionary Domingo de Santo Tomás , who arrived in Peru in 1538 and learned the language from 1540. He published his Grammatica o arte de la lengua general de los indios de los reynos del Perú (Grammar or Art of the General Language of the Indians of the Kingdoms of Peru) in 1560. Given its use by the Catholic missionaries,
1476-439: The language, and governments are training interpreters in Quechua to serve in healthcare, justice, and bureaucratic facilities. In 1975, Peru became the first country to recognize Quechua as one of its official languages. Ecuador conferred official status on the language in its 2006 constitution, and in 2009, Bolivia adopted a new constitution that recognized Quechua and several other indigenous languages as official languages of
1517-500: The most. Quechua-Aymara and mixed Quechua-Aymara- Mapudungu toponymy can be found as far south as Osorno Province in Chile (latitude 41° S). In 2017 the first thesis defense done in Quechua in Europe was done by Peruvian Carmen Escalante Gutiérrez at Pablo de Olavide University ( Sevilla ). The same year Pablo Landeo wrote the first novel in Quechua without a Spanish translation. A Peruvian student, Roxana Quispe Collantes of
1558-870: The mountains, with high levels of species diversity and endemism , and their ability to retain water reduces erosion and maintains water resources. Within the Ramsar Convention , they are counted as unforested peatlands. Some bofedales are included in protected areas but as of 2014, none were the subject of a dedicated protected area. They are considered to be vulnerable ecosystems under Peruvian environmental law . In Chile, some regions require special permissions to withdraw water from bofedales and their watersheds. Quechua languages Quechua ( / ˈ k ɛ tʃ u ə / , Spanish: [ˈketʃwa] ), also called Runa simi ( Quechua: [ˈɾʊna ˈsɪmɪ] , 'people's language') in Southern Quechua ,
1599-485: The range of Quechua continued to expand in some areas. In the late 18th century, colonial officials ended the administrative and religious use of Quechua. They banned it from public use in Peru after the Túpac Amaru II rebellion of indigenous peoples. The Crown banned "loyal" pro-Catholic texts in Quechua, such as Garcilaso de la Vega's Comentarios Reales . Despite a brief revival of the language immediately after
1640-505: The thin atmosphere at these elevations, low temperatures with daily frosts and a short growing season . Bofedales sometimes exist only seasonally, others are present year-round. They feature peat or organic soils that can store significant quantities of carbon, equivalent to ten times that of normal Sphagnum peat. They retain and filter nutrients. Sometimes the ground is so soft that animals can sink into it. Where bofedales have been dated, such as in Chile, they began development during
1681-585: Was maintained as the prestige dialect in the north. Speakers from different points within any of the three regions can generally understand one another reasonably well. There are nonetheless significant local-level differences across each. ( Wanka Quechua , in particular, has several very distinctive characteristics that make the variety more challenging to understand, even for other Central Quechua speakers.) Speakers from different major regions, particularly Central or Southern Quechua, are not able to communicate effectively. The lack of mutual intelligibility among