Urus

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Totora harvest on Lake Titicaca near Puno
Floating island of the Urus
Cooking place on a floating island of the Urus

The Urus (singular: Uru ; Spanish : Uro or [plural:] Uros ) are an ethnic group of indigenous people on Lake Titicaca near Puno in Peru , currently around 2000 people.

The Urus currently live on 49 "floating islands", which they produce from dried Totora reeds . The same plant is also a raw material for reed boats and houses on the islands. The islands, on which only a few hundred Urus live, are located 5 km east of the port of Puno. The majority of the Urus now live on the mainland, where the cemeteries are also located.

The original language of the Urus (Urukilla or Uruquilla ) was closely related to the Chipaya language or is summarized with this under the Uru-Chipaya languages . The Urus themselves sometimes referred to their language as "Pukina"; however, this must not be confused with the historical Puquina (Pukina) of the same region, which was a completely different language. During the colonial era, the Urus went over to the Aymara , which is spoken here up to the present day, but in the meantime Spanish is increasingly penetrating .

The Urus live from fishing (e.g. Andean pies : Orestias , catfish : Trichomycterus ). An additional source of income is the sale of colorful blankets to tourists and tips from photographers. The roots of the totora plants also serve as food and are rich in iodine .

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