The technique that was devised for trapping the Guanacos comes from the Inca form of hunting called Jaku. Incidentally, this is also the name of the hunting lodge that is our next door neighbor at the Buenaventura, but apparently Texans can't spell and so the lodge is called Jacu.
The Manga (trap) consists of two "arms" of trap that extend out 2.8 k and then funnel together at one end, effectively trapping the Guanacos in a small enough space to be manageable. The open end of the trap is approx 3 k across, wide enough that the guanacos do not notice they are being led to their demise. Roughly six gauchos herd the guanacos into the trap from the surrounding area, and then once in the Manga they close doors as they go to prevent the Guanacos from turning around and running back out.
Video of the lower end of the Manga with the different holding pens for the Guanacos
The Gauchos preparing to ride out to the roundup
Photo op with one of the kids
The Guanacos are then herded from the big holding chamber into a tiny partitioned off area that can hold only three of the animals to make it more manageable for the gauchos to bring the individual animals out to the shearing tables. The three guys doing this job were some of the biggest men I have ever seen in my life.. probably like 6'7 or 6'8 and just huge. One of them grabs the head and one the hind legs and then they carry it out to where another guy is waiting to put a mask on it. At the very end they decided it would be funny if they dragged me in there with them..which was kind of scary - being in a 4 foot enclose with something that could kill you if it kicked you the wrong way did make me a bit nervous.
Me helping carry the hind legs out while two men tie the legs and one other puts a mask over its head.
Me and one of the gauchos right before going into the enclosure, I was scared shitless so my hand was shaking so bad that he was able to feel it and he laughed at me.
Shearing...
Veterinarians taking measurements, blood samples etc. They put a tracking collar on each guanaco as well so they could monitor the population in the area. Below is a picture of four of the veterinarians.
All of the Cooperativa with my dad and Pabulo
playing some guitar by the fire at night One of the nights at the encampment we celebrated three birthdays with cakes, wine, dancing and home brewed liqueur. Some of the gauchos brought out their guitars (all argentines seem to be able to play guitar), and we all danced traditional argentine dances till 2 or 3 am. I went to bed at this point but apparently the party kept going, and at 4 they started cooking chorizos and had an asado, not retiring to bed until 6 am.
The Quenka is one of the most famous dances originating in argentina and requires handkerchiefs and a lot of fancy footwork on the part of the guys. I love how as a girl al you have to do is know nothing and follow. Below is a video of the tail end of the quenka with only two couples.
On the Subject of Mate --
One of great cliches of Argentina, Mate, which has become trendy in the US in the past few years, is not just an old shrugged off tradition brought out and paraded before tourists - EVERYONE in Argentina actually drinks mate, all of the time. Each person has their individual cup and bag of mate and they rarely drink from their own gourd. Each person fills theirs and then passes it to someone else in the circle, so the gourd you drink out of is always someone different. Once you are done with the mate, you pass it back to the owner who refills it with water and then passes it on to another person.
Sitting around the fire at 7 am sharing mateMore pictures:
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3 comments:
that texan also flies the confederate flag, apparently! i'd be more concerned about that than his spelling issues.
This is siiiick!! You just stay there and I'll be there in a month. Ok, great.
this is madeline, and this is a test.
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