Celebration of the International Year of Camelids in Santa Catalina, a pastoral community in the Andean Altiplano of Jujuy, Argentina

Abstract

The United Nations (UN) declared the year 2024 as the International Year of Camelids (IYC), a term that includes both Old World camels and South American camelids. The official organization of the celebrations was in charge of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), and local events were also encouraged to take place. In this context, in the Andean pastoral locality of Santa Catalina, Jujuy, Argentina, the Community Council (which is comprised of three local indigenous communities), together with the VICAM (“Vicu˜nas, Camélidos y Ambiente”) ethnobiology research group, planned to perform different activities to celebrate the IYC as well as to highlight the community’s livelihoods and the vital role of camelids, especially llamas, in their local culture. This work aimed to address the study of the valuation of camelids through the analysis of the activities and narratives that occurred in the context of the IYC celebrations in Santa Catalina. The activities involved different events conducted in the educational community, as well as with the entire town, engaging all the community from children to the elderly, and involving various local institutions. The results of our study reflect the diverse and multiple valuations of camelids, including their instrumental value as weaving material or for food sovereignty, intrinsic value in ceremonies, and relational value associated with life story narratives and childhood affection, among others. This work highlights the appropriation by an Andean community of an annual commemoration based on a UN resolution and aims to make visible their animals and livelihoods.