AYMARA (anc.

See also:

• CELLA

Cella)  , a tribe of South American Indians, formerly inhabiting the country around Lake Titicaca and the neighbouring valleys of the . Andes . They form now the chief ethnical element in Bolivia, but are of very mixed blood . In early days the home of the Aymaras by Lake Titicaca was a holy land " for the Incas themselves, whose national legends attributed the origin of all Quichua (Inca) civilization to that region . The Aymaras, indeed, seem to have possessed a very considerable culture before their conquest by the Incas in the 13th and 14th centuries, evidence of which remains in the megalithic ruins of Tiahuanaco . When the Spaniards arrived the Aymaras had been long under the Inca domination, and were in a decadent state . They, however, retained certain privileges, such as the use of their own language; and their treatment by their conquerors generally suggested that the latter believed: themselves of Aymara blood . Physically, the pure Aymaras short and. thick-set, with a great chest development, and with the same reddish complexion, broad face, black eyes and rounded forehead which distinguish the Quichuas . Like the latter, too, the Aymaras are sullen and apathetic in disposition . They number now, including half-breeds, about half a million in Bolivia . Some few are also found in southern Peru . See Journal Et/owl .