Llama with a chullumpi in its belly, Panel X. Figures enhanced with digital treatment.

Pair of chullumpis; detail of Panel XIc.

Llamas and birds

In the Andes, llamas are called by the names of birds—ostrich, tinamous, flamingo or goose. Andean herders also speak of a fabled bird that they call chullumpi, which they conceive of as the “stud” of the llamas. At Taira, all of these birds accompany the representations of camelids.

 

The origin of llamas in freshwater springs