"We are a people and a civilization. If colonialism has turned us into Indians, as Indians we must fight oppression and reconquer our freedom. We must come through this dark parenthesis, develop once more our creativity, and reconstruct the cosmic order of our social life..."

Source: http://www.katari.org

Name of the Group: Aymara

Language family: The Aymara language is part of the Jaqui language family. Other languages in this group are Kawki and Jaqaru, both spoken in Peru (Hartman, 1974:7).
Aymara is an agglutinating and polysynthetic language, that is, recurring to a plural suffix attached to the base singular form.  Gender is nonexistent as a grammatical category but feminine or masculine nouns are specifically used (Guzmán de Rojas, 1982:23).
Other grammatical characteristics, named ‘Linguistic Postulates’ by Hartman, are: direct cognition or noetics, and indirect recognition. That relation determines the use of human or non-human pronouns. In other words, the basic system consists of four grammatical persons (Hartman, 1972:37-46).
First: speaker included, interlocutor excluded.
Second: interlocutor included, speaker excluded.
Third: both are excluded.
Fourth: both are included.

Social Organization: In the present, Aymara speakers are found in the Peruvian Andes, in Bolivia and parts of Chile, from the northern side of Lake Titicaca to the Uyuni Salt Flats, south of Lake Poopó. Southeast of Lake Titicaca, towards the headstreams of rivers that flow unto the Pacific; and eastward towards the subtropical valleys of the Yungas. But their domain is mainly in the highlands, the high mesas or altiplano.
In Bolivia, according to anthropologist Xavier Albo, the main Aymara regions are:
a) the department of La Paz, including the provinces of Tamayo, Saavedra, Camacho, Muñecas, Manco Capac, Omasuyos, Larecaja, Los Andes, Murillo, Ingavi, Nor Yungas, Sud Yungas, Pacajes, Aroma, Loayza, Inquisivi  and Villarroel.
b) In Oruro, the provinces of Sajama, Carangas, Cercado, Atahuallpa, Litoral, Saucarí, Dalence, Poopó, Cabrera and Abaroa.
c) In Potosí, the provinces of Ibañez, Bustillos, Bilbao, Charcas, Chayanta, Quijarro, Frías, Campero and Campos.
d) In Cochabamba, western enclaves mainly in the provinces of Tapacarí and Ayopaya.
e) In Chuquisaca, the Oropeza province.

Political Organization: The structure of traditional communities is essentially democratic as to the way authorities are constituted and regarding how the people come together to face problems collectively.
Indigenous rule is based on achachilismo, the rigorously hierarchical order headed by the Achachila, followed by the Mallku as leader of a group, and by the Jilakata, the chief of an ayllu.
The jilakatura is a political category wherein power derives from the will of the community. It is a position with both political and religious duties, a leadership level that stems from respect gained throughout a career noted for commitment to service and high moral standards (Urquidi, 1982, pág. 122-147; Valda 1973).
In each of the Aymara communities, lands are divided into three main sectors: individual plots, partly shared plots, and those lands totally owned by the community as a whole. These large domains are divided amongst  the founding comuneros, those who have been fully or partly integrated, and those that have been simply admitted (Urquidi, 1982; 122-147).

Economy: Aymara productive activities vary according to the settlement’s region, although in general terms the economy is based on agriculture and herding. In the highlands, activities are mostly centered on herding  of the Andean llamas and some potato growing.
In the intermediate regions, agriculture is fully developed throughout three distinct stages: sowing, harvesting, and a time in between when grains are aired and some tubers are dehydrated. The more extended crops are potatoes, quinoa, corn, lima beans and barley.
Stockbreeding is mainly centered on llamas and sheep, and to a lesser extent on cattle, pigs and horses.

Culture: Aymara artistic creativity is best appreciated in their weaving, ceramics, basketry, sculpture, dance and the innate expression of music in the Andean pentatonic scale.
In the most remote Ayllus garments are still made by hand using wool from their sheep, llama, alpaca and vicuña, and from rabbit pelts. They are also known for the deft use of a wide variety of dyeing techniques.
Pottery has been developed to supply most household needs and groups in lakeshore settlements build totora rafts for transportation. Those settled in the valleys are noted for basketry woven in assorted styles and sizes, (Valda, 1973; Urquidi, 1982, 122-147).

From: Peoples and languages of Bolivia, 1985, Instituto Boliviano de Cultura (IBC), Pedro Plaza Martínez and Juan Carvajal Carvajal.