Sons of the Moon

On a plateau high in the Bolivian Andes live the Aymara. This pre-Columbian empire, the first in South America, was a peaceful nation which flourished - as the Aymara legends tell us - under the light of the moon. The writer's travels take him to remote outposts and to local fiestas.

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On a vast plateau high in the Bolivian Andes live the "Sons of the Moon", the Aymara. This great pre-Columbian empire, the first in South America, was a peaceful nation which flourished - as the Aymara legends tell us - under the gentle light of the moon. Then the sun rose, the fertile land dried up, and the Aymara's were captured by the sun-worshipping Incas of Peru. A few Aymaras remain, scattered in tiny communities, their land, the Altiplano, baked by the sun and whipped by ferocious winds, is one of the most inhospitable parts of South America. Henry Shukman is one of the first travel writers to seek out the Aymara race and describe them in detail. His adventures take him to remote outposts and into the hearts of local fiestas, where celebration and violence go hand in hand.