The Vicuña is a species of South American camelid that runs along the high plains, or Pampas, of the Andes. It is a relative of the Alpaca and Llama and is one of two wild camelids, the other being the guanaco. Vicuña are small, shy, graceful animals with very soft, warm fur that is considered more valuable than any other wool in the world. The animal can only be shorn every three years. In the time of the Inca, their wool was forbidden to be worn by any other than members of royalty. The wool is valued at $285 per pound; in comparison, cashmere, also considered a high quality, valuable wool, sells for only $32 per pound.

The vicuña was declared to be endangered in 1974, when there were only about 6,000 animals left in the wild. They were poached extensively for their fiber and leather for centuries in spite of the fact that they were under government protection, both in the time of the Inca and in modern days. Thanks to a revival of an ancient ritual, the Peruvian population of these animals has now grown to approximately 200,000 animals. The ritual is known as Chaccu, and it involves the annual round-up of herds of vicuña.

The largest roundup takes place in the village of Lacunas in the district of Ayacucho, and lasts for three days. It is held every year in June, when temperatures can be quite cold, as this is the winter season in Peru. The village of Lucanas fosters a herd of approximately 7,500 animals, and animals with hair longer than 2.5 centimeters are shorn during the roundup, which is also accompanied by ritual, dance and prayer.

Villagers and visitors walk approximately four miles along the pampa at an altitude of 12,500 feet to drive the animals into a corral. There are performances of huayno music, traditional dances and the consumption of sugar cane liquor to ward off the cold. Prayers are orated by a leader dressed in traditional royal Inca garb.

One of the rituals involves the clipping of the tips of the ears of a pair of the animals, and then mixing the blood with chicha, a fermented corn drink, afterwards smearing it on the faces of some of the participants. This ritual is supposed to guarantee fertility and prosperity.

The proceeds of the sale of the precious wool go toward improvement of services, education and infrastructure in the community of Lucanas. The revival of this ritual has vastly improved the lives of the locals, and has helped to save the graceful vicuña from the brink of extinction, by treating it as a sustainable, rather than an expendable, resource.

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