Since pre-Columbian times, alpacas have been central to life in Peru. Across different Andean civilizations, their presence and role extended far beyond the material use. For the Incas, alpaca fiber was reserved for royalty and religious life. Earlier cultures such as the Moche depicted alpacas in pottery and artwork, while the Wari relied on their fiber and meat for sustenance. More than a single resource, alpacas have long sustained Andean communities as sources of food, pack animals, ritual offerings, and providers of fiber for clothing and warmth.
As early as 2500 BCE , communities in what is now Peru were already working with alpaca fiber for textiles, creating a bond that is still alive today, between the people, the animal, and the textile arts. Within the language of pallay–or traditional imagery woven into Andean textiles–, alpacas appear again and again, a reminder that in the pre-Columbian world they were sacred beings, deeply connected to Andean cosmology and everyday life.
Today, alpacas continue to be an integral part of the traditions and rituals of Quechua communities, a relationship that becomes especially visible during the practice of alpaca shearing. This activity takes place during the rainy season, between December and March, and is closely tied to the Andean agricultural calendar. Shearing coincides with celebrations that honor rainfall and land renewal, making it not only an economically important practice, but also one with strong ritual significance.
This importance of alpaca in both Quechua and Catholic ritual can be seen in celebrations such as the Bajada del Niño Jesús of Marcacocha, on January 6, where many weavers create alpaca garments specifically for the occasion, using ponchos and other textiles to dress and adorn the figure of the Niño Jesús, or child Jesus, as a symbol of abundance.
Beyond these public celebrations, the same meanings are carried through smaller, more intimate gestures. Alpaca shearing is sometimes preceded by rituals that acknowledge the animal, the land, and the continuity of life in the highlands. In cooperatives that work with Awamaki, the shearing process may begin with a communal gathering to give thanks for the health of the herd and the fiber it provides. On some occasions, the first glass of chicha, a homemade corn beer, or offerings of coca leaves are presented to the apus, or mountain spirits, before the shearing begins.
Seen through this lens, the alpaca is more than a source of fiber or economic asset. Alpaca remain a living presence in the Andean world, sustaining textile practices, preserving a visual language, and transmitting knowledge and values across generations. To look closely at its fiber is not simply to encounter a material or an exotic animal, but to glimpse a different way of relating to art, memory and life itself.
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