The Wititi is a courtship dance of the Colca Valley in Arequipa. Young men and women dance in groups during the rainy season; traditionally the men wore two or more layered embroidered skirts, imitating women’s clothing, so they could approach young women without being recognized. Couples flirt playfully, and men carry slingshots (huaracas) that they swing as part of the dance. UNESCO inscribed it in 2015.
The Colca Valley is home to Collagua and Cabana communities, famous for their embroidered clothing — every pattern and colour of the women’s skirts and hats tells where they come from. The Wititi is danced from December to March, the rainy season of fertility, especially around carnival and the feast of the Virgen de la Candelaria and other patron saints, and it is closely tied to the beginning of new relationships among young people. Today the Wititi is the emblem of the Colca and of the town of Chivay, where groups compete in festivals that draw visitors coming to see the canyon and its condors. Its UNESCO inscription celebrates not only the dance but the embroidery, music and social life that surround it.
