Hello bloggers, today we are going to write, talk about the Caballito de Totora, today we know they are the fathers of the Surf, they was used by cultures such as the Mochica civilization in the old Peru.
The History:
The Caballito de Totora Ancient was used cultures such as the Mochica civilization (200-700 AD), In 2014, 12-centimeter fragments were found that has been able to confirm its existence in even more remote times, more than 3,000 years ago. Some experts still go further and extend its use 5, five millennia ago. To attest to this they are based on some skeletons belonging to those times that present bony deformations in the arms and legs, as if they had carried out an activity that would fit perfectly with the position used on the reed horse-Caballito de Totora. It is quite difficult to find remains of this type of boat, since its material life did not exceed one month.
The Importance:
The importance that the sea had for these cultures, apart from the economic and subsistence interest, so these cultures used navigation as a recreational activity as well, which would make these pre-Columbian Americans the first surfers of history. The fishermen of Peru today continue to fish near its coast through this traditional method. They do so through the so-called caballito de totora, which owes its name to the way in which the person in question positions himself to navigate, in which he imitates the posture of a rider mounted on his horse. These boats are handcrafted from reeds, a very common aquatic plant in the Peruvian swamps.
The Fishing and Surf Origin:
The caballito de totora is an individual boat, with a length of about three meters, It is usually wider at the stern, where it has a reserved space for storing fish. The boat narrows as it approaches the bow, while curving slightly upward. Despite the apparent fragility that it can transmit, it is strong enough to withstand and overcome the waves that hit the shores of the Pacific Ocean.
One of the main uses of the caballito de toroa was, of course, fishing, to do this, the fishermen had to move away from the coast, overcoming the rough waves of the coastline. Handling the boat in these conditions should not be easy, so the protagonists would go through a training period to learn the trade. Today we know they are the fathers of Surfing since this culture was the first to use and created this, for surf and fishing in the old Peru.
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