Quinoa and Andean Highland Crops: Kiwicha, Kañiwa, and Tarwi

Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa) was the second great grain crop of the Andean highlands and one of the most nutritionally valuable crops cultivated by the Inca state. Quinoa seed contains roughly 16 percent protein, with an essential amino acid balance that is unusually complete for a plant food, and it was used as a high-protein supplement to the potato- and maize-based diet, particularly in the lean winter months before the harvest. The Incas cultivated many varieties of quinoa, distinguished by the chroniclers into sweet varieties (grown for their seed) and bitter varieties (grown for their leaves); the bitter varieties were processed by washing in water to remove the saponins that coat the seeds. A related group of highland crops includes kiwicha (Amaranthus caudatus), kañiwa (Chenopodium pallidicaule), and tarwi (Lupinus mutabilis) — small-seeded grains and a high-protein legume that were grown at altitudes above 3,800 m, where maize and potatoes grew poorly. Together with the potato and maize, these highland crops formed the foundation of the Andean diet and were the basis of the ayllu’s subsistence economy.

Quinoa: origins, varieties, and cultivation

Quinoa was domesticated in the Andean region of present-day Peru and Bolivia at least by 5,000 BCE, and possibly earlier, by the populations of the highland basins of Lake Titicaca and the surrounding altiplano. Archaeological evidence from the site of Chiripa, dated to approximately 1500 BCE, shows that quinoa was already an important crop by the Formative period; by the time of the Wari empire (c. 600–1000 CE), the crop was widely cultivated in the central Andes and had spread to the coastal valleys through long-distance exchange. The Incas cultivated many varieties of quinoa, classified by the chronicler Bernabé Cobo into principal types by color (white, red, black) and by growing habit (sweet and bitter). The modern classification, developed by the CIP in Lima and published in 1998, recognizes five principal ecotypes: valley quinoa (grown in the inter-Andean valleys at 2,000–3,500 m), altiplano quinoa (grown in the altiplano at 3,500–4,000 m), salar quinoa (grown in the salt flats of Bolivia at 3,700–4,000 m), subtropical quinoa (grown in the lowlands of Bolivia at 1,500–2,000 m), and sea-level quinoa (grown on the coast).

Quinoa was a hardy crop, well adapted to the harsh conditions of the highland environment. The plant tolerates frost, drought, and poor soil, and it can be grown at altitudes up to 4,000 m — higher than any other cultivated grain. The sowing of quinoa was performed in the early spring (September to November), typically in a system of chakitaqlla (footplow) cultivation similar to that used for potatoes. The harvest was performed in the late summer (March to May), and the harvested seed was threshed, winnowed, and stored in the household trojes or in the state qollqas. The chronicler Murúa recorded that a typical highland ayllu harvested approximately 1 to 2 metric tons of quinoa per household per year, in addition to the principal harvest of potatoes.

The bitter varieties of quinoa contain saponins — bitter-tasting glycosides that coat the seed and that, if not removed, give the quinoa a soapy taste and may cause digestive distress. The saponins were removed by a process of washing in water, performed in a special washing ground (mayu wasi) near a stream. The washed quinoa was then dried in the sun and stored. The sweet varieties, which have a lower saponin content, could be eaten without washing, and were typically used for the preparation of q’oqo (a toasted quinoa flour) and pito (a beverage of quinoa flour mixed with water). The colonial Relaciones geográficas de Indias of 1570–1585 record that the principal use of quinoa in the household was the preparation of q’oqo, which was consumed in the form of porridge or bread and which provided a substantial portion of the household’s daily protein.

Kiwicha and kañiwa: the small-seeded Andean grains

Kiwicha (Amaranthus caudatus) and kañiwa (Chenopodium pallidicaule) are small-seeded grains closely related to quinoa, with a similarly high protein content. Kiwicha was domesticated in the Andean region of present-day Peru and Bolivia at least by 4,000 BCE, and was widely cultivated in the central Andes by the time of the Inca state. The plant is particularly well adapted to high altitudes — it can be grown at altitudes up to 4,000 m, where maize and potatoes grow poorly — and its seed contains approximately 13 to 16 percent protein, with a high content of the essential amino acid lysine. The colonial chroniclers recorded that kiwicha was used in the preparation of q’oqo and pito, in the same way as quinoa, and that the principal producing region was the Collasuyu of southern Peru and Bolivia.

Kañiwa was domesticated in the altiplano of Peru and Bolivia at least by 3,000 BCE, and is closely related to quinoa but is more cold-tolerant and can be grown at altitudes above 4,000 m. The plant produces a small, dark seed that is rich in protein (approximately 16 percent by weight) and is processed by washing in water to remove the saponins, in the same way as the bitter varieties of quinoa. Kañiwa was a particularly important crop in the altiplano above 4,000 m, where the climate was too harsh for quinoa, and the colonial visitas record that the typical household in the altiplano harvested approximately 200 to 500 kilograms of kañiwa per year. The principal use of kañiwa was the preparation of kañiwa pito — a beverage of toasted kañiwa flour mixed with water — and of kañiwa api — a thick porridge consumed at breakfast.

Tarwi: the Andean lupin

Tarwi (Lupinus mutabilis) is a high-protein legume that was cultivated in the central Andes at least by 1,500 BCE, and was an important crop in the Inca state. Tarwi is grown principally for its seed, which contains approximately 40 percent protein — the highest protein content of any cultivated legume — and is used both as food and as a soil-improving crop in rotation with potatoes. The principal producing region was the central highlands of Peru and Bolivia, at altitudes of 2,500 to 3,800 m, and the colonial visitas record that a typical highland household harvested approximately 50 to 150 kilograms of tarwi per year.

Tarwi seed contains bitter alkaloids (principally lupanine) that must be removed by a process of soaking and washing in water, performed over a period of several days. The processed tarwi was eaten as a snack, used in the preparation of tarwi api (a thick porridge of tarwi flour), or added to soups and stews. The chronicler Cobo recorded that tarwi was a particularly important food for the mit’a laborers of the state, who consumed it as a portable, high-protein ration during long periods of work on the roads, terraces, and mines. The chronicler also recorded that tarwi was a particularly important food during the waru waru harvesting season, when it was consumed in large quantities as a complement to the potato harvest.

Tarwi was also an important soil-improving crop. The plant is a legume, and its root nodules contain Rhizobium bacteria that fix atmospheric nitrogen. The Inca practice of rotating potatoes, quinoa, and tarwi on the same plot over a period of seven to ten years was, in effect, a primitive form of crop rotation that maintained soil fertility without the use of animal manure. The colonial visitas record that the typical highland ayllu practiced a system of crop rotation in which potatoes were grown for two to three years, followed by quinoa for two to three years, and by tarwi for one to two years, with the plot then allowed to fallow for two to four years. The detailed treatment of the Inca agricultural cycle and of the ayllu’s role in the agricultural economy is given in the related articles.

The role of highland crops in the Andean diet

The highland crops of the Inca state — quinoa, kiwicha, kañiwa, and tarwi — were the principal source of protein in the Andean diet and were an essential complement to the potato- and maize-based staples. The chronicler Cieza de León recorded that a typical highland household consumed approximately 50 to 100 kilograms of quinoa, 20 to 50 kilograms of kiwicha, 20 to 50 kilograms of kañiwa, and 50 to 100 kilograms of tarwi per year, in addition to several hundred kilograms of chuño and 50 to 100 kilograms of maize. The combined diet provided a balanced nutritional profile that supported a population of perhaps ten million people in the Tawantinsuyu at the time of the conquest.

The highland crops were also an important item of tribute. The state required every ayllu to deliver a fixed quota of quinoa, kiwicha, kañiwa, and tarwi to the state qollqas each year, and the produce was used to support the army, the priests, and the population of the urban centers. The state also used the highland crops as a form of famine relief, and the chronicler Pedro Pizarro recorded that the state sent food caravans of up to 4,000 llamas to communities hit by drought or frost. The detailed treatment of the Inca diet and of the Inca storage and qollqa system is given in the related articles.

The cultivation of highland crops was closely integrated with the social organization of the ayllu. The colonial visitas record that the sowing of quinoa and kiwicha was performed in a system of ayni — the exchange of equal quantities of labor between households — and that the harvest was performed in a system of minka — communal labor undertaken for the benefit of the wider community. The principal sowing and harvest festivals of the highland ayllus were the Quinua Raymi (the festival of the quinoa sowing) in September, and the Huarucicu (the festival of the harvest) in May. The chronicler Cobo recorded that these festivals involved a complete suspension of agricultural work for several days, during which the entire community feasted, danced, and made offerings to the huacas.

The highland crops were also an important element of the ayllu’s vertical archipelago — the practice by which a single ayllu maintained non-contiguous plots at several different altitudes. An ayllu based in the highland valley of the Vilcanota, for example, might maintain plots at 3,500 m (for potatoes), at 3,800 m (for quinoa and kiwicha), and at 4,000 m (for kañiwa and tarwi). The produce of the different altitude zones was exchanged through state stores, kin networks, and market trueque, and the ayllu’s autonomy was substantially reinforced by its access to the resources of several ecological zones. The detailed treatment of the vertical archipelago and of the ayllu’s role in the imperial economy is given in the related articles.

The highland crops after the conquest

The Spanish conquest of 1532 and the subsequent introduction of European crops and animals transformed the agricultural system of the central Andes. The Spanish brought wheat, barley, oats, chickpeas, and broad beans; they introduced cattle, sheep, goats, horses, and pigs; and they imposed the encomienda and later the repartimiento and the haciendas, which gradually concentrated land in the hands of a small Spanish and mestizo elite. The principal effect of the conquest on the highland crops was the reduction in the area devoted to their cultivation: the colonial Relaciones geográficas of 1570–1585 record that the area devoted to quinoa in the central highlands fell by perhaps 30 to 50 percent in the first century after the conquest, as the Spanish preferred to cultivate European crops such as wheat and barley.

The highland crops have, however, persisted in the modern Andean diet and are now widely recognized as a nutritional resource of global importance. Quinoa, in particular, has been the focus of substantial international interest since the 1990s, and the United Nations declared 2013 the International Year of Quinoa in recognition of the crop’s contribution to world food security. The detailed treatment of the Inca food and agriculture and of the Inca diet is given in the related articles; the ayllu’s role in the agricultural economy and the Inca social hierarchy are treated in the related articles.