Llama - llama (English spelling)

Japanese: ラマ - らま（英語表記）llama

An animal of the Mammalia class, Order Artiodactyla, Family Camelidae. Also known as the American camel. Also called llama or yama. The original species is thought to be extinct, and all remaining species are domesticated species found in the highlands of the Andes in South America. It is 2.25 meters long, 1.2 meters high, 15 centimeters long, and weighs 70 to 140 kilograms. Although it belongs to the Camelidae family, it does not have a hump on its back, and is sometimes called the humpless camel. Its neck and limbs are long and thin, and its hair is long and woolly. Its body color is varied, and can be white, black-brown, brown, or spotted. Its ears are large, and its tail is short and has no tufts. The soles of its feet are narrow and divided into two toes, with hoof-like claws at the tips. It reaches sexual maturity at 24 months, has no particular breeding season, and gives birth to one or two babies after a gestation period of about 11 months. The newborn calf stands within 20 minutes and begins nursing within two hours. The newborn weighs between 12 and 15 kilograms.

[Shiro Nakagawa]

Relationship with humans

Archaeological evidence from the Terramachay Cave in Junin, Peru's highlands, provides evidence of llama domestication dating back to 5200-4000 BC. Llamas were eventually bred throughout the central Andes, including the coast, and played an important role in indigenous culture until the Spanish invasion in the 16th century. Unlike the closely-related alpaca, which was bred primarily for its wool, llamas can be used for multiple purposes. Although they are small and cannot carry people or heavy loads, they can easily carry loads of 30-40 kilograms, making them important primarily as a means of transportation. Their wool was used to make coarse textiles, their hides to make footwear and laces, and their dung as fuel. Their milk was not consumed, but their meat was actively used, and the technology to make dried meat (chalqui) as a preserved food was particularly developed. Llamas were also important as sacrificial animals, and in the Inca period, some llamas were kept by the state for religious purposes, and were slaughtered and thrown into sacred fires as offerings to the gods. Llamas were also sometimes used for divination by removing their internal organs, such as the lungs and heart.

Today, in the northern and coastal areas of the Andes, llamas have almost completely been replaced by livestock brought over from Europe, but llamas remain important in Indian villages in the southern mountain area, and herders called "llameros" live in the plateaus over 4,000 meters above sea level, and continue to raise traditional llamas and alpacas. They form caravans and go down to rural areas to deliver chalqui and rock salt in exchange for agricultural products, or carry the harvest from the fields on the backs of llamas, taking on the task of transporting them.

[Ryozo Matsumoto]

Llama
They are raised in the highlands of the Andes in South America. They have a long, slender neck and limbs, and woolly fur. Their body color varies widely, from white to dark brown, brown, or spotted. They are also known as the American camel. Their head and body length is about 225 cm, their shoulder height is about 120 cm, and their weight is 70 to 140 kg. ©Shogakukan ">

Llama

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

Japanese:

哺乳(ほにゅう)綱偶蹄(ぐうてい)目ラクダ科の動物。別名アメリカラクダ。また、リャマ、ヤマともいう。原種はすでに絶滅したと考えられ、現存しているのはすべて家畜種で、南アメリカのアンデスの高地に分布する。体長2.25メートル、体高1.2メートル、尾長15センチメートル、体重70～140キログラム。ラクダ科に属するが、背中のこぶはなく、コブナシラクダなどとよばれることもある。頸(くび)や四肢は長くて細く、体毛は羊毛状で長い。体色は変化に富み、白色、黒褐色、褐色あるいは斑(はん)などがみられる。耳介は大きく、尾は短く房毛は存在しない。足の底は幅が狭く2本の指に分かれ、先端にひづめ状のつめがある。性成熟は24か月で、とくに定まった繁殖期はなく、11か月ほどの妊娠期間を経て、1～2子を出産する。生まれた子は20分ほどで起立し、2時間ほどで哺乳する。新生子の体重は12～15キログラム。

［中川志郎］

人間との関係

ペルー高地、フニン地方のテラルマチャイ洞穴から得られた考古学的資料によれば、ラマの家畜化の証拠は紀元前5200～前4000年ごろにさかのぼる。やがてラマは海岸地方も含め中央アンデス地域一帯で飼育され、16世紀にスペイン人が侵入するまで、土着文化において重要な役割を果たしてきた。主として採毛用に飼育された近縁種のアルパカと異なり、ラマは多目的に利用できる。小形なので人や重い荷を運ぶことはできないが、30～40キログラムの荷なら楽に運べるため、まず運搬手段として重要で、毛は目の粗い織物の原料に、また皮は履き物や紐(ひも)の材料に、糞(ふん)は燃料として利用された。乳は飲用にされることはなかったが、肉は積極的に利用され、とくに保存食として干し肉（チャルキ）をつくる技術が発達した。犠牲獣としての用途も重要で、インカ時代にはもっぱら宗教的目的で国家が飼育するラマが存在し、神々への供え物として、と畜され、聖なる火に投じられた。また肺や心臓などの内臓を取り出して占いが行われることもあった。

　現在アンデスの北部および海岸地帯では、ヨーロッパ伝来の家畜がほぼ完全にラマにとってかわったが、南部山地のインディオ村落ではラマは依然として重要で、とくに海抜4000メートルを超える高原部には「リャメーロ」とよばれる牧民が住み、伝統的なラマ、アルパカの飼育を続けている。彼らはキャラバンを組んで農村へ下り、農作物と交換にチャルキや岩塩を届けたり、畑の収穫物をラマの背に乗せ、その運搬を請け負っている。

［松本亮三］

ラマ
南アメリカ、アンデスの高地で飼育されている。頸や四肢は細長く、体毛は羊毛状。体色は変化に富み、白色、黒褐色、褐色あるいは斑などがみられる。別名アメリカラクダ。頭胴長約225cm、肩高約120cm、体重70～140kg©Shogakukan">

ラマ

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