These happy little cuy (guinea pigs) are not pets, people. They’re for eatin’.
First domesticated 7,000 years ago in the Andes, guinea pigs are still a common food source in these parts. With both males and females reaching sexual maturity within 4-5 weeks of birth, this is one gift that keeps on giving.
Favored as pets by European royalty (including Queen Elizabeth I), the English name probably comes from the habit of referring to anything exotic as from “Guinea”. It was only later they were used in medical experiments, including Pasteur’s famous research on germs.
You can barely see the pair of bulls on top of the cuy house. All the houses in this Andean village had a pair on the roof for good luck, and protection. It’s thoughtful of them to give their livestock the same treatment.
