SURF NUTZ Surf Shop & School 3.06

Most people are surprised to learn that pre-Incan Peru, not Hawaii, might be the birthplace of surfing.

The ancient Moche/Mochica people, a mysterious, ancient seafaring people that lived in northern coastal Peru between about 100 to 800 AD, were catching waves centuries before there were people in Hawaii. The Moche's close relationship with the sea is well-documented in pottery, paintings, and engravings from the 4th and 5th century. Moche pottery shows portraits of fishermen using an ancient surf craft - a special kind of reed boat called “caballitos de totora” or “reed ponies.” Some experts believe this pottery suggests the Moche people may have surfed for fun, not just for fishing!

Peruvian historian Jose Antonio del Busto believes that Topa Inca Yupanqui (aka Túpac Inca Yupanqui), the 2nd Incan emperor, arrived in Polynesia around 1500, on a 10-month-long voyage of exploration around the Pacific. There is evidence that they brought “caballitos de totora” and other objects on their voyage. Some believe that the Polynesians used the “caballitos de totora” to colonize the Hawaiian Islands, and these evolved into what we know call surfboards.

Today, fishermen in Huanchaco still use the "caballitos de totora" to get over the waves out to the ocean.