I’ve been toying with the idea of the Liyap’ti being able to drink milk for a little while. I think it would be interesting as an alternate source of protein since they need it more than the Hap’ti, and them being adept at interacting and domesticating fauna would mirror the Hap’ti’s affinity to flora. And apparently armadillo milk is very high in protein and calcium! So on November 25th 2025 I decided that they consume milk. But after three days of sitting with the idea, I think I’m walking it back.
First of all, I don’t think there’s any records on the Incas’ milk consumption. Alpaca and llama milk is technically safe for human consumption but they were never bred for milk. I haven’t looked up specific stats but it’s also a general rule that lactose tolerance tends to be more common in Europe.
Also, since the Chak'tu are native to Uraliwa only (for now), they would have been domesticated at most 100 years ago. The Liyap’ti would have to be familiar with milk consumption and have domesticated another kind of animal for that in their homeland which is a pretty big stretch.
Of course, I'm not doing a 1-to-1 with the real life inspirations. I haven’t been able to find much data on nomadic lifestyles in South America. The idea for them consuming milk came after I watched this video about the lifestyle of the kyrgyz nomads. I’m definitely open to taking inspiration from other cultures, but I think milk would have been too big of a stretch in the end.