I’ve mentioned this on these pages previously, but it’s getting a re-airing today anyway. In the Altiplano region of Bolivia and Peru the growing season for the main crop, potatoes, relies on a tight time window before the cold season reappears. It’s also dependent on the rainy season (Dec-March) arriving on time, because a late start to the rains would mean the potatoes won’t grow quickly enough before the frosts arrive. That would mean a significant yield reduction and although our modern times mean food gets transported around more easily, go back a few years it was often the difference between full bellies and really long periods of hunger, even starvation.
The timely arrival of the rainy season is, therefore, a big thing for Altiplano and there’s a lot at stake if the rains arrive late. This means that if the rains don’t come on time, the local shamans (or yatiri, as known locally) are called upon to help speed things up. There are several rainmaker/rainbringer ceremonies done by Altiplano shamans, but the classic one is connected with frogs. What people noticed thousands of years ago was that just before it rained, frogs that lived next to lakes etc would all start croaking in unison. It therefore made sense to catch a frog or two and make them croak, as that would bring the rains on. Therefore, the most popular rainy season ceremony is based around shamans making frogs croak because when they do, the rainclouds react in the way they’re supposed to. Perfectly logical, right?
And that’s all you need to know about charting and technical analysis of stock prices, folks.