The walaycho (hispanicized spelling ''hualaycho'', also ''walaychu'') is a small

lute A lute ( or ) is any plucked string instrument with a neck (music), neck and a deep round back enclosing a hollow cavity, usually with a sound hole or opening in the body. It may be either fretted or unfretted. More specifically, the term "lu ...

-like fretted stringed instrument, the smallest member of the

charango The charango is a small Andes, Andean stringed instrument of the lute family, from the Quechua people, Quechua and Aymara people, Aymara populations in the territory of the Altiplano in post-Colonial times, after European stringed instruments we ...

family. It is the same or similar to the ''maulincho''. The ''walaychu'' along with the

and its variations are believed to have been born around Cerro Rico of

Potosí Potosí, known as Villa Imperial de Potosí in the colonial period, is the capital city and a municipality of the Potosí Department, Department of Potosí in Bolivia. It is one of the list of highest cities in the world, highest cities in the wo ...

located in

Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...

.
The word ''walaychu'' is Quechuan languages, Quechua meaning 'a lazy man, someone who always lays on the ground everywhere. In addition to this, an evil man'. It's a colloquial word in

for a small charango variant.

References

Charangos {{lute-stub