The Living Inca Heritage by Peter Cloudsley

T H E LIVING
INCA
HERITAGE
Peter Cloudsley witnesses Peruvian Indian fiestas

I
NCA and pre-Inca cultures are gener-
ally assigned to the realms of history,
incarnate only in Machu Picchu and
other famous sites. Yet the Peruvian
Indians have doggedly preserved some of
the ritual beliefs of their ancestors through
fiestas, in spite of attempts to suppress
them by colonial and religious authorities.
The fiestas which can be seen in Peru
today are the product of a long historical
process. Many have Inca or pre-Inca ori-
gins, and have been gradually transformed
over the centuries through persecution or
adoption into the Roman Catholic calen-
dar. Other fiestas date from Colonial or
Republican times but, today, some are
losing out in competition with television,
radio and records. Nevertheless, the
underlying beliefs and mythologies of these
fiestas have, in many cases, persisted, with
the formal sponsorship of the Roman
Catholic Church.
One example of this is the pilgrimage of
Qoyllur Rit'i, 'The Star of the Snow',
which takes place in the bitterly cold
Sinakara Valley near Cuzco, at 4500
metres above sea level. For four days and
three nights, this desolate place becomes
the centre of immense* activity. Over
10,000 pilgrims - Indian campesinos, or
peasants and, to a lesser extent, Mestizos
of mixed Indian and Spanish ancestry -
unite here. Many of them have to walk for
two or three days from their villages.

The pilgrimage o f Qoyllor Rit'i occurs
high in t h e bleak Sinakara Valley. For
f o u r days t h e people, some dressed as
Chunchos or j u n g l e Indians (top) w h o
are believed t o be t h e Inca's ancestors,
dance t h e i r w a y up and d o w n t h e valley
(above r i g h t ) . Mestizos, people o f mixed
Spanish and Indian o r i g i n , (right) t a k e a
meal in a f o o d t e n t . On t h e t h i r d day, t h e
p i l g r i m s c l i m b t o t h e glacier t o c u t o u t a
b l o c k of ice w h i c h t h e y carry d o w n t h e
valley (far r i g h t ) , t h e w a t e r f r o m w h i c h
is believed t o have magical and
medicinal properties

84 THE GEOGRAPHICAL MAGAZINE

T H E LIVING
INCA
HERITAGE

The valley is filled with a profusion of
temporary shelters and smoky camp fires.
The people dance tirelessly day and
night throughout the fiesta. The repeating
rhythm: J J J pervades the sub-
conscious. Whenever I woke in my tent I
would hear the drums throbbing monoto-
nously and insistently. The atmosphere is
truly Indian and pre-Christian. Endless
troops of musicians and dancers in bril-
liantly coloured costumes snake their way
up and down the valley as if preparations
were being made for some impending
revelation. It is, in fact, preparation for the
summer solstice. At night these lines of
people are illuminated by candles.

A T dawn on the third day, the pil-

cier, which overlooks the festivi-

each one carves out a lump of ice which he
carries on his back down to the valley. The
ice is melted down and used to prepare a
sweet barley drink in which everyone
participates. The unused water is kept
throughout the year for its magical and
medicinal properties.
Throughout these ceremonies, mass is
regularly held in the little corrugated iron
roofed church which stands in the centre of
the valley surrounded by encampments.
For the Church, what is being commemo-
rated is the miracle of The Apparition of
the Lord of Qoyllur Rit'i in 1780. This was
the year in which the Spanish finally
crushed the Indian peasant revolt led by
Tupac Amaru I I .
The nearness of the Inca ruins and the
nature of the customs which persist to this
day, suggest that Qoyllor Rit'i was a sacred
place long before this date and that the
holiday is merely a substitute for a pre-
Conquest rite. This was a ploy that the
Church frequently used to Christianize the
Indians. Legends similar to that of Qoyllor
Rit'i have been discovered in other parts of
Peru - Inca beliefs were a religious threat
to the Church while being a political threat
to the Spanish Colony. Thus suppression
or substitution offiestassuch as these were
important to both Church and State.
The time of year and the geographical
location of the fiesta of Qoyllor Rit'i are
both significant, especially when it is re-
membered that the Incas were great astro-
nomers. Today the date of the pilgrimage
has been suitably tied in with Corpus
Christi, which is a movable feast depending
on the lunar cycle. However, it seems
likely that the fiesta was originally held just
before the summer solstice. According to a
17th-century priest, one of the main fo-
cuses of Inca worship was the Pleiades, the
constellation of the Seven Sisters. In the
southern hemisphere, the Pleiades dis-


(Top, left) f l a m b o y a n t head-dress t o p s
o f f the c o l o u r f u l t r a d i t i o n a l c l o t h i n g
w o r n by t h e f u l l - b l o o d e d Indian
inhabitants of Taquile at t h e i r Fiesta o f
San Juan. They c o n d u c t their o w n
religious ceremonies ( b o t t o m , left). The
w o m e n dance separately (near, top)
f r o m the men w h o play s t r i n g e d
i n s t r u m e n t s and panpipes. Taquile men
k n i t their o w n caps (near, b o t t o m ) , their
fine belts are w o v e n by t h e w o m e n

appear from sight around the end of April
and return in mid-June to 'announce' the
solstsice. So this was probably a key point
on the Inca calendar - the birth of the New
Year.
The fiesta of Qoyllor Rit'i is noteworthy
for its splendid setting in a valley over-
looked by three shining glaciers. Lying due
east of Cuzco, it was on one of the lines
which divided the four quarters, or suyos,
of the Empire. This line marked the border
between Antisuyo and Collasuyo. The
valley is situated on the eastern side of the
Andes near their steep descent into the
jungle. Here the Incas believed their
ancestors, the Chunchos, or jungle Indi-
ans, to have evolved.
Few fiestas are as atavistic and as easily
interpreted as Qoyllor Rit'i. South of
Cuzco on the Peruvian altiplano, by the
shores of Lake Titicaca, there survives a
practice which goes back to pre-Inca times.
This is the custom of playing panpipes
which is associated with nearly all the
fiestas of the region. The panpipes date at
least as far back as the Moche culture of
the north coast of Peru (500 BC - 800 A D ) .
This civilization developed a sophisticated
technology of making ceramic panpipes.
Other materials such as feathers, bones,
wood and cane were also used.
It is clear from ceramic illustrations in
museums, that the Mochica had already
developed the technique, used to this day,
of playing the panpipes in pairs. That is,
the notes of the scale alternate between
two sets of pipes played by two different
musicians. Necessarily, the music takes on
the form of a dialogue as it still does today.

P
ANPIPES were obviously sacred
instruments to the Moche people,
just as the lute is to Arabs. The
duality symbolized by the dialogue
between the two halves of the instrument
was probably an important aspect of its
significance.
The next development in panpipe play-
ing was achieved by the Nazca civilization.
This was the evolution of orchestras made
up of dozens of musicians and involving the
use of registers, like a church organ. The
pitches of the different registers differ by
an octave. Therefore, going down the
registers, each pipe is twice the length of
the previous one in the series.
One of the best places in which to see
panpipe dances today is the Island of
Taquile. This lies in the legendary Lake
Titicaca, a three hour journey by motor
launch from the mainland town of Puno.
Taquile measures approximately 7 km by

THE GEOGRAPHICAL MAGAZINE 87

T H E LIVING
INCA
HERITAGE
2.5 km and its 1000 inhabitants are all
Quechua-speaking Indians. The commun-
ity has benefited from its remoteness.
More than anywhere else on the altiplano
it has conserved its collective organization.
As in Inca times, the inhabitants are
divided into six suyos or sub-communities,
who cultivate the land co-operatiVely and
practice crop rotation. The islanders do
their own policing and elect their own
mayors and governors by popular vote.
They have managed to avoid having their
tourist asset exploited by Mestizo outsid-
ers, and run their own motor boat service
to the mainland.
A l l the fiestas of Taquile are part of the
Christian calendar, but the islanders, espe-
cially the older generation, believe in is indescribable. The remainder of the Peruvian altiplano
pre-Columbian gods such as the God of the The fiestas on Taquile differ from most is divided into Aymara and Quechua-
Sun. The players, or sikuris, occupy a of those in the rest of Peru in that there are speaking zones. The city of Puno is
central role in most fiestas and their no spectators - although there may be a Quechua-speaking but, at fiestas such as
orchestras include all four registers of the tourist or a foreign photographer now that Manco Ccapac's day and Candelaria, both
panpipes. The timbre of each set of pan- the island's reputation is spreading. At Aymara and Quechua-speaking Indians
pipes is further enriched by the addition of most fiestas there are spectators, vendors participate, bringing their distinct dances
a row of resonating pipes. These are the and other non-participating elements. and music. The Indian culture of this
same length as the 'fundamental' pipes, but These reflect the wide variety of social class region began long before the Tiahuanaco
are open-ended and therefore produce a and race which exists today in the Andes. and Pucara civilizations which have left
distinct harmonic series. The sheer volume The unusual degree of community con- impressive ruins in Silustani, Pucara and in
of sound of a panpipe orchestra of some 40 sciousness which persists on Taquile has sites beside the lake itself.
sikuris accompanied by the dead thudding maintained an exceptional level of equality Indeed, the Lake Titicaca basin played
rhythm of the enormous sheep-skin drums amongst the community. host to the earliest migrants from the


| indigenous ceremonies to be conducted by
the Indians themselves; in their sermons at
! subsequent masses, they may try to inject a
[ Christian interpretation into the events of
the day. I once heard a sermon in which
the priest suggested to his congregation
that they ought to invest some of the
immense effort and cost of the day's
festivities in more permanent and bene-
ficial work.
As in the case of Qoyllor Rit'i, it is hard
to tell what the Indians really believe.
While continuing to worship the sun, the
moon and the mountains, they have been
forced into adopting Catholic ritual prac-
tices.

W
HEN Indians kneel in church
before the altar, and kiss the
ground, who can say whether
they are worshipping Christ or
Pachamama, the Goddess of the Earth?
Similarly, while the dances appear to be
honouring the Virgin and the Saints, who
can say what the dancers are really
thinking?
Many 'pagan' rituals, such as payment to
the Pachamama, are openly practised to-
day. Gone are the days of the Inquisition
which severely punished such activities. In
recent years the clergy have stopped pre-
tending that these rituals do not take place,
provided that the Indians also take part in
official Church ceremonies.
The Pope's planned visit to Peru in
(Top left) music ensemble in t h e village towns and villages. Such distinctions can February this year has been anticipated
of Checacupe t a k e part in a carnival. become blurred at fiestas in Puno itself as with great enthusiasm. It will be celebrated
Traditional musicians are an essential many Indians come in from outlying areas. by innumerable fiestas. The people of
element in Peruvian Indian fiestas and As on the Island of Taquile, life in the Paucartambo are preparing to bring their
carnivals. ( B o t t o m left) Manco Ccapac's Indian communities of the altiplano is Virgin of Carmen to Cuzco so that the
legendary landing at t h e c i t y of Puno o n
t h e shores of Lake Titicaca is re-enacted
highly collectivized. Peasants organize Pope may bless her. Paucartambo is about
every year. M a n c o Ccapac w a s t h e f i r s t themselves into groups, and work on one four hours by lorry from Cuzco. The much
Inca and is greeted by Indians f r o m another's land, common land, or in public venerated Virgin of Carmen plays a central
miles around. (Above) Indian f a m i l y works. The community assures the future role in a myth which is enacted every year
rests d u r i n g a fiesta of each individual. Similarly, when it com- by the inhabitants of Paucartambo. The
es to the organization of festivities, the drama, which involves local history, takes
Amazon River Basin who hunted wild whole community takes responsibility and the form of a ritual battle between Collas,
cameloids. The descendants of these peo- provides the food and drink. The same Indians from the high Puna, and the
ple have preserved their culture in their spirit also operates in the choreography of Chunchos. The Chunchos invariably defeat
music and dance, and in their magnificent the dances. Unlike the dances of the West, the Collas and succeed in abducting their
costumes, which are worn at fiesta time. which can be performed by a couple or beautiful Virgin.
Despite a continual process of evolution, even an individual, fiesta dances require Despite the humiliation that Indian peo-
which has destroyed and created many new the participation of everyone present. ple have suffered over the centuries, they
dances, more than 100 dances are still The significance of most dances is rooted have managed to retain their dignity. The
performed today. Some have variants in the myths and legends of the pre- living traditions which can be observed at
which take different names according to Columbian religion. Cintak'ana is a dance fiesta time represent an important aspect of
where they are performed. For example, in homage to the sacred bird Lulli, a the self respect of these serene and gentle
the sikuris mentioned above is elsewhere symbol of peace. According to Aymara people. They have managed to avoid the
called morenada or diablada. legend, Lulli would come to announce worst excesses of Western life which are so
Other dances, such as carnaval, extend good news but, since it has no longer been often evident in other parts of the conti-
across the barrier of the Quechua and seen, man has constantly suffered from nent. Many factors contribute to the gra-
Aymara languages. It is possible to disting- terrible disasters. dual break-up of traditional Andean socie-
uish between indigenous dances and ty, but it is certain that the rich folklore

T
dances which have evolved from colonial HE puli is a dance which cele- which exists today, plays a vital role in the
times. It is not, however, thought that the brates quinua, the most important equilibrium of their society.
Spanish brought folk dances to the New and ancient crop of the altiplano.
World. They only brought popular dances, Fiestas take place on Church holi- Peter Cloudsley is carrying out research for
such as the waltz, mazurca and the minuet, days dedicated to the Virgin Mary or the the Museum of Mankind on Andean
for their own pleasure. patron saint of the village. Processions musical traditions in southern Peru and the
Nearly all the dances of the altiplano are dance to the village church where mass is expedition on which this article is based was
Indian in that they are danced by campesi- heard. The clergy, of whom more than half funded in part by the Emslie Horniman
no Indians. Only the 'pandilld' is a Mestizo are foreigners, adopt a tolerant and Anthroplogical Scholarship Fund and the
dance, and therefore more often found in amused attitude. They leave the more Rivendell Trust

THE GEOGRAPHICAL MAGAZINE 89

The Living Inca Heritage by Peter Cloudsley

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The Living Inca Heritage by Peter Cloudsley