Cusco was the capital of the Inca empire – a civilisation that is not as ancient as I had imagined – it can be traced back to the 12th century and enjoyed its prime in the 100 years before the arrival of the conquistadores in 1532 (Henry VIII was King of England at this time and François 1er in France – so not that long ago…).
The Incas were particularly skilled in masonry and in agriculture (in other things too, but the ruins we visited in Chinchero, Ollantaytambo and Pisac really exemplified these aspects). Our guide, Clevar (who lived up to the anglicised version of his name!) really brought this lost civilisation to life and spoke with passion about their conception of three levels of existence – the afterlife, symbolised by the condor, the terrestrial life, symbolised by the puma, and the subterranean life (death) symbolised by the snake.
All these animals were indigenous – so their beliefs came from what they saw around them. Their gods were the sun and the rain and all these natural references were focused on one thing - agriculture – the means by which they could keep their people fed. This three-dimensional view of life is symbolised in their stonework by the three steps that can be seen in the photograph of this fountain (Ollantaytambo). Sculptures of condors, pumas and snakes were destroyed by the conquistadores but their outlines remain on many stone facades. In Pisac, Inca warriors were buried in niches in the cliff face (see photo) and, a story that James will like, with each warrior was buried a black dog, to carry him to the afterlife. Apparently, the conquistadores desecrated the tombs of some 10,000 warriors like this – each containing the skeleton of a man and a dog.
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