"Milky Way" Painting. 코리칸차(Qorikancha). 쿠스코(Cusco)

"Milky Way" Painting. 코리칸차(Qorikancha).

쿠스코(Cusco). 페루(Peru)

 

 

The painting by the Cusco-born artist Miguel Araoz shows the Milky Way in the firmament over Cusco. In the Andes, the Milky Way is known as Mayu (Celestial River). In traditional Andean culture it is more common to identify the dark patches that can be seen against the bright background of the Milky Way and see them as the silhouettes of animals that go to the river to drink, casting their shadows across its brightness.

 

 

Pastor Shepherd                                                   Zorro (Atoq) Fox

Llama-Cria Baby-Llama                                          Llama

Perdiiiii (Yutu) Partridge                                           Sapo (Hamp'atu) Toad

Serpiente (Machacuay) Snake

 

 

 

 

La Vía Láctea En La Astronomía Inca

 

Milky Way in Inca Astronomy

The deities venerated in Qorikancha were personified celestial bodies and meteorological phenomena. In order to understand these beliefs, it is necessary to make reference to Inca astronomy, which is known to us through some brief mentions in colonial chronidcles and through the folk astronomy of Quechua communities of today.

 

The painting by the Cusco artist Miguel Araoz Cartagena shows the Milky Way over Cusco, in the months of July and August, when the sky is clear and most of the astronomical phenomena venerated by the Incas can be easily observed.

 

In the Andes, the Milky Way is called 'mayu' (celestial river). Unlike the Western constellations composed of groups of stars, the Andean culture distinguishes dark spots against the light background of the Milky Way and identifies them with silhouettes of animals that have come to drink its waters and darken its shining with their shadows. These spots are called "yana phuyu" (black clouds). on the right hand side of the painting Machaguay, or the big water serpent, appears. In the centre, two small figures of Yutu (partridge) and Hamp'atu (toad) can be seen. They are followed by the female llama with two shining eyes corresponding to the stars Alpha and Beta Centauri. Underneath in the upside-down position is her cub, the baby llama. The llamas are chased by the fox (Atoq) with red eyes. In some communities, a figure of the shepherd, with his arms extended towards the llamas, is seen in place of the fox. His legs coincide with the rear paws of the fox.

 

The chronicle of Polo de ondegardo, dating to 1585, reads: "... They adore two other ［stars］... called Catuchillay y Urcuchillay, that pretend to be a sheep ［llama］with a lamb... They also adore another star, Machacuay, which is in charge of ll the Serpents and Snakes, so that they do not dothem any evil, and in general they ［the Incas］, believed that all the animals and birds had their likeness in the sky, whose responsibility was their procreation and augmentation". Possibly, when speaking about "stars", Polo de ondegardo referred to 'yana phuyu", a concept which is totally strange to Western astronomy and thus could not be fully understood by the author of the chronicle.

- 안내문에서 -

 

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