코리칸차(Qorikancha). 쿠스코(Cusco)

코리칸차(Qorikancha). 쿠스코(Cusco). 페루(Peru)

 

 

 

 

 

The original of this line drawing forms part of the chronicle "relation of the antiquities of this kingdom of Piru" written around 1613 by Joan de Santa Cruz Pachacuti Yamqui Salcamaygua, native author, descendant of the governors of the provinces of Canas and Canchis. The image illustrate the cults of the temple of Qorikancha of the Inca times. It must be taken into account that the drawing was made many years after these cults were expelled from Qorikancha, thus the author couldn't know them from his own experience. His information probably was based on the oral tradition of his society.

 

The image is usually intrepreted as a representation of the interior wall, as the main altar or as the facade of the Inca temple with the figures attached to its surface, but the text of the chronicle does not give precise references about it. Some researches see in Pachacuti's drawing. A scheme of the andean cosmology (Roberto Lehmann-Nitsche, Gary Urton), others consider that the image was inspired by the structure of Catholic altars (Ana Sanchez Pierre Duviols). Probably it was a result of both influences: The indigenous and the european.

 

The drawing includes comments written by the side of each element in three languages: Spanish, Quechua and Aymara.

 

Convento De Santo Domingo - Qorikancha

 

1. Orcorara, Que quiere decir tres estrellas todas iguales

 

2. Uiracochan Pachayachachi

    Imagen del Hacedor y Tierra

UIRACOCHAN PACHAYACHACHI (Wira-qochan Pachayachachi), in Quochuo - "Teacher of the world" The author of the drawing comments that this element was a golden plate, round or oval, that symbolized the creator of the world Wiraqocha, who was the supreme deity of the Incas according to the Pachacuti Yamquis chronicle. The plate was made by the order of the first ruler Inca Manko Qapaq and renewed in the times of the fourth ruler Inca Mayta Qapaq. The penultimate ruler Inca Waskar ordered to replace it with an image of the sun, thus the original disk of Wiracocha did not survive until the Spanish Conquest.

 

3. Inti (SOL)

INTI, in Quechua - the sun, the second most important deity in the Inca pantheon after Wiraqocha. In many chronicles the sun is mentioned as the mythical ancestor of the Inca royal dynasty (Gracilaso de la Vega and other authors)

 

4. Qilla (Luna)

QUILLA (killa), in Quechua - the moon. According to the Inca mythology, the wife of the sun and the patroness of the queens (wives of the Incas).

 

5. Chazca Coyllor Achachi Ururi, Lucero De La Mamana

CHAZCA COYLLOR (ch'aska qoyllur), in Quechua - "curly star" or "big and bright star"; achachi ururi, in Aymara - "grandfather star".The word "ch'aska" in colonial Quechua usually referred to the planet Venus of the dawn. Probably in the prehispanic times the identity of Venus as both the morning and he evening star was unknown (R. Lehmann-Nitsche). The planet Venus in the Inca mythology, according some chronicles, was a servant and a companion of the sun (Garcilaso de la Vega).

 

6. Choqe Chinchay Apachi Orori, (Lucero) De La Tarde

CHOQUE CHINCHAY (choqe chinchay), in Quechua - 'golden feline": apachi orori (apachi ururi), in Aymara - "grandmother star". R. Lehman-Nitsche interprets this element as the planet Venus of the everyday

 

7. Sucsu (O Huchu), Verano

 

8. Pocoy, Invierno, Niebla Nube

 

9. Chuqe Ylla O Yllapa, Rayo

 

10. Catahillay

CATACHILLAY (the etymology of the word remains unclear) - a star or constellation representing a female llama with her kid,  according to the chronicles of Polo de ondegardo. B. Cobo, J. de Acosta, A. de la Calancha and others. T. Zuidema attributes this name at the same time to the Pleiades and to Alpha and Beta Centauri. G. Urton comments that in the astronomic beliefs of the Quechua Indians of our days, the stars Alpha and Beta Centauri are called "llama nawi" (eyes of the llama), while the silhouettes of the animal and its kid form a "dark constellation" black spot in the Milky Way.

 

11. Chacana En General

CHACANA (chakana), in Quechua - "bridge" or "crossbeam", a link that joins two opposite sides of smth. In the colonial Quechua dictionary of Gonzalez Holguin this name was used for the "Three Maries" (three stars of the Orion's belt). G. Urton points that today this name still has the same meaning in some rural areas. It is also applied to other three bright stars of the constellation of Canis Major. Both Chakanas can be intrepreted as bridges that cross the Milky Way (celestial river). R. Lehman-Nitsche intreprets the Chakana as the Southern Cross, constellation of four stars, but it is possible that two of the four stars in the drawing (the ones that have no proper names) do. not belong to the original image drawn by Pachacuti, but were added later by another hand.

 

12. Saramanca     13. Coramanca

SARAMANCA and CORAMANCA (sara-manka and qora-manka), in Quechua - "pot of corn" and "pot of herbs/weed". In the Quechua dictiionary of Gonzales Holguin, the weed (ccora) appears in opposition to the corn in two proverbs ("The weed doesn't let the corn grow as if it were watered with urine" and "The sins don't let the virtue grow as the weed don't let the crops grow"). "Sara" and "qora" express two opposite concepts: the positive and the negative.

 

14. Cuychi O Turo Manya, Arco Del Cielo

CUYCHI or TURO MANYA (k'uychi), in Quecha - "rainbow".

According to Garcilaso's chronicle, the rainbow was an emblem of the Inca dynasty. In the Pachacuti Yamqui's text, the rainbow appeared at the moment when Manko Qapaq arrived at the Cusco valley and decided to settle there the capital city. A rainbow in the sky was considered to be a good omen, but it was also believed to cause certain diseases.

 

15. Mama Pacha O Camac Pacha, Mundo O Tierra

MAMA PACHA or CAMAC PACHA (mama pacha or kamaq pacha), in Quechua - "mother earth" or "producing earth", female deity, and symbol of fertility, which is venerated in the Andes to this day.

 

16. Chuqe Chinchay (Jaguar De Oro), Granizo

 

 

17. Mama Cocha (Mar)

MAMA COCHA (mama qocha), in Quechua - "mother sea", female deity that provides fish and other foods. It can be interpreted as the Pacific ocean or the Titicaca lake.

 

18. Pucyo (Manan-Tial)

 

 

19. Pilco Mayo (Rio)

 

 

20. Ymaymana Naoraycunap Nauin, Ojos (De Todas Las Cosas)

 

 

21. Hombre  22. Mujer

MAN and WOMAN - the two figures are dressed according to the Inca tradition and possibly represent the emperor (Sapa Inca) and his wife (Qoya).

 

23. Mallqui Arbol

 

 

24. Collcampata (Almacenes)

COLLCAMPATA (qolcan-pata), in Quechua - literally, "place of granaries" or "terrace of granaries". This name was used for the lands in Cusco assigned to the temple of Qorikancha. Colca (qolca) in old and new Quechua means also "the constellation of the Pleiades", which was considered to be the protector of the crops, thus an alternative reading could be: " a place dedicated to the Pleiades".

 

* The Quechua terms between parenthesis are transcribed according to the Quechua-Spanish-Quechua Dictionary of the Major Academy of theQuechua Language (1995)

 

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