5 Co ropuna Lost Mountain Temp! of the Incas Johan Reinbard n 1989, the Peruvian archacologise José Antonio Chavéz and I tatmed up to look for the fost II temple of Coropuna, Goropuna (21,079°%6425m) is the highest peak in southwestern Peru, Not suxpris: ingly, ie was one of the most sacred mountainsof the Inca empire, Cieza del LeGn, the renowned chronicler of Inca customs, wrote ia 1593 thac there was once a vemple on Coropuna. This temple was the Inea’s fifth mast impor- tant shrine. Alas, no descriptions of the temple survive, and even its location has been « mystery For centuries. Background According to Cieza de Ledn, the revered temple of Coropuna seceived as many visitors.as the fourotheelnea temples of Corieancha, Huanacauri, Vilesnora and Ancocagua. He describes the pilgrimages of Inca emper ‘ors and other important officials wo Coropuna, where they sacrificed livestock, birds, and humans, and offered up gold, silves, and other riches, Guaman Pome noted Johan Reinhard, Ph.D., eurroutly an Explover-in-Residence: lal the Nattental Geograpbie Societs. He has conducted Lanidreapolotea! researeb tr the Andes since 1950. Continued on p26. Number 58, Winter 1999 5Coropura, continued fron p.5 the sacrifices of uvelve year old chil: ren nd ses in decail che ceremonial offerings of goose ane amine feat ets, coca leaves, seashells (rao, the rare Spondylus seashell). guines pigs, raw meat, and sanco, llama blood mixed with carn meal, According co {Hiram Bingham, villagers were stillof- fering “idols” on the slopes of the mountain in 1865, ceremonial offerings of goose and flamingo feathers, coca leaves, seashells, guinea pi raw meat, and sanco, Hama blood mixed with corn meal. Gaaman Poma wrote that the many priests artencling the temple in chuled those high in the Inca hierar chy. Ochers performing remple services inchided manaccsras, women specially selected for this: purpose. The temple did not lack for offerings of livestock and the harvest of whole fields were dedicated to it, The temple attracted pilprims from all over the empite, ‘The Cosopuna deity spoke through an oracle, and, unlike the deities at other temples, would make pronouncements at any time of the year. Joumey to Achaymaze: During the 1980s, Thad climbed a number oF Andean peaks looleing for archacological sites. Reading up on Coropana, Hound only brief summa: ries of archaeological surveys for the area around Coropuna, Maueallacta ‘was the only Inca site om the slopes of Coropuns higher than 4,000m, and. 10 archaeological work had been done on an Inca site anywhere near che moun- tain. In 1988, Jose briefly visited ‘haymarea, a site at4,030m near the western base of Coropuna, From what he saw of the suins and their location near the mountain, he helieved it quite likely the site was the temple of Coropuna, Inv 1989, Jose and I set out for Achaymiarca to «est this hypothesis. Shining Path guerrillas had heen seen in the area, so we didn’t dawalle. Pho: cographing the rains, we sketched rough plan of the area, then climbed up the Inca teail on che western slope of the mouneain 0 5,500 m, where it dlisappeaced beneath the glacier About 12 kmbelors Achaymasca, Jose and | came across some ruins we named Ajocancha aftera nearby gully. Here we found a plara approximatcly 17x48 m wich a hali-lozen structures buile ear its western wall, Rough boulders bordered both che eastern and southern sides, Steps cut into one of the boulders led up to the plaza, where shards lay scatiered about on the Close to the mountain, doesnot appeario have been 4 major site—possibly only a place for small groups to perform rituak, High on the westem side of Lake Pallacocha (4,730 mi, we found more ruins—stone seructures everlooking the lake, From here, we had a fine view of Coropuina, reflected in the water below. Alas, we found no shards to date the coROPUNA, ‘Astronomy and Cosmology 's Achaymarcas location an the wesier side of Coropura evidenre of Inean astronamy ar cosmology? Certainly, an observer in Achayrnatca would 98 the sun rise behind Corapuna tor most o! the year Al the Sepismber equine, the ‘sun wauid se behing the rorthernmest tip atthe mountain, Corapune'stivs main sums. are early the same height. From the September equinas tothe Dezen- ber soistice, the su maves in an so ove! tna mountain, This pe- fod, a lime of planting and nar 9 dolore Ihe rainy season vas, ant sills, of vial impor ‘ance to Andean peoplesand is a ‘ime of many ‘tity rituals ana vals. Although the impo: o# of the equinox in inca be ta liefs is stil debated, solstioes played a key ro in Inca roligir Its gartans no ovincidence tt the December solstice ne (114° as seen (rom Achaymatca), ads drexly to Ajocanena The sacred mountain Solimara’s also visible rom Achaymarca, In 1589, Alboriozwrote ofthe col W3ts al Sodmana ar Ma ve Sih as dadcaed tals sevice Pre-incan peuple living nearay bulievec the mourizin tobe thei” cieator, Today, many view Salinana asa alae whet souls reside, ¢ mounlain rich in gold ang silver, These wha live o4 Goranuras sloges al he preset time iaod upon Selirana as fe wale, one ofthe mos! venerated al datas, a goadess c plantand anima! fertily 6 South American Explorerruins. Still, since the structures were close to the crail to Ajocancha and re- sembled the strictures we'd seen there, we deemed itlikely they were Incan. (In- terestingly, in Quechua, “palla” means “noble woman” “lake.” To the Incas, lakes were often seen as and “cocha," female—consorts of mountain gods. This belief persists in the Andes «this day The suins of Achaymarea lie be | Coropuna. ‘The main complexis a cen- «cal walled plaza approximately 160° 110 m with an artificial raised plac- form (ushau), Over nwo hundred stroctures surround the plaza, and we found shards of inean pottery tying about. | could discem no astronomi- cal alignments of the plaza walls, al- though the southern wall, at 110" est, is close to the December solstice sun- rise. Another section of wall on the ha ‘ween the mountains of Solimana at The9 x6 mand 2.$ mhigh usb, builtin part of worked stone, is found ion the southern side of the plaza. ‘The remains of a stairway are still visible oon the platform's northern side, Ma joreeremonies took place en such plat Forms, which playeda key role in Inca worship. Because of this, made a point of destroying them as they obliterated the indigenous reli- 00. To find a relatively intact plac foorm suet as this is rare ip the Ances. Several well-buile structures, in- cluding a few with worked stone, lie near the south wall ofthe phiza—pre- sumably buildings ased by the Inea elite. More than 200 structures were built outside che central plaza. These rough-stone buildings may have housed those lower in the social hier- arehy. A walled compound lies some 70 m east othe plaza, and 100 m be yond this one finds a large group of ~maqurintcs north side of the plaza, at ca, 95" (he. ‘oriented 10 the east), is aligned with the northern summit of Gorapuna, It's Unclear if these were mtentional align- ments or mere coincidence. platform such as this is rare in the Andes. Pit Excocte ruins, We found other structures 150 sm north of the plaza and 50m orsoto the west, but none tothe east ar north- east to the Coropana masstt South, west, and east of the main complex, we came across nearly a dozen chullpes—funerary towers. Some were in good condition and con- tained bones, and in one measuring 2 3x 2m, we found four skeletons, Inca ruins haye been found in other areas near Coropuna, but all these sites are small and lack the fine ——— GOROPUNA, SPIRIT WORLD From Inca times ts the gvesent Cropura has been linked with the Head, Nealy 50D years ago, Guarran Para wioie othe spris glhcing al Coropuna. Bolt Valderrama end Escalante wits ancut people ving to ay in the province of Cotabamtas. Hera, many believe that Saint Petr holds the key toe door an Gorapuna Tinough this door pss the souls ot ihe deat. The daor faces east and 1s reoutedly surrounded by twelve lower mountains which quad it, Al Pasi, rorhwest af Corepuna, people also believe Coropune te be (ne abode a he dead There are vaviatians oF Conoaure’s ‘alo, Seme bolieye the mountain tobe a kind of pucgatory. For exemple, Ogsio a8 told chat souls reeching Cocopuna are raed of inerites be fore they pass of to heaven. Ra ture of others ha believeth souls rough Corapana an reute to ater volcanoes, finally ending ug in Solmasa, Biagharn was tad there was a warm paradise alop Coropuna where souls tallied on thei naaven, The belief that the dead side ip mourtains is widespread throughout the Andes and may come from me once wider held view that |}) some people were sessendecl tram mountain deities. sw haveseen,hurerany Lowers were buill near Coropura in pre-Hispanis times, in 1965 avillageciseaverec to funerary nundles on Cornaune, Some suspected they ad been sera on he ‘sri Jot later earned hath bodes ‘ere found on be ower shes. Theres rating abut the ties ty indicate ru ransaciic, thoughts ikl such sa rifoes dd aoc SSS Number 58, Winter 1999) uF owgoronuna Depertinent Rreauipa masonry and other significant religious characteristics of Achaymarca. Fur theemore, the mountain is not visible from many of these lesser ruins, and visibility would seem rather important in a temple complex dedicated to Coropuna, ‘The cuins Bingham de- serihed finding on the slopes of Coropuna are minor and clearly not those we found in Achaymarca. There isscant evidence to support Bingham’s claim thac the ruins he describes. are the temple of Coropuna. Our detailed on-site examination comvinced horh José and myself that the ruins at Achayenay the Inca temple of Coropana mentioned in the cheonicles. We believe the evi a arethe remains of dence eupporting this conclusion iscom ng For one, Achaymarea meets all the obvious requirements for a shrine, OF all the sites on theslopes of Coropuna dating to the Inca period, Achaymarca is the most significant, possessing scructures both for an elite and for re ligiousceremonial purposes. Certainly tie complex could easily have accom- modared the numerous visi- tors pouring in from distant areas, as described by Cieza deL on. The sitefurthermore provides views of Coropuna {and to the rising sun hebind it), as well as mountain Solimana. Both mountains were sacred deities 10 the Incas when the Spanish ar- rived, Achaymarea’s position between the ‘we mountains would surely enhance its tei gious significance, Near the year round Inca settlements in the Anma Valley, the Incas harvested bountiful erops bom a 10km section of che valley where crops ate grown to this day From the fields came grain £0 feed the priests ond marnaconas dedicated to the service the temple at Achaymarca as well asthe many local servants and pilgrims who traveled there from many regions. It would have been difficult to maintain such a temple complex at a higher elevation or ina more remote area. Indeed, it would be hard to find a place herter situated jorrel:gious purposes close to the resources needed to support it. Why did the slers say so little about Coropuna? chronit In short, the evidence supporting, Achaymarea as che temple of Coropuna is substantial, Given the above, its fainly cercain that we have established the location of the temple of Coropuna, which has been un- known for centuries The question remains: Why did the chroniclers say so little abour Coropuna? This is puzzling, consider ing thar Cieza de Léon stresses the temple's importance. However Coro puna is not alone in this respect. Both Vilcanota and Ancocagua, third and Fourth on Cieza de Léon’ list of the five most important Inca temples, are similarly not described in any detail in the chronicles. Built in relatively iso- lated areas and their whereabouts eventually forgotten, all three temples were langely overlooked by alacer gen eration of historians and archaeolo. gists. Cieza de Lon was among, the earliest chroniclers of Inca religion af ter the Spanish conquest of 1532. When other chroniclers began writing in the late 15003, Coropuna would have been a distant memory. There remains much to learn about the temple of Coropuna. Among, other things, excavarion will shed mote fight onthe remple’sfunction, itsrekutionship ‘with other Inca sites in the region, and the origin of ts polgrims, Further study fof this important temple is certain to bbroaden our knowledge of Inca religion and practice in one of the least knows regions of the Inca empire. 8 South American Explorerfortunately, there's Fle infor mation in the chronicies about meant the Incas. Bul U what Gorapur In 1583, Albosnoe wrate that the Incas vererated the mountatns tal “faced the ocean” over other mountains because from these peaks towed water tat al- lowod the desert ta bloom, Ulloa Mogollon does not speeitisly mension Coropune, but in 1886, rewrote thal the Incas worshiped snow-canped peaks as the source of water they used to irrigate their fields, Indeed, glacial met fram Coroguna is the main source o! water for miles around. To the Incas. Coropune was suraly a mountain god ley ‘noha to for wate, good weater, and bountiful ciops. Even tolay, those whe live a9 its slopes warship Coropura for its lite-giving waters above all other mountains in the area Its iso likely that Caropuna was re vered forts distinctive powers ove ve stock as well as crops. There is men tian in 1683 of an increase in llama and alpaca hotds nvar Sara Sara, anatner ‘mourvain worshiped by the Incas far to the west of Coropuna, People iving there still make offerings to he maun- tain god Corapuna to increase their breeds, Coropura is likewise worshiped ‘oy heiders of weol-bearing animals in the Arequipa region COROPUNA Mountain God of the Andes tn Quechua, caro" for oro") r oft’, "Pura" fers fo “he cold highlands *Coroquna’ thus dseries the mountzin’s truncated summit, How the. summit 0 Coropuna wot lopped olf is recounted in 2 legend from the province of Chumbivileas. In this legend a great tate took place b swoon Caropuna andi dey snawn as Inca, Aller cealing Alga Victoria, 2 valley al the heaters othe Valle fiver, Inca oult a canal thet wound dovn the sloses of Coropuna te the south. When ha wee fin shed, Caropuna urivated, Ther Inca urinated om top of Corapuna, end the mountain be- carve preanart. A child was born, When lea rafisad to recognize it as his, Corogune at tacked io with fre In fighting vac, Inca beoke off Coranune's summit with stones {rom his sing, Then toessape the five, Inca ‘ow inta the ake al Vileanota lo vesutfaee in Alga Victoria in Chumbivilicas, From ne dispatened carved stones for the can strution of Cuzoa, ul It would be impossible to bul a canal rom Cormpuna to Chumbivilsas and Cuzco, 100 kms to the southwest and ina different wa- lershet. Sil the lepend serves to syboli- nk these regions. The legend further oropuna ta the Incas, who indzed anner built temples on Coropunas siopes. Fas! af Coropuna, the Collagea people in habited the Celca Valley Interestingly, inthe chronicles we See that in 1586 they spoke of ‘hele ancastars who came trom Golaquata, a thee the colonists Aleman mentions as ming to Corogure may well have been ‘rom the Churaivtieas region Yelanclns Andean egend, is eoorded in the 1980s, rexounts a battle between Coropsnaand Huaiea Huale, a mountai hal towers above the Cols Valley thls legand, Hualea Hualca blocked the sun's ays in the morning. This angeree Coropuna. The gods fougat ith sings, and Hualca Hualca stuck Corapura inthe head with a boulder, From this wound, blood awed aut tc forma lake, Boulders said te have been troan by Coropura sa stil ve seen a the slopes ot Hu Hula Until rsceat times, Gabanacone villag- 21s, who believed tnemseles desnendec Irom the Hualca Hualea diety, kept this legend alive with staged battles, stinging ‘poles an fruit instead al stones, These ‘ceremanil clzshes ‘ook pace in Febru- ary.a month of aoricultura festivals when ollerings ate nade lo Parhamamna and the ‘mountain deities ‘ara suovesstl harvest Just in other partsol ‘he Andes, villag rs looked uson tne biaod shed in bale as an offering ta local wstias to Increase fest Thee aeodern-day myths abou Compara Inne, te mountain god SaraSara gave al of its nes to Coropuna, This accounts for why Sara Sa fks the minal and ele ha Compura tas abun, Number 58, Winter 1999 29 volcano near Alga Yictorie. This suggestAcknowledgements The writing of this arciele was made pos siMle thanks to 4 fellowshipy {No, RO- 2229-91) from the National Endowment for the Humanities. My research on sav real goography’ in southern Pera as ia volved numerous visits undertakes since 1981. Organizations that supplied princt pal funuling were che National Geographic Society, Rolex Moueres, the Organization ‘of American States, and the Sox: Research Council, Additional support was provided by Joseph and Sharon Richardson and Bob snd Neney Meritt Research in the Department of Arequipa -atly {wilicared by the: sctute of Culeure, The Orcopampa Min: ing Company kindly assisted as by sup. ional In- plyinga vehicle and drives L would like to express my geatieude to all these people and insticutions for theie suppose Je would he impossible to name all the in: dividuals who in one way or anather eon teibuced to my wesearch in southern Por ‘over a period of more than a dosen years Howeser the failoviing people were espe cially helpful wich ceyard 10 the topic af ‘hig article; Joanna Burkhardt, Federica Kauffmann, Eloy Linates, Maximo Nera, and Maurica Romaia. 1 owe special thanks to José Antonio Chavez for hisin saluable assistance during trips to the ar chacological sites of the Department of Arequipa, expecially to Caropuna, and 10 cur companions to Corapuaa: Jose Zamallca, Miguel Zarate, and Ldaanto Saljero. 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