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In the Andean culture, of
agropastorale root, the ground and water
have a cardinal importance.
Since thecInca time, the Andean people have
to face the problems of water for their
cultures, and many made zones desert fertile,
thanks to the irrigation.
Thereafter, Incas improved and built other
irrigation canals in various parts of the
Andes. In same time a religion emerged where
protective gods of the life appeared, among
which water.
The Andean people learned their design
and cosmovision from water by oral examination
in tales and legends and other narrations.
Lack of écritureest one of the major
problems that the specialists meet in their
study of the prehispanic culture. If the
myths are preserved, it is thanks to the
oral tradition which transmits them from
generation to generation. There are not
thus texts directly left by the people,
the only remainders are archaeological,
or come from the famous chronicles written
by the Spanish extirpateurs of idolatry.
These chronicles are a species of register
of myths, legends, fables and descriptions
of festivals and ceremonies. One finds described
there, the design that the inhabitants of
Peru had water, hail, of snow and their
religious belief in connection with supernatural
beings and gods who produce, protect and
are Masters of these phenomena and sources
of water.
Water in the various cultures
The Greeks with Thalès de Mileto
believed that any Being held its origin
of the four elements:
Water, Ground, Air, Fire.
Greeks and Romans divinisèrent the
rivers, the rivers, the lakes and the sources.
The Egyptians called upon Krum, god of
the rivers and the cataracts. For them,
the Nile went down from the sky to convert
itself into a large benefactor
The Semites adored God who transcended
cosmos. Water was symbol of grace (baptism,
forgiveness, purification, blessing) and
of punishment (the flood).
The prehispanic cultures venerated nature,
considering that the cosmic phenomena were
the result of actions of supernatural beings.
These religions are called animists.
The worship of water in the Pre-Incas
culture
"Paccha" is a Quechua term which
means water fall, cataract. The term can
also refer to a fountain or a small water
artificiele fall of an irrigation canal
for example. Its origin is an onomatopoeia
which comes from the sound "pak"
that water makes while falling on the stone.
The Pre-Incas cultures practised an agriculture
whose production rested primarily on the
irrigation. They had a pointed knowledge
in hydraulics, which enabled them to channel
water to vast surfaces where there was not.
The channels represented massive projects
of construction based on great investments
of corporative work.
For example, the channel of Cumbre in the
North of Peru, which connects several basins
between them, 84Km measurement and were
built between 1200 and 1100 before Jesus
Christ by Chimú under the Chimor
emperor. From 900 AVJC, Chimú built
an empire which extended from the equator
until the center of Peru with large surfaces
of cultures to the coast. Their empire etait
mainly based on a perfect control of the
irrigation.
The technical prowess of this channel does
not lie in its length for the time, but
well in its control of and the respect level
lines of the laws of gravity in the heart
of the complex geography of the Andes.
The civilizing role of water or domination
of water by the man
"water is an element which the man
must dominate for the construction of his
culture".
However water plays a part different in
each culture according to the ' geographical
site from the population.
For example, the Egyptians knew to overcome
the hostility of the desert thanks to the
Nile.
In the Andes, the challenge for the man
was the irregularity of the ground. The
rivers, which drain the water of all the
valley, go down quickly in the content from
the valley or disappear in breaks from ground,
it is thus necessary to provide a mechanical
work to go up it and be able to use it on
the slopes and in the plains. It is thus
necessary to prevent from letting this water
leave at the bottom the valley.
The challenge was to build andennes (terraces)
to use water directly on the slopes and
of the stoppings and canals irrigation to
recover water and to multiply the production
thanks to the irrigation.
This knowledge of water is not clean that
in Incas (beginning of expansion about 1100),
Nazcas (former to Incas) brought already
the water of the snow-covered mountains
and made him cross the deserts in underground
channels in order to limit the losses evaporation.
The fact that ancient Peru is known as
being for us large people of farmer finds
its justification in the philosopher's stones
of the engineers in hydraulics. They worked
with a high degree of accuracy and had a
perfect command of the problems of level
knowing that only the gravitating force
enabled them to transport the water of a
point to another.
Not important which leaves still today the
experts perplexed and admiring, these people
did not have the knowledge of the theodolite
(portable instrument of astronomy and topography
being used for measuring the angles, calculating
the slope of the ground, etc...).
The worship of water
Note: When one speaks about an INCA Emperor,
one says the INCA. It is seen like it higher,
civilizing being equipped with supernatural
capacities. In order to stop any resistance
at the time of colonization, Spanish of
Pizarro made dismember the corp the last
INCA Tupac Amaruet and they dispersed it
in the mountain.
Example of some practices:
To October when it did not rain, one attached
a black LAMA female on the place of the
village and one left it without eating nor
to drink until it rains.
Elsewhere, on order of the INCA Huyana
Capac one had put two containers filled
with water on the summit of the highest
mountain. In this manner people of the place
asked that water falls to this place.
Water symbol of fertility
One reports the existence of pilgrimages
to the fountain where one sent a couple
of children or teenagers, one representing
the sun and the other the moon (the moon
symbolized sometimes the rain).
A part of the rite of the couple simulated
the matrimonial rite with the symbolic system
of the fertility. The archaeological vestiges
do not confirm the assumption of sacrifice
of couples of children. On the other hand
it y have sacrifices of young virgins as
confirms it the discoveries in the mounts
of the valley of Colca.
Water is the symbol of the fertility because
it fertilizes the ground. This is highly
represented in certain place like Machu
Picchu, Pisac, Kenko, Koricancha where there
are "pacchas" stone (symbolizing
cascades) where the liquid leaves by the
representation of a phallus or a phallic
emblem.
The watery rites of purification of water
were important. They made it possible to
be washed physically and spiritually. The
water of the bath is regarded besides as
fertilizing. Water made also its appearance
in the ritual of deaths. Definitively to
separate the life from dead one was to wash
clothing of death.
Incas also thought that deaths suffered
from thirst and for this reason one was
to offer water to them, in this belief on
the late ones are connected with that of
the Semites.
That which crosses a water court, must
drink the water of this one not to be wounded
by him.
Divinized water
Certain animals were closely related to
the life of the sources like the batrachians,
the snakes, the birds and the mammals. In
fact they are all the amnimaux ones which
lived close to water or which drank spring
water.
Huiracocha or Illa Ticsi Wira Cocha is
a divinity associated with the sea, it is
the great creator of all things in cosmogony.
It is the main god of the world. In the
hierarchie, it is located above the sun
and of the moon, it is him which was going
on the sea from there. It is thus supposed
that it is him that Incas saw returning
while seeing the Spaniards arriving at the
time of colonization. This god is always
associated water because it carried out
hydraulic works.
Mama Qocha (Madre Mar) is another goddess
who remains still today, it is called upon
by the villages to have water for the cultures.
As Incas were animists, they believed that
all the things which surrounded them had
a divine gasoline, a heart. They thus made
also a worship direct to water, the sources,
the rivers...
Some myths and legends
The virgin of the sky and her water
small jug:
The legend tells that "That which Fait"
put in the sky a virgin with a jug full
of water. Like the jug was broken by the
brother of the virgin, water leaves by the
openings at the base and on the sides. Noise
of the water which tomb gives the thunder
and the flashes. Water, let us hail them
or snow are produced by the virgin.
The man comes from water and the Flood:
In the INCA culture, the Man is born from
water, it is directly generated by the lake
Titicaca.
In other prehispanic cultures, there is
even the flood where only a couple accompanied
or not by some children is saved. Thereafter
it repopulates the ground while reproducing
or while making some leave men and animals
all things of which lakes, rivers, trees,
mountains....
Pacificatory water:
At the Pre-Incas time, the zone of Huarochini
was inhabited by two ethnic groups which
guerroyaient sovereignty on this territory.
Yungas of the coast and Yauyo of the sierra.
The need for finding water to drink obliged
them to link and celebrate great festivals
which are told by Fransisco de Avila.
Water, gift of the gods:
The Pariacaca god is one day enthusiast
of a virgin, and to arrive at his ends,
it offered much water to him to irrigate
corn. Pariacaca improved and widens an existing
irrigation canal and in this way water made
come to irrigate the corn fields of San
Lorenzo de Quinti. Conquered, the virgin
from went away with the god. He led it to
the mouth and mother of the irrigation canal
where she remained transformed into stone
to which the natives of the place still
return a worship.
Collquiri is the god owner of the lake
Yarnsa which is the source of Rio Lurín
at Yauyos.
Capiama is a virgin of a village which has
a magic small jug of chicha (kind of made
fermented corn beer). It and its village
suffer from a lack of water for the irrigation
of the cultures of corn, quinoa and oca.
One day, the who got excited god of the
virgin, it was allured and was to live with
him in the lake. The family of the virgin
sought it and having found it, it recriminated
the god to have to remove the girl of the
one and the sister of the others. To alleviate
them, the god promised to bring water to
the village. It built underground channels
and made spout out three sources of which
one in top of the village of Yampilla is
called Capiama.
Jealous, the village close to Concha, rival
of Yampilla, claimed with the god of the
favours. Collquiri in its great kindness
built a stopping to them on the lake to
give water in abundance to the village of
Concha.
Water in the contemporary Quechua culture
Two places were particularly studied by
the sociologists and archaeologists: the
valley of Colca and San Pedro de Casta.
As soon as they arrived, the Spaniards tried
to eliminate all existing traces of religion,
especially at the time of the stage called
eradication of idolatry. Whereas many of
other worships do not exist today any more,
that of water could not be extirpated, not
only because it was strong but also because
it forms part of the annual cycle of the
cultures and that it is thus regarded as
essential for the life.
The festival of water has different name
according to the communities where they
are carried out: Yarqa Haspiz, limpia of
acequia (maintenance of the channels), champeria...
It is acted in fact of a collective work
to maintain the systems hydraulic of the
community. One occupies oneself of the physical
washing of the channels but also of his
spiritual washing, one renews the pact passed
with the owner of water so that they continue
to irrigate and to cause production of the
ground of the community.
It is the conjunction of collective work
and of the festival but also the occasion
to return a worship has protective supernatural
beings of the man. One made there offerings
in strategic places of the hydraulic system,
but also at the top of the mountains and
in the villages; these offerings are intended
to the gods giving water and to the protective
gods in general.
Hydraulic work is done before sowings.
In these localities, any culture depends
on the water of irrigation, it is thus important
to clean the channels before they do not
start to distribute water. One brings offerings
to the source of water, the hydrant and
the strategic places of the hydraulic system
like a dangerous or underground passage.
Many works of irrigation asked for the
union of various communities. In San Pedro
de Casta, meet the communities of Carampoma,
Mitmaq and Laraos to carry out the maintenance
of a channel which profits to them with
all. This inter-commune co-operation makes
it possible to preserve the hydraulic systems,
leads the population to carry out the same
rite, allows that they meet for their activities
and allows that the authorities come into
contact periodically and make consensual
decisions in a democratic way.
At the same time as the cleaning of the
channels and the tanks the worship of water
remains.
In a hydraulic work, the Master is different
from the mythical manufacturer.
For example, in the case of Yanque Hanansayo,
Waranqante was the manufacturer of the work,
but the Master is the mountain of Waranqante
and it is in its hands that is the capacity
to give water more or less.
Example of ceremony:
The ceremony is divided into several parts.
There are mainly three offerings from the
exit of the village: at midnight in the
house of Yaku alcalde (the mayor of water),
another halfway with the source and another
with the source at daybreak, it is the principal
offering.
Then with place the maintenance and the
repair of the channels, festive work which
lasts between 1 and 3 days according to
the length of the channels.
Another important moment of the ceremony
is the innondation of the channels and the
arrival of water to sowings. Sometimes in
the villages where there is a "paccha"
(cascades artificial of the principal channel),
one closes the channel with mud. With the
source, a man releases water and runs with
a flag beside it when it descends the channel
towards the low part. There everyone awaits
vêtu of festival. When water arrives,
they play of the music and water breaks
the stopping and fall with great crashes.
The women have an important role since it
are put along the channel and at the time
when water and mud pass close to it, it
launches chicha (corn beer) of their small
jug and immediately fill them of water which
they drink with enthusiasm. A great festival
of fence follows where one dances and one
drinks all the night.
In these ceremonies, the division of the
tasks and the assignment of the functions
according to the sex and the age to an important
role. Not only for the aspect social organization
but also for the ritual.
Thanks to this ritual it is not discussed
any more of which must make maintenance
and to which belongs the channels. It is
the good of all and that your field is in
top or bottom of the mountain everyone provides
same work. Water is not either one of, it
is a gift of the gods and any failure towards
this gift or the god involves the loss of
the liquid benefactor.
Water symbol of fertility:
Waiting of water by the women the legs drawn
aside with the top of the channel is the
clear symbol of the masculinity of the water
and the femininity of the ground. The ground
is softened to be fertilized by water. Then
for this solidarizing with the ground the
women must drink this water.
There is also a clear division between married
and unmarried women. In certain cases, the
unmarried women go, decorated, to take part
in a clearly sexual play where they are
pushed in the tank to be wet by water.
There are bordering villages which organizes
festivals, where at the end of the festivity
the men and the unmarried women of the two
villages must mix.
The festivals for the channels are in A
two period: April, May or June and August,
September or October. Sometimes there is
a specific festival for the clearing out
of are stoppings and of the tanks, it is
then at February, time when they are driest
(end of the summer).
Myths and contemporary oral traditions
Two emblems are associated water in the
Andean culture:
- the jug
- the stick of pilgrim or pole
The oldest god who had this stick was Pachacamac
but others also had it like Ticsi, Wiraqocha,
Tonapa and Manco Capac.
Oral tradition of Incacoma (Province of
Paruro).
Incas are those which brought water in an
underground way not to suffer from thirst.
Here in Ayllu Maska, an INCA lived which
had a virgin girl. One day he says: "that
which will lead water to the door of my
house, that one will live with my daughter".
One of the applicants brought water through
rubbles, it dug the rock as if they were
made of mud. To today this channel still
exists. It is him which gained the virgin.
Another claiming INCA dug an underground
channel, one never knew besides how, but
it arrived low than the house. Today this
channel is still useful.
Certain villagers consider that water is
the sweat of Madre Tierre (the Mother Ground).
Others consider that the sea water disappears
in veins. In the center of the mountains,
one finds the veins which come since the
sea.
Subsoil water (version of Masca):
One day Pasteur was lengthened on the ground
in the mountains and kept its spangled.
On the top of the mountain, condors had
gathered and started to speak between them
as in a human assembly. The chief of the
condors asked the others if in their village,
they had water.
"And in is your sector, there water?"
"Where I live, there is no water"
answered one of them.
And the chief says to him: "How, you
do not know that in this sector there is
water hidden under a stone punt? It is very
easy to leave at any time, but after, to
keep the source, it is necessary to make
offerings ". And it described the place
with precision.
"And in is your sector, there water?"
"Yes in mine, there is water in abundance".
And they thus continued to speak with high
voices.
All that, Pasteur could hear it. Once that
they had left the place, Pasteur gained
the village where water missed, it warned
initially poor Pasteur of LAMA like him:
"will find the president say to him
that I know where there is water. That they
come with many wine, beers and sheets of
Coke, that all the men come, but not women.
There they will see how I make leave water,
one shoed a great festival and they will
have to make good offerings ".
As the village came, it had already sought
the stone punt about which the condors spoke
and they had heard a water noise which ran
in the depths of the ground. They had thus
taken care of side day and night until they
arrive. It was put then at their head and
raised the stone, water left in abundance.
Of return to the village, Pasteur received
all the consideration of the villagers and
it offered to him a house in the center
of their community. Consequently it was
to consider by them as being their governor.
To protect water:
If water is sought one can find in some
of it lieus wet where certain plants push.
As one digs, the ground starts to cry and
one arrives finally at a vein. For this
moment, it is necessary to make offerings
and then water continues to run. It will
stop if one draws with an earthenware jar
full of soot, dirty. The sources do not
like the black, only the white must be used
to draw water, when they see the black,
they regress and are tared.
So that it left more water it is necessary
to make offerings with eggs of a virgin
hen or a virgin cane, the head of a duck,
water of sharp of money or a horn of cow.
All this is buried beside the source.
The INCA de Qhewar (Masca, Paruro):
The INCA came to make pass water in all
the ayllus on this side. The father of the
princess ñust' has asked him: "you
want to marry with the princess?".
He answered: "Yes, I will marry it.
After I will lead water up to now with my
gold grass snake ".
When it left its grass snake, it started
to progress on the ground and everywhere
where it passed, a channel with much water
opened, even in the medium of the rocks.
Enough far from the village they built a
hearth so that the princess cooks for the
INCA. But at this place the father of the
ñust' has, which was in fact another
INCA jealous of the capacity of the grass
snake, locked up his daughter in a stone
so that it cannot see any more the INCA
de Qhewar. This last offended and left its
incomplete work of it. It is said that it
was to travel to the village of Herwes where
exists always a community of INCA which
works gold, the stone, etc...
The INCA is a civilizing hero who digs
irrigation canals, which give rise to the
sources and show its capacity on nature.
Certain myths and traditions explain which
sources are drinkable, which must be used
for the cattle or to wash clothing of color
and clothing white. These myths often insist
on the importance not to pollute or dirty
the source in order not to offend it and
thus not to dry up it.
That shows that it had a great knowledge
of the quality of water and its conservation.
For the Andean man, the elements of the
universe are the ground and water and in
a secondary form the air and fire. Water
is regarded as element intertwining the
others since they believed that the ground
was above water, and the sun (fire) was
put in the sea on a side and arose from
it from the other.
Another importance is that of the seeds
which germinate only with moisture, therefore
water is a generating principle of life.
Water has importance so much that even the
sky cannot remain without river one thus
finds there the Milky Way which is regarded
as dividing the ground (because the Andean
sky is a sublimation of the ground).
Water in general is the male fertilizing
principle, but it can be female like the
lakes (Mama Qocha), it thus seems sometimes
androgyne. It can also be regarded as the
blood of the ground.
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