History of Mountain-earringsBy: drew arnold
The Andean People and the Sacred Apus
By: Thomas Ryan
QuechuaA language
Apu : A powerful mountain deity Awki : protective ancestral spirit and mythical personage living in the highest Andean peaks
A PeopleDescendants of the Inca Highest demographic density at >3,400m.a.s.l1000s of years of adaptation to mountain environment
The Apus• Apu Salkantay, Apu
Awsanqati, Apu Willka Wiqi, Huayna Pichu
• After death, souls of animals and humans are harbored in the highest mountain peaks
• Male and Female• Spiritual and
Pragmatic uses
Apu Salkantay“Savage Mountain”
-Principal deity controlling weather and fertility in the Cuzco region (surrounding Machu Picchu)
-Worshipped & Feared ~ Source of life and death
-Duality
-20,600 ft.
Coca~Used to mitigate effects of altitude
~Chewed or drank in tea
~Suppresses hunger, thirst, cold, fatigue, altitude sickness
~Contains essential vitamins & Minerals essential to simple mountain diet
~Coca k’intu – 3 leaves blown towards the mountains
Alpaca~Considered ancestors of people
~Extremely adapted to high mountain environment
~Life not possible in the Andes without them
Inca Mountain Sacrifice• Johan Reinhard
(Mountaineer, Nat Geo Researcher)– Discovered more than
40 high altitude Inca ritual sites
– 3 mummies found at 22,000 ft. on Llullaillaco
• Over 115 Inca ceremonial sites found at >15,000 ft. on some 30 Andean peaks
Machu Picchu~Elevation - 7,972 ft.
~Citadel of mountain worship
~Highly advanced gravity-driven water system
Quyllur Rit'i
~Sinakara valley in southern Peru’s Ocongate province
~On glaciers above 15,000 ft.
~Honor mountains and restore order to chaos for the coming agricultural year
Why Mountains?Why Climb?