QORIKANCHA
The famous Sun Temple of Qosqo was and is
in practice a synthesis of the Inkan organization, architecture and religion;
that had already reached the summit of their level by 1438. It possibly
represented the "Navel of the World"; therefore, the world's center in the
pre-Hispanic Andean Cosmovision.
According to our history, it was the first
Inka, Manko Qhapaq who built the original temple. But, it was the ninth,
Pachakuteq who since 1438 reconstructed, enlarged, improved and modernized
the most important religious complex of the vast Inkan Society.
| There are certain discrepancies about the
complex's original name, and though they are not antagonistic ones, they
cause a relative confusion. Frequently in chronicles and history treatises
the name Intiwasi is found, (inti= sun, wasi= house) it means "Sun House";
also the name Intikancha is used and which would mean "Sun Palace" (this is
considering that almost all Inkan palaces had the noun "Kancha"). While that
its most popular name is Qorikancha that would mean "Golden Palace". Maria
Rostworowski suggests that the ancient temple was known as "Intikancha" and
after Pachakuteq as "Qorikancha". |
All the chroniclers coincide
manifesting that the quality of the building was extraordinary,
made with gray basaltic andesites coming from the quarries of
Waqoto and Rumiqolqa. The walls have the "Sedimentary" or
"Imperial Inkan" type that is the maximum expression of
architecture in pre-Columbian America. The stones are between
medium to large which outer surface is rectangular; the
structure is straight horizontal that in the most important
temples exhibit side views with marked convexity. The joints
between stones are polished, so perfectly made that they do not
allow insertion of even "razor blade". The cross section
structure is "tied up", that is, with "H" shaped bronze clamps
or clips in the internal joints that fastened together the
lithic pieces avoiding harmful horizontal displacements in case
of earthquakes. The wall also have a decreasing vertical
structure, that is, with bigger stones in the lower part and
every time smaller toward the top. The walls are wider in the
base than on the top; with the classical inclination inward (there
is not a general rule or measurement for that inclination)
balanced with the trapezoidal shape of doorways, niches and
openings. Those characteristics make the walls support
themselves forming a resistant, solid, anti-seismic structure
that was able to resist the two huge earthquakes after the
Spanish invasion, in 1650 and 1950 that destroyed every tough
colonial building. Today in some Inkan walls of the complex
there are a few cracks. They are not a result of bad calculation
or technique of the Quechua architects, but simply, consequence
of changes carried out in colonial times, the earthquakes and
mainly exposition to inclement weather and erosion after all of
them. According to some studies the finely carved stone walls
had a continuation of sun-dried mud-bricks on the top forming
very steep gable ends in order to enable drainage of rain waters.
The roofing was thatched made in wood and "ichu" the wild Andean
bunch grass, with eaves projecting out about 1.6 mts. (5.25 ft);
roofs which modest aspect was remedied in festivity days when
they were covered with showy multicolored rugs made with special
feathers. Gasparini believes that the often mentioned by
chroniclers "gold edging" that served as a crown surrounding the
whole outer upper side of the temple served, more over, in order
to dissemble the difference between the fine stone wall and the
upper adobe wall. The floor in the open areas of the temple must
have been completely and finely paved with flagstones while the
floors inside the enclosures were surely made with kilned clay
as a solid ceramic block like the treated floors found in
Machupicchu.
The temple's main gate faced toward the
Northeast; almost in the same position of the present-day entrance to the
Santo Domingo (St. Dominic) Convent, overlooking the Intipanpa ("Sun Plaza")
that today occupies the small park in front. According to chroniclers this
was a religious complex constituted by temples dedicated to different
deities. It had a layout very similar to that of a classical "kancha"; with
enclosures around a central patio where according to Cieza de Leon, every
doorway was veneered with gold plates.
The Sun Temple stood out in the complex,
covering the space occupied today by the Santo Domingo Catholic Church. Its
eastern end was completely demolished while the western one still subsists
partially forming what is known as "solar round building", that is, the
semicircular wall overlooking the present-day Arrayan street and the Avenida el
Sol. The Sun Temple had its four walls and even the wooden ceiling completely
covered with gold plates and planks, according to Garcilaso's description it
must had a rectangular floor plan, with a very high thatched roof for
facilitating ventilation. It is worth pointing out that whom gives the most
detailed information about the subject is the famous Cusquenian Chronicler
Garcilaso de la Vega, who wrote as it is indicated by himself: "... what I
swallowed in the milk and saw and heard from my ancestors...". On the eastern
wall of this temple must have been the facade and Main Altar that as it is known
contained the representation of the Sun God in a gold plate with the shape of a
"round face and rays and flames". That solar representation was so huge that it
covered all the temple front from wall to wall; in the treasures distribution
among the conquerors, that golden piece corresponded by casting of lots to
Mancio Sierra de Leguisamo, an inveterate gambler who lost it during one night
playing dices; event by which the famous saying " bet the sun before dawn" was
created. Chronicler Sarmiento de Gamboa suggests that Pachakuteq ordered a
layout so that the Sun would occupy the main place along with the Wiraqocha god
representation on its right side and that of Chuquiylla (it must be "Chuki
Illapa" or thunder, lightning and thunderbolt) to its left side. Also, on both
sides of the Sun image were the "Mallki" (mummies or embalmed bodies in a fetal
position) of the dead Inka Kings, according to their antiquity, and over litters
of solid gold.
In the Andean Cosmogony it was considered that
the Moon or Mamakilla was the Sun's wife. Therefore, the Moon Temple was located
on the eastern side of the Solar Temple; it had a rectangular floor plan with
the best quality of architecture, unfortunately it was almost completely
destroyed in order to built the Catholic Church. One of its gates is still seen
as well as its eastern wall with the classical trapezoidal niches. Among those
niches is the horizontal dark stripe that is believed to be the support zone of
the silver plates that covered completely its walls. In the center of the temple
there was a silver Moon representation and on both sides of it the embalmed
bodies of the dead Qoyas (Queens), according to their antiquity.
More over, in this vast complex there were 5
Water Fountains, in which flowed clean water transported through underground
channels; the water springs or sources were kept completely secret. Those water
fountains had religious duties as water was another deity in the Andean Religion;
they were also adorned with precious metals, had golden spillways, and large
gold and silver jars. In colonial times the water was dried up as a consequence
of lack of maintenance and on-purpose destruction. Garcilaso indicates that he
saw just one of them: the last one that Dominican monks used to irrigate their
vegetable garden. Since 1975, the convent and church were reconstructed, at the
same time some archaeological digs were performed too; they finally made
possible finding one of the 5 original fountains. It is located lower and before
the "solar round building"; water still flows through its finely carved channels.
It is possible that in the future remains of the other fountains described by
Garcilaso will be found. Until 1990 most of the Solar Garden's space was covered
by different buildings; thanks to a law that was put into effect by the end of
the 80s, the central government and especially the Qosqo's Municipality bought
the lands and houses of the sector and some archaeological works were carried
out. The aim was to uncover our past and make known the so little that is left
from the complex's greatness; which as Spanish soldier Cieza de Leon wrote "...
finally, it was one of the rich temples existing in the world."
In the middle of the cloister's central patio
is an eight sided fountain carved in a single andesite piece that according to
some historians it has Inkan manufacture. However, its shape and characteristics
are not classical in Inkan stonemasonry. Therefore, if it was carved in Inkan
times it must had another shape that was transformed in colonial times. Also
today, around the archways there is a collection of canvases representing the
life of Saint Dominic Guzman painted by anonymous local Cusquenian School
artists.
After the distribution of houses and palaces
during the Spanish invasion, the Qorikancha corresponded to Juan Pizarro who
donated it to the Dominican Order represented by the first bishop of Qosqo City
Fray Vicente Valverde. He immediately executed construction of their church and
convent over the most important Inkan Temple demolishing it almost completely
for adapting it to its new use. That original church was destroyed by an
earthquake on March 31, 1650. Subsequently, the present-day structure was raised
as well as the tower in 1780 with an elaborate baroque under direction of Fray
Francisco Muņoz. On May 21st. 1950 another violent earthquake destroyed a large
part of the convent and church as well as its tower leaving uncovered many Inkan
structures and the interior area of the "Solar Round Building". By that time a
strong "Indigenist Movement" suggested the relocation of the church and recovery
of the Sun Temple; it is a pity that Catholic Church's political power did not
allow that attempt for clearing the ruins of the major Tawantinsuyo's sanctuary.
Qosqo Inca’s Sacred Capital
SAN BLAS (SAINT BLAISE)
CHURCH
San Blas is today a downtown neighborhood in
the city known as the " Artists' District", with narrow and writhing streets,
most of them steep. In Inkan times it was one of the most important districts of
Qosqo and its name was "T'oqo-kachi" (T'oqo = hollow; kachi = salt). Like the
other districts it was inhabited by the Quechua nobility. It seems that the
church was erected over an Inkan Sanctuary devoted to cult of the "Illapa" god (Thunder,
Lightning and Thunderbolt). It was possibly opened for the first time in 1544 by
the city's second Bishop Juan Solano. Although some other versions say that it
was after 1559 as consequence of viceroy Andres Hurtado de Mendoza's order by
which "Indians" had to built churches for their indoctrination in the districts
where they lived. Its structure was simple with a rectangular floor plan and mud
brick walls, but after the earthquakes in 1650 and 1950 it was partially
reinforced with stone walls. It has just one nave and two gates before which
there are big plazas; and a stone bell tower constructed after the 1950
earthquake instead of the original made with mud bricks.
Inside the church is one of the greatest
jewels of colonial art in the continent: the Pulpit of Saint Blaise; which is a
filigree made in cedar wood by expert hands managing a gouge. It is not known
with certainty who was the artist or artists that made it, how long the work
lasted, neither any other details about it. However, the pulpit is over there as
a mute witness of a great Catholic devotion and devoted work. There are enough
proofs to assert that it was made carved with funds given by art protector
Bishop Manuel Mollinedo y Angulo; therefore, it was by the end of the XVII
century. There are serious discrepancies about the identity of the performing
artist.
Most authors suggest that it was made by the
most famous Quechua woodcarver: Juan Tomas Tuyro Tupaq, that was contemporary
and protected of Mollinedo y Angulo, who entrusted him the manufacture of
several works. It also could have been work of some other artists contemporary
with Mollinedo such as Martin de Torres, Diego Martinez de Oviedo who made the
monumental High Altar of the Compaņia de Jesus Church, or the Franciscan Luis
Montes that made the San Francisco Church's choir. Oral tradition has its
version gathered by Angel Carreņo who in his "Cusquenian Traditions" manuscript
had stated in writing the name Esteban Orcasitas as the pulpit's author; but,
for the 1st. edition of his book the name was changed by that of Juan Tomas
Tuyrutupa. Tuyrutupa was Quechua and Cusquenian, but according to that
traditional version he was a leper woodcarver from Huamanga (Ayacucho). The
story tells that once he had in his dreams a revelation of the "Holy Virgin of
the Good Happening" who told him that if he wanted to get healed from his
leprosy he had to look for her in the small plaza of Arrayanpata in Qosqo City.
After a long journey and many mishaps, one day he found her painted on a wall
after that the roofing of the "Lirpuy-Phaqcha" chapel fell in. Falling on his
knees and weeping he invoked her, as the Virgin's rosary became rose petals with
which he rubbed hard his whole body remaining thus completely healed. The piece
of wall containing the painting was cut and moved to the Saint Blaise Church,
then people agreed upon to build an altarpiece and a pulpit for the Virgin. The
grateful Quechua woodcarver committed himself to make the pulpit without
charging any money for the work estimated in 1400 pesos. The work took him 4
years of hard labor with wood from an enormous cedar tree that was cut in the
Kusipata square (present-day Regocijo). But, when finishing his work the
woodcarver failed his oath as he asked the church's curate for 70 pesos in order
to lionize a Cusquenian half-breed woman. After fastening the Saint Paul statue
over the pulpit's sounding board, he stumbled and fell off dying soon after. His
corpse was buried under the pulpit but some time later it was taken out and his
skull placed before the feet of the Saint Paul sculpture, where it is seen today.
As any other normal pulpit, that of Saint
Blaise has a balcony (basin), a thorax (main body), a sounding board (cupola),
and a gallery (entrance). The Basin is spherical and supported by a bronze
structure; it contains eight human busts representing the Catholicism heretics
The Saqsaywaman archaeological complex has an area of 3,000
hectares and is located North of Cusco and is controlled by the National
Cultural Institute. It includes the following archaeological monuments:
SAQSAYWAMAN.-
Located 2km from the city. Together with the city of Cusco, this monumental
complex is considered the first of the new seven wonders of the world. This
huge construction was planned and built by Andean Man. The Incas called it
the House of the Sun and the Spaniards called it a fortress because of its
zig-zag shape and the 1536 revolution. The construction, which is made up of
three platforms one on top of the other, was one of the most important
religious complexes of its time.
The mixed-blood historian Garcilaso Vega
described in his book "The Royal Commentaries" every detail of this sacred
spot, its walls, rooms, towers, doors and canals, which have sparked great
interest and admiration from visitors and residents alike. The enormous
boulders that form part of the construction were put together perfectly
without using mortar. The heaviest weighs up to 125 tons. Archaeologists are
currently excavating and have discovered water fountains, canals and rooms.
In a nearby flat area, every June 24 local inhabitants hold the Festival of
the Sun, or Ind Raymi. Saqsaywaman witnessed important historic events.
Q'ENQO.-
The name means labyrinth or zigzag. Located 3km from Cusco, this temple
dedicated to Mother Earth is a unique center of worship and for ceremonies.
It has numerous ceremonial carvings, holes and canals cut into the rock. One
of its features is a semi-natural underground chamber.
PUCA PUCARA.-
This construction is located 6km from Cusco. "Puca" in Quechua means
"Red" and "Pucara" means "Fortress-Watchtower. Located at a
strategic point along the road to the Antisuyo (the jungle part of the Inca empire), it
also served as a checkpoint on the Inca road and was a military and administrative center.
TAMBOMACHAY.-
Located 7km from Cusco at 3,700 meters above sea level, this site was popularly known as
the "Inca's Baths". Researchers believe Tambomachay was an important center of
worship of water. It is an archaeological complex made up of well-crafted canals, walls
and windows which show the Incas' extraordinary architectural talents and their in-depth
knowledge of hydraulics.
LAQO, LANLAKUYOQ AND KUSILLUCHAYOQ.-
These pre-Columbian observatories have felines, serpents and birds carved into the rock
and were ceremonial centers of worship. These observatories have to be visited by on foot.
The Saqsaywaman archaeological complex also boasts a singularly beautiful landscape and
abundant flora and fauna. This includes llama, kestrels and falcons ("Wuaman" in
Quechua).
Continuing along the route we come to Pisaq.
Click on the above thumbnail to enlarge map |
