Conceiving Time and Space from and Andean Perspective

by | Jul 15, 2020 | About Machu Picchu

TIME AND SPACE ACCORDING TO THE ANDEAN PERSPECTIVE 

 

 

 

 

These images show the southern area of ​​the Ushnu. While today this part of the site presents a lot of vegetation, it is clear that this construction had not been completed by the Inca, as during excavations it lost much of its visibility.  

One of the images portrays the specific shadow relationship between the Huchuypicchu and Huaynapicchu. The big terrace seen in the image looks quite disordered, since the work on its construction was left unfinished. All these parts are usually covered by vegetation in most images of the Ushnu, which literally translates into “throne” and was a place where the Inca used to sit, do administrative work, and receive people. It was usually in the main square, but in this case, since there was no available space, it was put on the edge of the area. However, it still has a special connection to the Wanka, which was originally in the middle square, but cannot be seen today. A very interesting fact is that there is not a lot of vegetation surrounding it and that all the buildings of the Wayna Picchu are visible. In fact, this is because the image was taken right after an extensive fire.

Understanding the architecture of Machu Picchu means understanding its relevance to the sun and the shadows it creates over the buildings of the sanctuary. In this image, the Huchuy Picchu is shown, reflecting very low on the illuminated facade of the Wayna Picchu, meaning that the sun behind the Huchuy Picchu was lowering, but was still very high, as the shadow is not as high to cover most of the site’s facade. Therefore, the sunset was just about to begin in this picture. When asked if it would be possible to climb up the Wayna Picchu, Adine Gavazzi confirmed.

“Oh yes, there is a special time to go there. Very, very beautiful,very powerful, and very dangerous as well. Tourists are allowed to go, but a very reduced number of tourists, and they have to be visually controlled by the Hilantes, because in many parts, you can fall. If you fall from there, there is no possibility that you will survive the fall from the Wayna Picchu. More than three hundred people have died since we know Machu Picchu. Three hundred is a big number, I mean, Machu Picchu has been open to the public for only the last hundred years and we have three hundred people who died. That’s like three people each year. It's scary. The most dangerous thing to do is hiking up the Wayna Picchu and so everybody wants to do that.”

 

Another interesting story that was told about this picture was the one regarding the significance of the little ninety degree angle that is visible at the top of the mountain next to Wayna Picch. It is not just an ordinary space, but a very special site, where indigenous people still get married. It is not something that many people are aware of and climbing that area is not possible, as it is not open to the public.

Now, is there a specific reason why? As a matter of facts, yes. That specific place at the top is one of the points where it is possible to see the areas where people were buried. According to Adine, Andean people believe that: “When you are looking at dead people, you are looking at your future and at your past as well.” Therefore, for them it is very important to have the opportunity to be looking at their ancestors. This is also one reason why deceased people are buried high up in the mountains, as looking down on them signifies looking higher to one’s future. Adine also explained that ancestors are considered those who are ahead of us, not behind us, because we are all heading towards where they already are. This is not a very easy concept for the Western mind to grasp.

“To understand how they conceive time and space, think of a procession with music. For instance, there is a festivity and there are musicians: the oldest ones go first with their instruments and the kids are at the end because kids follow older people. We walk in the footsteps of our grandparents, so time goes backwards. This is very difficult to grasp. It took me many many years to think like that. Because in our Western mind we go forward, our time has a beginning and we go forward. But then when you hear old sayings like ‘we walk in the footsteps of our grandfathers’ you realize our ancestors are literally those who are in front of us. So we also have a tiny winy memory of this ancestral way of thinking. This is why it is so important to make peace with your past. Because if you don’t make peace with your past, your path is wrong, it’s going to be broken, your life will not be happy…You have to make peace with your past, it's literally compulsory. When you have a natural catastrophe, the first thing you do is you make peace with the event as if you don’t want to be quarreling with the forces of nature. So you make peace with the past. This is why this area for marriages and burials is located right over here.”

 

Moutain Yanantin and the skyline

by | Jul 15, 2020 | About Machu Picchu

MOUNTAIN YANANTIN AND ITS SKYLINE

Significance behind the images 

 

This image of mount Yanatin was taken in front of the site’s keep, probably sometime during August.

This specific skyline is very special and much appreciated all over the world. In fact, it is used in pictures anywhere, from advertising materials to mere websites, and so on. One interesting reason why it is so special is that all workers of Machu Picchu can tell the exact date that the picture was taken on, only by looking at the sky. By using the skyline, the workers can determine exactly the day and the year, as the sun goes along the skyline like a clock, between one limit to the other limit, almost “oscillating” from one side to the other.

Another reason why this picture is so unique is that the skyline is never straight. It has a hundred thousand very small points, making it very easy to measure the position of the rising sun. So whenever there are not any clouds, which is at least seventy to eighty percent of days in a year, all the workers can tell the date, which is determined only by looking at the area to the east.

 

This special skyline is also the reason why the majority of the windows in the sanctuary are facing east. Moreover, the time can be determined by looking at the lower part of the skyline. Thus, when looking at Wayna Picchu, a watch is not needed.

Comparing different pictures, it is possible to see how the mountains are projected on the skyline, thus in the morning the effect is reversed. The sun comes out from the skyline in the back and, in the afternoon, shadows can be visible. Looking at the west side gives exactly the same effect, but upside down. Therefore, the skyline literally is an astronomical theater at every moment of the day. Any skilled person can tell the day and the time, taking into consideration that this can be done almost everywhere with mountains. Andean people had this ability, which is still greatly used in the current Andean culture.

 

 

The First Aerial Image of the Saqsahuamán ever Taken

by | Jul 15, 2020 | About Machu Picchu

THE FIRST AERIAL IMAGE OF THE SAQSAHUAMÁN

 

Outstanding in the archaeological site are the bastions of Saqsqahuamán and the Suchuna area, connected through the central opening in space of the park.

This image of Saqsahuamán, taken by Fernando Astete, shows the trace of the city of Cusco at the top of the picture, right above the first mount, surrounded by a zigzag wall. This is the only part of the bastions that is usually considered and appreciated when publishing. However, Saqsahuamán is way bigger because the parts that can be seen at the bottom of the picture are also a part of it. The bigger round part at the bottom is known to be a public area, which originally served as a water reservoir and became a sacred artificial lake, made and used by the Incas. It was also used for water distribution around the city of Cusco.

This image, in fact, is a very important picture, not only because of what it shows, but also because of its significance.

For example, as Adine Gavazzi, a Swiss architect specialized in anthropology of the Andes and the Amazon, explained: 

“In the middle of the picture you have the open square, which is empty. This is exactly like what happens in Machu Picchu: an empty something in the middle, a mount with zigzags on one side, which is the Hanan area, the Hurin area on the other side, with zigzag walls representing the male area and the empty zones representing the female area.”

   

“It is so interesting because it is reproducing a sacred topography, with all the sacred elements you need to perform all the ceremonies, but it is not just the two mounts. It has been built up to have all these elements together, to have ceremonies.” 

Another fascinating fact is that this was literally the first picture to ever be taken of the site from the sky. Before this, nobody had ever taken pictures of the Saqsahuamán, comprising all areas. Thus it is the first complete aerial picture of this part of the site, which increases its overall historical significance and value.