The Survival of Inca Symbolism in Representations of the Virgin in Colonial Peru

The Survival of Inca Symbolism in Representations of The Virgin in Colonial Peru Carol Damian Tawaniinsuyu. the "Center of the Four Quarters," was gods as well. Believed to represent the powers of nature, a the na~ the Inca g;,ve to their empire, their world. When host of locally venerated objects, known as huacas, might Francisco Pizarro and his army of 62 horsemen and 102 be anything from a mountain to an oddly shaped potato. foot soldiers destroyed that world in 1532, the empire The gods were worshipped on festival days relating to encompassed 350,000 square miles of what is now Peru, the agricultural cycle which was controlled by a special most of Ecuado~ and partS of Bolivia, Chile and Argentina. calendrical system under the supervision of the priests. Fes A theocratic society ruled by the divine Inca, called Sapa tivals were most impor1ant occasions for the people of the Inca, Tawanrinsuyu included scores of tribes. states, king empire, a welcome respite from daily travail and opportun doms and confederations conquered in the short period of ity for the nobility 10 display their splendid raiment. only 90 years. II was unified by a common language, reli Festivals were also the occasion for the "Cult of the gion, and administrative system with its capital at Cuzco in Panaca," a distinctive and unusual aspect of Inca religious the Andean highlands.' beliefs. Figure I, a drawing by Felipe Guaman Poma de The term Inca is now commonly used in three differ Ayala, an Amerindian author writing at the tum of the ent senses: as the title of the head of state; to describe seventeenth century to King Philip 111 of Spain, shows the members of the highest nobility, the members of the ruler's Inca mummy carried in procession on a litter or qui/la, a family; and as a generic name for the empire and its peo Spanish word meaning to haul or carry. This drawing is of ples. The family members of the Inca were in actuality the "Corpse Carrying Month" (Ayo MarC1Jy Qui/la). The "Cult only ones privileged to be called "Inca.• This nobility, called of the Panaea• was based on the concept of the immortality Ortjones by the Spanish because of the large earspools of the departed Inca and his eventual return. His wealth which distinguished their caste, traced their lineage from the and possessions remained with his mummy in his palace legendary first Inca, Manco Capac, who derived his posi under the care of retainers. The mummy was also assigned tion from the sun, Inti. He called himself "Son of Inti," and a niche in the Coricancha, the Temple of the Sun, and ven was the personification of the national cult of the sun. erated on holidays or taken out in procession. Legend claims Inti had instructed Manco Capac with Religious worship also involved penance, fasting, and Mama Huaca Ocllo as his wife/ sister to teach the people of the confession of sins. Confession was a source of priestly the earth to worship the sun and thus prosper.' power and prestige. Sin and unlawful conduct harmed the The Spanish Conquest would greatly alter this system community and the individual. Absolution involved bathing of belief and descent. After Francisco Pizarro conquered or ritual water. Offerings to the gods and the huacas were Peru, the Indians were required to accept two obligations: an automatic part of daily existence. and usually consisted they had to accept the King of Spain as ruler on behalf of of a libation of a small amount of com liquor (chicha) the Pope, and they had to allow the Christian fai th to be before any activity or special location. On festival days. preached. The effort to convert the native population to the mai,_e cakes made by the "Chosen" girls, cloistered virgins C.tholic religion was performed with incredible zeal and in the service of the priests, were also offered with the included the destruction of what the missionaries termed blood of the vicuna. Llamas and other small animals were the •graven idols" of the "pagan• Indians. sacrificed, and objects of gold and silver, cloth and pottery While it may appear that the wealth of Christian art were presented as tribute. Small children have been found, which was produced in the Andean Highlands in the seven surrounded by similar goods, atop high mountain peaks in teenth and eighteenth centuries demonstrates the success of sacrifice to the Sun God.' the mis~onaries in destroying or replacing the objects and The similarities between Inca religious beliefs and symbols of the pagan religion with those of Christianity,' ceremonies to those of Catholicism are apparent. Both were doser examination of these works, especially the representa• dominated by a high Creator god; both used fasting, com tions of the Virgin Mary, reveals otherwise. It is clear munion, penance; both made religion respected by pomp through the observation of numerous works of art that a and imposing richness. This certainly accounts for some of total destruction of Inca religion with its art and icon the ease of acceptance of Christianity. But, the factor which ography did not occur. most contributed to Inca acceptance of conversion was the It is not surprising that the Spaniards were profoundly all-encompassing anitude of religiosity which permeated conoerned with transforming Inca religious practices since every aspect of the Indians' daily existence. religion was the most impor1ant aspect of the Inca social, Given the pragmatic similarities and ceremonial em political and cultural system. It served the most noble and phasis, the Inca acceptance of the Chri.stian God was rela the most humble. The common person, respectful of the tively simple. Whereas, the missionaries may have originally power of the high gods, represented by Viracocha the Crea seen the Inca practice of Christianity as a replacement for to~ Inti the Sun, Mama Quilla the Moon and Pachamama the Inca gods and considered their conversion efforts suc the Earth Mother was also allowed by the Inca to worship cessful, in reality. the native peoples simply added the his own personal household gods, ancestor gods, and local Catholic God and saints, which they had grown to respect 11 and admire. to their own pantheon. Rather than offend the lary of deep significance. A prime example is the treatment Spaniards who were never hesitant to use force and vio, of the Virgin Mary in works by native artisans. The associ lence to achieve their goals, the long-subjugated Indian ation of the Virgin with native beliefs, in particular those of peoples, eager to please, utilized the holy personae of Chris Pachamama and Mama Quilla, and the special love of the tianity, in part at least, to masquerade their true beliefs. On Indian for her image are demonStrated in numerous paint more than one occasion. the mummified remains of an Inca ings. The native predilection for "statue paintings" is evident ancestor were found hidden beneath the processional litters, in the Virgin of Bethlehem, ca. 1780, by an anonymous and the practice persisted of removing inhumed bodies aniSt of the Cuzco School (Figure 2). This presentation of from Christian burial grounds to local ones next to graves the Virgin in a wide flattened--0ut triangular dress is a pecu~ of their pagan ancestors. Disguised within the elaborate iarity of the native artisans based on the popularity of robes of the Virgin Mary and other saints, huocas were dressed statues. The Virgin of Bethlehem stands more as a frequently found. statue than a painting. Unfamiliar with European painting Consequently, the missionaries were faced with the techniques representing three dimensions, the artist con task of destroying such native practices in addition to tinued the native tradition of decorative relief in the use of attending to the difficulties of conversion. In this effon. they flat two-dimensional patternings in the design of the Vir placed considerable emphasis on art for visual representa gin's costume and the planar approach to the physical body. tion. In a land where few priests spoke the language, the The profusion of ornamentation and tapestry detail is typ~ artist provided the means of communication. Religious art cal of the Cuzco School. and its artists were powerful instruments of spiritual con But what appears simply to be a lovely native interpre quest. The artist became the logical assistant to the priest. tation of a traditional Catholic subject is actually replete His function took on moral significance as he was entrusted with subtle symbols of ancient Inca beliefs. The flowers in with the visualization of the concepts of Christianity.' the vases below the Virgin, for example, are the nukchu, Through their own conquest before the arrival of the the lily of love or sacred flower associated with the "Chosen Spanish, the Incas had been the beneficiaries of many Women" or Mamaconas in the service of the Inca. To this highly advanced cultures which had preceded them: Paracas day, they arc strewn before the Virgin's litter on proces weavers, Nazca potters, Chimu goldsmiths. Mochica hydrau sional days, as they had been strewn before the litter of the lic engineers and Tiahuanaco builders. Taking advantage of Inca's mummy on Inca festival days honoring the "Cult of all the techniques they had inherited, the Incas ingeniously the Panaca." They are represented on numerous Inca ,-es incorporated them into an original style which manifested sels and textiles. One example is an Inca Votive Receptacle itself in building conStruction, textiles, pottery and gold with Mamaconas which is decorated with stylized female work. It was the responsibility of the missionary artist to figures holding birds and the nukchu lily (Figure 3).

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