An Examination of Inca Huacas and Their Use for Political and Social Organization

TOTEM 23 Sacred Politics: An Examination of Inca Huacas and their use for Political and Social Organization Amy B. Scott Introduction Huacas: Inca and Andean Ideologies The sacred nature of the Andean The concept of the huaca as a sacred region is a topic that has been widely place or object is directly related to explored in recent years. As empires were ideology, which can be defined as a set of built and destroyed within this region, cohesive ideas and beliefs that validate the ideology played an important role in existence of a collective group of individuals political and social organization. It is the (Conrad and Demarest 1984:4). Although goal of this paper to examine the rise of the ideology can be an inclusive concept, it is Inca Empire and the use of ideology, and important to recognize that the ideological more specifically huacas, to gain political beliefs of the Inca do not necessarily and social control. At the time of Inca represent the beliefs of the Andean groups expansion and conquest, the sacred Andean that pre-dated them (MacCormack 1991:4). landscape was already well-established For this discussion, the Andean people along the coast and in the highlands of Peru represent all individuals that pre-dated the and its neighbouring countries. The power of Inca or were not considered ethnically Inca; the sacred Andean landscape was built upon the Inca in contrast, represent the small a network of shrines and sacred places group of individuals considered ethnically collectively defined as huacas. As the Inca Inca and expanded throughout the Andes expansion spread throughout the Andes, beginning in the 15th century. Once the Inca governing power was gained through the use conquered the Andean region, they and manipulation of huacas which had interwove their own ideological beliefs into significant historical roots in many Andean pre-existing Andean ideologies, creating a communities. By incorporating pre-existing fluid exchange of ideas and beliefs over time Andean beliefs into the official state (MacCormack 1991:4,148,150). ideology, the Inca were able to utilize It can be argued that the sacred huacas to aid in their political and social nature of huacas represented the primary expansion. connection between Andean ideologies and This paper will explore the Inca ideology. Both Andean and Inca characteristics of huacas within the Andean ideologies considered huacas as region through the Cusco Ceque System and manifestations of both the natural and the the Inca mountaintop shrine system and how supernatural world such as springs, stones, the underlying ideologies surrounding hills and mountains, temples, caves, roads, huacas aided the Inca in their Andean or trees (D‟Altroy 2002:163). Although expansion. The theoretical framework of many of these huacas were physically static, ideological materialization will also be some were portable and were moved by discussed with reference to political context Andean groups to other regions (Bauer and the Moche culture that pre-dated the 1998:25). These characteristics associated Inca Empire. with huacas helped to unite the Andean region in that portable huacas allowed TOTEM 24 ideology to reach distant peoples, while the Andean region under a re-formulated permanent huacas united local people under Inca state belief system. similar belief structures. This commonality between Inca ideology and Andean The Inca Expansion ideologies was also present in the worship of As the Inca began their expansion ancestors and natural places (Classen into smaller Andean provinces, they 1993:2). Many huacas occupied natural required a means of political and social places across the landscape and were organization. By examining the mechanisms associated with the ancestors of both the of Inca conquest and the conflict Inca and non-Inca people, as origin myths surrounding their rise to power in the Andes, generally presented the Creator God as it becomes clear why they relied on the emerging from a natural land formation power of huacas to establish political (D‟Altroy 2002:49). The power of the stability and social union. The early Inca physical environment was an important (pre-empire) were a small scale rural ethnic aspect of both Andean and Inca ideologies, group that evolved in a bitterly competitive as the people “literally read their [physical] Andean world after the decline of the Wari surroundings as a resonant text of sacred and the Tiwanaku (Conrad and Demarest places and spaces” (Moseley 2001:51). It 1984:95,96,101; D‟Altroy 2002:48; Sallnow was through this ideological commonality 1987:32). It was not until A.D. 1400 that the that the Inca established the power of huacas Inca began to emerge in the Andean region across the Empire (Conrad and Demarest as the dominant political power established 1984:102). Inca state ideology was through “force of arms” (D‟Altroy 2002:48; persuasive because it converged with long- Moseley 2001:9). Once in power, the Inca standing Andean traditions surrounding governed over ten million people within a huacas, allowing the Inca to fully region of 5,500 square kilometers until the manipulate and utilize these sacred places Spanish conquest in 1532 (Moseley and objects as forms of political 2001:7,9). legitimization and social control Despite the success of amalgamating (MacCormack 1991:148). over eighty provinces, particularly in Peru, Political legitimization and social the Inca inevitably created tension through control were also harnessed by the Inca as their imperial expansion that required some they re-formulated state dogma to elevate kind of control system (Conrad and their own history and traditions (Niles Demarest 1984:129). Because the Inca 1992:347; D‟Altroy 2002:175). Huacas Empire was characterized by one ruling elite were the primary tools in the re-formulation known as the Inca in Cusco, political and of Inca state ideology as they dictated the ideological authority needed to be re- rights to land, to water, and to power, over affirmed in all outlying polities in the which the Inca claimed ownership (Isbell Andes. This was achieved through Andean 1997:53-54). Huacas gained their status unification projects such as the across the Inca Empire through their establishment of local lords in outlying mythical importance, their relationship to communities, the mass movement of Inca rulers, and their astronomical alignment Andean people to Inca dominated cities, and (Bauer 1998:8). Because huacas were most importantly the creation of a state already infused with great respect, the Inca ideology (Niles 1992:348). control of these sacred places both Although the Inca and Andean established their divine rulership and united people shared certain ideological beliefs, the TOTEM: vol.17 2008-2009 Copyright © 2009 TOTEM: The U.W.O. Journal of Anthropology TOTEM 25 formation of a state ideology was primarily tools for the Inca to use and manipulate. to solidify regional power through empire cohesion. The danger of ideological re- Materialization of Ideology structuring was a constant threat to the Inca Ideology is generally regarded as an because if they altered traditional rituals and intangible experience or belief that is not beliefs too much, then the smaller easily accessible within the archaeological communities within the Empire may have record. Attempts at understanding ideology deemed the changes unacceptable, leading to and the associated physical experience are a loss of state unification (Jennings characteristic of the field of phenomenology, 2003:452). Some Andean scholars believe which was applied to archaeology in the that Inca ideology was rooted in the belief 1990s in an attempt to study the human that the Empire was weakening and being experience inferred from archaeological corrupted under the influence of different remains (Johnson 1999:193). Although not local ideological practices and therefore, the restricted to ideological experience, Inca needed to re-affirm the one true phenomenology has been utilized as an ideology of the Andes (Jennings 2003:452- important approach within archaeological 453). For this re-establishment of the „true‟ interpretation. It can be argued here that this ideology, the Inca had to tactfully weave phenomenological approach to the human their own beliefs into those of the non-Inca experience has been further enhanced by the people (Jennings 2003:452-453). Many concept of ideological materialization rituals and traditions of the Inca were (DeMarrais et al. 1996). Ideology, at times, established in communities throughout the can be identified as passive and static by Empire to unify the ideological practices of scholars, when in fact it is frequently these communities with the practices of dynamic and an important variable Cusco, the Inca capital (MacCormack contributing to cultural transformations 1984:33). Because many of these Inca (Conrad and Demarest 1984:3). traditions and rituals were built upon the Unfortunately due to the difficulty in local ideological beliefs, communities were accessing ideology and its social influence less likely to rebel against their Inca lords from the archaeological record, it is (Jennings 2003:452). It was through the generally over-shadowed by other catalysts social beliefs of the Andean people that the of social change (Conrad 1981:4). However, Inca legitimized their authority and created a it is important not to disregard the instances sense of community among the many ethnic of ideological materialization that can groups in the Andes (cf. VanDyke and demonstrate the power of state beliefs in the Alcock 2003:3). Building their Empire on a formation and the maintenance of an empire. foundation of locally-held ideological It is clear that the Inca relied on the beliefs, the Inca were able to illustrate the unification of ideological beliefs to gain relationship between the state and the sacred power throughout the Andes, specifically structure (Classen 1993:67). For the Inca, through the materialization of huacas. As huacas were the primary agents of the argued by DeMarrais et al.

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