The archaeological remains and indigenous peoples we have visited so far are little known, at least in Europe, but this time it is time to put some spotlight on one of the most famous empires, the Incas.
The Chullpa tombs
No, we haven’t visited Machu Picchu (yet). Instead, we explored Sillustani to see the chullpas. On a peninsula in Lake Umayo, bodies have been buried for centuries in the tradition of the Aymara kingdom of the Collas (1100-1450), a pre-Inca culture.
Sillustani is a burial site. The Colla people, and then the Incas, seem to have buried their leaders in towers made of mud and later of carved stone. Along with the leaders, wives and relatives were buried with offerings. The bodies were mummified outside in fetal position before being placed inside the chullpas, that were then closed.
Over time, different types of chullpas were built, from the simplest of the Colla culture to the most sophisticated of the Incas, reaching up to 12 metres in height. An interesting detail is that all the chullpas have the entrance facing east, presumably for communication with the sun god.
Trying to keep their tradition
The chullpas are in an impressive state of preservation (with some restoration), despite the fact that they were no longer used after the arrival of the Spaniards. At the beginning of the conquest, according to some testimonies, the natives dug up the bodies from the Catholic cemetery and took them to the chullpas struggling to preserve their beliefs.
The cemetery is calm and tranquil. Perhaps we were lucky, as there were hardly any people there when we arrived. Tourists seem to arrive mostly in the afternoon on buses from Arequipa, so we were able to explore the ruins nearly alone.
There is, however, a constant hustle and bustle around the car park and, as usual at tourist attractions, thousands of souvenirs, that are repeated at every stall, await.