The Andean people's experience of being separated from the rest of the population living at lower levels was treated as a sacred way of life, especially for the religious class of the Inca empire.
It was a distinct experience that made them to have a high degree of spiritual commitment specially in their attitudes towards those communities absorbed by them with religious deities unknown to them. They integrated the ones who had a very powerful connection to the spiritual world known to them and to the Inca's way of life and at the same time they were completely tolerant and show satisfaction with the new communities' own way of life, and in that respectful way unifying the four corners of the whole empire.
The Inca religious class that were very extensive, retreated from the lower places by choice, having specific goals in mind and specific practices. The apparent perfection of the high places, surrounded by beautiful views and fresh air, touch them in their nature, in their soul, in their hearts, and made feel that the Supreme Creator dwelt in those places and their mission was to keep the energies held them in peace with the universe and the environment and in the daily ritual they performed they were giving thanks for the land and the food they received specially the food that grew in such extreme circumstances giving to them an example of how to survive in peace with everything. This fact made them unique in terms of dealing with the spiritual communication they maintained with entities from other realms.
The religious and common class were highly connected with the spirits of the natural world. That was part of the culture. Not everybody was able to do that. The ones able to support such experience were chosen and prepared from birth with the right food, the right mind, the right heart, and the right spirit. For the rest of the inhabitants in those high places, breathing the clean air every day made them to appreciate life in its deepest sense. By be just one with the howl of the wind. Seeing deserts areas like the Atacama at 4,000 metres above the sea level, with scarce rainy season, feeling the thin and dry air and at the same time connecting to it, sensing the beautiful stillness of the landscape that will never be shattered. Hearing the sound of the silence because nothing else is there. Those experiences were the every day teaching that many Andean people were familiar with.
Lake Uyuni in Central Bolivia, for example, was venerated as a sacred place, because during the daytime, its huge salt pan looks like an endless stretch of bright white merging with a shimmering horizon. But during the night time, the cold air and the howl of the wind transform the place into a world of shadows because you can't see through the deepest darkness that fall over the lake.
Throughout the Andes, the Incas built a network of roads and temples tailored to glorify its own culture as a manifestation of the power invested to them from the Sun itself. That belief reinforced the idea that they were superior people destined to rule fairly the natural powers entrusted to them.
They allowed lesser powers to continue their existence acting through the people that were absorbed into the Inca realm but at the same time they expected everyone in the empire to participate in the state religion and to worship the Sun and the rest of the Inca deities.
The Incas trekked everyday into high places to receive through the sunlight the wisdom they needed in order to conquer the spirits of the land and made them be subjects to the power of the Sun from which they were created.
Saturday, April 30, 2016
EUROPEANS TRADE ROUTES VS. ANDEAN TRADING WAYS.
Europeans found difficulties of intercourse in their trading routes due to barriers such as the mountains and the deserts, while for the Andean people the mountains and the deserts were part of their daily transportation in order to interchange their products all over their difficult terrain.
The routes of trade of both communities were determined by the physical features of the intervening areas, and led through the few gaps which existed in their geographical background.
In the Inca Empire, Cuzco became a hub for the road system. The geographical area for transportation stretches from modern-day Colombia to central Chile and from the Amazonian slopes to the Pacific ocean. The main road went through the Highlands from the capital Cuzco to Quito and into Colombia. Another segment went South through Bolivia to central Chile and NorthWest Argentina. The entire Road System webbed more than 25,000 miles. They were narrow with distance of 3 to 52 ft wide and the ones covering the high mountain roadways were even more narrower and winding than those located along the Coast. Through desert areas, walls of posts, adobes, or stones were built to prevent sand from being blown on the traveler. This challenge is perceived as an superb engineering marvel.
In contrast, stone was laid over the roads and canals for wet areas. The Inca Road System was used to move government messengers, Inca armies, royal litters, and for food trade caravans. Additionally, types of rope suspension bridges were constructed over deep chasms and waterways. Some of them were cables hung from masonry towers for support. Others bridges were made of wood, stone, and floating reeds. The roads served as the backbone of the entire empire. Most of the routes were done on foot. Light loads of cargo (45kg/100lbs) were carried by the domesticated llama.
The system of roads and bridges travelled in Peru today were developed from the Incas who ruled over millions of people. It is not known when the first of those roads were built. When Tiahuanaco and Huari cultures dominated the Andean landscape, roads were the main way of communication. At this time roads crossed through major towns that later were linked to the ones made by the Incas.
The goal of transportation and the use of the roads was for survival purposes. It benefited the Inca in becoming so powerful, because he respected the main goal of them that was to bring food to the 4 corners of the empire. They provided food to the mining cities on top of the mountains, then to the cities away from the agricultural areas that served as military towns, then to the cities in charge of arts and crafts, and with the people living on the Coast, Desert and Jungle areas. Everybody was benefited with the production of the soil in a such landscape made of extreme difficulties that they needed to overcome in order to deserve the life they reached thanks to community work and respect to the land entrusted to them by the Higher Spirits.
In the 15th century by contrast, Europe and Asia were very different in the way of their trading. They were linked by 3 general routes over which the Oriental trade passed - the Southern, the Central, and the Northern.
The Southern Route was an all-water in all but its final stage, and therefore for them possessed the advantages of being somewhat quicker and safer than the others. Throughout its entire length it was made up of several links. At the Eastern extremety, Chinese and Japanese or Malaysian vessels brought wares from these countries to the great trading center Malacca, on the straits of the same name between the Malay Peninsula and the Island of Samatra. Traders carried these and other goods collected en route to Cali-Cut and other ports along the Mala-Bar or Western Coast of India. From here a great highway of commerce stretched across the Arabian Sea to the Red Sea. Since the prevailing North Winds made it difficult for vessels to sail North in the Red Sea, most of the goods destined for Europe were landed at some ports on the Eastern Coast of Africa, whence they would be carried by caravan to Cairo or to some convenient point on the Nile down which they would be taken by boat to Cairo or Alex-Andria. The voyage from India to Egypt could be made under favorable conditions in somewhat less than 3 months by this route.
The Central Route followed the lines of the Southern Route as far as India, but here it diverged to the North, passing through Or-Muz at the mouth of the Persian Gulf to Bas-Ra at the head. From Bas-Ra one branch of this route went up the Tigris River to Bag-Dad, and then followed the River Valley North-West-ward either to Trebi-Zond on the Black Sea or to Say-As on the Mediterranean. A 2nd branch went by caravan from Bas-Ra across the desert, where it spread out like a fan to Aleppo, Antioch, and Damascus, and thence to the Mediterranean. Here the caravans were met by Venetian vessels which distributed the Oriental wares to Europe.
The Northern Route was a system of all-land lines of trade leading from China and India, through ancient cities of Yar-Kand, Samar-Cand and Bok-Hara to the region of the Caspian Sea. From Bok-Hara the routes again divided. Some led around the Southern End of the Caspian Sea to Trebi-Zond on the Black Sea, where they joined the Central Route, and finally reached the Mediterranean through Constant-Inople and Asia Minor. Others passed around the Northern End of the Caspian, and went through Russia to Novgo-Rod and the Baltic, or through Astra-Khan to the sea of Azov.
Arrived at the Eastern Mediterranean Ports, the Oriental wares were taken by European Traders, for the most part Italians from Venice, Genoa, and Florence. From these 3 cities trade routes led through the passes in the Alps to all parts of Europe, or by ship through the Mediterranean to Eng-Land, Flan-Ders, and the Scandinavian countries.
Such was the philosophy and character of the trade between the Orient and Europe that by contrast to the one possessed by the Incas, grew in Old World. Destiny put both of them together in the New World, but they did not understand the true reason why they were led to a new way of live in such challenging environment. They just wanted to become rich by the resources of the world while the people of the New World just survived because they respected the richness of the World in terms to harmonize with it as humans and not to exploit it to the point of exhausting or depleting the land from it.
The routes of trade of both communities were determined by the physical features of the intervening areas, and led through the few gaps which existed in their geographical background.
In the Inca Empire, Cuzco became a hub for the road system. The geographical area for transportation stretches from modern-day Colombia to central Chile and from the Amazonian slopes to the Pacific ocean. The main road went through the Highlands from the capital Cuzco to Quito and into Colombia. Another segment went South through Bolivia to central Chile and NorthWest Argentina. The entire Road System webbed more than 25,000 miles. They were narrow with distance of 3 to 52 ft wide and the ones covering the high mountain roadways were even more narrower and winding than those located along the Coast. Through desert areas, walls of posts, adobes, or stones were built to prevent sand from being blown on the traveler. This challenge is perceived as an superb engineering marvel.
In contrast, stone was laid over the roads and canals for wet areas. The Inca Road System was used to move government messengers, Inca armies, royal litters, and for food trade caravans. Additionally, types of rope suspension bridges were constructed over deep chasms and waterways. Some of them were cables hung from masonry towers for support. Others bridges were made of wood, stone, and floating reeds. The roads served as the backbone of the entire empire. Most of the routes were done on foot. Light loads of cargo (45kg/100lbs) were carried by the domesticated llama.
The system of roads and bridges travelled in Peru today were developed from the Incas who ruled over millions of people. It is not known when the first of those roads were built. When Tiahuanaco and Huari cultures dominated the Andean landscape, roads were the main way of communication. At this time roads crossed through major towns that later were linked to the ones made by the Incas.
The goal of transportation and the use of the roads was for survival purposes. It benefited the Inca in becoming so powerful, because he respected the main goal of them that was to bring food to the 4 corners of the empire. They provided food to the mining cities on top of the mountains, then to the cities away from the agricultural areas that served as military towns, then to the cities in charge of arts and crafts, and with the people living on the Coast, Desert and Jungle areas. Everybody was benefited with the production of the soil in a such landscape made of extreme difficulties that they needed to overcome in order to deserve the life they reached thanks to community work and respect to the land entrusted to them by the Higher Spirits.
In the 15th century by contrast, Europe and Asia were very different in the way of their trading. They were linked by 3 general routes over which the Oriental trade passed - the Southern, the Central, and the Northern.
The Southern Route was an all-water in all but its final stage, and therefore for them possessed the advantages of being somewhat quicker and safer than the others. Throughout its entire length it was made up of several links. At the Eastern extremety, Chinese and Japanese or Malaysian vessels brought wares from these countries to the great trading center Malacca, on the straits of the same name between the Malay Peninsula and the Island of Samatra. Traders carried these and other goods collected en route to Cali-Cut and other ports along the Mala-Bar or Western Coast of India. From here a great highway of commerce stretched across the Arabian Sea to the Red Sea. Since the prevailing North Winds made it difficult for vessels to sail North in the Red Sea, most of the goods destined for Europe were landed at some ports on the Eastern Coast of Africa, whence they would be carried by caravan to Cairo or to some convenient point on the Nile down which they would be taken by boat to Cairo or Alex-Andria. The voyage from India to Egypt could be made under favorable conditions in somewhat less than 3 months by this route.
The Central Route followed the lines of the Southern Route as far as India, but here it diverged to the North, passing through Or-Muz at the mouth of the Persian Gulf to Bas-Ra at the head. From Bas-Ra one branch of this route went up the Tigris River to Bag-Dad, and then followed the River Valley North-West-ward either to Trebi-Zond on the Black Sea or to Say-As on the Mediterranean. A 2nd branch went by caravan from Bas-Ra across the desert, where it spread out like a fan to Aleppo, Antioch, and Damascus, and thence to the Mediterranean. Here the caravans were met by Venetian vessels which distributed the Oriental wares to Europe.
The Northern Route was a system of all-land lines of trade leading from China and India, through ancient cities of Yar-Kand, Samar-Cand and Bok-Hara to the region of the Caspian Sea. From Bok-Hara the routes again divided. Some led around the Southern End of the Caspian Sea to Trebi-Zond on the Black Sea, where they joined the Central Route, and finally reached the Mediterranean through Constant-Inople and Asia Minor. Others passed around the Northern End of the Caspian, and went through Russia to Novgo-Rod and the Baltic, or through Astra-Khan to the sea of Azov.
Arrived at the Eastern Mediterranean Ports, the Oriental wares were taken by European Traders, for the most part Italians from Venice, Genoa, and Florence. From these 3 cities trade routes led through the passes in the Alps to all parts of Europe, or by ship through the Mediterranean to Eng-Land, Flan-Ders, and the Scandinavian countries.
Such was the philosophy and character of the trade between the Orient and Europe that by contrast to the one possessed by the Incas, grew in Old World. Destiny put both of them together in the New World, but they did not understand the true reason why they were led to a new way of live in such challenging environment. They just wanted to become rich by the resources of the world while the people of the New World just survived because they respected the richness of the World in terms to harmonize with it as humans and not to exploit it to the point of exhausting or depleting the land from it.
Saturday, April 23, 2016
THE OLD WORLD AND THE 15TH CENTURY.
In the 15th century a major and profound change occurred in trade activities in the Old World. Just as the Renaissance brought about a new spirit in religion, so the trading world was the manifestation of the same forces in its economic domain.
This trend affected european societies in many ways. A renewed study of the classics were on its way leading to an acquaintance with the literature and scientific knowledge of the Greeks and Romans, stimulating an interest in nature and natural science.
In religion the inquiry into the relations of man and God led to changes in theological doctrines and church organizations.
In the economic sphere the art of navigation was improved, the routes of trade were altered, new commodities were introduced into the European market, and the general standard of living was raised under the materialistic point of view.
The most important phase of the trade expansion of Europe was that with the Orient. Trade between Europe and Asia had been almost destroyed during the break-up of the Roman Empire, but about the 10th century some of the Italians towns began to send ships to the Eastern Mediterranean.
The Crusaders gave further impetus to a revival during which Venetian and other Italian traders gained a name in Constantinople and other Eastern points, and Europeans developed a taste for Oriental wares.
Certain goods were in special demand and among these were edible spices.
The diet of the Europeans of those times was limited and monotonous as well as coarse. It lacked potatoes (white and sweet) that later were brought to them from the land of the Incas, together with pumpkins, corn, squashes, tomatoes, and sugar beans, and which today give such welcome variety to the European diet.
Because of the lack of winter fodder, most of the cattle were slaughtered in the fall, and their flesh was smoked or salted down for winter use. The meat was tough, strong in flavor, and unappetizing, and the cooks were unskillful. To such dishes spices gave flavor and variety. Even ale and wines were highly spiced, and pepper, nutmegs, and cloves were eaten as delicacies. Also the limited area of production suitable for those spices which was an issue in those days, they must be obtained from the East. Nutmegs, cloves, and all spice grew only in the Spice Islands of the Malay Archipelago; pepper and cinnamon-bark came from Ceylon, Sumatra, or Western India; and ginger was found in Arabia, India, and China.
Precious stones were also highly esteemed for personal adornment and for decoration of shrines and ecclesiastical vestments, and were believed to possess magical powers. Diamonds, rubies, sapphires, pearls, emeralds, turquoises, and other precious stones came almost exclusively from Persia, India, and Ceylon.
Drugs, perfumes, dyes, fragrant woods, and gums were also in great demand. In a period when bathing was infrequent the liberal use of scents and perfumes were essential. These articles also were found only in the East.
In addition to the spices, jewels, and pharmaceutical products, the Eastern lands produced manufactured goods of peculiar delicacy or excellence which were also in great demand in Europe. Such were glass, fine porcelains, silks, cottons, brocades, satins, carpets, rugs, hangings, and metal work. From all these valuable goods from the Orient, Europe had only a very few commodities. Woolen cloth, coral, and certain metals such as arsenic, antimony, quicksilver, tin, copper, and lead, found in Europe were highly valued in Asia; but these alone could nor pay for the great amount of Eastern goods consumed by Europeans, and the balance had to be paid in gold and silver. Hence the precious metals were drained off and metallic money grew so scarce in Europe that each coin had a very much greater purchasing power because of the great famine of this precious metals.
At the same time there was a steady conversion of considerable quantities of silver from monetary to industrial uses or to ornamental and sacerdotal uses in the churches and monasteries, thus depleting still further the scanty stock of money in circulation.
In these facts we can see the explanation of the eager search for gold and silver which was one of the strong motives for the European invasion to the land of the New World in which the richness of this soil made the Europeans rich and became the"developed countries of the World."
Today the New World is still being exploited by the lust of those who wants to accumulate more richness from the ground that once were revered and respected as sacred by the people in charge to it. The real power that this people holds, the ones who still revere its land is that the products of their ground still continue feeding the world in every angle of its life with food, precious metals, cloths, etc., and such sacred power is digested by the number of people fed by it continuing in that way its life, now not only in the ground from which it was extracted, but around the World.
One day this real power will be manifested in all the World through the ones who nurtured their souls by digesting it and will be in command and will restore all the riches that were taken from this sacred land and then the World will live in harmony again with the rest of powers co-existing with them.
This trend affected european societies in many ways. A renewed study of the classics were on its way leading to an acquaintance with the literature and scientific knowledge of the Greeks and Romans, stimulating an interest in nature and natural science.
In religion the inquiry into the relations of man and God led to changes in theological doctrines and church organizations.
In the economic sphere the art of navigation was improved, the routes of trade were altered, new commodities were introduced into the European market, and the general standard of living was raised under the materialistic point of view.
The most important phase of the trade expansion of Europe was that with the Orient. Trade between Europe and Asia had been almost destroyed during the break-up of the Roman Empire, but about the 10th century some of the Italians towns began to send ships to the Eastern Mediterranean.
The Crusaders gave further impetus to a revival during which Venetian and other Italian traders gained a name in Constantinople and other Eastern points, and Europeans developed a taste for Oriental wares.
Certain goods were in special demand and among these were edible spices.
The diet of the Europeans of those times was limited and monotonous as well as coarse. It lacked potatoes (white and sweet) that later were brought to them from the land of the Incas, together with pumpkins, corn, squashes, tomatoes, and sugar beans, and which today give such welcome variety to the European diet.
Because of the lack of winter fodder, most of the cattle were slaughtered in the fall, and their flesh was smoked or salted down for winter use. The meat was tough, strong in flavor, and unappetizing, and the cooks were unskillful. To such dishes spices gave flavor and variety. Even ale and wines were highly spiced, and pepper, nutmegs, and cloves were eaten as delicacies. Also the limited area of production suitable for those spices which was an issue in those days, they must be obtained from the East. Nutmegs, cloves, and all spice grew only in the Spice Islands of the Malay Archipelago; pepper and cinnamon-bark came from Ceylon, Sumatra, or Western India; and ginger was found in Arabia, India, and China.
Precious stones were also highly esteemed for personal adornment and for decoration of shrines and ecclesiastical vestments, and were believed to possess magical powers. Diamonds, rubies, sapphires, pearls, emeralds, turquoises, and other precious stones came almost exclusively from Persia, India, and Ceylon.
Drugs, perfumes, dyes, fragrant woods, and gums were also in great demand. In a period when bathing was infrequent the liberal use of scents and perfumes were essential. These articles also were found only in the East.
In addition to the spices, jewels, and pharmaceutical products, the Eastern lands produced manufactured goods of peculiar delicacy or excellence which were also in great demand in Europe. Such were glass, fine porcelains, silks, cottons, brocades, satins, carpets, rugs, hangings, and metal work. From all these valuable goods from the Orient, Europe had only a very few commodities. Woolen cloth, coral, and certain metals such as arsenic, antimony, quicksilver, tin, copper, and lead, found in Europe were highly valued in Asia; but these alone could nor pay for the great amount of Eastern goods consumed by Europeans, and the balance had to be paid in gold and silver. Hence the precious metals were drained off and metallic money grew so scarce in Europe that each coin had a very much greater purchasing power because of the great famine of this precious metals.
At the same time there was a steady conversion of considerable quantities of silver from monetary to industrial uses or to ornamental and sacerdotal uses in the churches and monasteries, thus depleting still further the scanty stock of money in circulation.
In these facts we can see the explanation of the eager search for gold and silver which was one of the strong motives for the European invasion to the land of the New World in which the richness of this soil made the Europeans rich and became the"developed countries of the World."
Today the New World is still being exploited by the lust of those who wants to accumulate more richness from the ground that once were revered and respected as sacred by the people in charge to it. The real power that this people holds, the ones who still revere its land is that the products of their ground still continue feeding the world in every angle of its life with food, precious metals, cloths, etc., and such sacred power is digested by the number of people fed by it continuing in that way its life, now not only in the ground from which it was extracted, but around the World.
One day this real power will be manifested in all the World through the ones who nurtured their souls by digesting it and will be in command and will restore all the riches that were taken from this sacred land and then the World will live in harmony again with the rest of powers co-existing with them.
Sunday, April 17, 2016
ECUADOR AND COLOMBIA MAJOR EARTHQUAKES.
The 1868 earthquake ocurred at 19:30 on August 15 and 6:30 on August 16th. The caused severe damage in the Northeastern part of Ecuador and in Southwestern Colombia. They had an estimated magnitude of 6.3 and 6.7 and together caused up to 70,000 casualties. Known faults within the area of the earthquake epicenters are the South Southwest-North Northeast trending San Isidro, El Angel, Ambi River, and Otavalo Faults, sometimes with reverse movement. On the 15 August the towns of El Angel and La Conception were severely shaken and with the 2nd movement literally ruined. On the 16 August, Ibarra was devastated, with every building destroyed. Nearby Otavalo was left without a single house standing and 6,000 dead. In Imbabura, there were 15-20,000 casualties.
The Inca ruler Atahualpa is said to have been born in the Inca settlement of Caranqui about 2 km from the city of Ibarra. Also Ibarra people are known as the inventors of the ice cream and sorbet during Inca times using snow or ice from the nearby Imbabura Volcano which is no longer snow bound and a large bronze pan surrounded by ice shavings and the juices of various fruits stirred into the pan to freeze.
The 1906 Ecuador-Colombia earthquake occurred at 15:36 on January 31, off the coast of Ecuador, near Esmeraldas. It had a moment magnitude of 8.8 and triggered a destructive tsunami that caused a number of deaths between 500 and 1,500 on the coast of Colombia. The greatest damage from the tsunami occurred on the coast between Rio Verde (Ecuador) and Micay (Colombia). The tsunami was noted in Costa Rica, Panama, Mexico, California, and Japan.
The coastal parts of Ecuador and Colombia have a well known history of great megathrust earthquakes due to the triple junction that originates from the Nazca Plate and the Northwest corner of the South American plate where the Nazca, Cocos, and Pacific plates converge.
The 1958 Ecuador-Colombia earthquake struck the coastal region on January 19 with a surface magnitude of 7.6 at 9:09 am, local time. Approximately 30% of Esmeraldas, the major seaport in Northwestern Ecuador, was destroyed. In all, 111 persons died and 45 were injured. Water mains were broken and power transmission lines were damaged. The Esmeraldas-Quito highway collapsed at many places. Many other roads of the country were made impassable by cracks and fallen trees. A landslide from the slopes of the Andes at Panado Village buried 100 people. The earthquake was destructive in the cities of the Northern coast of Ecuador and was strong from Latacunga to Quito, Ibarra and Tulcan. It also was felt at Guayaquil.
In Colombia, Tumaco, a port city in the Narino Department, suffered the most of all. Several old residences and a wooden home for railway workers collapsed. The large brick ovens used for drying pulp collapsed at the sawmills. Pile wooden homes rocked so strongly in a North-South direction, that 8 cm gaps appeared in the ground at the foundations. Eyewitnesses between Tumaco and Esmeraldas found it difficult to remain standing. Water washed out of cracks in the ground on Manglares Cape, and trees fell. The earthquake gave rise to a tsunami. The earthquake was strong at Pasto, Ipiales, Imuesa, Tuquerres, and Sapuyas; it lasted 40 minutes. At Cali and Pereira, the population was frightened. At Bogota, the pendulums stopped on the clocks at the seismic station.
In 1979 Tumaco earthquake occurred at 2:59 local time on 12 December with a moment magnitude of 8.2. The epicenter was just offshore from the border between Ecuador and Colombia, near the port city of Tumaco. It triggered a major tsunami, which was responsible for most of the estimated 300-600 deaths with another 4,000 injured. The tsunami was observed on the east coast of Japan, in Hawaii, Tahiti and Mexico.
The hardest hit area was Colombia's Narino Department. The earthquake was widely felt in both Ecuador (including Guayaquil, Esmeraldas and Quito) and Colombia (including Bogota, Cali, Popayan, and Buenaventura). The coast in the epicentral region subsided by up to 1.6 m during the earthquake and the land movement locally disrupted river drainage. In Tumaco about a tenth of all buildings were destroyed, including 1,280 houses. The fishing village of Charco was almost completely destroyed by the tsunami, the waves washed the houses inland into a nearby lake.
The 1983 Popayan earthquake occurred on 31 March in Popayan, Colombia. It had a magnitude of at least 5.5 with an epicenter south west of Popayan at a depth of 12-15 kms (7.5-9.3mi). The earthquake killed 267 people with a further 7,500 people injured. In total 14,000 buildings were damaged, the majority of them in the city's historic centre. Approximately 50 million of damage was caused. Serious damage was also caused to local infrastructure. The residents were left without electricity and water, communications were affected and the damage to the town's airport meant that it could only be used by helicopters and smaller planes. Many of the injured had to be airlifted to Cali, the nearest large city.
The 1994 Paez river earthquake occurred on June 6 with a moment magnitude of 6.8 at a depth of 12km (7.5 mi). It included subsequent landslides and mudslides that destroyed the small town of Paez, located on the foothills of the Central Cordillera of the Andes in Cauca Department in South-Western Colombia. It was estimated that 1,100, mostly from the Paez ethnia, were killed in some 15 settlements on the Paez River basin, Cauca, and Huila departments of which the town of Paez suffered 50% of the death toll.
The Inca ruler Atahualpa is said to have been born in the Inca settlement of Caranqui about 2 km from the city of Ibarra. Also Ibarra people are known as the inventors of the ice cream and sorbet during Inca times using snow or ice from the nearby Imbabura Volcano which is no longer snow bound and a large bronze pan surrounded by ice shavings and the juices of various fruits stirred into the pan to freeze.
The 1906 Ecuador-Colombia earthquake occurred at 15:36 on January 31, off the coast of Ecuador, near Esmeraldas. It had a moment magnitude of 8.8 and triggered a destructive tsunami that caused a number of deaths between 500 and 1,500 on the coast of Colombia. The greatest damage from the tsunami occurred on the coast between Rio Verde (Ecuador) and Micay (Colombia). The tsunami was noted in Costa Rica, Panama, Mexico, California, and Japan.
The coastal parts of Ecuador and Colombia have a well known history of great megathrust earthquakes due to the triple junction that originates from the Nazca Plate and the Northwest corner of the South American plate where the Nazca, Cocos, and Pacific plates converge.
The 1958 Ecuador-Colombia earthquake struck the coastal region on January 19 with a surface magnitude of 7.6 at 9:09 am, local time. Approximately 30% of Esmeraldas, the major seaport in Northwestern Ecuador, was destroyed. In all, 111 persons died and 45 were injured. Water mains were broken and power transmission lines were damaged. The Esmeraldas-Quito highway collapsed at many places. Many other roads of the country were made impassable by cracks and fallen trees. A landslide from the slopes of the Andes at Panado Village buried 100 people. The earthquake was destructive in the cities of the Northern coast of Ecuador and was strong from Latacunga to Quito, Ibarra and Tulcan. It also was felt at Guayaquil.
In Colombia, Tumaco, a port city in the Narino Department, suffered the most of all. Several old residences and a wooden home for railway workers collapsed. The large brick ovens used for drying pulp collapsed at the sawmills. Pile wooden homes rocked so strongly in a North-South direction, that 8 cm gaps appeared in the ground at the foundations. Eyewitnesses between Tumaco and Esmeraldas found it difficult to remain standing. Water washed out of cracks in the ground on Manglares Cape, and trees fell. The earthquake gave rise to a tsunami. The earthquake was strong at Pasto, Ipiales, Imuesa, Tuquerres, and Sapuyas; it lasted 40 minutes. At Cali and Pereira, the population was frightened. At Bogota, the pendulums stopped on the clocks at the seismic station.
In 1979 Tumaco earthquake occurred at 2:59 local time on 12 December with a moment magnitude of 8.2. The epicenter was just offshore from the border between Ecuador and Colombia, near the port city of Tumaco. It triggered a major tsunami, which was responsible for most of the estimated 300-600 deaths with another 4,000 injured. The tsunami was observed on the east coast of Japan, in Hawaii, Tahiti and Mexico.
The hardest hit area was Colombia's Narino Department. The earthquake was widely felt in both Ecuador (including Guayaquil, Esmeraldas and Quito) and Colombia (including Bogota, Cali, Popayan, and Buenaventura). The coast in the epicentral region subsided by up to 1.6 m during the earthquake and the land movement locally disrupted river drainage. In Tumaco about a tenth of all buildings were destroyed, including 1,280 houses. The fishing village of Charco was almost completely destroyed by the tsunami, the waves washed the houses inland into a nearby lake.
The 1983 Popayan earthquake occurred on 31 March in Popayan, Colombia. It had a magnitude of at least 5.5 with an epicenter south west of Popayan at a depth of 12-15 kms (7.5-9.3mi). The earthquake killed 267 people with a further 7,500 people injured. In total 14,000 buildings were damaged, the majority of them in the city's historic centre. Approximately 50 million of damage was caused. Serious damage was also caused to local infrastructure. The residents were left without electricity and water, communications were affected and the damage to the town's airport meant that it could only be used by helicopters and smaller planes. Many of the injured had to be airlifted to Cali, the nearest large city.
The 1994 Paez river earthquake occurred on June 6 with a moment magnitude of 6.8 at a depth of 12km (7.5 mi). It included subsequent landslides and mudslides that destroyed the small town of Paez, located on the foothills of the Central Cordillera of the Andes in Cauca Department in South-Western Colombia. It was estimated that 1,100, mostly from the Paez ethnia, were killed in some 15 settlements on the Paez River basin, Cauca, and Huila departments of which the town of Paez suffered 50% of the death toll.
Saturday, April 16, 2016
THE MYTHOLOGY AND BELIEFS OF THE MAPUCHES
The mythology and beliefs of the Mapuche people of South America in South-Central Chile and South-Western Argentine is extensive and ancient religion system. A series of unique legends and myths are common to the various groups that make up the Mapuche People. These myths tell of the creation of the world and the various deities and spirits that reside in it.
A "machi" is essentially a benevolent and traditional healer and religious leader that play significant roles in their religion. Women are more commonly "machis"than men. As a religious authority, a "machi" leads healing ceremonies, called "machi-tun." During the ceremony the "machi' communicates with the spirit world. They serve as advisors, and oracles for the community. In the past, they advised on peace and warfare.
The term is sometimes interchangeable with the word "kalku," however, Kalku has a usually evil connotation whereas "machi" is usually considered good. Kalku or Calcu is a sorcerer or witch who works with black magic and negative powers or forces. The Kalku is beoing identified as a semi-mythical character that has the power of working with spirits or wicked creatures (wekufe). A wekufe is an important type of harmful spirit or demon. The word wekufu means demon or outside being. A wekufe term can be attribute to any person embodied by the spirit that tells lies or is deceptive and usually have harmful intentions towards human beings. These beings can have solid, material bodies, evanescent ghost-like bodies or be extra-corporeal spirit-like entities. They project from or originate in the wekufe's energy, which is characterized by its propensity to disturb and/or to destroy the balance of the world's natural order. In this way they cause illness, destruction, death, and other calamities.
Mapuche legends say that wekufes come from Minchen-Mapu, which is located to the West beyond the Mapu (land). These beings originated from the forces or energies that disturb and/or destroy the harmony of the world. Unlike other living beings or spirits that possesses their own soul, wekufes are soulless. They entered the Mapu world as a consequence of the mythical battle amongst the Pillan spirits, which resulted in the breaking of the system of rules that defined the Mapuche behavior (Admapu) aand the destruction of the perfect harmony of the world of goodness (Wenumapu). This battle also disrupted the land of Michen-Mapu allowing the Wekufes and the Laftraches, which had previously confined there, yo escape and roam the Mapu (land) and live in the world of evil, to the west of Mapu (Mag Mapu). The best known of the wekufes are "Cow Hide"(Trelke-wekufe =El Cuero), and Can-Illo, both of which are powerful wekufes with the ability to change into solid forms.
Many wekufes allow themselves to be manipulated by sorcerers, equivalent to witches or wizards who work with black magic and use them as a mystic medium for obtaining power. They allow the kalkus to use them to cause illness or death of certain chosen people. A powerful kalku can inherit a wekufe spirit from an ancestor who was also a kalku. However, in order to be able to use a wekufe, a kalku must voluntarily become the servant of the wekufe.
In order to use a wekufe to make someone ill, a kalku must introduce the wekufe into the body of the victim by using a small fragment of wood or straw or part of a lizard's body or direct through an attack by ghost-like forms or disembodied spirits that direct the disruptive wekufe energy towards the victim.
The wekufe also have the power to capture and slave the spirit of the recently deceased (pillu) that is reluctant to leave its body before it transform into a more mature spirit (alwe). A kalku can also take advantage of this power by using a wekufe as a means for trapping a pillu. Once it is trapped a pillu can also be used to hurt other people.
Wekufes can also be controlled by the Pillan and Ngen spirits, or at least these spirits will allow the wekufes to harm a Mapuche if they have broken one of the spirit's rules by: behaving badly, not carrying out the prayer ritual (thanking the spirits for their beneficence, asking for well being etc.), mocking or disbelieving a Machi (shaman), eating food that was caught or harvested without previously asking for permission from the Ngen of the animal, vegetable, or mineral that was consumed, or most importantly by not respecting the laws of the natural world (admapu).
As long as the Mapuche people obey the laws of nature and perform the praying ceremony, then the Ngen and Pillan spirits will continue to keep the wekufe under control.
In order to identify and gain protection from a kalku that may be using a wekufe, one should be cautious of people wearing black as this is the only color worn by kalkus.
To become a "machi"(shaman), the individual has to demonstrate character, willpower, and courage, because initiation is long and painful. Usually a person is selected in infancy, based upon: -premonitory dreams, -supernatural revelations, -influence of the family, -inheritance, -her or his power of healing disease, -own initiative.
Machi-Luwun is the ceremony to consecrate a new "machi." The chosen child will live with a dedicated "machi," where she or he learns the skills to serve as a "machi." She or He will develop in wisdom and healing power. A machi has a detailed knowledge of medicinal herbs and other remedies. She or He develops a strong power over the spirit world and the ability to interprets dreams (peumo).
They also help communities to identify witches or other individuals who are using supernatural powers to do harm.
When the Spanish arrived in this land of Southern People, the kalkus and the machis had already been long established. In many cases when a Machi cured some incurable disease, their fame spread to far distant places. Also when a kalku from malevolent clans cast spells so intense that it drove more than one enemy mad no other doctor could help apart from members of a friendly tribe.
A "machi" is essentially a benevolent and traditional healer and religious leader that play significant roles in their religion. Women are more commonly "machis"than men. As a religious authority, a "machi" leads healing ceremonies, called "machi-tun." During the ceremony the "machi' communicates with the spirit world. They serve as advisors, and oracles for the community. In the past, they advised on peace and warfare.
The term is sometimes interchangeable with the word "kalku," however, Kalku has a usually evil connotation whereas "machi" is usually considered good. Kalku or Calcu is a sorcerer or witch who works with black magic and negative powers or forces. The Kalku is beoing identified as a semi-mythical character that has the power of working with spirits or wicked creatures (wekufe). A wekufe is an important type of harmful spirit or demon. The word wekufu means demon or outside being. A wekufe term can be attribute to any person embodied by the spirit that tells lies or is deceptive and usually have harmful intentions towards human beings. These beings can have solid, material bodies, evanescent ghost-like bodies or be extra-corporeal spirit-like entities. They project from or originate in the wekufe's energy, which is characterized by its propensity to disturb and/or to destroy the balance of the world's natural order. In this way they cause illness, destruction, death, and other calamities.
Mapuche legends say that wekufes come from Minchen-Mapu, which is located to the West beyond the Mapu (land). These beings originated from the forces or energies that disturb and/or destroy the harmony of the world. Unlike other living beings or spirits that possesses their own soul, wekufes are soulless. They entered the Mapu world as a consequence of the mythical battle amongst the Pillan spirits, which resulted in the breaking of the system of rules that defined the Mapuche behavior (Admapu) aand the destruction of the perfect harmony of the world of goodness (Wenumapu). This battle also disrupted the land of Michen-Mapu allowing the Wekufes and the Laftraches, which had previously confined there, yo escape and roam the Mapu (land) and live in the world of evil, to the west of Mapu (Mag Mapu). The best known of the wekufes are "Cow Hide"(Trelke-wekufe =El Cuero), and Can-Illo, both of which are powerful wekufes with the ability to change into solid forms.
Many wekufes allow themselves to be manipulated by sorcerers, equivalent to witches or wizards who work with black magic and use them as a mystic medium for obtaining power. They allow the kalkus to use them to cause illness or death of certain chosen people. A powerful kalku can inherit a wekufe spirit from an ancestor who was also a kalku. However, in order to be able to use a wekufe, a kalku must voluntarily become the servant of the wekufe.
In order to use a wekufe to make someone ill, a kalku must introduce the wekufe into the body of the victim by using a small fragment of wood or straw or part of a lizard's body or direct through an attack by ghost-like forms or disembodied spirits that direct the disruptive wekufe energy towards the victim.
The wekufe also have the power to capture and slave the spirit of the recently deceased (pillu) that is reluctant to leave its body before it transform into a more mature spirit (alwe). A kalku can also take advantage of this power by using a wekufe as a means for trapping a pillu. Once it is trapped a pillu can also be used to hurt other people.
Wekufes can also be controlled by the Pillan and Ngen spirits, or at least these spirits will allow the wekufes to harm a Mapuche if they have broken one of the spirit's rules by: behaving badly, not carrying out the prayer ritual (thanking the spirits for their beneficence, asking for well being etc.), mocking or disbelieving a Machi (shaman), eating food that was caught or harvested without previously asking for permission from the Ngen of the animal, vegetable, or mineral that was consumed, or most importantly by not respecting the laws of the natural world (admapu).
As long as the Mapuche people obey the laws of nature and perform the praying ceremony, then the Ngen and Pillan spirits will continue to keep the wekufe under control.
In order to identify and gain protection from a kalku that may be using a wekufe, one should be cautious of people wearing black as this is the only color worn by kalkus.
To become a "machi"(shaman), the individual has to demonstrate character, willpower, and courage, because initiation is long and painful. Usually a person is selected in infancy, based upon: -premonitory dreams, -supernatural revelations, -influence of the family, -inheritance, -her or his power of healing disease, -own initiative.
Machi-Luwun is the ceremony to consecrate a new "machi." The chosen child will live with a dedicated "machi," where she or he learns the skills to serve as a "machi." She or He will develop in wisdom and healing power. A machi has a detailed knowledge of medicinal herbs and other remedies. She or He develops a strong power over the spirit world and the ability to interprets dreams (peumo).
They also help communities to identify witches or other individuals who are using supernatural powers to do harm.
When the Spanish arrived in this land of Southern People, the kalkus and the machis had already been long established. In many cases when a Machi cured some incurable disease, their fame spread to far distant places. Also when a kalku from malevolent clans cast spells so intense that it drove more than one enemy mad no other doctor could help apart from members of a friendly tribe.
Monday, April 11, 2016
THE CONDOR SPIRIT AND THE INCAS.
The Andean Condor is a mountain bird that keeps its habitat to high elevations in rainy and forested parts of the Andes of South America, but which regularly descends to sea-level in desert districts, such as along the arid Pacific coast of Peru and also the arid Atlantic coast of Patagonia, from the Rio Negro South of the Strait of Magellan.
It does not form a common ancestral clade with the superficially similar family of Old World Vultures. They were traditional placed in a family of their own in the Falconiformes. All of its living members are found only in the Andes.
The word Condor itself is derived from the Quechua "Kuntur," which means "purifier" and the birds are considered "the cleansers" of decomposing corpses in nature. In the spiritual sense they are in charge of the purification of souls, showing that the human body can be as light as a feather when the heart is cleansed from negative energies, letting the soul elevate itself as high as the bird does.
Condors are found in the Andes Mountains and adjacent Pacific Coasts of Western South America. It is called the Peruvian Condor, Ecuadorian Condor, Argentinian Condor, Bolivian Condor, Chilean Condor, Colombian Condor, after one of the nations from which it nests.
The Andean Condor is the largest flying bird in the World by combined measurement of weight and wingspan. It has a maximum wingspan of 3.3m /10ft 10in exceeded only by the wingspans of four seabirds/water birds (wandering albatross, southern royal albatross, great white pelican, Dalmatian pelican).
The Condor is a scavenger, feeding on carrion. It prefers large carcasses, such as those of deer or cattle. It reaches sexual maturity at five or six years of age and nests at elevations of up to 5,000m / 16,000ft, generally on inaccessible rock ledges. One or two eggs are usually laid. Because it takes condor parents more than one year to raise a young condor, the rate of reproduction is extremely low: usually only one young, on average, every two years. It is one of the World's longest-living birds, with a life span of over 70 years.
Breeding Andean Condors forage for food as far as 200 kilometers from their nests. However, where food is concentrated in a small area, foraging ranges are smaller. For example, on the arid coast of Peru, where the ocean washes ashore dead marine mammals and sea birds, Condors limit their foraging to stretches of beach several kilometers long.
It is presumed to be Plio-Pleistocene (period beginning about 5 million years ago) species, and the bird has been recognized to be not different from the present Andean Condor. At the beginning of the 19th century, the Andean Condor bred along the entire chain of the Andes, from Western Venezuela to Tierra del Fuego. Although it is still found in much of this range, it has suffered intense persecution from human hands and has been extirpated from many localities.
Three habitat requirements Condors look for: 1- Reasonably reliable winds or thermals upon which to soar. 2- Foraging habitat that is sufficiently open to discover and access carrion food. 3- Adequate supplies of carrion.
Condors soar most frequently when winds are moderate (25-48 km/h), and soar least when winds are strong (over 64 km/h).
A few small bones found in a Pilocene deposit of Tarija Department, Bolivia, belonged to a smaller palaeosubspecies. Tajira is located in South-Eastern Bolivia bordering with Argentina to the South and Paraguay to the East.
The Condor played an important role in the mythology and folklore of the Andean People, and has been represented in the Andean art from 2,500 BC onward, and today they still are a part of their religion. It was considered a symbol of power and health. The bird was associated with the sun deity, and was believed to be the ruler of the Upper World.
The Yahuar Fiesta is a celebration, in which the central theme is the tying of an Andean Condor to the back of the bull, allowing the condor to kill the bull with its talons before being released. This ceremony is a symbolic representation of the power of the Andean peoples (the condor) over the Spanish (the bull).
The condor is featured in several cats of arms of Andean countries as a symbol of the Andes Mountains.
It does not form a common ancestral clade with the superficially similar family of Old World Vultures. They were traditional placed in a family of their own in the Falconiformes. All of its living members are found only in the Andes.
The word Condor itself is derived from the Quechua "Kuntur," which means "purifier" and the birds are considered "the cleansers" of decomposing corpses in nature. In the spiritual sense they are in charge of the purification of souls, showing that the human body can be as light as a feather when the heart is cleansed from negative energies, letting the soul elevate itself as high as the bird does.
Condors are found in the Andes Mountains and adjacent Pacific Coasts of Western South America. It is called the Peruvian Condor, Ecuadorian Condor, Argentinian Condor, Bolivian Condor, Chilean Condor, Colombian Condor, after one of the nations from which it nests.
The Andean Condor is the largest flying bird in the World by combined measurement of weight and wingspan. It has a maximum wingspan of 3.3m /10ft 10in exceeded only by the wingspans of four seabirds/water birds (wandering albatross, southern royal albatross, great white pelican, Dalmatian pelican).
The Condor is a scavenger, feeding on carrion. It prefers large carcasses, such as those of deer or cattle. It reaches sexual maturity at five or six years of age and nests at elevations of up to 5,000m / 16,000ft, generally on inaccessible rock ledges. One or two eggs are usually laid. Because it takes condor parents more than one year to raise a young condor, the rate of reproduction is extremely low: usually only one young, on average, every two years. It is one of the World's longest-living birds, with a life span of over 70 years.
Breeding Andean Condors forage for food as far as 200 kilometers from their nests. However, where food is concentrated in a small area, foraging ranges are smaller. For example, on the arid coast of Peru, where the ocean washes ashore dead marine mammals and sea birds, Condors limit their foraging to stretches of beach several kilometers long.
It is presumed to be Plio-Pleistocene (period beginning about 5 million years ago) species, and the bird has been recognized to be not different from the present Andean Condor. At the beginning of the 19th century, the Andean Condor bred along the entire chain of the Andes, from Western Venezuela to Tierra del Fuego. Although it is still found in much of this range, it has suffered intense persecution from human hands and has been extirpated from many localities.
Three habitat requirements Condors look for: 1- Reasonably reliable winds or thermals upon which to soar. 2- Foraging habitat that is sufficiently open to discover and access carrion food. 3- Adequate supplies of carrion.
Condors soar most frequently when winds are moderate (25-48 km/h), and soar least when winds are strong (over 64 km/h).
A few small bones found in a Pilocene deposit of Tarija Department, Bolivia, belonged to a smaller palaeosubspecies. Tajira is located in South-Eastern Bolivia bordering with Argentina to the South and Paraguay to the East.
The Condor played an important role in the mythology and folklore of the Andean People, and has been represented in the Andean art from 2,500 BC onward, and today they still are a part of their religion. It was considered a symbol of power and health. The bird was associated with the sun deity, and was believed to be the ruler of the Upper World.
The Yahuar Fiesta is a celebration, in which the central theme is the tying of an Andean Condor to the back of the bull, allowing the condor to kill the bull with its talons before being released. This ceremony is a symbolic representation of the power of the Andean peoples (the condor) over the Spanish (the bull).
The condor is featured in several cats of arms of Andean countries as a symbol of the Andes Mountains.
Friday, April 8, 2016
INCAN ANCIENT RELIGION AND EUROPEAN RELIGION.
Many ancient Andean peoples traced their origins to ancestral deities. The Inca claimed descent from the Sun and Moon, their Father and Mother (male and female energies). The Inca generally allowed or even incorporated local deities and heroes of the communities that they conquered in a way that raised more power to the entities already known or become familiar to them. The goddess of Earth, Pacha-Mama, who was worshiped long before the rise of the inca was placed below the Moon who ruled over all female gods.
A theme in Inca mythology is the duality of the Cosmos. The realms were separated into Upper and Lower Realms.
Hanan Pacha, the Upper World, was the realm of the sun, moon, stars, rainbow, and lightning.
Uccu Pacha and Urin Pacha were the realms of the Pacha-Mama, and the ancestors and heroes of the Inca or from other communities conquered by them.
Kay Pacha, was the realm of the outer earth, where humans resided and viewed as an intermediary realm between Hanan Pacha and Uccu Pacha.
The realms were represented by the condor(Upper World), puma(Outer Earth) and snake(Inner Earth).
Each realm behaved according to the spirit of the animal embodying them. Sacred sited and things named Huaca were spread around the Inca Empire. A Huaca was a deific entity which resided in natural objects such as mountains, boulders, streams, battle fields, other meeting places, and any type of place that was connected to the entities who governed with past Incan rulers. Inanimate objects also were treated as Huaca because it was believed to be a deity-carrying vessel.
Spiritual leaders in a community use prayer and offerings in order to communicate with the entities for advice or assistance. Human sacrifice was seen as a high honor for the one who was chosen to do the cross over. They were prepared from birth and educated in such a way that they were able to cross with enough power and bring the message to the gods. They were able to wait for the return to the world of the living to complete their life cycle.
Divination was an important part of Inca religion. It was seen as a systematic method with which they organized what appeared to be disjointed. As a practitioners of this holistic discipline they believed that illness was not derived from chance occurrences, but through spiritual or social imbalance. Diagnosis was reached through spiritual means and a treatment was prescribed, usually consisting of a herbal remedy that was considered to have not only healing abilities but also symbolic and spiritual significance.
The arrival of the Europeans was a noticeable turning point in the history of this ancient tradition. They considered the methods of traditional knowledge as primitive and backward. Under colonial rule, traditional divine-healers were outlawed because they were considered to be practitioners of witchcraft and magic and declared it illegal.
Europeans were very familiar with clandestine methods concerning deeper spirituality meant only for certain people that kept them hidden.
Historically the witchcraft level has been applied to practices that influenced the mind, body, or property of others against their will. The concept of a magic-worker influencing another person's body against their will was clearly present in both folk magic and religious magic. Many examples appear in ancient texts, such as those from Egypt and Babylonia.
The cradle of Christianity in England was in North-Umber-Land and the landscape of the county is noted for its malevolent energy showing an undeveloped landscape of high moorland. It is the most sparsely populated county in England, with only 62 people per square kilometer.
The first translation of the entire New Testament was done here and the combined work of three individuals was put together in this county. Of the three translators, two were burned at stake. William Tyndale was burned on 6 October 1536 in Vil-Voorde, Belgium (Brusellas in known as the city of the witches). John Rogers was tested by fire on 4 February 1555 at Smith-Field, England; the first to meet this fate under Mary I of England. Myles Cover-Dale was employed by Cromwell to work on the Great Bible of 1539, the first officially authorized English translation of the Bible. Time and extensive scrutiny have judged TynDale the most gifted of the three translators. His ancestry came from North-Umber-Land.
While in the New World, the faith of its people was based in the subconscious mind, the Europeans just relied their faith in the materialistic view of it.
When they arrived to the Americas, the old World was experience a huge division in terms of religion. Fear and Terror overcome them seeing how the Andean people managed their beliefs. The only way they saw for them to obtain their land was using the same Andean people to kill each other.
They took advantage of the civil war that was taking place and helped the group of Andean people against Atahualpa in order to protect themselves and at the same time using them as guides to the places where they were able to plan ahead the murder of the Inca. Behaving like they were sent by their gods they first intermarriage with the princesses in a process of 2 or 3 years learning in that way the language, after the 1st arrival. After murdering the Inca the plan that followed was how to take advantage of it and become the new landlords of the New Land.
Europeans just followed their own desire of power making them followers of their own religion: riches and power through it.
A theme in Inca mythology is the duality of the Cosmos. The realms were separated into Upper and Lower Realms.
Hanan Pacha, the Upper World, was the realm of the sun, moon, stars, rainbow, and lightning.
Uccu Pacha and Urin Pacha were the realms of the Pacha-Mama, and the ancestors and heroes of the Inca or from other communities conquered by them.
Kay Pacha, was the realm of the outer earth, where humans resided and viewed as an intermediary realm between Hanan Pacha and Uccu Pacha.
The realms were represented by the condor(Upper World), puma(Outer Earth) and snake(Inner Earth).
Each realm behaved according to the spirit of the animal embodying them. Sacred sited and things named Huaca were spread around the Inca Empire. A Huaca was a deific entity which resided in natural objects such as mountains, boulders, streams, battle fields, other meeting places, and any type of place that was connected to the entities who governed with past Incan rulers. Inanimate objects also were treated as Huaca because it was believed to be a deity-carrying vessel.
Spiritual leaders in a community use prayer and offerings in order to communicate with the entities for advice or assistance. Human sacrifice was seen as a high honor for the one who was chosen to do the cross over. They were prepared from birth and educated in such a way that they were able to cross with enough power and bring the message to the gods. They were able to wait for the return to the world of the living to complete their life cycle.
Divination was an important part of Inca religion. It was seen as a systematic method with which they organized what appeared to be disjointed. As a practitioners of this holistic discipline they believed that illness was not derived from chance occurrences, but through spiritual or social imbalance. Diagnosis was reached through spiritual means and a treatment was prescribed, usually consisting of a herbal remedy that was considered to have not only healing abilities but also symbolic and spiritual significance.
The arrival of the Europeans was a noticeable turning point in the history of this ancient tradition. They considered the methods of traditional knowledge as primitive and backward. Under colonial rule, traditional divine-healers were outlawed because they were considered to be practitioners of witchcraft and magic and declared it illegal.
Europeans were very familiar with clandestine methods concerning deeper spirituality meant only for certain people that kept them hidden.
Historically the witchcraft level has been applied to practices that influenced the mind, body, or property of others against their will. The concept of a magic-worker influencing another person's body against their will was clearly present in both folk magic and religious magic. Many examples appear in ancient texts, such as those from Egypt and Babylonia.
The cradle of Christianity in England was in North-Umber-Land and the landscape of the county is noted for its malevolent energy showing an undeveloped landscape of high moorland. It is the most sparsely populated county in England, with only 62 people per square kilometer.
The first translation of the entire New Testament was done here and the combined work of three individuals was put together in this county. Of the three translators, two were burned at stake. William Tyndale was burned on 6 October 1536 in Vil-Voorde, Belgium (Brusellas in known as the city of the witches). John Rogers was tested by fire on 4 February 1555 at Smith-Field, England; the first to meet this fate under Mary I of England. Myles Cover-Dale was employed by Cromwell to work on the Great Bible of 1539, the first officially authorized English translation of the Bible. Time and extensive scrutiny have judged TynDale the most gifted of the three translators. His ancestry came from North-Umber-Land.
While in the New World, the faith of its people was based in the subconscious mind, the Europeans just relied their faith in the materialistic view of it.
When they arrived to the Americas, the old World was experience a huge division in terms of religion. Fear and Terror overcome them seeing how the Andean people managed their beliefs. The only way they saw for them to obtain their land was using the same Andean people to kill each other.
They took advantage of the civil war that was taking place and helped the group of Andean people against Atahualpa in order to protect themselves and at the same time using them as guides to the places where they were able to plan ahead the murder of the Inca. Behaving like they were sent by their gods they first intermarriage with the princesses in a process of 2 or 3 years learning in that way the language, after the 1st arrival. After murdering the Inca the plan that followed was how to take advantage of it and become the new landlords of the New Land.
Europeans just followed their own desire of power making them followers of their own religion: riches and power through it.
Sunday, April 3, 2016
THE CATASTROPHIC EXPLOSION OF THE HUAYNA-PUTINA
Huayna-Putina (4,800m/15,748ft) is a stratovolcano that is part of the Central Volcanic Upland Zone, a segment of the Andes running through in Southern Peru and Chile. The Huayna-Putina resides in the Moquegua Region, 80 kms /50mi South East of Arequipa, within a horseshoe-shaped crater 2.5 kms /2mi in with, and includes three 100-metre /328ft deep cones which formed from the ash fallout of the 1600 eruption.
Before the European settlement in South America, not much is really known of the region's disasters. According to the Andean religious beliefs, in both Aymara and Incas mythologies, ritual sacrifices were often made to the volcano to avoid the anger of Supay, god of death. Supay was both the god of death and the ruler of the Incan Underworld (Uku Pacha), as well as a race of demons. In every mine a ritual was performed by the miners to Supay to avoid volcanic eruptions or radical changes in the biosphere of the region due to over mining the resources that belonged to the underworld. During the rituals miners begged the god not to harm them.
The god Supay acquired symbolic effect, becoming a main character of the "Bolivian Diabladas" (in the Carnaval of Oruro), Peru and other Andean countries. In the Northern Region of Argentina, the underworld where Supay rules, is called "Salamanca." In some areas of Peru, the Quechua people continue the tradition of the Supay Dance named "Flame Virgin"(Mamacha Candicha), and is a festival with dancing lasting up to two weeks.
Another entity known as "Saqra"which is a Quechua word for malignant, pernicious, bad, bad tempered, wicked, restless devil, and synonym of Supay in a less degree just playing mischiefs among individuals is represented with animal figures in the same traditional dances offered to the god of death.
A few days before the eruption, someone reported booming noise from the volcano and fog-like gas being emitted from its crater. By February 15, the activity had noticeably increased, as earthquakes began to occur. By February 18, seismic activity occurred as frequently as three or four times every 15 minutes, some tremors powerful enough to wake sleepers up.
At 5pm, on February 19, the volcano erupted violently, sending volcanic ashes into the atmosphere. Observers described the event as "a big explosion with cannonball-like explosions" that had the appearance of an enormous fire. River-like flows flowed down the mountain; the flows on the Southern side mixed with water from the Tambo River creating a type of mud-flow running tens of meters per second (22mph or more), and 140m/460ft deep.
The Tambo River on the eastern slopes of the Andes refers to a short section of about 159 kms (99mi) long, starting at the confluence of the Ene and Perene Rivers and from here flowing easterly for about 70kms/43mi and then turning North. When merging with the Urubamba it becomes the Ucayali River.
The Tambo is part of the headwaters of the Amazon River whose origin is the Apurimac River at Nevado Mismi.
The explosion produced about 30 cubic kilometers (7.2 cu mi) of flows traveling 13 kms /8.1mi to the East and SouthEast, and the mud-flows destroyed several villages and reached the coast of the Pacific Ocean, a distance of 120kms/75mi.
One hour after the eruption, ash began to fall from the sky, and within 24 hours, the major cities of Arequipa (70kms/43mi to the West) and Moquegua were covered with 25 centimetres (10in) of ash. The accompanying earthquakes caused substantial damage to both cities.
Ash-fall was reported 250-500 kms (160-310mi) away, throughout Southern Peru and in what is now Northern Chile and Western Bolivia.
The volcano killed a great number of people, villages were wiped out. The atmospheric spike of acid as a result of the eruption was higher than that of Krakatoa. Regional agriculture economies took 150 years to recover fully.
The explosion had effects on climate around the Northern Hemisphere, where 1601 was the coldest year in 6 centuries, leading to a famine in Russia.
In Estonia, Switzerland and Latvia, there were bitterly cold winters in 1600-1602; in 1601 in France, the wine harvest came late; additionally, production of wine collapsed in Germany and colonial Peru.
In Japan, Lake Suwa had one of its earliest freezings in 500 years. In China, peach trees bloomed late.
Before the European settlement in South America, not much is really known of the region's disasters. According to the Andean religious beliefs, in both Aymara and Incas mythologies, ritual sacrifices were often made to the volcano to avoid the anger of Supay, god of death. Supay was both the god of death and the ruler of the Incan Underworld (Uku Pacha), as well as a race of demons. In every mine a ritual was performed by the miners to Supay to avoid volcanic eruptions or radical changes in the biosphere of the region due to over mining the resources that belonged to the underworld. During the rituals miners begged the god not to harm them.
The god Supay acquired symbolic effect, becoming a main character of the "Bolivian Diabladas" (in the Carnaval of Oruro), Peru and other Andean countries. In the Northern Region of Argentina, the underworld where Supay rules, is called "Salamanca." In some areas of Peru, the Quechua people continue the tradition of the Supay Dance named "Flame Virgin"(Mamacha Candicha), and is a festival with dancing lasting up to two weeks.
Another entity known as "Saqra"which is a Quechua word for malignant, pernicious, bad, bad tempered, wicked, restless devil, and synonym of Supay in a less degree just playing mischiefs among individuals is represented with animal figures in the same traditional dances offered to the god of death.
A few days before the eruption, someone reported booming noise from the volcano and fog-like gas being emitted from its crater. By February 15, the activity had noticeably increased, as earthquakes began to occur. By February 18, seismic activity occurred as frequently as three or four times every 15 minutes, some tremors powerful enough to wake sleepers up.
At 5pm, on February 19, the volcano erupted violently, sending volcanic ashes into the atmosphere. Observers described the event as "a big explosion with cannonball-like explosions" that had the appearance of an enormous fire. River-like flows flowed down the mountain; the flows on the Southern side mixed with water from the Tambo River creating a type of mud-flow running tens of meters per second (22mph or more), and 140m/460ft deep.
The Tambo River on the eastern slopes of the Andes refers to a short section of about 159 kms (99mi) long, starting at the confluence of the Ene and Perene Rivers and from here flowing easterly for about 70kms/43mi and then turning North. When merging with the Urubamba it becomes the Ucayali River.
The Tambo is part of the headwaters of the Amazon River whose origin is the Apurimac River at Nevado Mismi.
The explosion produced about 30 cubic kilometers (7.2 cu mi) of flows traveling 13 kms /8.1mi to the East and SouthEast, and the mud-flows destroyed several villages and reached the coast of the Pacific Ocean, a distance of 120kms/75mi.
One hour after the eruption, ash began to fall from the sky, and within 24 hours, the major cities of Arequipa (70kms/43mi to the West) and Moquegua were covered with 25 centimetres (10in) of ash. The accompanying earthquakes caused substantial damage to both cities.
Ash-fall was reported 250-500 kms (160-310mi) away, throughout Southern Peru and in what is now Northern Chile and Western Bolivia.
The volcano killed a great number of people, villages were wiped out. The atmospheric spike of acid as a result of the eruption was higher than that of Krakatoa. Regional agriculture economies took 150 years to recover fully.
The explosion had effects on climate around the Northern Hemisphere, where 1601 was the coldest year in 6 centuries, leading to a famine in Russia.
In Estonia, Switzerland and Latvia, there were bitterly cold winters in 1600-1602; in 1601 in France, the wine harvest came late; additionally, production of wine collapsed in Germany and colonial Peru.
In Japan, Lake Suwa had one of its earliest freezings in 500 years. In China, peach trees bloomed late.
Friday, April 1, 2016
THE GUITARRERO CAVE
The Guitarrero Cave is located in the Alley of Huaylas (Callejon de Huaylas) Valley in Yungay (one of the 20) Province, in the Ancash region of Peru. The people of Guitarrero Cave are known as the ancestors of the Chavin Culture that developed in the Northern Andean Highlands of Peru from 900 BC to 200 BC, and extended its influence to other civilizations along the coast. The Chavin people were located in the Mosna Valley where the Mosna and the Huachecsa Rivers merge. This area is 3,150 meters above sea level and encompases the Quechua, Jalca, and Puna, life zones.
The Yungay Province in which the cave is located, is divided into 8 districts, which are: Cascapara, Mancos, Matacoto, Quillo, Ranrahirca, Shupluy, Yanama, Yungay.
The White Mountain Range and the Black Mountain Range traverse the Yungay province, where the North end of the Black Range (to the West) converges with the White Range (to the East) and naturally form the Duck's Canyon, at the North end of the Alley of Huaylas.
The rugged canyon walls are too steep and arid for cultivation, and in only a very few places the domestic animals find it suitable for grazing. These two Andean ridges run parallel for nearly 140 km from South of the city of Huaraz northward to the Canyon; then the White Mountain Range continues Northward for another 100 kms or more.
Huascaran (6,768m / 22,205ft), the highest elevation of Peru, lies on the border to the Carhuaz Province.
The Guitarrero Cave stands 50 meters above the Santa River at 2,580 meters above sea level.
The Lake Cono-Cocha, at an altitude of 4,050 m above the sea level, is considered the headwaters of the Santa River. Cono-Cocha itself is fed by small streams from the Black Mountain Range (West) and the snow-capped White Mountain Range (East). The River emerges from the Lake and for 200kms runs in a Northerly direction between the Black Range (West) and the White Range (East), forming the fertile Aley of Huaylas (Callejon de Huaylas), the Valley between the two Ranges averages about 16 kms in width but in places as much as 25 kms in width. At 2,000m above sea level the River changes its course to a Westerly direction, squeezing through the narrow gorge of Duck's Canyon (Canon del Pato) before it finally breaks through the coastal ridges.
The Guitarrero Cave has evidence of human use as early as 10,560 BC. A human's mandible and teeth found in the cave have been carbon dated to 10,610 BC. Also there is evidence of campfires that are dated between 8,500 and 7,000BC. Wood, bone, antler and fiber cordage were among the artifacts that were recovered from the site, as well as willow leaf, tanged, lanceolate, and concave base projectile points. A single grinding slab, a bone flesher, cist tombs, and wall paintings between about 1000 BC-1000 CE were also recovered from this part of the area.
In the 1960s, Americans and Europeans treasure's hunters discovered artifacts in a extraordinary state of preservation at the site. Remarkably, textiles, wood, and leather tools, and basketry have been preserved intact. Fiber-work found in the cave dates back over 10,000 years -the earliest found in South America. The cave held utilitarian containers made by twisting, looping, and knotting plant fibers.
Some of the earliest cultivated plants in South America have been found in the Guitarrero Cave. They include:
-Aji Pepper (Capsicum baccatum): 1st appears at the cave in 8,500 BC. It includes the following: Aji Amarillo, also called Amarillo Chili and Aji Escabeche.
-Oca (Oxalis tuberosa):1st appears 8,500-7,500 BC, is a perennial herbaceous plant that over-winters as underground stern tubers and are used as a root vegetable. It is the precursor of the Andean potatoes and grow in a range of different colors. New Zealand treasure hunters were the first that introduced Oca to Europe in 1830 as a competitor to their sister, the Andean potato, and to New Zealand as early as 1860. Oca has become a popular table vegetable there and is simply called yam or New Zealand yam.
-Yellow lantern chili (Capsicum chinese): 1st appears 8,000-7,500 BC, known for their exceptional heat and unique flavors had its origin in this cave. The hottest peppers in the world are members of these species.
-The common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris): 1st appears 8,000-7,500 BC is grown worldwide for its climbing habits and also has its origin in this cave.
-Pallares (Phaseolus coccineus) are the most popular ingredient in Peruvian cuisine. Two separate domestication events occurred. The 1st, taking place in the cave and the 2nd when the plant started to move from it and the bean started to reduce its size creating another variety without jeopardizing the mother plant. By the 1300s, the plant cultivation spread north and south, and by 1500s, the plant began to be cultivated in the Old World. It is now worldwide consumed especially by the Greeks. The flower of the plant is the favorite of hummingbirds.
-Lucuma (Lucuma bifera): 1st appears 8,000-5,500 BC, and is found in ceramics and burial sites in the Highlands of the Andes and along the coast of Peru. It played an important role in the religious beliefs of the Andean People. Everyone tasted lucuma in everyday bases and still is a popular ingredient in Peruvian gastronomy.
-Olluco (Ullucus tuberosus): 1st appears 6,000 BC at the"Three Windows"Cave, and next at Guitarrero Cave 5,500 BC. It is one of the most widely grown and economically important root crops in the Andes and second only to the potato.
-Zapallo (Cucurbita Moschata) 1st appear 7,000 BC. It was cultivated and consumed by the people of Guitarrero Cave.
-Maize or corn (Zea Mays): 1st traces identified from 6,200 BC. Maize has been identified as well in the Ayacucho Region (South Central Peru) as early as 4,400 and 3,100 BC. The type of kernel that the maize has are gigantic in size. The crop spread throughout the Andes and developed a trade work based on surplus and varieties of crops.
The Yungay Province in which the cave is located, is divided into 8 districts, which are: Cascapara, Mancos, Matacoto, Quillo, Ranrahirca, Shupluy, Yanama, Yungay.
The White Mountain Range and the Black Mountain Range traverse the Yungay province, where the North end of the Black Range (to the West) converges with the White Range (to the East) and naturally form the Duck's Canyon, at the North end of the Alley of Huaylas.
The rugged canyon walls are too steep and arid for cultivation, and in only a very few places the domestic animals find it suitable for grazing. These two Andean ridges run parallel for nearly 140 km from South of the city of Huaraz northward to the Canyon; then the White Mountain Range continues Northward for another 100 kms or more.
Huascaran (6,768m / 22,205ft), the highest elevation of Peru, lies on the border to the Carhuaz Province.
The Guitarrero Cave stands 50 meters above the Santa River at 2,580 meters above sea level.
The Lake Cono-Cocha, at an altitude of 4,050 m above the sea level, is considered the headwaters of the Santa River. Cono-Cocha itself is fed by small streams from the Black Mountain Range (West) and the snow-capped White Mountain Range (East). The River emerges from the Lake and for 200kms runs in a Northerly direction between the Black Range (West) and the White Range (East), forming the fertile Aley of Huaylas (Callejon de Huaylas), the Valley between the two Ranges averages about 16 kms in width but in places as much as 25 kms in width. At 2,000m above sea level the River changes its course to a Westerly direction, squeezing through the narrow gorge of Duck's Canyon (Canon del Pato) before it finally breaks through the coastal ridges.
The Guitarrero Cave has evidence of human use as early as 10,560 BC. A human's mandible and teeth found in the cave have been carbon dated to 10,610 BC. Also there is evidence of campfires that are dated between 8,500 and 7,000BC. Wood, bone, antler and fiber cordage were among the artifacts that were recovered from the site, as well as willow leaf, tanged, lanceolate, and concave base projectile points. A single grinding slab, a bone flesher, cist tombs, and wall paintings between about 1000 BC-1000 CE were also recovered from this part of the area.
In the 1960s, Americans and Europeans treasure's hunters discovered artifacts in a extraordinary state of preservation at the site. Remarkably, textiles, wood, and leather tools, and basketry have been preserved intact. Fiber-work found in the cave dates back over 10,000 years -the earliest found in South America. The cave held utilitarian containers made by twisting, looping, and knotting plant fibers.
Some of the earliest cultivated plants in South America have been found in the Guitarrero Cave. They include:
-Aji Pepper (Capsicum baccatum): 1st appears at the cave in 8,500 BC. It includes the following: Aji Amarillo, also called Amarillo Chili and Aji Escabeche.
-Oca (Oxalis tuberosa):1st appears 8,500-7,500 BC, is a perennial herbaceous plant that over-winters as underground stern tubers and are used as a root vegetable. It is the precursor of the Andean potatoes and grow in a range of different colors. New Zealand treasure hunters were the first that introduced Oca to Europe in 1830 as a competitor to their sister, the Andean potato, and to New Zealand as early as 1860. Oca has become a popular table vegetable there and is simply called yam or New Zealand yam.
-Yellow lantern chili (Capsicum chinese): 1st appears 8,000-7,500 BC, known for their exceptional heat and unique flavors had its origin in this cave. The hottest peppers in the world are members of these species.
-The common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris): 1st appears 8,000-7,500 BC is grown worldwide for its climbing habits and also has its origin in this cave.
-Pallares (Phaseolus coccineus) are the most popular ingredient in Peruvian cuisine. Two separate domestication events occurred. The 1st, taking place in the cave and the 2nd when the plant started to move from it and the bean started to reduce its size creating another variety without jeopardizing the mother plant. By the 1300s, the plant cultivation spread north and south, and by 1500s, the plant began to be cultivated in the Old World. It is now worldwide consumed especially by the Greeks. The flower of the plant is the favorite of hummingbirds.
-Lucuma (Lucuma bifera): 1st appears 8,000-5,500 BC, and is found in ceramics and burial sites in the Highlands of the Andes and along the coast of Peru. It played an important role in the religious beliefs of the Andean People. Everyone tasted lucuma in everyday bases and still is a popular ingredient in Peruvian gastronomy.
-Olluco (Ullucus tuberosus): 1st appears 6,000 BC at the"Three Windows"Cave, and next at Guitarrero Cave 5,500 BC. It is one of the most widely grown and economically important root crops in the Andes and second only to the potato.
-Zapallo (Cucurbita Moschata) 1st appear 7,000 BC. It was cultivated and consumed by the people of Guitarrero Cave.
-Maize or corn (Zea Mays): 1st traces identified from 6,200 BC. Maize has been identified as well in the Ayacucho Region (South Central Peru) as early as 4,400 and 3,100 BC. The type of kernel that the maize has are gigantic in size. The crop spread throughout the Andes and developed a trade work based on surplus and varieties of crops.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)