THE PEOPLE OF THE TITICACA LAKE.

The vast Titicaca Lake stretches 58,000 km2 across two countries, Peru and Bolivia, and sits at a high altitude of 3812m. It is the World's highest navigable Lake and the birthplace of the Inca people.
There are two main groups of descendants from ancient civilizations in Southern -Peru -the Quechua and the Aymara- speaking people. Puno is the only place in the World where you can find people from the two groups living unanimously together. Above Puno towards the North, there are only Quechua-speaking people, while in the South are the Aymara-speaking group.
The people of the Titicaca Lake have created a unique culture and a fascinating way of leaving a life around the vicinity of the city of Puno, Southern Peru. They pre-dates the Inca civilization preserving most of their ancient and unique way of living to this day. They consider themselves the guardians of the Lake and their chosen way of life protects them from foreign influence. They also claim to have a type of black blood that let them not to feel the cold temperatures of the region. They are World famous for their peaceful beauty and well-preserved traditional agrarian culture.
On the Titicaca Lake there are over 60 little floating villages with 4,000 people, that their people have constructed with natural resources. Using reeds (Totora, a strong aquatic plant), they build temporary houses that float atop the water surface.
The islands are made from layers of dried reeds that are woven together and fixed to the bed of the lake to stop them from moving. An island can last up to 30 years if it is kept in the right condition. When the reeds at the bottom rot from the water, new layers of reeds have to be added every 2 weeks for better resistance. The process of rebuilding the island requires constant maintenance and is one of the mainly daily tasks for the people of the Lake. Every floating village is inhabited by 8 families.
The people of the Lakes build boats and huts from the same reeds using similar technique to that of the islands.
The people of the Titicaca Lake lead a very simple life, catching food from the Lake, exchanging fish for any products they need and getting all their basic necessities from the environment. They maintain a light and healthy diet based on trout, quinoa, potatoes, oca, and a variety of herbs. The food is cooked with fire placed on a pile of stones. They do not eat meat products due to the peculiar atmospheric conditions caused by the region's high altitude. Food takes longer to digest than at sea level.
The people of the Titicaca Lake are completely self-sufficient. They weave their own clothes and materials. The quality of their garments and fabrics fills them with pride. Once the women are ready to settle down, they begin wearing colorful pompoms on their hats to announce they are ready to marry. If they are successful, they wear a red dress, meaning "married."
The people of the Titicaca Lake do not need money to survive as they get everything they need from their natural surroundings without destroying it.

INCA'S LAW.

The Incas were a great imperial state that raised in the Andean highlands and extended their control over some 3,000 miles. Despite the beauty of its landscapes, life in the highlands and the dry and over the sandy soil of the Coast line is pretty much very hard. Water is a scarce resource, which is accessed by seasons and the rugged terrain makes agriculture a very hard work.
For the inhabitants of the Inca Empire, the execution of the divine law that controlled the Water and the Land were beyond their power, they needed to submit themselves to the divine entities in charge of it. The Incas sought to expand agricultural areas, continuing building terraces complemented by very complex irrigation systems.
Because of their belief based on two elements Water and Earth, they understood that the origin of two elements were in the cosmos governed by a divine Law. Then they incorporated laws of previous Andean cultures, and fused them together and applied them in new and harmonic ways.
The state organization was superb in controlling peoples of different cultures and languages achieving a level of integration and domination never achieved before in the highlands of South America.
Rather than the breakdown of power that took place in many cultures around the World, in the Andean zone a number of large states continued to be important. Some states were in the Andean highlands on the broad open areas near Lake Titicaca, and other states were along rivers on the North Coast. They remained as centers of agricultural activity and population density. Of these states the coastal kingdom of Chimu, centered on its capital of Chan Chan, emerged as the most powerful. It gained control of most of the North Coast of Peru.
The Inca Law based on a set of powerful divine beliefs, customs and practices was very powerful.
The Inca imposed a set of 3 Laws on its citizens to maintain a level of morality on a very disciplined society: "Ama Sua, Ama Llulla, Ama Quella," or "Do not steal, Do not lie, Do not be lazy."
The Law promoted peace among its citizens, and the level of crime was very low. There was no system of imprisonment, and when a crime was committed the punishment was ruthless.
Since the purpose of the Law was to teach a lesson to the offender and prevent re-occurrence by any member of the society, mutilation and death penalty were applied as a exemplary to the rest of the population. Those who survived a punishment were forced to tell their experience for the rest of their lives and those interested in listening would give them food so basically their survival was based on how engaging and compelling their stories were.
The Inca Law then was very severe since it was understood as a kind of tool that regulated the divine cosmic energy of the 2 elements Water and Earth and the harmony between them was the mission they had to accomplish during its time on Earth. Any kind of law transgression was considered an action against divinities and penalties were collective or personal, according to the level of crime, from simple mass repressions to the isolation of entire villages.
Rebellions, homicide, adultery, second offenses in drunkenness, theft, and laziness, were all punished to death by stoning, hanging, or pushing the person off the cliff. Mutilations were common for theft.
When the Incas conquered a new territory local law  and rules continued to be applied since they had a divine origin and the supernatural entities in control were respected unless they were in conflict with the Inca Law. If the leader of the newly conquered territory opposed the new divine set of rules, he would be executed and a new loyal leader were elected to oversee and secure loyalty among the population. This new leader was usually transferred from another territory along with his family and entourage.
The world view of the Incas were reflected in its concern for food security meaning that the social organization of the empire was aimed at productivity and expanding borders to earn higher definition of power in their farmlands. Since their spiritual world was based on duality and reciprocity they maintained a fusion of power between the two in which harmony was the major ingredient.

THE LEGEND OF AKAKOR.

In 1973, Erick von Daniken, at the height of his fame, claimed in his book "The Gold of the Gods" that he had found a gigantic subterranean tunnel system. The Gods came from a different solar system and built an underground tunnel system that connected a series of fortresses and cities.
The story that brought von Daniken to South America began in the Brazilian town of Manaus. There, on March 3, 1972, a German foreign correspondent Karl Brugger met a local Amazonian Indian, Tatunca Nara,  that resulted in Brugger's book "The Chronicle of Akakor," published in 1976.
The number of foreign editions made at that time ended up in the creation of the legend of Akakor, a mythical town somewhere deep within the Amazonian jungle, still left to be discovered.
The title of the book was the same title used by the Amazonian tribe Ugha Mogulala's chronicle held sacred, or at least central, to their mythology and philosophy. The core message of the Chronicle was the statement that there were a network of tunnels, some of them still in existence today and used by the locals.
The local Amazonian Indian, Tatunca Nara claimed to be a member of this Amazonian tribe, the son of a native and the daughter of a German missionary, which was suppose to account for his impeccable German.
Tatunca Nara claimed that the Year Zero of the Chronicle was 10,841 BC. The time was very much outside of the framing time accepted by archaeological dates for human occupation  of the Amazon at the time. But it perfectly matched in the "Atlantis and Deluge" theory that many alternative researchers favored, due to the already popular spiritualist Edgar Cayce.
The best evidence in favor of the Chronicle would be to discover any of the thirteen underground cities, which this civilization left behind in the Amazon jungle. Their most important ancient towns were said to be known as Akakor, Akanis, and Akahim, as well as Cuzco and Macchu Picchu.
Tatunca Nara added that the first place named Akanis, was built on a narrow isthmus at a place where the two oceans met together. The second place was Akakor, far up towards the Purus River, in a high valley in the mountains of the border between Brazil and Peru. The whole city was surrounded by a high stone wall with 13 gates that were so narrow that they permitted access only to one person a time. The city had a Great Temple of the Sun, it contained documents, such as maps and drawings telling the history of the Earth. The third place was Akahim that was linked with Akakor, and was situated on the borders of Brazil and Venezuela. Finally Cuzco and Macchu Picchu were known to be genuine towns known as far back 1,000 BC.
All these fortified cities were completely destroyed in the first Great Catastrophe thirteen years after the departure of the Gods, leaving very little to check on the ground for foreigners.
The legend of Akakor received an entirely new dimension when Karl Brugger was murdered when he was leaving a restaurant in Rio de Janeiro on January 1, 1984. Some have queried whether his murder had anything to do with his book and/or knowledge of the tunneled fortresses.
Since the 1970s, the Amazon has become much more open to the world. Akakor, however, remains undiscovered. After Brugger, several other people went into the jungle, apparently all enthralled by the legend of Akakor, trying to be the discoverer of this mythical city.
Today the tunnels still in existence are known only by the locals who still preserve their use for sacred rituals.

THE ENCOMIENDA AND THE MITA.

The Spanish Crown organized a set of institutions for the administration and government of the lands taken from its owners in the New World.
The viceroyalties of New Spain and Peru headed the organization that were under control of the Crown up until the 18th century, when the viceroyalties of New Granada and Rio de la Plata were created.
The viceroyalties were divided into regional demarcations known as governments. Each of them was responsible for a territory with a specific numbers of towns or villages which were grouped together and controlled by magistracies.
Right from the start, cities were the nerve centers of all divisions of the administration, and the headquarters of all civil, ecclesiastical and military bodies were located there.
Each city was governed and administered by an institution imported directly from Spain. A flow of ideas, people and merchandise began to be exchanged between the viceroyalty of New Spain and the Philippine Islands, and over the centuries this created a permanent nexus between Asia and America.
The viceroyalty of Peru was created in 1542, and originally contained most of the South America land, and was governed from the capital of Lima. It was one of the two viceroyalties created in the Americas from the 16th to the 18th centuries.
The Spanish people did not resist the Portuguese expansion of Brazil. The creation during the 18th century of the viceroyalties of New Granada and Rio de la Plata, at the expense of Peru's territory, reduced the importance of Lima and shifted the lucrative Andean trade to Buenos Aires.
The "encomienda" was a labor system rewarding the labor of particular groups of people. It was established in the Old World during the Roman period and used also after the Christian re-conquest of Muslim territory. This labor system was applied  on a very much larger scale during the formation of the cities in the New World and the Philippines. Conquered people were considered vasssals of the Crown and the awarding of an "encomienda" was grant from the crown to a particular individual. The grants were considered to be a monopoly on the labor of particular Andean people, held in perpetuity by the grant holder, called the "encomendero," and his descendants. In many cases natives were forced to do very hard labor in the highest parts of the Andes and subjected to extreme punishment and death if they resisted.
During the Inca times, "mita"( a ritualistic form of labor) was mandatory public service. It was a tribute to the forces of nature governing the spiritual energy of the land. The public service required was in a community-driven projects such as the building of their extensive road network beneficial to the community itself and others communities of Andean people. Military service was also mandatory and controlled by sacred and ritualistic laws. Also all citizens who could perform labor were required to do so for a set numbers of days out of a year. Actually the very basic meaning of the word "mita" in the Andean language is a "regular turn" or "a season."
The Incas elaborated creatively on a ancient preexisting system of not only the "mita" exchange of labor but also the exchange of the energy belonging to the objects of religious veneration of the peoples whom they took into their empire. The exchange ensured proper compliance among conquered people.
In this instance Huacas and Pacarinas became significant centers of shared worship and a point of unification of their ethnically and linguistically diverse empire, bringing unity and citizenship to often geographically disparate zones and its people. This led eventually to a system of pilgrimages throughout all these various shrines by the Andean people of the empire prior to the introduction of the European way of Christianity practiced in the Old World.

ATAHUALPA.

Atahualpa was the 13th and last ruler of the Tahuantinsuyo, or Inca empire, that covered present-day Bolivia, Peru, and parts of Argentina, Chile, Ecuador, and Colombia.
Atahualpa was born in Quito, present day capital of Ecuador, and was one of the younger and favorite son among the sons of the Inca ruler, Huayna Capac. Her mother was an  Ecuadorian princess, and concubine of the Inca ruler. Atahualpa was not a legitimate heir.
The Incas were only permitted to marry their sisters, because no one else was noble enough to sustain the power invested only in the Inca line of emperors. A lack of harmony would arise if the heir was not from the noble blood putting the whole empire in jeopardy.
Huayna Capac died, before his time, from an infectious disease thought to be malaria or smallpox, brought to the Inca land by the europeans. No one knows if the infectious disease was brought to the land on purpose since it was the method that the Europeans used to fight their wars.
After Huayna Capac death, the heir to the throne also died, forcing the empire to be divided between the brothers Atahualpa and Huascar. Atahualpa ruled the Northern region while his brother Huascar ruled the Southern region.
Since Atahualpa was not from the sacred line, he acted solely in his own will without been backed up by the noble class. Then, Atahualpa waged a bloody civil war against his own brother, Huascar, that caused  severe distrust and division in the Inca empire. He later had Huascar murdered to ensure that he no longer was a threat to him.
The european invaders later exploited the division of power and the spread of the infectious diseases among the andean people to their own benefit since they became immune to the virus making the situation worse.
Atahualpa saw how enamored the europeans were of gold and silver and he is best known for providing a room full of gold and silver as his ransom when the foreign invaders captured him using the help of Huascar followers to provoke more confusion, though they still executed him.
Cultural destruction followed on a large scale, replacing it with a system with no respect for the land.
Under the Incas, consumption and food production had been carefully balanced, with everyone contributing to the good of the community and everyone receiving enough.

MAMA QUILLA, THE MOTHER MOON.

The Inca culture of Western South America were a very advanced, wealthy culture with sophisticated record-keeping, astronomy and art. The Inca had a very complex religion that incorporated many aspects of the sky and nature. The Inca had a pantheon of major gods who had an individual personalities and duties and one of their most important deities was Mama Quilla, the moon.
Mama Quilla was known as "Mother Moon"and was generally the 3rd deity in the Inca pantheon, after the god of the sun, Inti, and the god of thunder, Illapu. However, she was viewed as more important than Inti by some coastal communities, including by the Chimu. Relatives of Mama Quilla include her husband Inti, and her children Manco Capac, first ruler of the Incas, and Mama Ocllo, his sister and wife.
Mama Quilla was venerated because of her admirable beauty and the benefits she bestows upon the world.
Mama Quilla was important for calculating the passage of time and the calendar, because many rituals were based upon the lunar calendar and adjusted to match the solar year.
The Incas could not predict solar or lunar eclipses and when one occurred, it tend to trouble them greatly. The priests and priestesses would attempt to figure out why the gods were diepleased, and sacrifices would be offered. The Inca rarely practiced human sacrifice, but an eclipse sometimes was considered a deep cause to do so. The reigning Inca would fast  for days after an eclipse and would fear lunar eclipses as they believed that during the eclipse, an animal, usually the jaguar, was attacking Mama Quilla. Consequently, they would attempt to scare away the animal by beating their dogs to make them howl and bark, or by throwing weapons, or by gesturing and making as much noise as possible. They believed that if the jaguar achieved its aim, then the world would be left in complete darkness, letting the jaguar crash to Earth to eat its people. The jaguar's assault explained the rusty or blood-red color that the moon often turned during a total lunar eclipse.
Mama Quilla had her own temple in Cuzco, served by priestesses dedicated to her. She was imagined as a human female, and images of her included a silver disc covering an entire wall. She was also believed to cry tears of silver.

THE VIRGINS OF THE SUN.

The Inca Empire adopted from earlier cultures several religious institutions to manage the union of the people in the territory it ruled. Among these institutions were the aclla.
Each year a select group of girls called "Virgins of the Sun"(Acllakunas) were chosen by the Inca government representatives, called Apu-Panaca. They collected girls 8 to 10 years old from the provinces and were taken from their families and lived in special dwellings to be prepared for the highest honor -to serve the Sun. The girls selected weren't of noble birth, instead they were village girls gifted with a special beauty reflected from the inside out and their talents radiated naturally. The girls were sent for training in provincial centers to live together in complexes of buildings called acllawasi (house of the chosen women) which were big enough to house up to 200 women in residence.
The girls were trained for about 4 years in religion, spinning and weaving, preparation of sacred food, and brewing chicha. They they became temple priestesses (mamacunas) to become the brides of special soldiers who had distinguished themselves in combat, or maidens in state shrines performing their assigned religious duties. In this case they lived celibate lives, serving the Creator God (Viracocha) in their physical manifestation of live.
The most skilled and physically perfect mamacuna were sent to Cuzco, the capital of the empire, and became the secondary wife or concubine of the Inca and other noblemen. A few were destined to cross over to the world of the dead in a religious ceremony called Capacocha to carry messages to the noblemen already there.
The Capacocha was a solemn sacrifice or royal obligation in which the Inca sent the best representative in order to ensure that humanity's best were sent to join their deities and deliver their messages. The ceremony took place under several circumstances fulfilling religious and political goals and were usually not done in the region from which they originated. It was often associated with high-altitude occurrences at the tops of the Andean mountains. Over 100 ceremonial centers and shrines were built within Inca territories on or near the high summits of the highest mountains. Some mountains were viewed as home to important mountain deities. The ceremonies at these important locations held a great deal of weight.
At the time of the European invasion in the early 16th century, the Virgins numbered several thousand and were governed by a high priestess, the Coya Pasca, a noble woman of royal blood who was the earthly receptor of a very special energy given by the Creator god, Viracocha.