Geoscience Reference
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modern world, even fedora hats are now used as cultural markers for some groups
that show a much more urbanized fl air and networking abilities, such as the market-
oriented (
mindala
), globe-troting 'Otavalos' (
Utawalukuna
) of northern Ecuador.
However, a more elaborated physical ritual is the initiation rite of young males
(
warachicuy
) that includes an exuberant display of red and golden fabrics for shorts
(
wara
) and colorful coats (
kushma
). Several guardian mountains in the region
(
apukuna
) can be taken as members of the pantheon where a sacral feature, or more
importantly, sacred mountains, are located, such as Mt. Ausangate in Peru, sur-
rounded by other lesser mountains in the range (Sallnow
1987
). Ritual processions
to the mountain with offerings to placate maladies or to stimulate fortune are
observed yearly during the
Kyllur Rit'i
festival in the
Sinakara
valley of Peru, coin-
ciding with the Catholic observance of 'Corpus Christi' every June (Randall
1987
).
The pilgrims, dressed as masked parishioners, perform either as trickster clowns or
policemen (
ukuku
or
chapa
), with other pilgrims performing as old settlers or hill
keepers (
machula
or
ñaupa machu
), form long lines ascending to the glaciers.
There they pray, sing, dance, drink, and play. In the past, they used to fi ght; how-
ever, the Catholic Church banned this fi ghting practice decades ago. Many pil-
grims also break chunks of ice to bring the 'holy water' to their families in the
valley fl oor (Ceruti and Reinhard
2005
).
The mountain air (
wairaurku
), as opposed to the murmur of the water (
wairaku-
cha
), could become temperamental and infl uence the people of Andean valleys in a
different fashion. Sometimes the good spirit (
tin
) could blow warm spells that make
people sick with hot disease cured by the
yachak
with cold drinks and showers.
Other times, the bad spirit (
xiagra
) could blow cold spells that make people sick
with chills that are cured with hot infusions or direct blows of fi re from the mouth
of the
yachak
, along with insults and beatings with stinging nettle, herbs and, shrubs
that will return warmth to the patient. Here, the antlers are used ritually to pinch the
patient's back with their tips or knocking the patient's legs with the antler's trunk, in
order to counter the effects of either
tin
or
xiagra.
Sometimes, unwanted pregnan-
cies are blamed on the diabolic mountain spirit (
supay
), thought to be witty and
playful like a fawn or a small doe, or some immaterial presence, such as the rainbow
(
kuychi
) or the groundwater seepage (
macha'chig
) in cloud forest areas (
sacha
)
where the deer hides before going to the highland grasslands (
jallka
) and cold,
windy meadows (
sallka
).
The antlers also were used to represent the shifting of day and night along an axis
of stars that readily can be seen along the milky-way in the clear skies above the
drier plains of the
Puna
region. This is the opposite of the cloudy skies of the
shrouded, fog-ridden slopes of the
Paramo
region. This constant rain (
para
) and
drizzle (
garwa
) explain the
Paramuna
of moist mountains on the northern ranges.
Again, crepuscular periods were considered as in-betweens for light and darkness
Yanantin,
hence, important rituals took place in ceremonial centers at dusk or dawn,
as it is exemplifi ed by the
Utawalu runakuna's
initiation rites in the
Piguchi
water-
fall of Ecuador, or the mythical replenishment of cold mountain water into the
sacred vase (
puyñu
), and more mundane domestic cups (
pilchi
), at the ceremonial
baths of
Kundurmachay
, near the
Saksawaman
ruins.
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