11/6: Puno, Peru: Aymara & Inca Burial Tombs at Sillustani

This morning I walked around the southern Peruvian city of Puno, known as the folkloric capital of the country. Steven was pretty sick from the region's and city's high altitude so he decided the best thing for him was to sleep at the hotel rather than join me on the afternoon tour we'd arranged of the Sillustani Burial Towers. Saul, the tour guide, explained on the drive to the tombs located about an hour northwest of Puno depending on traffic, that the huge funerary tombs were a cemetery for Inca leaders. As much as I missed Steven, I was glad he didn't come on the tour as Saul remarked the tombs' elevation were well over 13,000 feet above sea level.

Views of Puno and Lake Titicaca, the enormous lake bordering Peru and Bolivia:

Saul commented on how much Puno has grown in recent years. When I asked him about the two parades I'd enjoyed so much that morning, he said they were because it was the city's 340th celebration of the city's birth or founding. He added that since Peru is 80% Catholic, the city also celebrates every patron saint including those in the Andean religion respecting Mother and Father Earth as everything comes from the earth.

In Puno and the surrounding area, there is a fusion between the Catholic and Andean religion or beliefs, according to Saul. That is reflected when people marry in the church but then participate immediately in a ritual at home attended by a shaman to wish the couple well.

Saul stated that a characteristic of Lake Titicaca was the presence of countless numbers of tortora reeds, some of which were visible below.

We were told that white potatoes are grown by farmers near the lake, then frozen overnight and stomped on the next day to eliminate water. Once the potatoes are covered with grass, they are preserved for up to ten years. Archaeologists have even come across potatoes that were 100 years old!

We knew the Sillustani tombs were coming up shortly as they were located high on a peninsula in Lake Umayo.

I included these photos of the lake's flamingos, Judy, just to whet your appetite. A lot more are coming, I promise you!

Saul explained that a tunki is a type of parrot which, after it eats coffee beans, its poop is collected. The resulting coffee is considered by many to be the best in the world. Not being a coffee drinker, I had no desire to try it out!

Views of the settlement that has grown up near the tombs:

Another shot of Lake Umayo:

From the parking lot, we hiked up to the burial towers, one of the main attractions on Lake Titicaca. I read the oldest date back to more than 1,100 years, well before the Incas. That contradicted Saul's earlier comment that the Sillustani tombs were Inca burial grounds.

Saul informed us the pottery and ceramic shards on the path pre-dated the Inca culture. Pottery, glass, gold, silver and textiles were discovered in the tombs but they were considered to be decorations only.

I learned that this part of the Andes was a magnetic area with lots of lightning and different types of granite and volcanic stone.

Because of the tectonic formation here, the level of the lake used to be much higher. The entire area has been made into a national preserve to protect vicuñas that are almost extinct due to over hunting. Saul said one vicuña scarf would cost $500 compared to just $50 for a soft chinchilla one.

This munja plant, growing in profusion on the hillside near the tombs, had multiple uses. It was good for stomach aches, its oil was used to preserve mummies' skin in the tombs, and it was also beneficial for breathing issues arising from the high altitude.

Sillustani had been considered to be a sacred place but I didn't get the sense from Saul that was still true.

The large, naturally formed pumice stone located near the top of the path to the tombs had a carved spiral petroglyph that dated to the Inca Late Horizon Period which lasted from 1450-1532 AD. Saul asked us to use our imagination to see if the rock looked like the head of a puma, an animal representing strength that was sacred to Inca people.

I had read that he proper name for a circular burial tower, used for Aymara and Inca royalty, is ayawasi which means 'city of the dead.' They are known colloquially, however, as chullpas which are actually the shrouds used to cover the mummies inside. Although unintentional, many of the bodies were mummified due to the arid conditions of the Andean altiplano combined with the closed tombs.

This was the land of the Aymari-speaking Colla people and the precision of their masonry rivaled that of the Inca. Saul told us the biggest tomb was destroyed 70 years ago by a lightning rod. The stones for Sillustani's tombs came from a quarry on the other side of the hill. Easy access to water was required to cut the stones which were made flat by rubbing one stone over another.

An image of a serpent was clearly seen on one of the stones.

The Inca also cut concave and rounded stones at Sillustani as they did in the ruins near Cusco. Most of the chullpas dated from the 14th and 15th centuries, but some were erected as early as 900 AD.

This shorter mausoleum had two layers of stones. Saul stated that servants were sacrificed by drinking poison so they could remain with their masters in the afterlife. Clay or small rocks were used to join the larger 'male' and 'female' stones. Some people considered these structures to be anti-earthquake but this wasn't an earthquake region. People 'feel' the reaction of earthquakes here at Sillustani, Saul said, because of so much wind but there is no action from earthquakes.

The tallest, known as The Lizard because of a carving on one of its massive stones, had a circumference of 28 feet. A lizard was carved in high relief on the sixth row of stones of the chullpa. The lizard was a symbol of life due to its ability to regrow their tails. The chullpa had been built partly on the remains of the Tiwanku culture located about four feet deep and then sealed by a layer of red clay. An unusual architectural aspect of the chullpas was that the circumference was smaller at the bottom than the top.

Clay was used to fix holes in the stones.

Saul let us know that there used to be many big circles of stones near the tombs. Those were the bases of the homes of the tombs' builders who constructed 200 tombs at Sillustani. Archaeologists have found residue of quinoa and potatoes in the stone circles.

This was one of the anchors used to counter the very strong winds on the Sillustani hill to tie down the alpaca animal skin roof of the conical-shaped homes built from stones and straw.

In the middle of this ceremonial center, shamans would perform certain rites.

The modest towers of field-stone and mortar belonged to the pre-Inca Aymara people.

Saul pointed out this construction was Inca style which only lasted for 132 years from 1400-1532 AD.

This Hatun Ayawasi Pampa sector was the most important in the archaeological complex and located in the area with the best preserved buildings in the most important place.

I couldn't resist including this quote I found about Sillustani: "Sillustani's mystique was heightened by the gorgeous views over Lake Umayo and its mesa-shaped island, El Sombrero, as well as by the utter silence that prevailed, broken only by the wind over the water and the cries of the lake birds."

The large stone protuberances on some of the towers were present because ropes were tied to them to haul stones when the towers were constructed.

I felt so tiny compared to these massive burial towers. The insides of the tombs were built to hold entire groups of people, most likely extended families of the Aymara elite. Corpses were not intentionally mummified, but they survived for centuries in the dry environment created by the closed tomb. Most mummy bundles indicate burial in a fetal position.

A single window was set in the eastern wall of the tubular mausoleums to let the rising sun enter the tomb and bring the life of a new day to the deceased.

I marveled at the very different styles of the burial towers when we had some free time to wander around the tombs on the hill. Although so many stood crumbling and empty, the decay only added to the powerful sense of impermanence and mortality. Their lonely setting within the vast and beautiful wilderness further emphasized how temporal human life is.

A view from the top of Sillustani to the small community below:

Saul said the narrow strips of land that bordered the lake were examples of channel farming or 'waru waru techniques' where certain plants thrived in the special micro climates at over 13,000 feet.