History of Mountain-earringsBy: drew arnold

The Andean People and the Sacred Apus

By: Thomas Ryan

QuechuaA language

Apu : A powerful mountain deity Awki : protective ancestral spirit and mythical personage living in the highest Andean peaks

A PeopleDescendants of the Inca Highest demographic density at >3,400m.a.s.l1000s of years of adaptation to mountain environment

The Apus• Apu Salkantay, Apu

Awsanqati, Apu Willka Wiqi, Huayna Pichu

• After death, souls of animals and humans are harbored in the highest mountain peaks

• Male and Female• Spiritual and

Pragmatic uses

Apu Salkantay“Savage Mountain”

-Principal deity controlling weather and fertility in the Cuzco region (surrounding Machu Picchu)

-Worshipped & Feared ~ Source of life and death

-Duality

-20,600 ft.

Coca~Used to mitigate effects of altitude

~Chewed or drank in tea

~Suppresses hunger, thirst, cold, fatigue, altitude sickness

~Contains essential vitamins & Minerals essential to simple mountain diet

~Coca k’intu – 3 leaves blown towards the mountains

Alpaca~Considered ancestors of people

~Extremely adapted to high mountain environment

~Life not possible in the Andes without them

Inca Mountain Sacrifice• Johan Reinhard

(Mountaineer, Nat Geo Researcher)– Discovered more than

40 high altitude Inca ritual sites

– 3 mummies found at 22,000 ft. on Llullaillaco

• Over 115 Inca ceremonial sites found at >15,000 ft. on some 30 Andean peaks

Machu Picchu~Elevation - 7,972 ft.

~Citadel of mountain worship

~Highly advanced gravity-driven water system

Quyllur Rit'i

~Sinakara valley in southern Peru’s Ocongate province

~On glaciers above 15,000 ft.

~Honor mountains and restore order to chaos for the coming agricultural year

Why Mountains?Why Climb?