Realm of the Ice-cloaked Mountain Gods

CERUTI, CONSTANZA

The Explorers Journal

The Explorers Club

Lugar: New York; Año: 2007 vol. 85 p. 36 - 37

The role of mountains as custodians of the ice and givers of precious water has been ritually acknowledged throughout the Andes for many centuries. Located over 22,000 feet, in Northern Argentina, the highest ceremonial site in the world was built by the Inca civilization on a volcano named Llullaillaco, which in Quechua means “that lies about the water”. Five hundred years ago, three children were sacrificed and buried on this lofty summit, to become messengers to the realms of the mountain spirits. The discovery of these nearly perfectly preserved ice mummies has contributed to raise awareness about the urgency of preserving the cultural patrimony of the Andes, which is severely endangered by looting and treasure hunting. Global warming is a somewhat more silent destroyer of the Andean heritage; not only affecting the high altitude archaeological shrines of the Incas, but also the ceremonies performed by their descendents in modern times.   The Quechua natives still pay homage to the mountain spirits of the Andes. The festivity of the Lord of the Star of Snow is one of the most important mountain pilgrimages in the world, congregating nearly 70.000 devotees from the Peruvian Sierras and the Bolivian highlands, at an altitude of 16,000 feet, near the foot of the holy mount Ausangate. The glaciers in the area are ritually climbed during the climax of the ceremony, in search for sacred ice that is revered for its healing properties. The mission is entrusted to the young “bear-men” known as ukukus, who are perceived as mediators between the pilgrims and the mountain spirits. The ukukus are expected to climb up to the glaciers at night, braving the freezing temperatures, the crevasses, and the fear of the ghosts of the condemned souls, in order to retrieve the sacred ice that will bring health and fertility to their communities. In this paper I examine the changes caused by the retreating glaciers, and the impact in the rituals and beliefs among the Andean devotees at the mountain shrine of Qoyllur Ritti, demonstrating how global warming is taking a toll on the religious life of the Andes.