Becoming Inka: An Interpretative Narrative of the Metamorphosis, Taki and Landscape of Tanta Karwa

Abstract

Human sacrifice was a central institution in the Inka world. However, research into this subject is still in its infancy. To date, most studies have focused principally on reconstructing the final moments of Qhapaq Hucha, the Inka state ceremony, during which selected individuals were sacrificed at principal shrines, utilising both the archaeological record and the ethnohistorical documents. It is suggested that these studies have operated from a more etic view of sacrifice, which tends to cast the sacrificed individuals in a passive role, while it remains unclear how these events impacted communities and assisted to build relationships between them and Cusco, the Inka capital. A text-aided approach for both a study of the ethnohistorical documents and the archaeological record as well as a phenomenological one to build a more emic view of Inka religion, ceremony, sacrifice and landscape. A phenomenological perspective of sacrifice views it as a broader cultural process during which the landscape is transformed. This is explored through the case study of Tanta Karwa, an ethnohistorically reported example of Inka sacrifice in Ocros, Ancash, Peru. The 17th century document provides a window into understanding the nature of Inka sacrifice, ceremony and the role of landscape. It also raises a number of issues regarding the selection and redistribution process of individuals for sacrifice and also how communities were impacted by Inka presence. In order to establish an archaeological narrative of her sacrifice, it is critical to examine the processes of Inka ceremony in Cusco and its archaeology, as well as to explore the nature of Inka place-making. By re-situating Tanta Karwa into her cultural context, new insights into the transformation of individuals and groups through Inka domestication and the Qhapaq Hucha ceremony come to light. While the archaeological evidence of Inka presence in the Ocros valley is minimal, the documents state that the changes were profound. One is that Tanta Karwa, through this liminal period, is trained to become an aqlla, a noble Inka lady in order to serve the Sapa Inka, the ancestors and the Sun. Her role became that of an Inka intermediary with her sacrifice in Ocros and as a result a major regional oracle. By establishing new shrines and intermedaries, the Inka altered the ways in which communities gained access to sources of well-being and abundance and their ancestors. Through her transformation, Tanta Karwa becomes a reminder of the perpetual link between Ocros and the Inka. Show more