Ancash is home of touristy Huaraz and the majestic Callejon de Huaylas, but there is a little known district in the Huari province of Ancash by the name of Rapayán where ancient sky scrapers dot the mountain side.
In the small and welcoming village of Rapayán there are ancient buildings belonging to a Pre-Incan society that dates back to 200-600 A.D.
These buildings, unlike the squared architecture of the Incas, are composed of thin layers of stone and reach up to nearly four stories in height.
The sky scrapers are funerary buildings which house the remains of mummies or “Malquis” as the locals call them in Quechua. Much of the edifices have been destroyed due to tomb raiders, vandals, animals and government projects, but the mummies have been preserved by the locals who unburied them and moved them to a small museum in the village.
Funerary Sky Scraper of Rapayan; photo: Delci Salas - Amigos & Tour
The mummies range from children to adults, some with elongated skulls possibly signifying nobility and all with their hands and feet tied together making one speculate whether they were prisoners condemned to death or human sacrifices to the gods.
Visiting the ruins of Huasgo, Shuccoraga and Chaupis trekkers are warned by the locals to bring along coca leafs and sugar to appease the spirits that inhabit the archaological sites.
Finally there is the ruins of Huacsa Castillo, otherwise known as the Orphan Castle. The final ruin is the least glorious and least ornate out of all of its cousins and it sits alone seperated by a significant distance from the other ruins, contributing to its orphan status.
The mummies of these ruins still have a purpose even in death. The local educators claim that their “malquis” help to educate the people. For students in Rapayán that choose not to apply themselves to their studies they know what punishment lay ahead of them: A night with the mummies or a kiss of an elongated skull if they do not improve their grades.
Rapayán has long been forgotten by the government, but it has gained the international attention of French and Canadian archaeologists and filmmakers and the few Peruvians who cherish their hidden national treasures to give them enough consideration to make the remote trek out there.
If your inner archaeologist provokes you to explore the forgotten sky scrapers, transportation by local combi (small van) to Rapayán leaves for the village twice a week.
Story Source: http://www.amigosyaventura.org/12/invitados.htm
Filed under: Travel, history | Tagged: ancash, ancient peruvian ruins, archaeology in peru, callejon de hauylas, chaupis, coca leaf rituals, funerary buildings, funerary ruins, funerary sky scrapers, huacsa castillo, huari, huasgo, malqui, mummies, peruvian mummies, pre colombian mummies, pre incan mummies, pre incan ruins, rapayan, shuccoraga, south american archaeology
