Insight Guides: Peru by Insight Guides

Author:Insight Guides
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Travel, Peru
Publisher: APA
Published: 2014-12-15T16:00:00+00:00

Llamatrek (tel: 043-421 335, www.perullamatrek.com) is an initiative started by villagers as a way of attracting tourists while maintaining the traditional use of llamas as cargo animals. You can trek the relatively untraveled route from Olleros to the ruins of Chavín de Huantar with the llamas and their owners, who will share their culture with you en route.

Chavín de Huantar.

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Granite god

At the heart of the underground complex two narrow passageways cross, and at their junction stands the crowning glory of the Chavín religion – the Lanzón de Chavín. This 4-meter (13ft) high granite monolith is thought to be the principal god-image worshiped by this cult. Its Spanish name comes from the lance or dagger-like shape of the monolith, which appears to be stuck in the ground. A mythological image emerges from the elaborate stone carving, and its demeanor is in keeping with most of the terrifying god-images created by the Chavín people.

The large head of the monolith is square and human-like, yet definite feline characteristics are noted in the grinning mouth, which has a long fang protruding from each corner. The nose has two big holes for nostrils, and an arm and a leg are visible on each side. Round earrings dangle from the creature’s ears, and long flowing hair is made up of intricately carved serpents. Carved into the top of the head are thin, grooved channels, and some speculate that animals, or even humans, may have been sacrificed to this god.

Above the god-image there was once an opening in the ceiling, now closed to preserve the figure from exposure to the elements. Here, many believe, a sacrificial rock may have been positioned and, as animals or people were slaughtered, the blood would flow through the opening in the ceiling and run down through the channel in the figure. However, some other archeologists disclaim the sacrificial theory and suggest instead that the Lanzón was merely the dominant figure for worship.

Two other monoliths are considered important in the Chavín cult, but both are now housed in the Museo de la Nación in Lima. The 1.8-meter (6ft) stone called the Stela Raimondi is named after the archeologist Antonio Raimondi (who also gave his name to the Puya Raimondi bromeliad); he moved the stela to the Museum of Anthropology and Archeology in Lima at the end of the 19th century after it had been used as a table by a campesino who had discovered it in 1840. It depicts a monstrous feline anthropomorphic god, with widespread arms, claw-like feet, and a tangle of serpents representing its hair.

The second major piece is the Tello obelisk, which was discovered by archeologist Julio C. Tello. This towering, intricately carved piece also depicts feline images, as well as a caiman – a creature not normally associated with highland culture. The significance of this, as of much that we see at the temple, is a mystery, but the experience of a visit is unforgettable.

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