Capacocha or Qhapaq huchaOf Summits and Sacrifice: An Ethnohistoric Study of Inka Religious Practices, University of Texas Press, 2009 ( 'noble, solemn, principal, mighty, royal', 'crime, sin, guilt', Hispanicized spellings , , , also ) was an important sacrificial rite among the Inca that typically involved the sacrifice of children. Children of both sexes were selected from across the Inca empire for sacrifice in capacocha ceremonies,D'Altroy, Terence N. (2003). The Incas (Reprinted ed.). Oxford: Blackwell Pub. . which were performed at important shrines distributed across the empire, known as , or .
Capacocha ceremonies took place under several circumstances. Some could be undertaken as the result of key events in the life of the Sapa Inca, the Inca Emperor, such as his ascension to the throne, an illness, his death, or the birth of a son. At other times, Capacocha ceremonies were undertaken to stop natural disasters and performed in major festivals or processions at important ceremonial sites. The rationale for this type of sacrificial rite has typically been understood as the Inca trying to ensure that humanity's best were sent to join their deities.
The children chosen for sacrifice in a capacocha ceremony were typically given alcohol and coca leaves and deposited at the place of the ceremony. Sacrifice was primarily carried out through four methods: strangulation, a blow to the head, suffocation, or being buried alive while unconscious, though if the ceremony was carried out in a particularly cold place, they could die from hypothermia. Some Spanish records tell of Incas removing victims' hearts, but no evidence of this has been found in the archaeological record; it seems more likely that this practice was witnessed by the Spaniards among the Aztecs and wrongly attributed to the Incas as well.
Ceremony
Selection of children Children selected for sacrifice in capacocha ceremonies were of both sexes, and were provided to the state as tribute by local communities on a yearly basis. No region was exempt from the recruitment of these child sacrifices; they could come from any region of the empire. The male victims were no older than ten, and female victims could be up to age sixteen but must be virginal when chosen; they had to be perfect, unblemished by even a freckle or scar. The Inca believed that only the purest children were worthy enough to be sent to the gods, as in the afterlife they would function as the people's representatives. For many families it was a great honor to have one's child chosen for the ceremony, and it was often children from noble families that were sacrificed in an effort to gain political favor with the emperor.
While the boys were immediately brought to Cuzco, the young girls, called aclla, taken for sacrifice were often entrusted to the , in the "House of Chosen Women" (). Chosen for their looks, the girls stayed at this institution for an extended period of time and were taught, under the tutelage of priestesses, how to weave, sew, and prepare special ritual beverages called chicha. The mama-kuna women were compared to nuns by many Spanish men, as they lived celibate lives, serving the gods. Typically around the age of 14 the girls would be divided into three groups. Some girls were consecrated as priestesses and went on to raise the girls brought after them, and the prettiest were often sent as tribute to be sacrificed in state capacocha ceremonies. Otherwise, the girls were offered to the emperor in Cuzco as servants or concubines; or were distributed amongst the noblemen as secondary wives.
Capacocha at Cuzco The capacocha sacrifice started at the capital city of Cuzco, on the order of the . The first to do this sacrifice was Pachacuti. During the festivities of the Capacocha in Cuzco, it was decided what type and quantity of offerings each shrine or would receive, of which the Incas maintained a clear record. The tributes were fed well, and those too young to eat would have their mothers with them to breastfeed. This was to ensure that they would be well fed and happy when they prepared to reach the gods. The children were paired off, girl and boy, and dressed finely like little royals. They were paraded around four large statues, of the Creator, the Sun God, the Moon God, and the Thunder God. The Sapa Inca would then say to the priests to divide the children, along with the other sacrifices, in four, for each of the four suyu regions. He would then order the priests to make their sacrifices at their main .
Sacrifice at the After the ceremonies at Cuzco, the children, the priests and their entourage of companions undertook the trip back to their communities. When they returned, they did not follow the royal road, or the Inca road, as they had gone, but they had to follow a path in a straight line, possibly following the ceque lines that left Cuzco and went to the . This was a long and tedious journey, crossing valleys, rivers and mountains, which could take months.
Once at the summit, the young victims would then be administered an intoxicating drink or other substance to either induce sleep or a stupor, ostensibly to let the final ritual go on smoothly. If the ceremony was carried out in a particularly cold place, they could die from hypothermia. In other cases, death was caused in a more violent manner. This was possibly the case with the Aconcagua child, with a strong blow to the head, as well as that of the girl at Sara Sara and the young woman from the snowy Ampato, while the cause of death of the "Queen of the Hill" was a puncture wound in the right hemithorax, which entered through her back. While in some cases, as in Llullaillaco, the bodies were deposited in a burial chamber and covered with gravel, or, in the case of Cerro El Plomo, the sacrificial victim was wrapped in a complex funerary bundle of several pieces with a specific function and message,Abal, Clara (2001). Cerro Aconcagua: descripción y estudio del material textil. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo EDIUNC, Mendoza. as in the case of Aconcagua.
When the sacrifices of children and material offerings were buried, the holes could not be made using any metal, but dug out using sharpened sticks during the ceremony. Once dead, the children would then be buried in a fetal position, wrapped up in a bundle with various artifacts within the bundle or next to it in the same grave.
Non-human sacrifice and offerings A number of offerings were often left with the sacrificed individuals at the sites of capacocha ceremonies. The human body itself was often finely dressed and clothed in a feathered headdress and other ornamentation such as a necklace or bracelet.Ceruti, Maria Constanza (March 2004). "Human Bodies as Objects of Dedication at Inca Mountain Shrines (north-western Argentina)". World Archaeology 36 (1): 103*122. The most elaborate artifacts were typically paired human statuettes and llama figurines that have been crafted with gold, silver, and spondylus shells. The combination of both male and female figurines alongside the use of both gold and silver was likely meant to pay tribute to the male Sun and the female Moon. Several sets of ceramics as well as gold, silver, and bronze pins were relatively commonplace too. A large amount of cloth was a typical find at capacocha sites too. Some objects that often appear such as plates and bowls have often been found in pairs. Alongside these objects are sometimes found food items. All objects, animals, and people sacrificed to a , not only represented Inca symbols but were also previously legitimized in ceremonies conducted by the emperor himself.Duviols, Pierre (1976). La Capacocha. Allpanchis: Revista del Instituto Pastoral Andino, 9.
Historical accounts The fullest description of a capacocha comes from Cristóbal de Molina, who placed it in the context of a monarch's ascension. He wrote that all of the towns of the empire were called upon to send one or two boys and girls around 10 years of age to the capital, along with fine cloth, camelids, and figurines of gold, silver, and shell. The boys and girls were dressed in finery and matched up as if they were married couples. Priests were then dispatched to the four quarters with sacrificial items and orders to make offerings to all according to their rank. The parties left the city in straight-line paths, deviating for neither mountain nor ravine. At some point, the burdens were transferred to other porters, who continued along the route. The children who could walk would do so, while those who could not were carried by their mothers. The Inca himself traveled the royal road, as did the flocks.
Archaeologically, the evidence to support sacrifices at that scale is lacking. In his fieldwork among the of Cuzco, Bauer found surface evidence of human burial at three shrines, but nothing approaching the thousands of victims described in the chronicles has yet been reported. Even so, Molina's comment that the rituals paid special attention to high peaks has been supported by the archaeological finds described. The principal offerings recovered from those sites – gold, silver, spondylus shell, and children – also accurately match the priest's account.
According to Spanish chronicler Pedro Cieza de León who visited Cuzco in 1550, the chosen Virgins of the Sun god, whose task it was to weave and dye woollen cloth for the service of the temple near Cuzco and to prepare chichas, could also be buried alive (sacrificed) if they had violated their celibacy by engaging in sexual intercourse with a male.Pedro Cieza de León, The second part of the Chronicle of Peru (Crónicas del Perú), chapter VII, translator: Clements R. Markham, Hakluyt Society: London 1883, p. 85 Spanish historian, Pedro Sarmiento de Gamboa, wrote that by the time of Inca Yupanqui's reign, these women were being used as his concubines.
Cultural significance In Inca culture, the dead served as link between the Inca people and the gods. Capacocha served as way to appease the gods, who otherwise might cause natural disasters like floods, earthquakes, and famines as a punishment for the people's sins. Children sacrificed in capacocha ceremonies became servants of the gods, or, in capacocha ceremonies following an emperor's death, servants to the emperor. They also served as guardians of the areas where they were sacrificed.
Children sacrificed in capacocha ceremonies were also commemorated by their home communities, or . Having a child sacrificed in a capacocha ceremony was also considered a great honor to the family, and parents sometimes volunteered their children for sacrifice.
High-altitude sites The Inca paid special attention to a number of ceremonial sites at very high elevations. Over 100 ceremonial centers and shrines were built within Inca territories on or near the high summits of the Andes Mountains. These sites were often meant to function both religiously and politically. Some mountains were viewed as origin places or the home to important mountain deities. Building shrines on these mountains both paid homage to the deities and also placed an imperial stamp on areas important to local beliefs, fulfilling both religious and political goals. In a number of instances, typically at the most important of these mountains, these sites contain the mummified remains of children sacrificed in capacocha ceremonies. Capacocha ceremonies at these important locations held a great deal of weight. Inca priests would periodically visit distributed across the Inca realm and certificate if they still maintained its power or had lost it, on occasions destroying the discredited .