How Chile was formed as told by Luis Acosta Challapa.
“When Wiracocha [the mythical creator of Andean civilisation] created the world with the sound of his pututu [a large Andean horn made from the shell of a large aquatic mollusc], accompanied by his faithful companion Ponguito the Armadillo, he went about sowing love, goodness, affection and brotherhood.
Each time he hid riches all over the world parts of them were left over and stashing them in his shell, the armadillo moved them to the world’s end (Chile). There, he placed them between the Andes Mountains and the ocean, giving the land he formed a long, thin shape and blessed with a great variety of climates and landscapes.
This explains the great connection between the inhabitants of Chile and the rest of the world, as Chile was created with a small piece of every part of this amazing planet.”
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Wiracocha
For the lakeside indigenous cultures, Wiracocha is the mythical non-created creator, conqueror of time and space, symbol of light and life, supreme spirit, creator and custodian of the Aymara universe. This deity was worshipped during various cultural periods such as Tiwanaku (400-1000 A.D.), Inca (1000-1525 A.D.). According to legend, Wiracocha created everything on Earth; light and heat, the sun (Inti), the moon, (Quilla), rocks, mountains, animals, rivers, trees and cattle. With a single note of his pututu, Wiracocha caused the stars, water and wind to move. Finally, he created the Andean man. |
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Pututu and the Spondylus
The pututu was a giant horn made from the shells of giant sea snails. They were used by the Incas to make announcements, summon the people to meetings or to herald the arrival of the chaskis, the Empire’s messengers, or to accompany the procession of the sacred mullu. Mullu is a seashell obtained from a reddish-colored mollusk known scientifically as Spondylus and found in the tropical waters of Ecuador. As the shells were regarded as being the daughters of the sea and the sea was considered the mother of the rains, mullu was central to various rituals. According to Andean belief, ritually bringing these seashells to great mountain heights replicated and secured the vital cycle or water from the sea to the mountains, and from the mountains to the people.
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The Armadillo
The Armadillo is a small animal close to extinction due to its shell having been used for the making of the charango [a small, five-stringed Andean guitar]. Its indiscriminate hunting was achieved by blocking the entrance to its burrow with straw from the Andes and then setting the straw alight. The smoke caused the animals to suffocate and when they tried to escape they were captured with a sack.
You can hear this and many other fascinating facts and Andean myths on our “Central Chilean Inca Trail” tours. |
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Luis Acosta Challapa
Luis Acosta Challapa is an Aymara musician who sells ocarinas, quenas, panpipes and other traditional Andean instruments. He has a stall in the Indigenous Art Exposition Centre, where members of Santiago’s Mapuche, Aymara and Rapu Nui communities sell handicrafts, art, books and traditional medicinal herbs. The centre is located at the bottom of the Santa Lucia Hill (known by the indigenous peoples as Welen), next to the Santa Lucia Metro Station in Santiago.
Luis provides valuable information, Andean myths and contacts from Santiago’s Quechua and Aymara communities for our Central Chilean Inca Trail tours. |
