Opposite Footsteps of the Inca
Quechua women walk past an area that has been terraced for farming, on a hillside above Pisac in Peru. Both the terraces and the road were built by the Inca.
LAZINESS WAS A CRIME IN THE INCA EMPIRE, SO WORK DOMinated daily life. Inca subjects lived by two calendars: one diurnal (daytime) and the other nocturnal (nighttime). The diurnal calendar of 365 days-a solar calendar-set the work pattern for the empire, including specific agricultural activities, building projects, and warfare. The nocturnal calendar of 328 nights-a lunar calendar-determined the schedule of rituals and religious celebrations. The fact that the two calendars did not have an equal number of days did not bother the Incas. What happened on the extra nights is not known.
Because the Inca Empire lay close to the equator, there were not four true seasons. Like many equatorial countries, the climate had only wet and dry seasons. However, the altitude in many Inca regions was so high that snow, ice, and blizzards were common.
December (Capac Raymi) started each new year. It was the time for planting coca, some types of potatoes, and quinoa. At night, the people celebrated puberty rituals for boys reaching manhood. During this month, taxes, sacrifices, and gifts to the sapa inca arrived in Cuzco.
January (Camay Quilla) saw farmers preparing their fields; men and women worked side-by-side with wooden ploughs and hoes. The nocturnal calendar continued puberty ceremonies, often spanning three weeks or more. Late summer-February (Hatun Pucuy) and March (Pacha Pucuy)-brought forth harvests of potatoes, jicama, and other root vegetables. At night, rites and sacrifices were made to improve corn and grain crop yields.
April (Ayrihua) found peasants shooing deer, foxes, and birds from the corn fields to stop them from eating crops needed to feed families.
Farmers pounded loud drums and hurled pebbles at hungry birds with their slings to protect crops as they ripened for harvest. At night, commoners took part in ceremonies to honor their leader, the sapa inca. May (Aymoray Quilla) brought the corn harvest and celebrations much like our present-day giving.
Coca!
Under Inca rule, only nobles grew and possessed coca. They could and did give it to commoners at celebrations or to people unaccustomed to working at high altitudes. The coca was chewed, releasing stimulating drugs into the saliva that relieved numerous ailments.
Today, Andean people still rely on coca leaves in religious rituals and as a folk medicine. The leaves are offered as part of a gift to ancient gods and are "read" by seers who claim to tell the future. More importantly, coca serves as an herbal medicine in a region where doctors are scarce. Coca is brewed in tea to relieve headaches and dizzy spells and to heal sore throats and upset stomachs. The tea helps people suffering from altitude sickness. Herbal healers make poultices (medicated masses placed on sores or wounds) to place on rheumatic joints or bone injuries.
Coca is also the plant from which drug dealers make cocaine. Coca plants grown in Peru fall under the control of the government, and the Coca National Enterprise sells the leaves for herbal use and the manufacture of prescription drugs. Unfortunately, small farmers also grow coca for illegal sale, because one year's cocaine crop can be sold for enough money to feed, clothe, and house a large family for a year. One year's corn crop, on the other hand, does not feed the family for a full winter.
June (Inti Raymi) celebrated the Inca sun god each evening after days spent digging potatoes and tubers and planting new crops. July (Chahua Harquiz) was the heart of the Inca winter; however, work continued despite the hardship of cold and sometimes even snow. Meats were smoked or dried, potatoes were freeze-dried for storage, and men served their mit’as by building and repairing irrigation ditches and canals. Religious rituals were offered in honor of irrigation, since most of the crops eaten by the people of the Inca Empire depended on irrigation systems. It was only natural for the people to ask their gods to bless the systems that carried life-giving water to their fields.
A spring-like season crept in slowly as August (Yapaquiz) and September (coya Raymi) began the planting season. Farmers used foot hoes to turn the winter-hardened soil, planting corn seeds and early potato crops. Grains and other crops were planted after the corn and potato crops were secure. Nocturnal religious rites during this season ensured the help of the Inca gods in providing good crops and controlling the negative elements of nature. During coya Raymi, rites were also offered to cleanse and purify the capital city of Cuzco.
October (K’antaray) and November (Ayamarca) were dedicated to promoting good crops, as the people prayed for ample rain-but not too much. Historically, Ayamarca saw little rain, and farmers began using irrigation ditches to water the corn crops. This season honored the dead at a festival where mummies of earlier sapa incas were brought from their homes on golden litters and offered gifts of gold, cloth, and food.
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