Eclipse Day

So here it was, October 14^th, the day of the annular eclipse of the sun.  The path of the totality of the eclipse ran right through Utah, and if I was home, I would have enjoyed that exceptional occurrence.  Before leaving on this trip, I checked to see how much of an eclipse we would have in Peru.  That was about 70%.  Pretty good!

This was also the day when we visited the tomb and all of the artifacts of the Lord of Sipan.  That morning, we went to the Huaca Rajada-Sipan, first going through the small onsite museum.   Then up the hill to the actual huaca where 16 royal tombs had been discovered.

All of the artifacts had been removed for restoration when the tomb was discovered, and the actual tombs were reconstructed so that one could see how they were laid out. 

Here is a link for the Huaca Rajada-Sipan.

The totality of the eclipse would happen at about 1:05 PM, and I was hoping that we wouldn’t miss is, so I was keeping my eye on the time.  We happened to be eating lunch in Lambayeque at that time.  Fortunately, we were at a somewhat open air restaurant.  In the back of the restaurant was where some ladies were washing dishes, and the ceiling of that room was actually a woven reed affair with lots of spaces where the reeds crossed.  There was also an area of some tall plants near our table. 

As many of you may know, a way of looking indirectly at an eclipse is at the shadow of the sun shining through a small hole in a piece of paper, or between the leaves of a tree.  At exactly 1:05, I got up and went over to where the sun was shining between the leaves of the nearby foliage.

At the same time, I looked into the room at the back of the restaurant and saw hundreds of little crescent moon shapes on the floor.  Wow!!!  When I went back there, the dish washing ladies asked if they could help me, and all I had to do was to point to the floor and start taking photos.  They must have thought I was nuts!  It didn’t take long for several others of our group to do the same.  What fun.

The afternoon was spent at the Museo Tumbas Reales de Sipan, or the Museum of the Royal Tombs of Sipan.  This is where all of the restored artifacts from the tombs are on display.  Fabulous wealth!  The Lord of Sipan was a high status Moche ruler around the year 250 A.D.  He died when he was approximately 40 years old, and was buried with 8 other people, a dog and 2 llamas who were undoubtedly sacrificed to be buried with him.  Here is a link for more information on him and the discovery of his tomb. 

The Northern Coast

 

The main reason I had for returning to Peru once again was to visit the northern coastal area of the country, home to the ancient Moche, Sican, Chimu cultures.  All of these preceded the Inca conquest.  In fact, the Inca barely made it to the northern shore before the Spanish arrived.  Here is a link to information on the Moche culture of the Northern Coast.

Since this is a coastal area and a giant flood plain created by debris washed down from the Andes Mountains during rainy seasons, there is no building material per se.  So all of the sacred temples, or huacas, were constructed of mud bricks.  The terrain is relatively flat and green.  We drove through fields of sugar cane, corn, and rice.  Every once in a while, one could see what appeared to be a small mountain that was sandy colored and badly furrowed by erosion.  These were the huacas, which were ceremonial sites and burial grounds of the elite.

We visited several of these.  We first toured through either the ceremonial areas of the site, or the actual tombs of the elite that had been buried there.  The tombs had been reconstructed so that one could see how that person was buried. They were also deep underground.

The ceremonial sites of the Moche featured themes of conquest of their enemies and ceremonial or non ceremonial sacrifices of humans and an occasional llama.  Their god was “The Decapitator”.  That should tell you a lot!  I could feel the heavy energy of the activities that took place there. 

Then, each site had a museum that housed the actual artifacts that were removed from the tombs.  Lots of golden objects, adornments of shells and semi precious stones, fine carvings, and jewelry.  Here is a necklace that I'd love to have!

In 1987, the tomb of the Lord of Sipan was discovered.  Some say that this was the greatest archaeological discovery of the 20^th century.  It was fabulous, but I would vote for King Tut!  Below is a statue of the Lord of Sipan in his ceremonial garb.  Here is a link if you want to learn more.

After a while, going through museum after museum, it all became a blur.  One very interesting display at one of the last museums that we went through showed a San Pedro cactus healing ceremony.   That brought back memories of my shamanic training.  The shaman spreads out his blanket and arranges all of his healing tools and potions on it.  At the opposite end of the blanket, he lines up several swords that are stuck straight into the ground. The client stands behind the swords.The shaman and the client both drink the San Pedro, so both are in an altered state during the healing.  As the shaman chants, he can see an energetic connection go out from himself and through one after the other of his healing tools and ending up at one of the swords.  Then that sword starts to sway forwards and backwards.   He then completes the healing using the objects on his blanket that were indicated. 

We visited a site called “El Brujo”, the witch, where the Senora de Cao’s tomb was found.  She was the highest status female burial ever found in Peru.  This huaca was right by the ocean, and was pretty eroded. 

This is Chan Chan, a huge site that was the capital of the Chimu Kingdom, which reached its apogee in the 15th century, not long before falling to the Incas. It was the largest earthen architecture city in pre-Columbian America.  Here is a link for more on Chan Chan.

One big surprise for me was the presence of burrowing owls at many of the sites.  In the United States, these owls live mostly in abandoned prairie dog burrows in the summer, and then they migrate south in the winter.  There in Peru, they were permanent residents and did not migrate.  They nest in cavities in the ruins, and sometimes dig their own.  Apparently when I was there, it was their mating season.  We saw lots of fighting and chasing among the owls. It was quite entertaining!   In fact, at one site, there was so much of that going on that no one really listened to the local guide giving his talk.

So there you have it.  More to come!

 

Three Labyrinths

 

So here I am.  I got back from a fairly grueling and action packed trip to Peru about a week ago.  It has taken me this long to get readjusted and back into my routine!  I do not plan to detail the trip, only some highlights and interesting adventures that I had.  But for today, this post is a good start.

In the past 2 weeks, I had an opportunity to walk 3 different labyrinths.  The first one was in Peru, and the other 2 were here after I got back. One of the hotels that our group stayed in was near Urubamba in the Sacred Valley.  This valley is located in between Cusco and Machu Picchu, and is at an elevation of about 9,000'.  This was probably the loveliest of the various places where we stayed, and I was told that it is a known “destination” resort for weddings.  The whole valley and the surrounding mountains are full of Inca ruins and terraces.  Here are some photos of the resort, which is on the grounds of a former Spanish hacienda.

After 3 days there, I finally had a chance to wander around the grounds.  To my surprise, I found a labyrinth tucked away on the back of the property!  It was somewhat crudely done and overgrown with grass, but that didn’t matter to me. 

I held my small crystal skull, “The Traveler”, and expressed my great gratitude and appreciation while I walked.  This skull goes with me for every trip and brings the energy of those special places back to the rest of the skulls in my house. 

Since it was later in the afternoon, the resident alpacas had been put away in their nearby enclosure.  They watched me while I walked.   I fed then some alfalfa as a reward!

Last Saturday was the monthly walk at our local labyrinth at the Cedar City Episcopal Church.  I do not have any photos of it, but I will try to remember to take some next time.

Wednesday, November 1^st, All Saints Day, I had a special event to attend south in St George, so I thought that I would walk the Desert Rose outdoor labyrinth while I was down there.  It is located west of town out in a fairly scrubby and deserted area.  When I got there, there was a sizeable group from a local retreat center walking, so I sat on a bench and waited until they were finished.  That was a nice tranquil interlude. 

 

So for all 3 labyrinths, my intent was to release anything that did not serve me on the way into the center, and embrace all of the positives on the way out.  What a nice way to re anchor myself after the trip.