The mystery of the Huari citadel
The mystery of the Huari citadel, political and ceremonial center of the great Andean confederation
The pre-Inca town of Nahuin Puquio, located south of the current city of Ayacucho, was one of the first centers of the Huarpa culture, precursor of the successive great Huari civilization.
The Huarpa society, around the first centuries of the Christian era, was already differentiated, since the spiritual power was concentrated in a priest consecrated to the cult of the Sun. The population was dedicated to agriculture and artisanal ceramics, in which they represented geometric figures with an abundance of bright colors such as red and yellow.
Over time, the Huarpa culture evolved into a true kingdom established in a place located 22 kilometers northeast of the current city of Ayacucho: the Huari citadel.
One of the peculiar characteristics of the Huari domain was its cultural and perhaps political alliance with the classical Tiahuanaco civilization. Pedro Cieza de León, in his Chronicles of Peru, had already predicted, five centuries before the archaeological evidence, that the builders of the Huari citadel were the same as those of some parts of the stone city of Tiahuanaco.
The Huari kingdom, which lasted from 600 AD until the Inca conquest, was the main “vector” of much of the Andean traditions that were later absorbed by the culture of the Incas. Particularly, their colonization of the entire Andean world was peaceful, concentrated on art and religiosity, starting with the cult of the Sun.
During my last trip to Peru I was able to visit and study the important archaic citadel, which fascinated and surprised me. The main center of the Huari culture, located near the city of Ayacucho, approximately 2800 meters above sea level, extends over about two square kilometers and consists of high walls, houses, places of burial and worship, and circular or “semicircular” buildings with holes in the stone used as chairs by ancient rulers.
What impressed me were the enormous canal works, the high defense walls and the political and ceremonial center of the city, also called Hanan (upper city). It is thought that in its period of maximum splendor, around 800 AD, the Huari city had a population of approximately 60,000 people in total.
One of the most interesting structures in the entire citadel is the so-called hemicycle, a D-shaped construction with 18 large stone cavities, probably used as “thrones” or “royal chairs.”
Most likely the chamber was the Huari “parliament” or place where the members of the Huari supreme council met both to worship the God Viracocha and to make the necessary decisions of the community.
Is it possible that the Huari government was actually led by the council of 18 chiefs? If this were the case, it would be the first known case in pre-Columbian America of a non-theocratic or absolute government (as in the case of the Incas), but for now we cannot confirm this hypothesis.
However, the particular construction of the main chamber and other chambers present in the citadel suggests a Council responsible for political and commercial decisions.
In reality, there is no evidence that the Huari civilization was organized as an empire or a kingdom, and the evidence from the hemicycle could suggest a type of oligarchy or government of 18 tribe chiefs, and therefore, a type of confederation. Andean. The hemicycle is, to this day, a true mystery that still has no solution.
Another characteristic of the Huari citadel is the so-called “stone ritual table”, measuring 4.8 x 2.24 meters, where, according to several scholars, propitiatory human sacrifices were made. For the Andean culture, in fact, human sacrifices were rather "saviors", or were carried out in order to make the land fertile and put an end to prolonged periods of aridity.
However, the main construction of the entire citadel is the royal palace, whose area includes the hemicycle. Inside it there are many rooms with a square and rectangular floor plan, sometimes painted red, white and ocher. Several cavities are also noted in the walls, which were probably used for ritual reasons.
Another important part of the entire citadel is the so-called "Hurin", namely the "world below".
First of all, there are four galleries about 11 meters long and 2 meters wide. Then there is the so-called "royal tomb" or central cemetery, where there are around 25 tombs in which the most important rulers were probably buried.
The central cemetery is divided into four levels. In the last and deepest level, about 20 meters deep, a circular tomb was located, inside which the remains of a high dignitary were found, probably one of the heads of the confederation, along with those of twenty other people, perhaps those who were part of his entourage. In the main tomb, objects of gold, silver, valuable fabrics and precious stones were found.
On the third level, the remains of animals considered sacred in the Huari culture were discovered, such as llamas, alpacas, vicuñas, dogs, foxes and guinea pigs. In the third and second levels, the remains of minor figures who were possibly part of the high president's government were also found.
The enigma of how the Huari domain was administered and what its true artistic and religious influence was in the Andean sphere is more current than ever. Furthermore, the recent discovery of a Huari tomb in the place of Vilcabamba (Cusco region), opens new horizons on the true expansion of this civilization.
YURI LEVERATTO
