Chan Chan, The Chimu Kingdom

,  The origin of the Chimu is a legend of a mythical character called Tacaynamo a leader of an army who came from the sea.  The culture became a powerful state in 850AD until 1470AD when the Inca conquered them by blocking their water supply from the mountains above.  The Chimu were then banished from the kingdom.  The city of Chan Chan covers 24km2 and consists of 10 walled compounds.      20 000 to 30 000 people lived in the city, but in the Chimu territory there were up to    500 000 inhabitants.  The Chimu grew lima beans, corn,  pumpkin, sweet potatoes, yucca, pepper and many other things including fruits like plums, avocado and pacae (small berries in a pod).  They also fished, farmed cattle and hunted.  They grew cotton, cane and totora reed.

In Chan Chan, religion was the most important, powerful influence on the people.  The culture was dedicated to the moon (Si) because they considered it more powerful than the sun as one could see it during the day as well as at night.  When the moon didn't appear it was because it was in another world punishing thieves.  Solar eclipses were celebrated as the triumph of the moon over the sun.  The stars were considered to be Chimu ancestors, the biggest and brightest stars were the important and noble people, the smaller, dimmer stars were the less important people.  Other gods were Ni, the god of the sea and Alaecpong the god of stone.

  The Chimu decorated the walls of the kingdom with pelicans, other sea birds, waves and fish made out of mud and clay.  There were diamond patterns everywhere that symbolise the fishing net and circle patterns that represented the moon.  The city was built adobe style, just like the houses in Santa Fe.  If the Chimu were building a new area in the city they would dedicate burials to the structure of the building by burying dead in the walls and under the floor.  The Chimu would also sacrifice people and bury them with offerings like pottery and sea shells in honour to the sea.  When the Chimu died their bodies were mummified in an upright foetal position to represent being in the womb.  They were burried sitting up with their possessions  around them.

The city of Chan Chan had more than 100 giant square wells that were not only for water but were used to grow reeds, be garden parks and on a full moon were used for ceremonies of fertillity because the moon was reflected in the water.  The city also contained a funeral platform where the kings would be placed after five days of ceremonies.  Chan Chan had many corridors, ceremonial squares, temples, plazas, storerooms and halls, it was absolutely massive.  But my favorite thing about Chan Chan was a little ginger kitten at the front gate that Maddy stayed and played with for the whole time we were there.  We all wanted to take the kitten home and would have liked to have sneaked it into Uncle Rus's bag.  Hannah

Huaca De La Luna

  

Huaca de la Luna (The Temple of the Moon) is opposite Huaca del Sol (The Temple of the Sun) in Trujillo.  In between the two temples is the ancient city of La Ciudad Moche (The Moche City) that is still being excavated.  This area was the capital of the Moche culture between 400 and 600AD.  Its actual area is 120 hectares and much of it has not yet been excavated so there are still many secrets to discover.  The Spanish conquerors were the first to use the names sun and moon, they assumed that the temples had been built by the Inca's in honour to their main gods, the bigger one to the sun and the smaller to the moon. However the city was built by the Moche over 900 years before the arrival of the Incas.

Every 100 years or so the Moche would build a new temple for the gods by completely covering or sealing the existing temple and building a new temple on top. The Temple of the Moon is actually about 5 or 6 temples built one on top of the other so archaeologists can not excavate all of the temples as they would have to destroy one temple to get to another.  Many secrets of the Moche will never be discovered.

  The Plaza of the Sacred stone had more than 60 skeletons scattered across the floor, they were all male.  The Moche used to sacrifice humans to stop the rains in El Nino phenomenon.  Interestingly on the other side of the mountain the Moche would sacrifice humans in El Nina to make it rain.  Prisoners would be chosen to be sacrificed by fighting with each other.  The loser of the battle would be sacrificed to the gods by the priest who would slit the prisoners throat to collect the blood and then cut of the head.  The priest wore a robe with a belt that was decorated with human skulls.  Sacrificed men were not buried, their bodies were left for the gods spread on the floor, with time sand would cover them.

  It was interesting to hear about human sacrifices as we haven't heard about it anywhere else.  I was thinking about sacrificing Hannah but mum and dad sadly said no, besides the Moche only sacrifice men....  (so you better watch out Drew - from Hannah)  There was a really well preserved iconography in the Temple of the Moon that depicts the god Ai-Apaec (The Decapitator) taking a knife in his left hand and the head of a prisoner in his right hand.  He wears a serpent belt that ends with a condor head.  The condor is Peru's national animal.  Drew