El canto del agua y la voz de las montañas en Socaire, norte de Chile

Abstract

This paper presents background information on the canal cleaning ceremony and request of rains in Socaire, northern Chile. The intention is to highlight the ritual importance of the mountains and the role that the elements of nature have with the social organization in this community. Different hypotheses about the importance of the sky and the existence of possible ceque lines are discussed, as well as geographic proposals for the location and hierarchy of the tutelary hills of the region. Based comparison with ethnohistorical information from Cuzco and other radial systems of the Andes, we confirm the importance of water and mountains as sacred entities in the Atacameño world, particularly in the months of August, September and October, which coincide with the beginning of the agricultural year, the cleaning of canals and the awakening of the grandparents in Socaire, respectively.

Keywords

• indigenous astronomy
• landscape archaeology
• agricultural cycles
• mountain worship