Hurin Pacha (Quechua) or Manqhapacha or Manqhipacha (Aymara) was the Inca underworld. It is associated with both death and new life. As the realm of new life, it is associated with harvest and fertility. As the realm associated with death, it is inhabited by the supay, a group of demons who torment the living.
Description[]
The peoples of ancient Peru believed in a “second life” after death that took place in the hurin pacha. Within the segmentation profile of the Andean universe, the hurin pacha is one of the three vertical planes, the inner plane of the earth, which was located below the kay pacha. Almost all information, both from colonial times and today, also relates it to Supay, the demon and darkness.
Overview[]
The texts warn that Hurin pacha was dark and damp, but it was also an extension of the terrestrial plane, with which it was closely related. To reach eternal rest, one had to cross a large body of water, a sea, lake, or river, a detail that coincides in almost all colonial accounts. The lake that the deceased crosses possibly refers to the primordial water from which the Organizer emerged and into which he disappeared. In this way, the deceased made the same journey to the amniotic fluid of the placenta of the universe.
Likewise, it was understood that the deceased returned to the primordial waters, returning to the waters from which he was born, since “...the amniotic waters that contain the fetus are cosmic, mystical, oceanic waters...”
In this way, it could be understood that the mythical primordial ocean is inside the earth, above the underworld. On this subject, Pedro Cieza de León noted the following: “...And these Indians say that in times past they believed it to be true that the souls that left the bodies went to a great lake, where their vain belief led them to understand that it was their beginning, and that there they entered the bodies of those who were born...”
There were several ways to cross, for example, some chroniclers noted that it was crossed by a bridge, a very narrow bridge made of hair. The chronicler Pablo José de Arriaga wrote that in the mountains the souls of the dead went to a land called Ypamarca, “before that they had to cross a river by a bridge...” Other chroniclers understood that the souls were helped by a caiman, others by a spider. Information gathered on the coast mentions that the souls were helped by sea lions that took them to a nearby island, Huano Island. But without a doubt, the animal that received the most worship for its help to the deceased was the dog.
Destinations of the Dead[]
The deceased from the Lake Titicaca region went to Upaimarca and Yaromarca, the place of origin of the Sun and Liviac. José M. Arguedas indicated that it was believed that the dead went to the tops of the mountains, to the summit of Qoropuna.
In the writings of Huamán Poma de Ayala, it appears that five days after death, the souls of the deceased in the regions of Chinchaysuyu and Andesuyu went to Caray Pampa, while the souls of the Collasuyu and Condesuyu went to Caro Puna and Puquina pampa.
The deceased had the destiny that was granted to him according to his actions, thus conceiving an extremely complex relationship between life and death. If the deceased had been a warrior, it was understood that his soul inhabited the mountain peaks.
It has been understood that there is a division in terms of the fate of the deceased. The first division is based on the deeds and actions that the individual had performed in his life. If he had been an individual who contributed to the well-being of his family and community, he would have a better journey in the underworld. On the contrary, if this person had behaved badly, committing evil and selfish acts, his fate would be dire.
On the one hand, it was understood that the underworld had a strip that formed the sky of the Andean underworld. It was formed by lakes and bodies of water and was a nearby region that could be accessed from a cave, crevice, or connection point of the kay pacha. This region-zone was a place of transit for the deceased. Another strip was made up of the space between the underworld sky and the space through which the deceased traveled. In other words, in addition to the underworld sky, there was a place through which the stars traveled on their underworld journey.
Another region was the one that had roads, passageways, bridges, and other dangers; it was the space traveled by the souls of the deceased. And a more distant, abysmal region, where darkness and sterility reigned.
Upaymarka[]
In the Andean worldview, Upaymarka (“town of shadows”) is the world of the dead, an underworld where the shadows of the deceased begin a journey after death. This place is not one of total oblivion, but rather a space of transition and continuous reciprocity with the living.
The upaymarka is an ancestral vision that turns death into an active continuum, a profound recognition that the deceased have a life in the invisible realm, have organization, inhabit another village, and return at sacred moments to support and reunite with the living. It is not eternal silence, but a different form of existence, full of meaning and connection.
“It is an arduous journey,” says Dr. Rodolfo Sánchez, "requiring the participation of a psychopomp to carry the souls to the limits of the village to which they belonged. The shadows make a journey through many villages until they reach the entrance to the underworld, which for many is located in the crater of the Qhoropuna volcano [Castilla province, Arequipa department], and for others, in the Guaneras Islands. A mighty river often stands in the way of the shadows' journey. There is a point where they can cross with the help of a black dog called an alqochimpa. An animal that has been well treated recognizes the shadow and helps it; otherwise, it leaves it to wander and cause anxiety to its relatives.
When people died, they had to cross a bridge made of human hair that hangs over a large river of boiling blood to reach Upaymarka, but the path was full of dangers, as this place is inhabited by very dangerous creatures that want to attack the souls of the deceased to devour them. The dog (also called Tawi Ñawi) defends its owner from these creatures so that they can pass safely until they reach the bridge that connects Upaymarka.
The soul arrives at the village of dogs (allqu llaqta), where the spirits of dogs are believed to live, some time after leaving the body. In some cases, but especially if the deceased mistreated dogs during their lifetime, the dogs may receive the soul violently and try to attack it. If the soul is accompanied by the dog that was sacrificed at the funeral, the dog will try to protect it and help it cross to the other side of the river, lake, or sea next to the village.
On the other hand, if the soul arrives alone in the village of dogs, it must seek the help of one of the dogs, which can be somewhat difficult. Once a black dog willing to help has been found, it must carry the soul across the water either on its back, on its nose, or in its ear. The preference for black dogs is mentioned in many of the stories, because they are the ones who are usually willing to carry the soul across the river (Map'a mayo), while white dogs refuse to do so for fear of dirtying their fur.