Producing legibility through ritual: The Inka expansion in Huarochirí (Lima, Peru)

Abstract

This article builds a framework for the analysis of the Inka Empire’s (1400–1532 CE) expansion in the Peruvian highlands. Drawing from recent archaeological excavations at the site of Canchaje (Huarochirí), I propose that the Inka built upon cultural familiarities between them and their subjects by using ritual emplacements (rock outcrops and plazas) as arenas of mediation. At the same time, the construction of mutual legibility enabled subjected communities to maintain and redefine their cultural practices in ways that survived the Inka Empire. By recasting the Inka from foreign conqueror to new kin within local ritual systems, the people of Huarochirí reinvented their traditions to garner political agency. Using archaeological data and colonial-period documents, I show that local agency informed empire-building, leading to the reinvention of local traditions. Ultimately, my work shows how mutual legibility was built on the ground while exploring specific instances of negotiation through ritual.

Experiencing Community: Continuity and Transformation of Residential Life under the Inka Empire in Huarochirí (Lima, Peru)

“…Following from the HM, and given the dispersed settlement patterns of the region and the absence of monumental centers, it seems that the people of Huarochirí were not politically unified but maintained a collective identity through shared ancestry. However, even though it was central to the narrative of regional unity, Pariacaca Mountain was a faraway and inaccessible landscape feature for many of the people considered his “children.” My work (Hernández Garavito 2020), as well as that by Chase (2014, 2018), shows that rock outcrops in both residential settlements and shrines materialized this ancestry by functioning as avatars representing Pariacaca or his children. Through seasonal performances of rituals in honor of Pariacaca and daily interaction with the outcrops, the peoples of Huarochirí maintained their collective memory and came together as kin.…”

“…In Huarochirí, interpretations of the HM and earlier archaeological work (Chase 2018; Hernández Garavito 2020) demonstrate that Inka transformations in the region relied heavily on local practices. Moreover, the Inka's incorporation into local traditions suggests that both Inka imperial policies and local attempts to retain agency after becoming part of the empire were mediated by local material culture.…”

“…Historical and archaeological research on Cajamarca (Watanabe 2015) and Ancash (Zuloaga 2012) show that the Inka used the waranqa organization scheme as a means to standardize and manipulate the demographic makeup of subjected populations. In Huarochirí, my analysis of the HM suggests that the Inka understood the importance of the local reinforcement of kinship through regional, local, and residential scales and grafted waranqas onto local ayllu divisions (Hernández Garavito 2019:385–387).…”

“…I previously argued that Inka expansion in the Peruvian highlands was facilitated by shared sociocultural practices with other Andean populations (Hernández Garavito 2019:89–98). Through “cultural familiarity,” local communities and the Inka Empire could reinvent local and state practices to make incorporation less mutually costly.…”

“…Through “cultural familiarity,” local communities and the Inka Empire could reinvent local and state practices to make incorporation less mutually costly. Such practices could be found at the residential, local, and regional levels (Hernández Garavito 2020).…”