AN HISTORICAL ACCOUNT OF WOMEN, BEAUTY AND ADORNMENT IN COLOMBIA

By Nicky Fraser
Copyright© Nicky Fraser 2006

BY A MAMAKUNA, AN INCA VIRGIN OF THE SUN

Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Nobel Prize laureate, socialist, storyteller, representative of the lyrical Colombian soul. A man who stood steadfast by his beliefs and has lived most of his life exiled from the country of his birth and which he poetically describes in his books. His writings tell of a people, place, and time that have never existed yet are as real as the cruellest and sweetest reality. The magic realism that permeates his works permeates the lives and the psyche of the Colombian people as well.

Juliet Paez

I am the superior Mamakuna, the priestess who is pre-eminent in all the skilled domestic and ceremonial affairs of Inka society. I am also considered to be the expert on educating beautiful young girls to become beautiful women and it is indeed my pleasure to reveal the beauty and adornment secrets of Colombia to you in the fascinating accounts that will follow.

I am sitting in a splendid room in one of the largest and most important Inka buildings overlooking the great Qosqo’s Main Plaza, the Aqllawasi, which is the House of Chosen Women, or Virgins of the Sun. This is the equivalent of a state-run convent, but it deserves to be called a temple of beauty, for we educate young girls, chosen among the prettiest and most virtuous in the whole Quechua territory, some as young as 8 in the arts of beauty and adornment. I am sipping sacred “chicha” (maize beer) and sampling a slice of “sanqha” (ceremonial bread). (1)

I am dressed in enchanting clothes, the fabrics have been specially woven for me and have a distinctive geometric design; the impressive range of textile colours include the use of up to 130 different dye types. The embroidered abstract images suggest a world of wizardry and magic and I am proud to say that my girls created my luxurious attire. (2) I have removed my sandals temporarily and have put my gold and silver bracelets on the table to facilitate my writing, which in fact is a system of knots and knotting to record details. We consider gold to be the sweat of the Sun and silver the tears of the Moon, but my story is an, “El Dorado” of beauty with all the mystical, mythical and magical qualities of how the senses can cure the soul. (3) My room is adorned with iridescent feathers from the Equatorial rainforest communities and decorated in sheets of silver, inlaid with precious jewels. I never see men, I am exquisitely feminine, nurtured by the gods and kept by the Inka state.

In this Aqllawasi, I have a total of 200 Virgins of the Sun, once they are devoted to the Sun God, they are strictly controlled; all Aclla have to remain virgins while within the convent and I can assure you that they will be punished with death for defying this mandate. They are taught religion, textile weaving, cooking and chicha-making by my staff of life-long virgins who have dedicated their lives to this religious institution. Every year the Inka choose for or five young women to be the brides of the Sun, the Yurac Aclla and they are my devoted and dedicated assistants. (4)

After about 4 years my girls will be assigned to different fates according to their social origins and physical beauty. The daughters of noble blood, Quechuas, who are considered to be the most beautiful, the Huayrur Aclla have a higher status than the daughters of privileged nobles who are normally less attractive; the Paco Aclla will be Inka wives. Some, the least attractive, will be ready to serve as “mamakuna” priestesses in the temples, the Yanac Aclla. Finally, the Taqui Aclla chosen for their aptitude as singers, play drums and piccolos at the court parties. (5)

Practically everyone marries in Inka society. In the upper classes polygamy is a revered state, granted to those in high favour. Concubines are given to men in reward for their bravery. The first woman a man marries is considered the “wife-in-chief” and she reatins this position until she dies. She is the only wife that received an official ceremony and she can never be neglected nor abandoned; all secondary wives are subservient to her. Some Inka’s have hundreds of concubines, Wayna Qhapaq had more than 400 children; I will tell you the secret of the Maca Root later! (6)

The less attractive of my women become sacrificial victims or servants within the convent. I think that I may surprise you when I tell you that a widespread custom of ours is to bury the dead with all of their most prized possessions, and, with their most beautiful and best-loved women still alive. Some women, who fear that there will not be enough room for them in the tomb, hang themselves with their own hair. When leaders die, they are carried through the villages and sacrifices of llamas, and even women and children are made to them. (7)

Human sacrifice is also tied into many other events; in the royal family, seasonal changes, agricultural cycles, celestial events and celebrations of birth. We believe in the immortality of the soul and are convinced that we are reunited in the afterlife. We also believe that the souls of my girls who are sacrificed will enjoy infinite rest and this why some of them voluntarily offer themselves for sacrifice. (8)

The ordinary women work by tending and harvesting the crops, shearing llama wool, carding wool, cleaning, laundering and transporting necessities in large ceramic vessels. The girls spend a great deal of time collecting firewood and llama dung for cooking, although we are predominantly vegetarian. Then there are our textiles. Luxury textiles (like I am wearing) are the most valued art form we have. In fact we value our cloth so highly that we burned it, rather than let it fall into Spanish hands.

We use our most luxurious textiles in all rites of passage like weddings and burying our dead. (9)

We believe that for each animal and bird on earth there is a prototype in the sky that acts like a guardian and is charge of its procreation. We also believe in spirits, who are instrumental in aiding the growth of maize and other plants, we call them “mamas”. We then add the generic name of the plant or the herb, “quinuamama” – quinoa mother and “cocamama” is mother of the coca shrub. (10)

“Because they even thought there is one that is the maker
who they call Virachoch Pachayachacchic, that says he
is the maker of the world, and they have him as the one
who made the sun and everything else that is created on
heaven and earth… it was called Pachacamac,
the giver of being to the world.”

(Spanish chronicler Juan de Betancos, 1551)

We revere the Sun as the sole universal God who creates and sustains everything through his light and power. We envision the Moon in female form and the “mamakuna” priestesses, dedicated to her worship, tend our image of her in silver. One myth even accounts for the spots on her surface by explaining that:

“A fox fell in love with the moon because of her beauty.
When he rose up to the sky to steal her, she squeezed him
against her and produced the patterns that we see today.”

(Juan de la Cruz Garcilasco, Inka chronicler) (11)

The Inka’s are still very much alive even today; “Inti Raymi” is Peru’s biggest Inka festival held on the winter solstice in the city of Cuzco. Traditionally, this is when we gathered to pray for the return of the Sun god, Wiracocha. These days, the statue of Sapa Inka is carried on a golden throne from Santo Domingo church in a 400,000 strong procession through the flower-strewn streets of Cuzco to the ancient fortress of Sacsayhuaman. There are blessings, sacrifices, dancers and re-enacting of my legends; as the sun sets, giant stacks of straw are set on fire for the celebrants to dance around. (12)

We feel a strong kinship with nature and we believe in omens, dreams and visions. During the last days of the Spanish invasion, Huayna Capac, our last great Inka, had many visions. One was of lightning flashes coming from his feet which he interpreted as an evil omen. In our mythology, both the snake and lightning symbolize forces that can portend disease and decay. Shortly after this he received news of an outbreak of bubonic plague in Cuzco. (13)

The astonishment that my people produced in the conquistadors is widely documented. Columbus stated: “I vouch to your Majesties that in the world I believe there are not better people nor better lands: they love their fellow men as themselves and have the sweetest speech in the world, and manner, and are always laughing.” When speaking of their beauty, noted: “very beautiful people, their hair is not curly but straight and thick… and their eyes very beautiful and not small and none of them dark, their legs are very straight and no belly but very well made.” (14)

We considered the conquistadors as gods because they were so different, they had white skin, beards, fire weapons and horses; we even believed that the horse and Spaniard were a single being, able to split into two. We believed they were divine because we have an old myth that states that our gods originally arrived by ship, just as the Spaniards did. We accepted and welcomed them, but more about this later… (15)

I would now like to continue with my teaching, not with my virgins, but with you dear reader, I would like to introduce you to the history of beauty, cosmetics and adornment in Colombia where the national flower is not surprisingly, the Orchid.

With love to you all,

Mamakuna Superior

This is a chapter of the book written by Nicky Fraser