The Sacrifice of Juanita

The history took place in Cusco-Peru in 1466. The Pachacutec Inca was worried about the information he had received from the Tucuy Ricoc or supervisor about recent natural disasters in the Contisuyo region .The eruption of Sabancaya volcano had seriously affected the cultivation and the cattle breeding; therefore the supplying of the administrative centers (the llactas) was in danger. The Sapa Inca immediately summoned “ the Capacocha”, that is, a human sacrifice ceremony in order to worship “the Apus” (the mountains). In the Capacocha ceremony, some children were offered as sacrifice to their god because people considered them as purity and the innocence of life. This calmed the wrath of the Apus and the natural disasters stopped. The Inca ordered the heads of the four suyos (regions) to send the children to Cusco for the Capacocha. They came with presents made of gold, silver and shells among others. Once in Cusco they were received by the Inca. The children had to go around the main square, so they could meet the principal idols: “the Inti” (the Sun), “the Quilla” (the Moon) and “the Illapa” (the Ray). Later, a child was chosen from the group and the others were sacrificed and buried in their regions. A 14 year-old girl, also called “pasña”, was chosen to be sacrificed for the Capacocha. She assumed the main responsibility of being the messenger to the great Apu without complaining. This pasña was prepared from very tender age for a religious sacrifice in favor of her people. She was dressed with high quality clothes and offerings from the Mamapacha (the Earth) like animals and the Mamacocha (the Water) this time represented in shells of spondylus carefully elaborated. Finally, she was covered by a red and white colored blanket. The ceremony had to be done in the Ampato snow-capped mountain. She was taken in a procession accompanied by other children who were also going to be sacrificed as they arrived to the top of the Ampato. The chronicler Jose de Acosta believes that the Aztecs sacrificed their enemy prisoners while the Incas sacrificed the natural ones of their Empire and most of them were children. The main sacrifice was made in the summit of Ampato (6380 meters over the sea level) where the Incas constructed a platform. They didn’t mind climbing the mountains and staying there for a long time. The pasña didn´t eat anything else but vegetables. When they got the summit, the ritual started. She was soothed with “chicha”(alcoholic drink) and held by two priests to receive an accurate blow with a “macana” or stick towards the right parietal which produced her fissures and fractures. One of the sharp of the stick penetrated in her orbit eyeglass caussing a hemorrhage. The skull traumatism, produced by the blow, moved her brain towards the opposite side, this caused an instantaneous death to her. Many metals offerings, spondylus surrounded in fine textiles of alpaca and vicuña and some “chuspas” (ceremonial bags with coca, ceramics and other elements) were also buried with her . This is how this pasña died in favor of the Incas.

Through history many civilizations, like the Jews, have believed in a savior who would save their life. There is a passage in the Bible that says:
“Surely the took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth”. Isaiah 53:4-7
This pasña was an innocent victim who died to reconcile her people with “the Apus”, as well as Jesus Christ died to reconcile the man with God. The Sacrifice of this pasña was discovered by the American Anthropologist Johan Reinhard and the Peruvian archaeologist Jose Antonio Chavez in the Ampato snowed-capped mountain in 1995. She was named “Juanita” in memory of the anthropologist who found her. The sacrifice of Jesus Christ in the cross is given to everyone in order to find a purpose in our life. You can get a true relationship with God at the moment you believe and receive the salvation of Jesus. The Lord gave us the forgiveness of the sins when he died in the cross of the Calvary.