My Travels In Peru

Juanita: The Ice Maiden

In Arequipa, one is always in the presence of a volcano: there are three of them. The dominating one is Misti. The other two are Chachani and Picchupicchu. About 100 km northwest of Arequipa is Ampato, the granddaddy of volcanoes reaching a height in excess of 6,000 m. It was on top of Ampato that one of the biggest archaeological discoveries of the last century was made – a frozen child - a girl they named Juanita! 

The corpse was so well preserved that its mitochondrial DNA was still intact and readable. She had been sacrificed to the volcano god more than five centuries ago to appease it. This was common practice for the ancient civilizations. The safety and welfare of the community was worth a few human lives if they stopped the angry volcanoes from erupting and destroying the entire countryside, and everyone in it. 

Of course, sacrifices didn't always have the desired effect!

When found, in 1995, the young girl's body looked like it had been freshly frozen. The discoverer, archaeologist Johan Reinard, recognizing the potential scientific importance of keeping it frozen, went to great lengths to get it into the city before it thawed. The mummy became known as Juanita, or the ice maiden. 

Subsequently, two other frozen mummies were recovered from the same mountain. They now take turns at being displayed inside a specially-designed freezer, with a glass cover, in the Museo Santuario de Altura, located only a couple blocks from our hotel on the main square. 

Before making the trip to Arequipa, we read a book about Juanita's discovery and were excited to see this significant archaeological find. It was not Halloween, but Juanita, that had brought us to Arequipa!

As I stood there gazing at the 500-year-old sleeping child in its frozen state, I imagined her standing on that cold, windswept volcano trembling and drinking chicha, the Inca alcoholic drink made from corn, to numb her senses before the fatal blow to the skull was delivered. Her family, part of the Inca nobility, stood by her, proud that she had been selected for the sacrifice. 

The high priest (shaman) and members of the royal family make speeches imploring the mountain spirits to receive the sacrifice as a sign of fidelity to them. I could almost hear her last words spoken softly, "I am ready. Please be done with me," just as the mighty blow arrives and everything goes dark. 

While her world has been dark for centuries, as she lies there in eternal sleep, she is able to tell us what life was like in the days of her youth. I could see her in my mind falling to the ground, and her handmaidens wrapping her up in the finest woolen blankets, in the foetal position, and slipping her into the funerary sack, as was the custom of the time. 

Her father then picks up the sack and gently lowers it into the hole that had been previously prepared. Until know he had been very composed and proud to be Juanita's father, but now he breaks down in tears as strong emotions surge forth. Aware that others are looking at him, and could interpret that as a sign of weakness, he quickly recomposes himself and steps back to rejoin his wife and friends.

The sacrifice ritual being over, the participants quickly make their way down the cold, icy mountain before night overtakes them. 

Suddenly, I feel my wife's elbow gently on my side and hear her telling me, "It's time to go, you're falling asleep!"