Wallallu Qarwinchu (also known as: Huallallo Qarwinchu, Huallallo Carhuancho, Wallallo, Wallallu Karwinchu, Qalaluu Karwancho) was the god of fire and main divinity of the Wankas. Later, the Incas would include him in their pantheon.
Wallallu was a divinity associated with volcanoes, dryness, agriculture and the lower world.[1]
History and Mythology
editAccording to the Huarochirí manuscript
editIts history is found in the Huarochirí manuscript. In this manuscript, Wallallu's victory over the twin gods Yanañamca and Tutañamca is mentioned. It also mentions his constant confrontations between him and his nemesis, the god Parya Qaqa.
In the same way, Wallallu is mentioned as an anthropophagous god and when he was defeated by Parya Qaqa, he was punished by being fed with dogs.[2]
According to the Wanka version
editThe Wanka version differs somewhat from the Huarochirí version. A notable difference is Wallallu's command to the Wanka people not to have more than two children. The Huarochirí version mentions that Wallallu fulfilled his mandate, devouring one of the children; while the other was allowed to be raised by his parents.[2] In the Wanka version, the reason why Wallallu decreed such an order is explained. The reason was because the Wankas, as their population grew, demanded from Wallallu more land and new ways of cultivating it so that hunger would not continue to devour the men. However, in the face of the anguished pleas of the Wankas, Wallallu revoked his mandate.[3]
Another difference worth noting is the consumption of dog meat. According to this version, it was no one but Wallallu himself who imposed the consumption of the animal. However, these were enemy soldiers of his people, who were turned into dogs. These dogs were very good and loyal to men, both in life and after death. Wallallu himself, to celebrate this victory, taught the Wankas to remove the still fresh skin of the enemy warriors and put it on drum leather. To complete the ceremony, the same god chose five dogs, sacrificed them, and made them eat their meat and drink their blood mixed with chicha. Apart from serving as food, their skulls were used to make wind instruments, which produced a terrifying sound and were used against their enemies.[3]
Likewise, in both Wanka and Inca mythology, Wallallu, like other gods, was created by Wiraqucha.
Oral Legends
editIn oral legends, it is mentioned that a hungry Wallallu sighted a young man whom he thought he would devour. However, great was his surprise when he found out that the young man was a simple manifestation of Inti, the Sun God. As a result, Wallallu was punished by Wiraqucha, who tied him up and sent him to an island. In this place, Wallallu will be at the mercy of animals that will bite and sting him. Being an Andean god, he is immortal, so his suffering will be eternal.
The daughter of Wallallu Qarwinchu
editThe following story is an oral legend that tells of the impossible love between Waytapallana (daughter of the god Wallallu Qarwinchu) and Amaru (son of the god Parya Qaqa). As a result of this love affair, the parents of both, who were already at odds before the event, unleash a battle that causes calamities on Earth.
The myth narrates the following:
It is said that Wallallu's first-born daughter, called Waytapallana, was the most beautiful of all the women in the region. In order to hide her from men, her proud father planted for her a beautiful garden full of the most beautiful flowers in the shelter of the mountains.
For his part, Parya Qaqa had a son whom he called Amaru. Being the son of an Apu (god), this young man had the power to take the form of any animal, in addition to this young man loved to make extensive travels in the form of various animals. And so it was that one day, while traveling through the valleys of his father, he met his partner with whom he married and had a daughter.
However, one of the days Amaru flew over the mountains in the form of an eagle and, without realizing it, left his father's domain. At that moment, the young man glimpsed a garden of flowers like he had never seen before and, dominated by curiosity, he transformed himself into a man to enter that hidden place. At the foot of the Qarwaqucha lagoon was Waytapallana, Wallallu's daughter, whose beauty was such that she managed to make the young Amaru forget everything at once to later fall madly in love with her; in the same way, the beautiful maiden would also fall in love with him and such was the mutual attraction that as a result of this romance five children were born.
When Wallallu learned of this, he wanted to find out about the mysterious young man who had taken his daughter's heart. Upon asking the winds, Wallallu learned that the man was the son of his rival Parya Qaqa, and that in addition to Amaru he was already married and had a daughter. Deeply wounded by the adultery committed, Wallallu ordered the winds to carry news of his wife and daughter to Amaru's ears. Remembering them, Amaru became aware of all he had done and set out in search of his family. As he passed through a ravine, Wallallu crept up on him and dealt him a mortal blow that ended his life. Upon learning of the tragedy, Parya Qaqa was devastated by the loss of his son. As a result of his grief, the grief-stricken Parya Qaqa drowned Waytapallana in the Qarwaqucha lagoon and the five sons in the surrounding lagoons.
This marked the beginning of a terrible battle between the two gods. As the battle lasted, both gods were devastating everything in their path. The bloody conflagration ended with the victory of Parya Qaqa against Wallallu Qarwinchu. Realizing that his fate was sealed, Wallallu decided to flee to the jungle that stretched to the east, where, thirsty for revenge for the death of his daughter, he became a man-eater. According to him, they were to blame for his misfortune.
Upon learning of all this, the great Wiraqucha, judged that these cruelties could not go unpunished and decided to execute those responsible. As a way of punishment, Wiraqucha turned Parya Qaqa into a snow-capped mountain that today bears his name, while Wallallu suffered the same fate, only that the mountain would be named after his daughter.[4]
Wallallu as a moon god
editIn some areas of Ayacucho, there is a legend that associates Wallallu with the Moon. This would not be strange, since some pre-Inca cultures have established the moon as a masculine entity.
The legend tells us the following:
Wallallu (called Qalalu in this legend) was the personification of the Moon. Qalalu was a very young god; his clothing consisted only of a white dog's pelt to avoid being in the buff. Likewise, he was always accompanied by his dog, Karwancho.
In primordial times, mankind was tired of offering to their gods for light and warmth. Heeding the human clamor, Qalalu agreed to give fire to mankind; however, due to his excessive lust and other misdeeds, he is castrated and banished from Earth.
Thus it was that Qalalu, like a lonely moon, was banished. His dog Karwancho accompanied him during his exile.
The Sun and the brothers Chisi Ch'aska Quyllur and Quela Maqta Qoyllur (personifications of the star) ensured that Qalalu never returned to Earth.
Unable to return, Qalalu sends his loyal companion to Earth in order to recover his testicles. Karwancho was a dog who, besides being quite cunning, had supernatural abilities.
Once on Earth, as he progressed on his journey, Karwancho was deceiving various natural phenomena and wild animals, as he promised to reward them in exchange for their acceptance to shelter inside his ear. It was suspected that his master's belongings were found in the home of a priest of the Pacoras of Huamanga, to be more precise, among his silver jewelry.
Once he arrived at his destination, the priest's guards threatened to kill him. The dog, in every adverse situation, brought out every element or creature that remained inside his ear. The dog then swallowed all the silver jewelry and fled.
Upon reuniting on the Moon with his master, Karwancho expelled from his mouth many of the silver jewels he devoured, with no sign of Qalalu's parts.
Qalalu, disappointed, threw the silver jewelry to the four winds. It is said that this scattered silver can be appreciated in the full moon.
The celestial dog must, once again, return to Earth to search for his master's belongings, infinitely.[5]
Wallallu and Wampu
editAccording to this myth, the foundation of Markawasi is attributed to Wallallu (Wallallo in this myth); in the same way, this place is established as his dwelling place.
Like the previous myth, this one revolves around the intimate parts of the god.
The myth begins with a divinity named Wampu. His dwelling is located in a large rock that bears his name and rises above the region of Huanza and Carampoma.
The said Wampu was jealous of the exuberant flora that constituted the wealth of Wallallo's abode in Markawasi. The ambitious Wampu, instigated by his subjects, set out to snatch all his domains and strip him of his riches.
For this purpose, he prepared himself for a long time; he empowered himself by drinking great quantities of human blood that his own people gladly lavished on him; he set Wallallo several traps, and in all of them the jealous god failed.
At last, knowing that one of his wives was tenaciously pursued by Wallallo's amorous solicitations, he advised her to appear to let herself be seduced, and that the instant Wallallo intended to finalize his intentions, he should tear off a testicle and cry out so that Wampu himself and all the gods would come to her aid.
Wampu's plan was successful and, as a consequence, Wallallo lost the organs that enabled him to procreate twins and to fertilize the Earth. The goddess (Wampu's wife) made such a fuss that all the other gods attacked Wallallo at the same time with devastating lightning, hail, rain, fire, etc. Pressed by the situation, Wallallo escaped from the trap to Markawasi; however, it was here that the god realized that he had lost one of his most primordial attributes.
It is mentioned that Wampu hid Wallallo's organs in a cave near Markawasi. This was done taking into account the following: according to tradition, the gods could know all the secrets of the enemy camp, but not those of their own camp.
A short time later, a Yachaq (wise man) from Titicaca passed by to transmit his knowledge to the communities and, at the same time, to collect magic stones or huacas from different areas. By chance, he went to rest inside the cave to take refuge from the cold, the same cave in which Wampu hid Wallallo's virile organ. The Yachaq found the object and knew how precious this find was. He firmly believed that this object was capable of performing extraordinary deeds that only the gods can do. The sage rushed back to the Collao to show the Yachaq of that region his valuable find.
On the other hand, the power of creation and begetting of the defeated Wallallo had diminished; his strength was diminishing and the lack of his genital organ was becoming more and more noticeable. The goddess who served Wampu in his Machiavellian objective was not at all pleased, since she was jealous of another one whom Wallallo also pursued with his amorous requirements; trying to discredit Wallallo, she told her what this divinity had lost; and the goddess communicated the news to Wallallo. He also learned that a Yachaq from the Collao had taken him away. He went out in pursuit, transforming himself into a human. He followed the road that goes through the mountain range, and when he arrived at Wamanka, he fell in love with a beautiful Indian woman who had arrived there brought by the Yachaq of the Collao. Accompanied by her, he continued his journey in pursuit of the Yachaq.
Upon arriving at the Collao, Wallallo learned from his consort's relatives about the whereabouts of the long-sought Yachaq. They informed Wallallu that the Yachaq had died and that his generative organ had been hidden again. The perpetrators of such an act were none other than the people of Wampu, who had also pursued the Yachaq to recover it and hide it again in a safer place. Always accompanied by the Collao Indian, Wallallo traveled for some time throughout that territory looking for the organ that allowed him to waste the people of his region exuberant harvests of corn, potatoes, quinoa, oca and all the foodstuffs offered by the Earth. It was this power that enriched the Wampu region.
The disappearance of Wallallo marked the ruin of all his subjects; the lands became sterile; the forest formed by Keñua, Linko and Chachacoma that supplied wood for the necessary firewood for the construction of houses and temples; and the extensive grasslands that served as food for their cattle; everything disappeared due to the rapacity of Wampu who made him move to his own region.
Many years passed under the absence of rain, and in which time the inhabitants were scourged by innumerable misfortunes and pests that exhausted them. After a long time, Wallallo returned to Markawasi taking with him the rains and trying to repair the aqueducts and lagoons; in this way, the Linko, Keñua, Chachacoma, Lloke and the pupas that still exist today were sown again in the different places, although not as in the times of the apogee of Markawasi, when Wallallo reigned there, absolute owner of these plants, and when they only existed in his domains.[6]
Representation
editWallallu was a powerful deity represented as a man with dog-like features and/or dressed in dog skins. Likewise, the aforementioned canid is considered as the animal that represents him.
The Wallallu god, like any Andean god, had the capacity to manifest himself in any form; but there are always elements that were more usual for him to do so.
In Huarochirí, Wallallu was transformed into flames of fire so hot that they reached the sky. Subsequently, Wallallu turned into a bird (possibly a hummingbird) to flee from the fight against the god Paryaqaqa; since Wallallu had run out of strength.[2]
In the Wanka version, when Wallallu became angry, he transformed himself into powerful hurricane winds and they had no respect for anything, even if it was homes, children, animals, etc.[3]
Rites
editThe Wankas venerated him with human sacrifices. Once the sacrifice was made, the resulting blood was sprinkled on an effigy of his temple. Likewise, they also offered him with mullu and dogs adorned with precious stones.[3]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Paul R. Steele. "Handbook of Inca Mythology". Retrieved 25 April 2023.
- ^ a b c Taylor, Gerald. "Ritos y tradiciones de Huarochirí" (PDF). Retrieved 11 July 2023.
- ^ a b c d Taipe Campos. "Dos soles y lluvia de fuego: los valores sociales en los mitos andinos" (PDF). Retrieved 11 July 2023.
- ^ "Leyenda del Nevado de Huaytapallana". Machu Picchu Travel. 14 May 2018. Retrieved 8 November 2023.
- ^ Alfredo Alberdi Vallejo. "Mitos arqueo-astronómicos pre-hispánicos en el antiguo Perú: la Luna en la visión andina". Retrieved 6 May 2023.
- ^ Julio C. Tello y Próspero Miranda. "Ceremonias gentílicas realizadas en la región cisandina del Perú Central" (PDF). Retrieved 8 November 2023.